Holla, Vermont!

Well, we got one down. The Last Eight is no more. We have officially entered into "Nifty Fifty Minus Seven States + 1 District" Land. My friend Di sent her buddy Melissa to my site, and Melissa is from...you guessed it...VERMONT. Thus, in tribute to Di's networking and Melissa's awesomeness for breaking up the Last 8...let's talk about Vermont. The Vermont region was claimed for France by Samuel de Champlain in 1609. Yeah, that's right. I don't know what YOU were doing in 1609, but I bet it wasn't claiming large swaths of land in America for France. Vermont leads the nation in the production of monument granite, marble, and maple syrup. This is interesting to me. I think there are some swell sporting events to be had with that combination. Perhaps we can lay out a giant slab of granite as a playing field, and then we can polish some marble into nice spherical shapes, and then we can smother the whole thing in maple syrup. Then...well, that's where it falls apart, but I bet it would be sticky. (yeah, I made that equation up myself) They also have lots of mountains, including The Green Mountains. Now, Wikipedia says, "The origin of the name Green Mountains (French: Verts monts) is uncertain." Um, you know...I'm no geographer and in fact a self-proclaimed Failed Cartographer, but I'm gonna take a wild guess that the "green"moniker has something to do with all the trees. Just a hunch. Vermont is it the second least populous state, second only to Wyoming. I kind of feel like I am revealing some state secret here or something, and if there is a flood of people moving into your neighborhood, Melissa...feel free to blame me. So which states have not represented here at jpo.com yet? Let's revisit our list. The Unleavened Seven Nevada! Wyoming! Mississippi! West Virginia! Delaware! New Hampshire! Alaska! Once again, folks. You saw the accolades showered on the great state of Vermont and its (though we have never met, I am positive) uber-intelligent and drop dead gorgeous representative, Melissa. That could be you, Delaware. Step up.