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Every single state in the US has its very own motto. I mean, New York's state motto is “Excelsior,” and “Eureka!” speaks of California. But what if we try calling the states by their very real names? After all, these do indeed sound a little outdated.

So when someone on r/AskReddit posted a question “If the US States had honest slogans, what would some of them be?” the level of hilarity reached up to the max, and we have some of the most painfully accurate suggestions down below.

We do suspect these will not be approved by the governors any time soon, but hey, we all secretly know that the “You can't afford to live here” motto for California would fit way better. No empty promises, no understatement, simply facts.

The motto “In God we trust” is known to virtually every American, but do you know what’s the motto for the state of Florida? (This question is for Pandas living in different states.)

In fact, every single US state has its very own motto, a unifying pledge for its people which represents the nation’s common good. Interestingly, 24 of these mottos are in English, 20 in Latin, and the rest are in French, Spanish, Italian, Greek, Hawaiian, and Chinook.

Mottos encapsulate the essence of every state and speak of religion, equality, history, patriotism, and other American values.

#4

Honest-State-Mottoes-Slogans

Monolith1011 , David King Report

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WilvanderHeijden
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If they would allow they same speeds as on the German autobahn it would attract a lot of tourists.

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#5

Honest-State-Mottoes-Slogans

TimtheBigDaddy , Claire à Taiwan Report

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MrTree1779
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I lived in Arizona for 8 years. This is a perfectly accurate description of the heat.

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But some states have more peculiar mottos than others. For example, Washington's state motto is "Alki" or "Al-ki" in the American indigenous language Chinook. It translates as "bye and bye," but can be interpreted to mean "Into the future."

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According to Forbes, this peculiar motto can be traced back to JK Duncan of Governor Stevens’ state surveying expedition that designed its territorial seal in the 1850s.

“It refers to the forward-thinking nature of the west coast settlers who named their settlement New York when they built it at Alki Point.”

#7

Honest-State-Mottoes-Slogans

twitchy_taco , pixabay Report

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Brandy Grote
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Although millions do... We have the largest county in the US, but it is also one of the poorest.

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#8

Honest-State-Mottoes-Slogans

nt96 Report

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#9

Honest-State-Mottoes-Slogans

Swinnyjr , maxpixel Report

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Tee
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well at least I tried 🤷🏽‍♀️ I come back tomorrow

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Other interesting mottos include: "Live free or die" for New Hampshire, "To be rather than to seem" for North Carolina, and "Mountaineers are always free" for West Virginia.

One unique example is Alaska, which adopted the motto "North to the future," which speaks of Alaska as a land of promise since 1967’s Alaska Purchase Centennial.

#12

Honest-State-Mottoes-Slogans

nothingweasel , maxpixel Report

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Mama Panda
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes there is a tree but you can't see it because all of the dogs are lined up!

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#13

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NotAVerifiableFact , wikimedia Report

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MrTree1779
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Better: "There's way more to us than NYC. But you'll probably never get the urge to find out."

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#17

Honest-State-Mottoes-Slogans

disincongruous , needpix Report

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Mewton’s Third Paw
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3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Nah, I was thinking of Maine. Maine isn’t a state you confuse with another state. That’d be like Wyoming or Montana or something. Maine stands out.

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#21

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yentlequible , pixabay Report

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Lizzie Robbins
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Im 15 and one of the only black people here because me and my twin sister were adopted by white people. When I see a black person i do a double take 😂

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#25

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coolsguy17 Report

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K
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

96% of Yellowstone National Park is in Wyoming. The Fountain Paint Pot - also in Wyoming.

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#27

Honest-State-Mottoes-Slogans

aelbric , goodfreephotos Report

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Tee
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If this ain't the truth. I'm from Michigan and our roads are just terrible 😑

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#29

Honest-State-Mottoes-Slogans

751uw6 , wikimedia Report

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MrTree1779
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Better: "We have more cows than people. And if you don't like football and beer, just leave."

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#30

Honest-State-Mottoes-Slogans

mcondo1 , Ken Lund Report

Note: this post originally had 51 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.

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