Rhode Island Keeps Its State Name

There's an irony in the fact that the smallest state happens to have the longest name.

Rhode Island is formally called "The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations." The name appears in the colony's 1663 Royal Charter and is on the state seal and many official documents.  This name came from the merger of Roger Williams' "Providence Plantations" settlement with some nearby towns.

On Tuesday, Rhode Island voters voted to keep the full name, rather than to dock it to mere "Rhode Island."

Not bad for a state with a chicken named for it.