Quote Originally Posted by spongebue View Post
Fun fact: the full name of Rhode Island is actually "State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations" - there was a referendum in a recent election to change it to "State of Rhode Island" but it failed.

R.I. voters reject bid to amend state’s official name - The Boston Globe
Ok, is this anything like The Commonwealth of Virginia and Pennsylvania? Speaking of Little Rhode Island, here is a rare newspaper article of 1816 of a shark attack there. Quite interesting.

1816 Shark Attack in Rhode Island... - RareNewspapers.com