Naturalist pines for vanity plate nixed by Michigan

LANSING, Mich. – A tree lover who wanted to honor Michigan's state tree with license plates bearing its Latin name has had his plans nixed for fear the tags could cause offense.

Sierra Club forestry expert Marvin Roberson had hoped for PINUS (PY'-nus) vanity plates, representing the white pine whose Latin name is pinus strobus.

The Department of State panel that vets vanity plate requests has voiced concern that the name could be confused with a word for the male sexual organ.

State spokeswoman Kelly Chesney says the Michigan Vehicle Code bans "letter combinations which might carry a connotation offensive to good taste and decency."

Roberson says he loves pines and hopes Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land overturns the decision.

ridiculous. They could have used the money from the vanity plate for spelling lessons.

and ridiculouser:

Aurora Mall (don't know where Aurora is) bans guy for one year for wearing "Yes We Cannabis" t-shirt:

http://blogs.westword.com/latestword/2010/05/wearing_yes_we_cannabis_t-shir.php

He'll have pinus envy.

Lucky he isn't a fan of African wildlife. They'd never allow Dikdik.

Did he drive a Prius?

Aurora is just east of Denver (Colorado).

I wood have let him have it

Oh. Naturalist. Not Naturist.

Before I opened this I wondered what the state would have against a vanity plate that said either NUDE or NAKED.

Could be that they considered that the amount of monney from those vanity plates would have amounted to PEANUTS.

I bet it cost more to reject it than they made from the plates (I think it's $35) But srsly -BS, he's just trying it on. If he really wanted to honor that tree, he'd have picked "Strobus" not "Pinus". Jus' sayin'. Pinus is all pines.

Aside from this discussion, I understand that each state of the US has a state tree and also a state bird.

Is there other 'state' things and where does it come from?

The Hawaii state fish is the Humuhumunukunukuapua'a.

Buckeye tree (cool!)
Cardinal (boring, when I renew my plates this year I'm getting the Scenic Rivers plate with a Blue Heron...and hey how ugly are the new Ohio regular plates? It's like a yellow and a blue crayon threw up)

Apparently our unofficial fish is the Walleye. :yum:

HungLikeJesus;661772 wrote:

The Hawaii state fish is the Humuhumunukunukuapua'a.

I learned that watching Dog the bounty hunter...

PA:
Tree: E. Hemlock
Animal: Killer Deer
Flower: Mountain Laurel
Insect: Firefly
Dog: Great Dane
Beverage: Milk

jinx;661810 wrote:

I learned that watching Dog the bounty hunter...

...

I have it on a T-shirt.

Ohio:

insect: ladybug
mammal: white-tailed killer deer
beverage: tomato juice (?)
reptile: black racer snake
fossil: Trilobite isotelus

Guess we don't have a dog!

Hey! Get your own animal!
And the trilobite is ours too ffs...

I want the Irish Wolfhound!

Ha! Wonder how many states have trilobites? I know about 7-8 have the damn cardinal as their bird.

Oh crap, we have a state gemstone: Flint!

what state's bird is the mosquito?

Minnesota.

Ffft. When it comes to meaningless symbolism, those other states ain't got nothing on Texas:

Bird: Mockingbird
Mammal (large): Texas Longhorn
Mammal (Small): Armadillo
Flying mammal: Mexican Free-tailed bat
Insect: Monarch butterfly
Reptile: Horned Lizard
Fish: Guadalupe Bass
Shell: Lightning Whelk
Flower: Bluebonnet
Plant: Prickly Pear Cactus
Tree: Pecan
Grass: Sideoats grama
Shrub: Chinese crepe myrtle
Fruit: Red grapefruit
Vegetable: Sweet onion
Fiber: cotton
Dinosaur: Pleurocoelus
Stone: Petrified Palmwood
Gem: Blue Topaz

Any of you other guys got a state fiber? Didn't think so.

Nope. But we have a state boat: the Chesapeake Bay deadrise

our Texas legislators get bored when their not out shooting something, apparently

Clodfobble;661897 wrote:

Flying mammal: Mexican Free-tailed bat

I hope it's legal.:rolleyes:

I thought our state animal was the construction horse.

Pennsy Fish is the Brook Trout
Game Bird is Ruffled Grouse

Cloud;661918 wrote:

our Texas legislators get bored when their not out shooting something, apparently

Are you meaning that those 'state' things are a matter of law?

I can understand that for animals, tree and stones, after all your country is vast and with a lot of diversity. But a dinosaur?

I thought those things were designated by general consensus.

Consensus doesn't make it official, legislatures do.

It seems that some legislatureshave a lot of time on their hands...

;)

jinx;661816 wrote:

Hey! Get your own animal!
And the trilobite is ours too ffs...

Oh, be-haaaave! Maybe it's a different species anyway. There were hundreds throughout the long age of the Paleozoic.

California's:

State Animal: Grizzly Bear, Ursus californicus. So designated decades after the last native one had been killed in 1922.

Bird: California Quail (Lophortyx californica)

Fish: Golden Trout (Salmo agua-bonita). They've been more successful with the trout than with the bear, cultivating more of them in hatcheries and extending their range even into other states. Maybe it would be easier if bears laid eggs.

Flower: Poppy (Eschsholtzia californica) orangey-yellow in color.

Fossil: Sabertooth (Smilodon californicus)

State (Gold Rush, mind you; there's a Silver Rush one too) Ghost Town: Bodie. "Man from Bodie" is a regionalism for "really bad dude."

Benitoite is a very rare blue rock, and the state gemstone. State mineral is gold.

It's all listed here.

Looks like Ohio, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania all intended different trilobite species.

Here's Colorado:

State Motto: Nil Sine Numine - Nothing Without the Deity
State Nickname: Colorado / Centennial State
State Animal: Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep
State Bird: Lark Bunting
State Fish: Greenback Cutthroat Trout
State Flower: White and Lavender Columbine
State Folk Dance: Square Dance
State Fossil: Stegosaurus
State Gemstone: Aquamarine
State Grass: Blue Grama Grass
State Insect: Colorado Hairstreak Butterfly
State Song: "Where the Columbines Grow"
State Song: "Rocky Mountain High"
State Tree: Colorado Blue Spruce
State Mineral: Rhodochrosite
State Rock: Yule Marble
State Reptile: Western Painted Turtle

Shawnee123;661820 wrote:

Oh crap, we have a state gemstone: Flint!

What state? I'm named after Native American arrowheads made from natural Flint here in Texas.

Ohio.

We honor you and your arrowhead heritage.

Cool. I am a GOD...in your state.

But of course! Or, of hourse.

ahahahaha!!!1

thanx 4 the post on this subject :) :) :)

do u have the Toy Stoury III pilated botlegg?

THX FOR ASKING. I LIKE THE POST. THE MOVIE IS TO BE DOWNLOAD IF YOU GO TO THE SITE OF THE DOWNLOAD.