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State Symbols

The official state symbols represent the cultural heritage and natural treasures of each state or the entire United States

Illinois Symbols

Illinois Symbols

American Folk Dance, Amphibian, Animal, Bird, Fish, Flag, Flower, Fossil, Insect, Language, Mineral, Motto, Nicknames, Prairie Grass, Reptile, Seal, Slogan, Snack food, Soil, Song, Theatre, Tree

Illinois State Snackfood

Popcorn

Adopted on January 1, 2004.

On February 8, 2003, Senators Lawrence M. Walsh, 43rd District, Louis S. Viverito, 11th District, Mattie Hunter, 3rd District, and Representative Jack McGuire, 86th District, sponsored Senate Bill 0185 that would designate Popcorn as the Official State Snackfood of Illinois. This bill was passed and approved by the Governor on August 4, 2003 to be effective on January 1, 2004.

A variety of corn, Zea mays everta, having hard kernels that burst to form white, irregularly shaped puffs when heated.

Archaeologists have found 80,000-year-old corn pollen below Mexico City. Because this pollen is almost exactly the same as modern popcorn pollen, researchers believe that "cave people" most likely had popcorn.

Popcorn probably grew first in Mexico, though it was also used in China and India hundreds of years before Columbus reached the Americas.

The oldest popcorn ever found was discovered in the "Bat Cave" of central New Mexico. It is thought to be about 5,600 years old. In tombs in Peru, archaeologists found ancient kernels of popcorn that are so well preserved that they can still pop.

State Symbols

State symbols represent things that are special to a particular state.

symbol \ˈsim-bəl\
noun

Etymology:
in sense 1, from Late Latin symbolum, from Late Greek symbolon, from Greek, token, sign; in other senses from Latin symbolum token, sign, symbol, from Greek symbolon, literally, token of identity verified by comparing its other half, from symballein to throw together, compare, from syn- + ballein to throw — more at devil
Date: 15th century

1: Something that represents something else by association, resemblance, or convention, especially a material object used to represent something invisible.