Memorial Day
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Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday that is observed on the last Monday of May (most recently observed May 29, 2006). It was formerly known as Decoration Day. This holiday commemorates U.S. men and women who have died in military service to their country. It began first to honor Union soldiers who died during the American Civil War. After World War I, it expanded to include those who died in any war or military action. One of the longest standing traditions is the running of the Indianapolis 500, which has been held in conjunction with Memorial Day since 1911.

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The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations (commonly known as Rhode Island) is the smallest state in size in the United States, and the state with the longest official name. Rhode (pronounced "Road") Island is part of the New England region, and was the first of the thirteen original American colonies to declare independence from British rule, signaling the start of the American Revolution. The state's common name, Rhode Island, actually refers to the largest island in Narragansett Bay, also known as Aquidneck Island, on which the city of Newport is located. Aquidneck Island is also locally referred to as Newport - though it in fact has three distinct townships on it. The origin of the name is unclear. Some historians think that Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano, upon discovering Block Island, just southwest in the Atlantic Ocean, named it Rhode Island because of its similarity in shape to the Greek island of Rhodes. Later settlers, mistaking which island Verrazzano was referring to, gave the name to Aquidneck Island instead. Other historians believe that the name is derived from Roodt Eylandt, old Dutch for "red island," given to the island by Dutch explorer Adriaen Block due to the red clay on the island's shore. Despite most of the state being part of the mainland, the name Rhode Island leads some out-of-staters to believe—mistakenly—that the entire state is an island. Rhode Island is nicknamed "The Ocean State". Economy Rhode Island is known as the "birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution". It was in Pawtucket, Rhode Island that Samuel Slater set up his first mill in 1790, using the waterpower of the Blackstone River to power his mill. For a while, Rhode Island was one of the leaders in textiles. However, with the Great Depression, most textile factories relocated to the American South. Textiles still constitute a part of the Rhode Island economy, but does not have the same power that it once had. An interesting by-product of the textile industry is the amount of abandoned factories - many of them now are used for low-income or elderly housing or have been converted into offices. In Pawtucket, these abandoned mills are used as housing for artists. Rhode Island's 2000 total gross state product was $33 billion, placing it 45th in the nation. Its 2000 per capita Personal Income was $29,685, 16th in the nation. Health services is Rhode Islands largest industry. Second is tourism, supporting 39,000 jobs, with tourism related sales at $3.26 billion in the year 2000. The third largest industry is manufacturing. Its industrial outputs are fashion jewelry, fabricated metal products, electric equipment, machinery, shipbuilding and boatbuilding. Rhode Island's agricultural outputs are nursery stock, vegetables, dairy products, and eggs. State Symbols * State motto: Hope * State bird: Rhode Island Red (A breed of chicken) * State flower: Violet * State tree: Red Maple * State fish: Striped Bass * State fruit: Rhode Island greening (Apple) * State nicknames: The Ocean State, Little Rhody, The Littlest State * State rock: Cumberlandite * State mineral: Bowenite (a variety of serpentine) * State shellfish: Quahog * State drink: Coffee Milk Source: Wikipedia.org - English