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The Big Blue Bug, an iconic Rhode Island land-
mark that overlooks I-95, has a name: It’s Nibbles
Woodaway and he’s been sitting on top of Big
Blue Bug Solutions’ Providence location since
1980. Around the holidays, Nibbles sports a pair
of antlers and a light-up red nose. In the summer,
he has been spotted rocking a pair of shades and
sipping a giant cup of Del’s Lemonade.
Cumberlandite is the official state rock of Rhode
Island. It was originally known as “rhodose,” but
when folks began to search for the rock, they
soon realized it was seldom found outside of the
town of Cumberland. Hence the name change.
Bred in Little Compton, the Rhode Island Red
is America’s best-known breed of chicken, as
well as Rhody’s very own state bird. Rhode
Island Red hens can lay between 200 and 300
brown eggs per year.
Designed by sculptor George Brewster, the
Independent Man statue, standing eleven feet
tall and 278 feet above ground, has stood atop
the State House since 1899 and has been struck
by lightning (at least) twenty-seven times.
A Rhode Island native and former University
of Rhode Island student loved the number
twenty-two so much he legally changed his
name to Love 22. Mr. 22 has since run for
governor of Rhode Island several times (though
he’s never won), and he is the current longest-
standing write-in presidential candidate in the
U.S. His political platform always consists of
twenty-two planks.
The annual Narragansett Tribe meeting is the
oldest powwow in the country, going on more than
330 years. The powwow acts as both a formal
gathering and a party for the tribe members, where
everything from a cleansing of the circle and prayer
to traditional songs and dances are observed.
The famous ‘Obey’ stickers, which sparked a
national phenomenon and became a subculture
Have a lot of downtime? Get to know
the Ocean State a little better.
gem, originated in the city of Providence. They
were created by former Rhode Island School of
Design student Frank Shepard Fairey in 1989.
Rhode Island sure loves its doughnuts… more
than any other state, in fact. According to a re-
cent study, the Providence-Warwick area has
more doughnut shops per capita than any-
where else in the country.
Prior to performing at T.D. Garden in 1972 to a
crowd of 15,000 fans, Mick Jagger and Keith
Richards of the Rolling Stones spent some time
in a Warwick Police Station holding cell after the
two scuffled with a Providence Journal photog-
rapher at T.F. Green Airport in Warwick.
however, withstood both fires and even remained
intact despite a slew of monster hurricanes.
Today, the towers host a number of local events,
including weddings.
Mercy Brown, an Exeter teenager, died in 1892
of tuberculosis. When her little brother’s
tuberculosis symptoms worsened after her
death, the community naturally guessed it was
because Mercy had become a vampire. So, her
father and others unearthed her body and
removed and burned her heart in an effort to
save her brother and to terminate the ‘undead’
girl. The macabre ritual failed and the younger
Brown died within months.
While Rhode Island is the smallest of all the
U.S. states in size, its official name is the lon-
gest: The State of Rhode Island and Provi-
dence Plantations. Did you know that Rhode Island is home to the
second and fourth oldest libraries in the country?
Well, now you do. The Redwood Library in New-
port was founded in 1747, while the Providence
Athenaeum was founded in 1753.
Although Connecticut might be between Rhode
Island and New York when it comes to land, Little
Rhody and the Empire State actually share a
water border: The Block Island Sound and Long
Island Sound are adjacent to each other. Host to the country’s longest running Fourth of
July celebration, one could argue that Bristol is
the most patriotic town in the country. The
Bristol Fourth of July parade has gone on, rain
or shine, every year since 1785.
Thirty-three innings… that’s how long base-
ball’s longest game lasted, and it was played in
Rhode Island’s very own McCoy Stadium. The
historic game between the Pawtucket Red Sox
and the Rochester Red Wings started on April
18, 1981, and was finally stopped at 4:07 a.m.
on April 19 after thirty-two innings. Rochester
returned to McCoy two months later to finish
the game: It took eighteen minutes and one
inning for the PawSox to claim victory. RHODY RICH AND FAMOUS
The Towers were the place to be for wealthy
tourists during the late nineteenth century as
they were originally an extension of the popular
Pier Casino in Narragansett. Unfortunately, the
casino portion didn’t last: The original was lost
in a fire in 1900 and its replacement burnt to the
ground in 1965. The stone walls of the towers,
MUSIC
Born in Westerly, country crooner Billy Gilman
signed on with Epic Records in 2000 when he
was just twelve years old. He became the youngest
person ever to reach number one on the Billboard
Top Country Albums chart, and more recently he
was a fan favorite on season twelve of NBC’s “The
Voice,” placing second overall.
Providence-born Erika Van Pelt sang her way
into the top ten finalists during “American Idol”
season eleven. As a teenager, she and her class-
mates from South Kingstown High School
earned first place at the Rhode Island All State
Jazz Choir, the Rhode Island All-State Chorus,
the All New England Chorus and the All-Eastern
Chorus competitions.
YOUR ULTIMATE SUMMER GUIDE 2020 73