History UsefulNotes / RhodeIsland

Rhode Island, one of UsefulNotes/TheThirteenAmericanColonies, is a state in New England in the UsefulNotes/UnitedStates. It is most famous for being the smallest state by area, at only 1,214 square miles -- just over half the size of second smallest state Delaware (1,982 square miles) -- however, with just a hair under 1.1 million residents (as of the 2020 Census), it ranks 44th out of 50 in population and is also the second most densely populated (after UsefulNotes/NewJersey)[[note]]It's about fifteen times larger than UsefulNotes/WashingtonDC, however, which many think will become a state in the near future[[/note]]. Its small size makes it a convenient measuring tool for area comparisons in the US -- "the wildfires burned an area three times the size of Rhode Island!" [[NonIndicativeName Despite the name]], most of the state's territory and population are in fact on the mainland, which formed the "Providence Plantations" part of the original colony.

Rhode Island's geography is dominated by Narragansett Bay in the middle of the state. The southern portion is mostly comprised of a chain of islands inside the bay. The largest of these is Rhode Island, which is home to Newport and is the namesake of the state. It's better known by locals as Aquidneck Island, its original Native American name, in order to distinguish it from the state. While the state is only 37 miles wide and 48 miles long, its shoreline is 384 miles in length, hence its nickname of "the Ocean State."

* Music/{{Belly}}

A useful and especially beloved depiction of Rhode Island culture are the cartoons of Don Bousquet that were published in the ''Providence Journal'' from 1980 to 2014. Bousquet's single panel cartoons were something of a local version of ''ComicStrip/TheFarSide'' and simultaneously lampooned and codified daily life and language in Rhode Island, including the distinct Rhode Island accent (i.e. how Rhode Islanders compact the entire sentence "Did you eat yet?" to simply "Jeet?"), traffic and road conditions on the state's highways, the wistfulness of older Newporters and Jamestowners of life before the construction of the Newport Bridge, and especially residents' persistant refusal to use their turn signals (or "blinkers" in local parlance). Bousquet and local journalist Mark Patinkin published the humorous ''Rhode Island Dictionary'' in 1993 that explores many of these concepts and accent quirks.

A useful and especially beloved depiction of Rhode Island culture are the cartoons of Don Bousquet that were published in the ''Providence Journal'' from 1980 to 2014. Bousquet's one-panel cartoons were something of a local version of ''ComicStrip/TheFarSide'' and simultaneously lampooned and codified daily life and language in Rhode Island, including the distinct Rhode Island accent (i.e. how Rhode Islanders compact the entire sentence "Did you eat yet?" to simply "Jeet?"), traffic and road conditions on the state's highways, the wistfulness of older Newporters and Jamestowners of life before the construction of the Newport Bridge, and especially residents' persistant refusal to use their turn signals (or "blinkers" in local parlance). Bousquet and local journalist Mark Patinkin published the humorous ''Rhode Island Dictionary'' in 1993 that explores many of these concepts and accent quirks.

A useful and especially beloved depiction of Rhode Island culture are the cartoons of Don Bousquet that were published in the ''Providence Journal'' from 1980 to 2014. Bousquet's comic strips were something of a local version of ''ComicStrip/TheFarSide'' and simultaneously lampooned and codified daily life and language in Rhode Island, including the distinct Rhode Island accent (i.e. how Rhode Islanders compact the entire sentence "Did you eat yet?" to simply "Jeet?"), traffic and road conditions on the state's highways, the wistfulness of older Newporters and Jamestowners of life before the construction of the Newport Bridge, and especially residents' persistant refusal to use their turn signals (or "blinkers" in local parlance). Bousquet and local journalist Mark Patinkin published the humorous ''Rhode Island Dictionary'' in 1993 that explores many of these concepts and accent quirks.

* ''Series/TheXFiles'': Sometimes. Fox Mulder's family had a summer home in Westerly, and in the episode "[[Recap/TheXFilesS04E23Demons Demons]]" he suffers memory loss in Providence.

