Missouri Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! === Nicknames=== There is no official state nickname.<ref name="Slogan" /> However, Missouri's unofficial nickname is the "Show Me State", which appears on its [[Vehicle registration plates of Missouri|license plates]]. This phrase has several origins. One is popularly ascribed to a speech by Congressman [[Willard Vandiver]] in 1899, who declared that "I come from a state that raises corn and cotton, [[cocklebur]]s and Democrats, and frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I'm from Missouri, and you have got to show me." This is in keeping with the saying "I'm from Missouri", which means "I'm skeptical of the matter and not easily convinced."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thefreedictionary.com/skepticism|title=skepticism|via=The Free Dictionary|access-date=April 19, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140709042936/http://www.thefreedictionary.com/skepticism|archive-date=July 9, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> However, according to researchers, the phrase "show me" was already in use before the 1890s.<ref>{{Citation | title = Barry Popik | contribution = I'm from Missouri—Show Me | url = http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/summary3 | access-date = August 14, 2006 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061028071822/http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/summary3/ | archive-date = October 28, 2006 | url-status = dead }}</ref> Another one states that it is a reference to Missouri miners who were taken to [[Leadville, Colorado]] to replace striking workers. Since the new miners were unfamiliar with the mining methods, they required frequent instruction.<ref name="Slogan">{{cite web | url = http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/history/slogan.asp | location = MO | website = State Archives Missouri History | type = FAQ | title = Origin of "Show-Me" Slogan | publisher = Secretary of State | access-date = February 20, 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100317041335/http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/history/slogan.asp | archive-date = March 17, 2010 | url-status = live }}</ref> Other nicknames for Missouri include "The Lead State", "The Bullion State", "The Ozark State", "The Mother of the West", "The Iron Mountain State", and "Pennsylvania of the West".<ref>{{Citation | title = Introduction to Missouri | publisher = Netstate | url = http://www.netstate.com/states/intro/mo_intro.htm | access-date = October 18, 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160416074045/http://www.netstate.com/states/intro/mo_intro.htm | archive-date = April 16, 2016 | url-status = live }}</ref> It is also known as the "Cave State"<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Unklesbay|first1=Athel Glyde|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DQ84G83167oC&dq=crevice+cave+missouri&pg=PA58|title=Missouri Geology: Three Billion Years of Volcanoes, Seas, Sediments, and Erosion|last2=Vineyard|first2=Jerry D.|date=1992|publisher=University of Missouri Press|isbn=978-0-8262-0836-1|language=en|access-date=November 15, 2021|archive-date=May 10, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220510011014/https://books.google.com/books?id=DQ84G83167oC&dq=crevice+cave+missouri&pg=PA58|url-status=live}}</ref>{{Rp|53}} because there are more than 7,300 recorded caves in the state (second to [[Tennessee]]). [[Perry County, Missouri|Perry County]] is the county with the largest number of caves and the single longest cave.<ref name="MSS">{{cite web|url=http://www.mospeleo.org/docs/pr6000.htm |title=Fact Sheet on 6000 Caves |first=Scott |last=House |publisher=The Missouri Speleological Survey |date=May 14, 2005 |access-date=March 16, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509132048/http://www.mospeleo.org/docs/pr6000.htm |archive-date=May 9, 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dnr.mo.gov/geology/wrc/caves.htm|title=Missouri Department of Natural Resources|website=Dnr.mo.gov|access-date=April 17, 2021|archive-date=November 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109115432/https://dnr.mo.gov/geology/wrc/caves.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> The official state motto is {{lang-la|"Salus Populi Suprema Lex Esto"}}, which means "Let the welfare of the people be the supreme law."<ref>{{Citation | title = The Great Seal of Missouri | publisher = Secretary of State | place = MO | url = http://www.sos.mo.gov/symbols/symbols.asp?symbol=seal | access-date = March 27, 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090130130149/http://sos.mo.gov/symbols/symbols.asp?symbol=seal | archive-date = January 30, 2009 | url-status = live }}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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