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New England has a certain personality and culture about it, but each state contributes
to that in a certain way. And Connecticut certainly is no exception to that.
Now, I think Connecticut has contributed over the years historically that kind of shrewd
reputation, hard bargain type of thing, and the reason for that was that it was the Connecticut
people who were the peddlers, back in the 19th century. They went around with horse
and buggy, peddling things like defective clocks, cigars that wouldn't draw, wooden
nutmeg - you've heard of that, right?
They don't like to be called the Nutmeg State anymore; I don't know why. But at any rate,
they would go through New England, New York, Pennsylvania, as far as Illinois, even, peddling
these things. And it became known, the Connecticut people became known: "You might as well hold
a greased eel as a live Connecticut Yankee."
Well, the old Connecticut stories were typical of that. Fellow plowing his horse in Connecticut
and the horse falls dead. He goes down to his neighbor farmer's and says, "You know,
I've always liked your horse. You want to trade horses?" The farmer says "Sure!" and
so they shake on it.
And then he says, "Okay, your horse is right over the ridge there, he just dropped dead
about a half an hour ago." And the other fellow says "Fine. and the skin of your horse is
hanging up in the back barn." That's a typical Connecticut story. But there's a more positive
side to all of that.
Since 1790, believe it or not, there have been more patents on inventions taken out
by Connecticut people than any other state in the union or any other country of the world.
I've been saying this for years and years and years and nobody's disputed it, so I'm
assuming it's true. Incredible!
I mean, Connecticut has invented everything. Just In New Haven alone, they invented the
submarine, and the Frisbee, and the lollipop, and the game of football; you go on for dozens.
That's just New Haven!
So there's a wonderful contribution there to America, and of course to our New England
culture. It's credited with winning World War II in some ways. Can you ever guess why
that is? It's called Yankee ingenuity. Credit Connecticut. That's who gave us Yankee ingenuity,
Connecticut.