# Rhode Island **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 14, 2017, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rhode-island/798822 "2017-10-14T14:36:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Aufgeblassen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aufgeblassen/32/7321_2.png) [@Aufgeblassen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aufgeblassen)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2017, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rhode-island/798822/1 "2017-10-14T14:36:51Z")
I heard that Rhode Island was named after an island off the Rhode Island coast called “Rhode Island”. That’s weird. Tried to find it on Google maps, but could not. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2017, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rhode-island/798822/2 "2017-10-14T14:40:47Z")
[Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhode_Island)has a pretty good explanation of the name. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2017, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rhode-island/798822/3 "2017-10-14T14:42:12Z")
[Aquidneck Island](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquidneck_Island) > [@](#): > > Aquidneck Island, officially Rhode Island, is an island in Narragansett Bay and in the U.S. state of Rhode Island and the Providence Plantations, which is partially named after the island. The total land area is 97.9 km2 (37.8 sq mi), which makes it the largest island in the bay. The 2000 United States Census reported its population as 60,870. > > Aquidneck Island is home to three towns, from north to south geographically: Portsmouth, Middletown, and Newport. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2017, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rhode-island/798822/4 "2017-10-14T15:08:50Z")
The facts are well known everywhere but here in Rhode Island. Rhode Islanders are blissfully unaware that Aquidneck Island is actually Rhode Island, that there is no town of Chariho, that there is no South County. Just the way we do things here. ---
**Author:** ![Aufgeblassen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aufgeblassen/32/7321_2.png) [@Aufgeblassen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aufgeblassen)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2017, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rhode-island/798822/5 "2017-10-14T15:34:50Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > The facts are well known everywhere but here in Rhode Island. Rhode Islanders are blissfully unaware that Aquidneck Island is actually Rhode Island, that there is no town of Chariho, that there is no South County. Just the way we do things here. That’s OK. You probably don’t know about Zephyrhills, FL either. There are no zephyrs nor hills there! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2017, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rhode-island/798822/6 "2017-10-14T15:50:34Z")
> [@Aufgeblassen](#): > > That’s OK. You probably don’t know about Zephyrhills, FL either. There are no zephyrs nor hills there! 😃 Well sure, we couldn’t name many places in a huge state like Florida. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2017, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rhode-island/798822/7 "2017-10-14T15:58:47Z")
Florida is like that. We lived in Orange Park (dunno if they grow oranges there any longer) and our daughter went to Ridgeview high school, which had neither a ridge nor a view. Face it - developers pick names based on romance and illusion, not necessarily reality. Just down the road from us is an area named Loveville - nary a bawdy house to be found!!! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Vorlon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@The\_Vorlon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Vorlon)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2017, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rhode-island/798822/8 "2017-10-14T17:11:35Z")
The state’s official name is Rhode Island and the Providence Plantations. Going between the two involves a toll bridge, a trip through Massachusetts, or extremely careful trip planning. Please note the state is too small for people to correctly learn how to drive, they ARE out to kill you. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2017, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rhode-island/798822/9 "2017-10-14T18:32:03Z")
> [@The\_Vorlon](#): > > The state’s official name is Rhode Island and the Providence Plantations. > > Going between the two involves a toll bridge, a trip through Massachusetts, or extremely careful trip planning. > > Please note the state is too small for people to correctly learn how to drive, they ARE out to kill you. Yeah, but the Narraganset Bay makes it seem larger than it is, since getting from point A to point B might involve going around the bay. Still, less than half the size of Yellowstone National Park, to put things in perspective. ---
**Author:** ![KCB615](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ea666f/32.png) [@KCB615](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KCB615)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2017, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rhode-island/798822/10 "2017-10-15T22:28:53Z")
I live in Massachusetts, but work in Rhode Island. My house is 9.4 miles from work as the crow flies. Because of Narragansett Bay, road distance is 22 miles and it takes over a half hour to complete the trip (provided there isn’t any traffic in and around Providence). I live 6 miles from the capital of another state (but 50 miles from the capital of my own state). Tiverton and Little Compton really should be in Massachusetts, and Seekonk should be in Rhode Island. It’s just the natural way of things, geographically speaking. History and tradition get in the way of common sense and logic. Really, it’s just plan weird, but you get used to it. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2017, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rhode-island/798822/11 "2017-10-15T22:45:59Z")
> [@KCB615](#): > > Tiverton and Little Compton really should be in Massachusetts, and Seekonk should be in Rhode Island. It’s just the natural way of things, geographically speaking. History and tradition get in the way of common sense and logic. > > Really, it’s just plan weird, but you get used to it. The DMV and tax offices have recurring problems with people living in Seekonk who think they do live in RI. In addition, the border of Pawtucket and Cumberland have been changed over the years leaving some confusion over where a person resides. There are border issues with CT has been changed also, but largely in uninhabited land. You might think there isn’t much uninhabited land here in RI but actually around 2/3 of the people live in about 1/3 of the state (perhaps the percentages have changed as more people develop properties in the northwest portion of the state). It’s been said numerous times that RI should be part of MA or CT, but those states don’t want us. Also, Block Island really looks like it should be part of NY, but then again Liberty and Staten Islands really should be part of NJ. ---
**Author:** ![Skara\_Brae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Skara\_Brae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skara_Brae)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rhode-island/798822/12 "2017-10-16T01:35:36Z")
I grew up on Aquidneck Island, and the story I always heard was that Aquidneck Island was christened “Rhode Island” because it reminded Verrazano of the island of Rhodes is Greece. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rhode-island/798822/13 "2017-10-16T03:16:00Z")
