The Ocean State vs. the state in the ocean: Rammed by Rhode Island?

March 26, 2002 - With news of a giant piece of ice falling from Antarctica and floating aimlessly through the oceans, we have heard the term "the size of Rhode Island" floating around whenever this block of ice is mentioned.In the March 20, 2002 edition of the Washington Post, it was stated "An Antarctic ice shelf the size of Rhode Island recently shattered and collapsed into the sea after an unusual warming period, stunning some scientists who said they had never seen such a large loss of ice mass in the remote Antarctic Peninsula."

The staggering size of this 1,260 square mile, 650-foot thick ice monolith could make even the most die-hard Del's Lemonade fan cringe from fears of brain freeze.

Now, we at the Cigar, wonder - how is it possible that Rhode Island managed to be associated with this frozen tundra block?

The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations may have the longest name of any state, but its diminutive stature has resulted in its use in comparison to this monstrous block of ice.

"With an area of 1,212 square miles (3,139 square kilometers), it is the smallest state in the Union and is only about 48 miles (77 kilometers) long and 37 miles (60 kilometers) wide," according to www.britannica.com.

Despite the comparisons in size, the Cigar believes that we have to show the similarities and differences of the ice shelf and the Ocean State beyond just their size.

Fact: Rhode Island is much taller than the ice shelf.

According to reports by the Washington Post, the iceberg is 650 feet thick, while Rhode Island boasts a lot more width than that. Li'l Rhody starts off at zero sea level and tops off at a whopping 812 feet. If you were wondering where this top spot is, look no further than Jerimoth Hill in Foster.

Fact: The ice shelf has a lot more shoreline than Rhode Island.

With 384 miles of shoreline, Rhode Island ranks 20th among states in the Union in this category. However, the ice shelf has become many icebergs, which are completely surrounded by water, making the coastline around these mutants from the ice cube tray significantly larger. However, Rhode Island has some attractive sandy beaches unlike the frigid floaters.

Fact: Rhode Island has a significantly larger population than the iceberg.

With 1,048,319 people situated within the Ocean State, Rhode Islanders can proudly say they can rough up the nonexistent population of the icebergs. However, penguins have been known to be in the area of the iceberg and we've been told not to mess with an Emperor or Adelie penguin when they get pissed off.

Fact: Del's Lemonade is made of ice and Del's Lemonade was first made in Rhode Island.

Oh, it's true. With just a few short months until summer, many mouths are beginning to water at the thought of the tasty lemon treat cooling down the palette during a scorching summer day. Del's Lemonade is a Rhode Island original and is the one thing made of ice that deserves to be mentioned in the same sentence as Lil' Rhody.

It's definitely unfair to compare a giant piece of ice to the 13th state of the Union, especially since Rhode Island boasts such a rich and colorful history, unlike the piece of ice that has just sat there and has done nothing but melt for such a long time.

Besides, no one is afraid that pieces of Rhode Island are going to float free and ram into them like the pieces of the ice shelf.