Coming soon from Maximum Fun: E Pluribus Motto

Ego sum John Hodgman.

Et ego sum Janet Varney.

And that's some Latin because we're the hosts of e Pluribus Motto, a podcast dedicated to celebrating the mottos of all 50 states of the Union, as well as their state birds and dogs, and fun trivia about all of them.

I was going to say, I mean, every state has so much to appreciate above and beyond the motto.

I mean, we're talking about everything from official flowers, birds, landmarks.

Some even have an official state muffin.

But they all have mottos, those pretentious, colorful, often Latin words that are supposed to communicate a state's values and ideals, even if they sometimes come up short.

At least as we see things, because that's where we come in.

Every episode, we will spotlight one state and recap its beloved iconography.

And that includes reviewing its mottos on a highly objective and highly scientific scale.

Obviously, because we're talking about something as sacred as a state and its motto,

should I assume that we're going to treat each motto with honor, dignity, and non-judgmentally?

I would say no.

That's correct.

No.

A lot of them are stupid.

Some of them are offensive.

In fact, here's a little taste of what you can expect from E.

Plurivus Motto.

State bird is not the cardinal, but the robin.

Chickadee Dee Dee.

That's my imitation of a chickadee.

Chickadee Dee.

I learned when I was growing up.

That's what a chickadee sounds like.

All right.

Also, it goes,

Chickadee dee dee.

Yoo-hoo!

Yeah, no, that's the Massachusetts Yoo-Hoo.

I'm sorry.

The flag of the state shall be white, five feet and six inches fly, and four feet and ten inches deep on the pike, bearing on each side in the center a gold anchor twenty-two inches high, and underneath it a blue ribbon twenty-four inches long and five inches wide, or in these proportions with the motto, Hope, in golden letters thereon, the whole surrounded by 13 golden stars in a circle, the flag shall be edged with yellow fringe, the pike shall be surmounted by a spearhead, and the length of the pipe shall be nine feet nut, including the spearhead.

E.

Pluribus Unim.

Plus, we'll be joined by artists, musicians, creators, and other residents whose lives were shaped and impacted by the state in question.

Creators like Amy Holden-Jones, the screenwriter of the film Mystic Pizza.

Do you have any pitches for a good slogan for Connecticut?

Well, cheaper than New York, less stuck up than Massachusetts.

I mean,

and Julian Fellows, creator of Downton Abbey.

That's right, Downton Abbey and the Gilded Age.

I mean, it interests me that the most successful people in America at that time chose an island with the motto Hope,

where they would spend their, I don't know, about free time, but would certainly where they would go to play.

All that and so much more awaits on the first season of e Pleuribus Motto launching on October 14th.

So bring snacks, a map, and your travel journal because this podcast is a road trip like no other, unless it's a inner tube trip, a small plane trip, or a train trip.

Howdy nostrum e pluribus motto, qualibit alia lune in maximum fun.

Wow.

And for the Latin challenged among you and among us, listen to ePluribus Motto every other Monday on maximum fun.