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Wisconsin Designates State Microbe

Posted by samzenpus on from the the-fighting-parameciums dept.

Hugh Pickens writes "The NY Times reports that state legislators in Wisconsin raced against the clock to pass a bill designating Lactococcus lactis as Wisconsin's official state microbe. 'The first time I heard the idea, I thought, I've got more important things to do than spending my time honoring a microbe,' says Gary Hebl, a Democratic state representative who proposed the bill which, he says, would make Wisconsin the first state in the nation to grant such a designation, 'but this microbe is really a very hard worker,' added Hebl, referring to the bacterium supported by the Department of Bacteriology at UW — Madison used to make cheddar, Colby, and Monterey Jack cheese. The proposal faced only one detractor in committee ('the opponent was clearly lactose-intolerant,' says Hebl), and there was no sign of a last-minute campaign from other bacteria, so by evening, the Assembly had approved the measure, 56 to 41. In case there were any doubts about Wisconsin's priorities, a separate bill also awaits consideration in Madison, declaring cheese Wisconsin's state snack."

6 of 102 comments (clear)

  1. For Our Non-United States Friends by RobotRunAmok · · Score: 3, Informative

    Wisconsin is the state synonomous with cheese. Nothing else, really. Just cheese. Everything they do, seemingly, is cheese-related. Oh, yeah, they have a pretty good football team from their city Green Bay. The team's fans are called "cheese-heads," and attend games wearing giant wedges of cheese as hats.

    Seriously.

    1. Re:For Our Non-United States Friends by DickieRay · · Score: 2, Informative

      We have beer, too.

      A former legislator used to love this sort of thing. As the State Legislature was considering making the tuba the State Instrument, which came to pass, she said this type of silliness takes time away from passing more bad laws.

    2. Re:For Our Non-United States Friends by hardburn · · Score: 4, Informative

      That's not true. We're also really good at beer and fireworks.

      --
      Not a typewriter
    3. Re:For Our Non-United States Friends by howlatthemoon · · Score: 3, Informative

      Take a look here http://www.worldchampioncheese.org/_apps/contest_results/ Wisconsin almost always has a maker in the top 10.

  2. and badgers by circletimessquare · · Score: 2, Informative

    i'm not really sure why, but in my mind, wisconsin means cheese and badgers

    i'm not sure if that association is normal or random

    PANIC! A SNAKE! SNAKE, AUGH SNAKE.... Aaargh, it's a Snake!!!

    Mushroom Mushroom!

    --
    intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
  3. Re:Not really true anymore by Velorium · · Score: 2, Informative

    Depends where in the U.S. you're visiting. The "non-swill" beers are usually the ones that are locally brewed.