> > I bought a bag of Chee-tos today to eat with my lunch, and the vending machine gave me a shiny new New Hampshire quarter! It's got the Old Man of the Mountain on the back and the New Hampshire motto: "Live Free or Die" on it. Also has the date 1788 on it, which I presume is the date NH became a state.
> >
> > We all know who lives in New Hampshire, don't we? I'm waiting to hear Sam's appraisal of the new coin.
>
> New Hampshire's state motto is the coolest motto of any state, any country, any anything in the world.

Yes, it is. It really is.

We're not a big enough country to have states here, but these are our national symbols:

National symbol: silver fern. A little curved fern leaf, although I've met foreigners who think it's a feather. Hrmmph.
National sporting colour: black.
National bird: the kiwi. I think we could have done better than the kiwi. If only some of the *really* cool ones weren't extinct. The NZ giant eagle, for example, was about the size of a condor and would have kicked the BUTT of the American national bird. However, our prehistoric five-foot-tall giant penguin would have been awesome. It would have been the silliest possible national symbol any country could wish for. This leads to my suggestion for a national motto: "New Zealand: Small But Weird".
If I was seriously suggesting a new national bird, though, I think the kea would be a good one. Kiwis don't have any discernable personality and they're a national symbol which doesn't even *symbolise* anything in terms of qualities or characteristics. Keas, on the other hand, have more attitude than a truckload of comedians. They're unique to this country, they're distinct even among their own type (the only alpine parrot in the world - they live above the snowline), they're attractive to look at, and they have a naughty-boy appeal to them which makes you think how cool they are even as they disappear over the horizon with your belongings. They are the Gentleman Highwaymen of the mountains.

Brunnen-"OK, so it's a *bad* personality ... at least they *have* a personality"G