In 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt was on a hunting trip in Mississippi when, after three days of no catch, he was offered a captive bear to hunt. Roosevelt refused in the name of good sportsmanship, and the news traveled throughout the country. Soon after, a New York toy store owner received permission to market a stuffed bear as “Teddy’s Bear,” and the nickname “Teddy bear” caught on. In 2002, the Teddy bear became the official state toy of the Magnolia State.

Minnesota’s official state photograph, “Grace,” was captured by photographer Eric Enstrom in Bovey, Minnesota, around 1920. The snapshot features a white-bearded elderly man bowing his head to give thanks over a bowl of soup and loaf of bread. Enstrom has said he composed the photograph to represent not only the humble circumstances of the area’s first immigrants, but also their survival in the face of hardships.

More than 30 states have designated an official state dance. The most popular (by a long shot) is the square dance — at least 24 states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia, Massachusetts, Oregon, Texas, Utah, and Washington, have granted the dance official status, as either the state dance or state folk dance.

Scottish immigrants have left a lasting legacy on American culture, from food to music, but you might be surprised by some of the states that have named an official tartan. Hawaii’s tartan incorporates red and yellow to represent the state’s volcanic origins. California based theirs on that of John Muir, the naturalist, while Louisiana uses blue and black to represent the bayous and the oil reserves. However, Alaska does not have an official tartan.

A poem called “The Old North State: A Toast,” by Leonora Monteiro Martin, written for and first recited at a 1904 dinner in honor of North Carolina’s history, and within a few years was recognized as a patriotic and nostalgic tribute to the early pioneers. In the early 1930s, the poem was set to music, and from that point on, North Carolinians adopted it as a rallying cry. “A Toast” became the official state toast in 1957.

Norman Rockwell’s paintings graced covers of “The Saturday Evening Post” for 47 years, turning him into one of the nation’s most beloved painters. Born in New York, Rockwell spent the last 25 years of his life in Massachusetts’ Berkshire County. Local students campaigned to have him recognized, and in 2008 he was named the official state artist of Massachusetts.

The Looff Carousel, also known as the Crescent Park Carousel, was once part of a Victorian amusement park in Providence, Rhode Island. Built in 1895 by Charles I. D. Looff, it is recognized as a masterpiece of wood sculpture and listed on the National Register of Historic Sites. It is one of the country’s few handmade carousels that is still operational, and in 1985, Rhode Island proclaimed it the state’s Official Symbol of Folk Art.

In the 1930s, a Llewellyn setter named Jim became famous in Missouri for his incredible hunting skills, tracking more than 5,000 birds in his 12-year lifespan. According to his owner, Jim could also identify cars by their license plates, understand Morse code, and even predict Kentucky Derby winners. Jim passed away in 1937 but his grave still attracts visitors, and the Missouri Assembly commemorated him as the state’s official wonder dog in 2017.

Maryland has opted to recognize two official sports. Its official team sport is lacrosse. Perhaps the continent’s oldest sport, lacrosse was popular among the indigenous peoples of the Great Lakes area and across to the Eastern coast. It was adopted on many college campuses in the late 19th century. Meanwhile, the other official sport is, surprisingly, jousting. The sport developed during the Middle Ages, but tournaments have been held in Maryland since the state’s first European settlers arrived.

Few people outside of Maine have ever heard of Moxie, but nonetheless, the soft drink gained official state status in 2005. Moxie was invented by a local doctor in Maine in 1884, two years before the advent of Coca-Cola. The drink, said to taste like root beer with a bitter aftertaste, is still popular in Maine. An annual festival devoted to it takes place every summer in Lisbon Falls.

In addition to English, Indiana counts American Sign Language as an official state language. In 1995, Indiana recognized American Sign Language (ASL) as “a standard, independent language with its own grammar, syntax, vocabulary, and cultural heritage.” ASL is widely used throughout the U.S. and Canada among the deaf community. After English and Spanish, ASL is the most commonly used language in the United States.

Towering over the historic Route 66, the Golden Driller is a 76-foot-tall, 22-ton statue of an oil worker. The statue stands outside the Tulsa Expo Center, marking the city’s former status as “Oil Capital of the World,” and an inscription at the bottom pays tribute to the workers in the petroleum industry. Since 1979, the Golden Driller has been the official state monument of Oklahoma.

In 1991, Connecticut became the first and only state to appoint an official troubadour. Whereas many states have a poet laureate, only Connecticut has named someone whose role is to be an ambassador of music. To be eligible for the post, one must be a singer-songwriter who lives in the state. The state troubadour is appointed for a three-year term, and as of 2023, the current troubadour is folk musician Kala Farnham.

As strange as it sounds, a growing number of states have named an official microbe. In states such as Illinois and New Jersey, it is in recognition of medical breakthroughs, while some (such as Hawaii) recognize a microbe found only in that state. Other states have chosen a microbe that represents a key industry in the state. Wisconsin has a specific bacterium used in cheesemaking. In 2013, Oregon chose brewer’s yeast to honor its international reputation in craft brewing.

Did you know that approximately 75% of the world’s designer denims come from California? Denim may have been created in France, but it became a worldwide fashion staple after San Francisco entrepreneur Levi Strauss and his partner Jacob Davis patented the use of copper rivets to reinforce denim work pants. Levi’s remains one of the world’s biggest denim companies today. In 2016, the Golden State named denim its official fabric.

The bolo tie is a staple of Western fashion: The necktie consists of a cord or piece of braided leather that is fed through a sliding clasp, which tightens around the neck and is finished with decorative metal tips. Arizona named the ubiquitous Western piece its official neckwear in 1971, and New Mexico and Texas named the bolo tie their official state tie in 2007.

Perhaps America’s most iconic sports car, the Chevrolet Corvette, was first introduced in 1953. Although the Corvette was originally built in Flint, Michigan, the General Motors plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky, is the only place the sports car has been manufactured since 1981. The National Corvette Museum opened nearby in 1994, and in 2010, the state legislature adopted the Corvette as the official sports car of Kentucky.

Nebraska declared Kool-Aid the state’s official soft drink in 1998. Invented in 1927 by Edwin and Kitty Perkins of Hastings, Nebraska, the artificial fruity powder quickly became a sensation. To this day, Hastings holds an annual August festival known as Kool-Aid Days. Nebraska has also recognized an official state beverage, milk, in a nod to the state’s dairy farmers.

Albuquerque is known as “the Hot Air Ballooning Capital of the World." Each October since 1977, the New Mexico city has hosted the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, when hundreds of colorful balloons take to the skies as part of the world’s largest balloon festival. To honor this tradition, New Mexico named the hot air balloon its official state aircraft in 2005.

Every state except Maryland and New Jersey has declared an official state song. Some, such as Tennessee, have multiple songs. But only Ohio has an official rock song. The 1965 song "Hang on Sloopy" was granted the honor in 1985. The song was written and performed by the McCoys, who hailed both from the Buckeye State and neighboring Indiana.