I have a pal who lives in RI, and he says the main problem is that the state is so small, you keep running into your exes all the time. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rhode-island/798822/14 "2017-10-16T15:21:00Z")
> [@jaycat](#): > > I have a pal who lives in RI, and he says the main problem is that the state is so small, you keep running into your exes all the time. There’s only one degree of separation here. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rhode-island/798822/15 "2017-10-16T17:16:44Z")
My ancestor (6th-great grandfather), Tobias Saunders, may have had something to do with the mess that is RI. He emigrated there from England in 1643, moving to RI from MA in about 1655, “. . .having tired of the Puritans.” He purchased a tract of land called Misquamicut from the Naragansett chief Sosoa. The land eventually became Westerly, Charlestown, Richmond and Hopkinton, and was even then disputed by MA and CT. In fact, Tobias was sent to a MA prison for a year after declaring allegiance to RI. After being bailed out by Roger Williams (founder of RI), he was later arrested by CT. Good times. ---
**Author:** ![Lurking\_Quahog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lurking_quahog/32/21274_2.png) [@Lurking\_Quahog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lurking_Quahog)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rhode-island/798822/16 "2017-10-16T20:24:25Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > The facts are well known everywhere but here in Rhode Island. Rhode Islanders are blissfully unaware that Aquidneck Island is actually Rhode Island, that there is no town of Chariho, that there is no South County. Just the way we do things here. Hey, not all of us! I have a friend who lives in Richmond. He goes bananas whenever someone refers to Washington County as South County. But I don’t think they’re going to renamed South County Hospital to Washington County Hospital. This place is whack! ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rhode-island/798822/17 "2017-10-16T23:29:06Z")
I lived in Rhode Island for several years while I was in the U.S. Navy (stationed in Newport). When I got out of the Navy, I _briefly_ looked for work in the state. What a weird, insular place. I’ve lived all over the country, but never found a place as parochial as Rhode Island. What matters is who you know, and if you are perceived to be an outsider (i.e. not a native), they don’t seem to want to have anything to do with you. They are nice to tourists, in my experience, so long as they promptly leave after spending their money. Another odd thing is that none of them seem to want to leave the state. I knew a girl who married a guy in the Navy who was transferred to South Carolina right after they got married. She lasted a month before leaving him to go back home. This shouldn’t be too surprising, because in her entire life (she’s now in her 40s), she’s only been out of the state a handful of times. To her, the thought of driving an hour to our house in Connecticut is as unthinkable (and as likely) as driving to the Moon. ---
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2017, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rhode-island/798822/18 "2017-10-17T18:52:27Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > The facts are well known everywhere but here in Rhode Island. Rhode Islanders are blissfully unaware that Aquidneck Island is actually Rhode Island, that there is no town of Chariho, that there is no South County. Just the way we do things here. What! No South County? I went to school in RI, and always thought the southern part of the state was South County. I am so confused… ---
**Author:** ![Whiskey\_Dickens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9fc348/32.png) [@Whiskey\_Dickens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whiskey_Dickens)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2017, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rhode-island/798822/19 "2017-10-18T12:46:42Z")
> [@robby](#): > > I lived in Rhode Island for several years while I was in the U.S. Navy (stationed in Newport). When I got out of the Navy, I _briefly_ looked for work in the state. What a weird, insular place. I’ve lived all over the country, but never found a place as parochial as Rhode Island. What matters is who you know, and if you are perceived to be an outsider (i.e. not a native), they don’t seem to want to have anything to do with you. > > They are nice to tourists, in my experience, so long as they promptly leave after spending their money. > > Another odd thing is that none of them seem to want to leave the state. I knew a girl who married a guy in the Navy who was transferred to South Carolina right after they got married. She lasted a month before leaving him to go back home. This shouldn’t be too surprising, because in her entire life (she’s now in her 40s), she’s only been out of the state a handful of times. To her, the thought of driving an hour to our house in Connecticut is as unthinkable (and as likely) as driving to the Moon. My experiences mirror this exactly. My mom moved to Rhode Island from Alberta in the early 90’s and I followed in Feb. 2001. At school, my nickname was “Canada.” Literally just the name of the country I was from. We were kind of the neighbourhood mascot, everyone was interested in our business and always curious. Didn’t help that my mom is eccentric to put it nicely. I remember the first day of University, they had us in a group and were handing out prizes. One of them was for “student from the furthest away.” They had no clue where I was talking about, but gave me the prize anyways. I was always prepared to tell strangers exactly where I was from, down to the main street I lived off of, because that is hugely important to other Rhode Islanders. @robby Remember how oncoming traffic would completely stop to let you turn left, or exit a parking lot? Incredibly courteous but very different from anywhere else in New England. ---
**Author:** ![Skara\_Brae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Skara\_Brae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skara_Brae)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2017, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rhode-island/798822/20 "2017-10-18T12:58:59Z")
> [@robby](#): > > Another odd thing is that none of them seem to want to leave the state. I knew a girl who married a guy in the Navy who was transferred to South Carolina right after they got married. She lasted a month before leaving him to go back home. This shouldn’t be too surprising, because in her entire life (she’s now in her 40s), she’s only been out of the state a handful of times. To her, the thought of driving an hour to our house in Connecticut is as unthinkable (and as likely) as driving to the Moon. “Island-itis” is how is currently referred to here.😛 Now, I say this as a Rhode Islander who married a Navy guy and have happily lived in lots of other places, we don’t like to go far if we don’t have to. As my grandfather would say, “Why would we go there? We have everything we need here.” Also, as a note to out of town family visiting: It is a HUGE pain to drive to up to the Boston Airport. Really. We have a perfectly good airport in Providence. Do not commit us to a 4 hour round trip to pick you up because you want to save $50 on your flight! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rhode-island/798822.md?page=2)