Drive into New Jersey today and a cheerful sign welcomes you to the Garden State — a nickname that sits on millions of license plates. But in 1954, when the legislature first voted to put "Garden State" on those plates, something surprising happened at the governor's desk. What was it? The governor demanded "Liberty State" instead The plates were printed with a spelling error The governor vetoed the bill — and the legislature overrode him A New York senator sued to block it None Tennessee calls itself the Volunteer State, a reputation earned in the War of 1812 and sealed during the Mexican-American War in 1846. That year, Washington asked Tennessee to supply about 2,800 volunteer soldiers. Roughly how many Tennesseans showed up? About 3,500 About 30,000 Exactly 2,800 — quota met to the man About 9,000 None "I'm from Missouri — you've got to show me." The Show-Me State's famous motto was cemented in 1899 by a Missourian who told a Philadelphia banquet that "frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me." Who was he? A riverboat captain testifying to Congress A newspaper editor feuding with New York papers A mule trader at the World's Fair A U.S. congressman giving an after-dinner speech None Wyoming, the Equality State, gave women the vote in 1869 — the first government in America to do it. But in 1890, when Wyoming applied for statehood, some in Congress balked at admitting a state where women voted. What did Wyoming's legislators wire back to Washington? "We will remain out of the Union a hundred years rather than come in without our women" "Equality is not negotiable — try Utah" "Send us your daughters and see for yourselves" "The ladies outnumber the cattle; we dare not cross them" None Stand in a diner anywhere in Indiana and everyone in the room proudly calls themselves a Hoosier — and it's been that way since at least the 1830s. What is the true origin of the word "Hoosier"? Canal builder Samuel Hoosier, who preferred hiring Indiana men Pioneers calling "Who's here?" through cabin doors Nobody actually knows — the origin is a genuine mystery A shortening of "hussar," honoring cavalry veterans None Stumper. Nevada's flag reads "Battle Born" because it became a state in the middle of the Civil War — rushed into the Union on October 31, 1864, just days before the presidential election. To meet the deadline, Nevada officials had to get their entire state constitution to Washington in a hurry. How did they do it? A Pony Express relay of twelve riders They telegraphed the whole document — the longest, costliest telegram ever sent to that point A Navy steamship carried it around Cape Horn They mailed a summary and hand-delivered the rest after statehood None Time's up
