Skip to content

Random Connections

A collection of photography and exploration focusing on Upstate South Carolina and beyond.

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Photos
  • Resources
  • Other Voices
  • Post Archives
  • Home
  • Local
  • South Carolina – The Iodine State

South Carolina – The Iodine State

Posted on May 8, 2007January 10, 2016 By Tom 2 Comments on South Carolina – The Iodine State
Local

Image 1-10-16 at 8.03 AM

At dinner tonight Bill Pennington told us of his latest acquisition – a 1933 South Carolina license plate he found on eBay. What made this interesting to him was the phrase "S.C.-The Iodine State."

Bill is a chemistry professor at Clemson who works with iodine compounds, so the subject is of inherent interest. His wife, Wendy, has worked to help develop the South Carolina National Heritage and Discovery Corridor, the interest in history is there.

From 1930 – 1933 something with the word "iodine" appeared on the license plate. It was one of the earliest examples of a motto being placed on a plate, and was a part of a marketing strategy by the agricultural commission. It seems that South Carolina’s vegitation is rich in iodine. The idea was to market the state’s vegetables to states in the mid-west because of this addition. Unfortunately, the Morton Company in Michigan started adding iodine to their salt, effectively killing South Carolina’s plans.

In addition to the license plates, there are other remnants of this campaign. WIS-TV in Columbia took the letters to stand for "Wonderful Iodine State" when it was first getting started as a radio station.

The things you learn when you dine with chemists.

Image 1-10-16 at 8.04 AM

[tags]iodine[/tags]

Post navigation

❮ Previous Post: Charlie’s Steak House
Next Post: One Coffee to Go ❯

2 thoughts on “South Carolina – The Iodine State”

  1. Duck Hunter says:
    May 8, 2007 at 8:37 pm

    thanks for the history lesson. It’s my favorite subject.

    Reply
  2. Dave Culbreath says:
    January 9, 2016 at 4:50 pm

    VERY interesting, thank you!!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Categories

  • EdTech (200)
  • Entertainment (201)
  • Family (120)
  • Gear (115)
  • General Technology (99)
  • Geocaching and Maps (208)
  • History and Genealogy (260)
  • Internet (144)
  • Local (449)
  • Miscellaneous (544)
  • Music (194)
  • Paddling (245)
  • Photography (779)
  • Podcast (6)
  • Rambling (226)
  • Rants (160)
  • Recipes (34)
  • Religion (48)
  • Restaurants (165)
  • Science (48)
  • Things Overheard (29)
  • Travel (410)
  • Uncategorized (129)
  • Washington Sabbatical (113)
  • Weirdness (60)

Recent Posts

  • Wilkinsville and a Mystery Church
  • A Farewell to the Greenville Chorale
  • Edisto River from Good Hope to Sullivan’s Landing
  • Paddling Lake Monticello
  • The Remnants of the City

Recent Comments

  • Darrell Erskine on Mysterious Mayucha and The Wolf Pit
  • Hutch on Exploring Southern Fairfield County – Part 1, Old Lebanon Church
  • Nancy on About Us
  • Steve Rushton on Mysterious Mayucha and The Wolf Pit
  • Tom on Finding Irish Music in South Carolina

Tags

blogging cemetery Christmas Columbia Edisto River edtech Entertainment family Flickr Florida Furman Furman University gear Georgia geotagging Ghost Town Ghost Towns Google Earth Google Maps GPS Greenville Greenville Chorale history Instructional Technology kayaking Lake Jocassee LCU Lowcountry Unfiltered maps Music North Carolina Paddling Photography rambling restaurant Restaurants review singing social networking South Carolina time-lapse Travel video Washington Washington State
July 2022
S M T W T F S
 12
3456789
10111213141516
17181920212223
24252627282930
31  
« May    

Copyright © 2022 Random Connections.

Theme: Oceanly by ScriptsTown