Voting Station

Massachusetts

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State

The Resume

    (February 6, 1788- )
    6th state to join
    Explored by John Cabot (1497-98)
    English navigator Bartholomew Gosnold sailed around Massachusetts Bay; he called it Cape Cod (1602)
    Massachusetts Bay Colony chartered by England (March 14, 1629)
    John Winthrop elected first governor (May 18, 1631)
    Nickname: Bay State
    Capital: Boston
    Size: 8,257 square miles (ranks 45th)
    Motto: By the Sword We Seek Peace, But Peace Only Under Liberty
    Bird: Chickadee
    Flower: Mayflower
    Tree: American Elm
    Song: All Hail To Massachusetts

Why Massachusetts might be annoying:

    Some natives of Salem were accused of Witchcraft.
    The people outlawed Christmas one year (1659).
    It has Lake Chargogagogmanchaugagohchaubunagungamaug, which means 'you fish on your side, we fish on our side, nobody fish in the middle.'
    They had a Major League baseball team named the Boston Braves (1876-1952) who won a World Series (1914), they moved to Milwaukee and now play in Atlanta.
    They believe in the curse of Babe Ruth, in that they won five World Series before trading Babe Ruth and have not won one since. However, the Yankees who received Ruth, had not yet won a world series and won twenty-six since.
    Anne Hutchinson was banished from Massachusetts (November 8, 1638).
    It was where the first recorded tornado hit in the US (Essex County) (July 5, 1643).
    King Charles II revoked Massachusetts Bay Colony charter (June 21, 1684) and it took seven years to get a new one (September 17, 1691).
    Britain passed the Coercive Act against Massachusetts (March 28, 1774).
    Shays' Rebellion (on behalf of debt-ridden Massachusetts farmers) failed (February 4, 1787).
    Temperature ranges from -35ºF (January 12, 1981) to 107ºF (August 2, 1975).
    Five words 'New Kids on the Block.'

Why Massachusetts might not be annoying:

    They have the greatest ratio of women to men of any state.
    Dissenters of the Church of England boarded the Mayflower in search of Religious freedom.
    The Mayflower pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock (December 21, 1620).
    The Mayflower Compact was only seven lines, but established self government in the New World.
    The Pilgrims were welcomed by the Native Americans and celebrated the first Thanksgiving. Although Chief Massasoit brought along 94 people to the Thanksgiving feast, he also brought along most of the food (1621).
    Massachusetts Bay discontinued witch trials (October 12, 1692) and held a day of fasting for wrongly persecuting 'witches' (January 14, 1699).
    Massachusetts Bay annexed the Maine colony (May 31, 1634) and colonial unity began when Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, Connecticut & New Harbor formed the New England Confederation (May 19, 1643). It then purchased Maine for $6,000 (March 13, 1677) and acquired New Hampshire (September 18, 1679).
    The first shots of the American Revolution were fired at Lexington & Concord (1775).
    It was home of the Boston Tea Party, the Battle of Bunker Hill, the Minutemen, John Adams and Paul Revere.
    It is the home of Harvard, M.I.T., Sam Adams beer and the Boston Marathon.
    Politically, many of the Adams and Kennedy's were born in Massachusetts.
    Poets Edgar Allan Poe, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Emily Dickinson were born in Massachusetts.
    Benjamin Franklin, Bette Davis, Henry David Thoreau, Clara Barton, Samuel Morse, John Hancock, George Peabody and Jack Lemmon were born in Massachusetts.
    They celebrate Teachers Day and Children's day in June and Grandparents' Day in October.
    It is the only state that still uses it colonial constitution.
    The first colonial post office was set up in Massachusetts (November 5, 1639).
    The first compulsory education law in America was passed by Massachusetts (June 14, 1642).
    The first copyright laws were enacted in Massachusetts (May 15, 1672).
    The Revolutionary War started in Lexington (1775).
    The first US street lantern was used in Boston (1719).
    The first black regiment to fight in the civil war left from Boston (May 28, 1863).
    Naismith invented basketball here.
    W G Morgan invented volleyball here (February 9, 1895).
    They have an NFL football team named the New England Patriots (1960- ), who won the 2001 season Super Bowl (February 2002).
    Their Major League baseball team, the Boston Red Sox (1901- ), won 5 World Series (1903, 12, 15-16, 18).
    It is home to an original NBA basketball team named the Boston Celtics (1946- ).
    The NHL hockey team the Boston Bruins (1924- ) won 5 Stanley Cups. The New England Whalers, originated in Boston (1972-74), then played in West Springfield (1974-75) Springfield (1978-80), played in Connecticut (1975-78, 80-97) and are currently the Carolina Hurricanes.
    TV series 'Cheers,' 'Wings,' 'St Elsewhere,' 'Paper Chase' and 'Wings' were set in Massachusetts.
    Massachusetts enacted the first state voter registration law (March 7, 1801).
    The first mass production of shoes was by Jan Matzeliger in Lynn (May 19, 1885).
    The first US state naval militia was organized (March 18, 1890).
    Massachusetts passed the first US minimum wage law (June 4, 1912).
    K Endate & K Watanabe found asteroid #4547, which they name Massachusetts.

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 57 Votes: 43.86% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 56 Votes: 48.21% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 159 Votes: 46.54% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 118 Votes: 52.54% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 137 Votes: 54.01% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 217 Votes: 60.83% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 134 Votes: 72.39% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 19 Votes: 84.21% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 1234 Votes: 64.75% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 371 Votes: 43.40% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 121 Votes: 62.81% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 68 Votes: 77.94% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 32 Votes: 56.25% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 222 Votes: 48.20% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 76 Votes: 42.11% Annoying
    In 2008, Out of 48 Votes: 47.92% Annoying
    In 2007, Out of 106 Votes: 51.89% Annoying
    In 2006, Out of 224 Votes: 52.23% Annoying
    In 2005, Out of 649 Votes: 57.32% Annoying
    In 2004, Out of 425 Votes: 47.53% Annoying
    In 2003, Out of 920 Votes: 58.37% Annoying