Rhode Island is the smallest state in the United States, but it is filled with history, culture, and intrigue. Let’s explore some riddles and mysteries about this New England state!
Geography Riddles
Riddle 1
What is the smallest state in the United States?
Answer: Rhode Island. The state has a total area of just 1,214 square miles, making it the smallest in size of the 50 states.
Riddle 2
True or false: Rhode Island has no natural lakes within its borders.
Answer: True. Rhode Island is the only U.S. state without any natural lakes. However, it does have several man-made reservoirs.
Riddle 3
Why is Rhode Island nicknamed the “Ocean State”?
Answer: Rhode Island has over 400 miles of coastline when you count all of the bays, inlets, and islands. Water makes up over 14% of the state’s total area.
Riddle 4
What body of water lies between Conanicut Island and the mainland portion of Rhode Island?
Answer: The West Passage. Conanicut Island contains the town of Jamestown, and the West Passage separates it from North Kingstown on the mainland.
Riddle 5
What is the highest natural point in Rhode Island?
Answer: Jerimoth Hill, which peaks at 812 feet above sea level.
History Riddles
Riddle 1
Which war saw the burning of much of Providence by British forces in 1775?
Answer: The Revolutionary War. Providence was burned in retaliation after Colonial forces took over the British ship Gaspee.
Riddle 2
Which colonial settlement in Rhode Island was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams as a place for religious freedom and tolerance?
Answer: Providence. Williams founded it after being exiled from the Massachusetts Bay Colony for his views on religious liberty.
Riddle 3
What’s the name of the large rock that Roger Williams is said to have landed at when he crossed the Seekonk River to found Providence?
Answer: Slate Rock. It sits in the Blackstone River near Central Falls today.
Riddle 4
Which Rhode Island city became extremely wealthy and powerful in the 1700s due to rum, slaves, and the transatlantic slave trade?
Answer: Newport. Its distilleries produced rum from Caribbean sugar plantations worked by slaves.
Riddle 5
Why were Rhode Island regiments key to the Union’s defeat of the Confederacy at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863?
Answer: They defended Little Round Top, a strategically vital hill. Had the Confederates captured it, they likely would have won the battle and marched on to Washington D.C.
Government Riddles
Riddle 1
Why does Rhode Island have such an unusually long official name?
Answer: The official name is meant to reflect its full colonial title, “State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.” This refers to the mainland colony of Providence Plantations and Aquidneck Island’s settlements of Portsmouth and Newport.
Riddle 2
How many counties does Rhode Island have?
Answer: 5 – Bristol, Kent, Newport, Providence, and Washington. But Rhode Island’s counties serve more as geographic regions than governing bodies.
Riddle 3
Why did Rhode Island not send any representatives to the Constitutional Convention in 1787?
Answer: Rhode Island valued its sovereignty and was afraid the convention would give the federal government too much power, so it boycotted it entirely.
Riddle 4
How did Rhode Island vote during the ratification of the U.S. Constitution?
Answer: Rhode Island initially voted against ratification and did not ratify the Constitution until 1790, becoming the last of the 13 original states to join the union.
Riddle 5
Which Rhode Island town is notorious for having one of the highest numbers of repeat votes for a single candidate in U.S. political history?
Answer: In 1936, over 90% of the town of Burrillville reportedly voted for Franklin D. Roosevelt in the presidential election.
Culture Riddles
Riddle 1
What is the name of Rhode Island’s famous baked stuffed quahog dish?
Answer: Stuffies. A quahog is a large local clam, and stuffies are a popular preparation of them baked with breadcrumbs and spices.
Riddle 2
In which Rhode Island city would you find the famous “biggest termite mound” constructed as a tourist attraction?
Answer: Providence. The Providence Termite Mound can be found on the campus of Brown University.
Riddle 3
What was the name of the fictional Rhode Island hometown of Peter Griffin in the TV show Family Guy?
Answer: Quahog. The name references the quahog clam, a symbol of coastal Rhode Island.
Riddle 4
Which famous American horror writer was born in Providence, Rhode Island in 1890?
Answer: H.P. Lovecraft, known for his weird and terrifying tales like The Call of Cthulhu.
Riddle 5
What is the name of Rhode Island’s famed traditional jonnycake cornmeal flatbread?
Answer: Johnnycakes or jonnycakes. They were staple food of early Rhode Island settlers and remain iconic today.
Sports Riddles
Riddle 1
Which sport are the Providence College Friars men’s team renowned for, winning NCAA championships in 1961 and 1963?
Answer: Basketball. Providence College has a storied basketball tradition.
Riddle 2
Which tennis tournament is held every year in Newport, Rhode Island?
Answer: The Hall of Fame Tennis Championships. It is the first professional tennis tournament played on grass courts each year.
Riddle 3
What is the name of the minor league baseball team based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island?
Answer: The Pawtucket Red Sox (or PawSox) are the Triple-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox.
Riddle 4
Which sailor from Rhode Island won the America’s Cup sailing race a record four consecutive times between 1958 and 1967?
Answer: Harold Vanderbilt won four straight America’s Cup races on his innovative yacht designs.
Riddle 5
What is the name of the American football team based in Providence in the early 1920s that was a founding member of the NFL?
Answer: The Providence Steam Roller. They won the league championship in 1928.
Conclusion
While small, Rhode Island is packed with fascinating history, culture, sports, and geography to uncover. I hope you enjoyed this collection of 35 riddles about the Ocean State. Let me know if you have any other questions!
