The WV State Flower

Last Thursday was WV Day. To celebrate, I sent out a quiz to help readers determine if they could pass as a Mountaineer. The results were interesting!

The first question was whether or not you’ve ever used an outhouse. I was amazed that almost EVERYONE who took the survey had done so–92%. Only one person vowed that they never would. Guess it wasn’t as big a deal as I thought when we got married at a church with no indoor plumbing.

Next, I asked readers to identify the state flower of WV. This was a little bit of a trick. The choices included Magnolia–wrong! Mountain Laurel–wrong, but doesn’t it sound right?? and Rhododendron–the correct answer with 35% of folks getting it right. Sixty percent chose Mountain Laurel. This was the second most missed question.

Third, I asked if WV is The Mountain State, Hillbilly Nation, or Coal Country. Two thirds know it’s The Mountain State with just one smart aleck choosing Hillbilly Nation.

Okay. The what does “watch out for deer” really mean question was also tricky. If you’d read my post about this, you’d know it’s code for “I love you” (just 14% chose that answer). But I gave out a point for “be careful” as well which tied for the obvious answer of “watch out for deer” at 43%.

Question 5 also surprised me with 72% of quiz takers enjoying wild game. Only 10% would turn up their noses. Question 6 went along with this seeing nearly 60% of respondents enjoying hunting and fishing. Another 5.5% would be willing to give it a go!

And then there’s the pepperoni roll question. Clearly, I have failed to educate my readers. The majority–43%–said it’s bread with pepperoni and cheese inside. No, no, no. That’s an abomination–neither pepperoni roll nor pizza roll (although undeniably tasty!). A true pepperoni roll is simple a yeast roll with pepperoni inside. In MY opinion, it should be stick pepperoni, but I will allow that sliced pepperoni is acceptable. An astonishing 23% of quiz takers had never HEARD of a pepperoni roll. Oh. The humanity!

The average score was 7 out of 17 points which falls into the “You’ll Do” category. Only about 10% fell solidly into the “Honorary Mountaineer” category. But then, no one ever said it’s easy being from the Mountain State.

Now you’uns watch out for deer on your way home.