Rhode Island, one of UsefulNotes/TheThirteenAmericanColonies, is a state in New England in the UsefulNotes/UnitedStates. It is most famous for being the smallest state by area, at only 1,214 square miles -- just over half the size of second smallest state Delaware (1,982 square miles) -- however, with just a hair under 1.1 million residents (as of the 2020 Census), it ranks 44th out of 50 in population and is also the second most densely populated (after UsefulNotes/NewJersey)[[note]]It's about fifteen times larger than UsefulNotes/WashingtonDC, however, which many think will become a state in the near future[[/note]]. Its small size makes it a convenient measuring tool for area comparisons in the US -- "the wildfires burned an area three times the size of Rhode Island!" [[NonIndicativeName Despite the name]], most of the state's territory and population are in fact on the mainland, and the origin of the name "Rhode Island" is a matter of some dispute.

* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'': Inspired in part by Creator/SethMacFarlane’s time at RISD, it takes place in the fictional city of Quahog.

* ''Series/TheXFiles'': Sometimes. Fox Mulder’s family had a summer home in Westerly, and in the episode "[[Recap/TheXFilesS04E23Demons Demons]]" he suffers memory loss in Providence.

* ''Literature/TheWitchesOfEastwick'': Fictional town in the title is meant to be in the Newport area.

* ''Film/DumbAndDumber''

In the 1990s, Providence's "Fort Thunder" art and music scene was nationally famous for spawning several well-known Main/NoiseRock bands, the most famous of which are Black Dice and Music/LightningBolt. It's also the home of the Newport Folk (famous for being the site of Music/BobDylan [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_Dylan_controversy 'going electric']] in 1965) and Main/{{Jazz}} Festivals in Newport every summer.

Like much of New England, it has a strong maritime tradition, and seafood like clams and lobster features prominently in local cuisine. Culturally, it's most famous as the home of the aforementioned Brown University, which is regarded as selective and prestigious even among the already-selective-and-prestigious Ivy League universities. In politics, it's one of the most resolute strongholds of the Democratic Party, having voted for Democratic candidates in every presidential election since 1988, and by a margin of at least 20 points since 1992. Rhode Island is "bluer" (i.e. more pro-Democratic party) even than the rest of solidly blue New England; many other New England states like UsefulNotes/{{Vermont}}, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire have strong local Republican parties, even as they favor the Democrats in national politics, and often vote for Republican governors. Rhode Island hasn't had a Republican governor in a decade.

* Creator/OtisYoung

Like much of New England, it has a strong maritime tradition, and seafood like clams and lobster features prominently in local cuisine. Culturally, it's most famous as the home of the aforementioned Brown University, which is regarded as selective and prestigious even among the already-selective-and-prestigious Ivy League universities. In politics, it's one of the most resolute strongholds of the Democratic Party, having voted for Democratic candidates in every presidential election since 1988, and by a margin of at least 20 points since 1992. Rhode Island is "bluer" (i.e. more pro-Democratic party) even than the rest of solidly blue New England; many other New England states like Vermont, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire have strong local Republican parties, even as they favor the Democrats in national politics, and often vote for Republican governors. Rhode Island hasn't had a Republican governor in a decade.

* ''Film/GhostsOfGirlfriendsPast'': Set in Newport, but mostly filmed elsewhere apart from B-roll.

Founded in 1630 by Roger Williams, a religious exile from Puritan Massachusetts, on land purchased from the Narragansett ruler Canonicus, the colony was a haven in New England for those dissatisfied with Puritan orthodoxy, or who had simply run afoul of its strict rules. Its original (and, until 2020, official) name was "Rhode Island and Providence Plantations" ([[HaveAGayOldTime "plantations"]] meaning "colonies" or "settlements" in the parlance of the day). Newport and Providence, its largest cities, became prosperous population centers in the largely-rural British America, and in 1764, Brown University, still a highly prestigious Ivy League university to this day, was founded in Providence. On May 4, 1776, three months before the American Declaration of Independence was published, Rhode Island was the first colony to [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution declare independence from the British Empire]], and the state was home to several prominent figures of the Revolutionary Period, most notably Stephen Hopkins.