U.S. States Bonus Post: State Welcome Signs

Another travel-related topic that deserves a closer lok.

When I was putting together yesterday’s post about what does and doesn’t count for having “been in” a U.S. state, I knew I wanted to use a photo of a state-border welcome sign as the image at the top of that article. Flickr has a good collection of such photos (including a bunch posted by a guy who specializes in photographing himself alongside state welcome signs), so I looked there and found the photo that I ended up using for the header image for that post.

As I looked through the various Flickr photos, I noticed something I hadn’t thought about before. I instinctively thought these signs all said, “Welcome to [State Name],” like the Pennsylvania example shown above. But it turns out that a lot of states use a different phrase — “[State Name] Welcomes You”:

(Photo by Flickr users Barry & Stef)

I don’t like this phrase as much. It feels a bit awkward and strained — like, do we say, “Home welcomes you”? No, we say “Welcome home”!

Then there’s Nebraska, which dispenses with the word “Welcome” altogether:

(Photo by Flickr user oldskulphoto)

A few other things I learned while looking at those Flickr pics and then doing a bit of follow-up research:

• While most states use conventional metal signs for their welcome message, Wisconsin has something more elaborate (additional info here):

(Photo by Flickr user Zol87)

• One of Wisconsin’s neighboring states, Minnesota, also goes above and beyond (additional info here):

(Photo by Flickr user Lorie Shaull)

• And then there’s Hawaii, which is an archipelago. Since there’s no way to drive across the Hawaiian state line, the highways don’t have welcome signs. But the airports do:

If anyone has any other fun observations to share regarding state welcome signs, feel free to post them in the comments.

Meanwhile, I’ll leave you with this thought: You know how state welcome signs often include little tag lines, like “Welcome to Maine: The Way Life Should Be,” or the very alliterative “Welcome to West Virginia: Wild and Wonderful”? Rhode Island’s original 1663 royal charter referred to the colony’s groundbreaking policy of religious tolerance as a “lively experiment,” a completely endearing phrase that is still part of Rhode Island culture today. I’ve long believed that their signs should say, “Welcome to Rhode Island: The Lively Experiment” — wouldn’t that sound great? Sadly, the state’s authorities appear to disagree. Maybe one day.

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Important Bump Update!

Remember last week’s deep dive on speed bumps, humps, and lumps? We have a very entertaining new development on that topic, courtesy of my girlfriend, E, who was driving in her Brooklyn neighborhood yesterday and abruptly hit the brakes when she came upon this amazing sight:

(Photo by E)

I haven’t yet seen this marvel in person, but I plan to take a closer look the next time I’m over at E’s place. It looks like the upper part of the original “Bump” lettering was obscured by an asphalt patch after a street repair, and then some enterprising soul (maybe an Inconspicuous Consumption reader?) got a bit creative with the relettering job. Too bad they didn’t modify the yellow sign to match.

If you’re a pop music scholar, you may know that there was a 1961 novelty hit called “Who Put the Bomp (in the Bomp, Bomp, Bomp).” We may need a new version called “Who Put the Bomp (in Place of the Bump).”

Paul Lukas has been obsessing over the inconspicuous for most of his life, and has been writing about those obsessions for more than 30 years. You can contact him here.