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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."

3 of 102 comments (clear)

  1. Thanks for looking at the important bills! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Angry Wisconsin Resident here.

    So they're willing to look at a bill for a microbe, but won't even touch an important bill such at the medical marijuana one.

    http://www.immly.org/index.html

  2. Re:What? by HaZardman27 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    As a Wisconsin native, I can assure you that things run very smoothly compared to most states I've lived in, and if you read the article you can see that it took almost no time in all to put this through. We're generally very pleased with our politicians (as much as that's possible with politicians). We even have one of the few congressmen to vote against the Patriot Act.

    --
    Apparently wizard is not a legitimate career path, so I chose programmer instead.
  3. Re:For Our Non-United States Friends by Stele · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Yes, we do. Our cheeses are as diverse as our beers. I recently attended a cheese and beer pairing where there were a dozen wonderfully "stinky" cheeses paired with some fine Belgian-style strong beers - all made in Wisconsin.

    It's one of the reasons I've stayed here for almost 20 years, despite hating the long winters.