Can you name South Carolina's official designations? Hint: There's a ton of them
Quick, now, can you name South Carolina's official snack? Official vegetable? Official beverage?
If you can, you are way, way smarter than I. But for the record, here are answers, in order: Boiled peanuts, collards, milk.
These are just a few of the more than 50 official designations the Palmetto State has given to some of the mundane objects and events within our borders.
We are, according to a report in the Charleston Post & Courier, among the top 10 states in bestowing official status. Texas leads the list with at least 70; Iowa offers a very modest four. (As a native of Minnesota, I understand my neighboring state's modesty. OK, it's got a lot of corn.)
Several of our designations makes sense.
The official tree, of course, the South Carolina palmetto. The official bird, the Carolina wren. And the official flower, the yellow jasmine. In fact, we have our home surrounded with the sweet smell of jasmine, but we go one further than South Carolina. Ours is Confederate jasmine.
I'm partial to several of the officials. The loggerhead turtle (official reptile), collards (vegetable), sweet tea (hospitality beverage), sweetgrass baskets (Lowcountry handcraft).
I might argue with the official picnic cuisine, barbecue. Can you say fried chicken?
Some are, to my pedestrian eye, just plain dumb: butterfly (Eastern tiger swallowtail), insect (Carolina mantid, aka praying mantis), amphibian (spotted salamander), marine mammal (bottlenose dolphin), fossil (Columbian mammoth). Some ask why, and so do I.
The Grand Strand has a prominent place on the list.
The shag is the state dance, beach music is the official popular music and the S.C. Hall of Fame in Myrtle Beach is the official hall of fame. Hmmm. Does that mean there's another one somewhere?
Our official opera makes a lot of sense: "Porgy and Bess," a George Gershwin musical set in Charleston.
But what about our official fruit? We claim the peach, which everyone else places beside Georgia. Somehow, South Carolina Peach doesn't cut it.
Here's another that makes little sense: Our official pecan festival is the S.C. Pecan Festival in Florence, suggesting there is a competing pecan festival somewhere. There is not.
While on the subject of official festivals, why isn't there an official shrimp festival? I nominate the McClellanville Shrimp Festival, held annually on the first Saturday in May. Y'all come, official or not.
And suppose someone asked you about South Carolina's official military academy. The Citadel, right?
Wrong. It's a high school, Camden Military Academy. Knowing our state's affection for The Citadel, I'm guessing someone will come along and designate The Citadel as the official military college.
And while we're at it, how about making the Clemson Tigers the official college football team and the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers the official college baseball team.
Hey, there might be no end to this official stuff.
Contact Bob Bestler at bestler6@tds.net.
This story was originally published June 1, 2018 at 3:16 PM with the headline "Can you name South Carolina's official designations? Hint: There's a ton of them."