Wisconsin 's Badger State comes from miners who dug caves to survive winters . They weren't rich, but they had a lot of land and the money was there for them to dig out their own cave. State drinks : Nebraska -- Kool-Aid , Indiana -- water . The story goes that a clean , trim , flashy bunch of new Confederate recruits one day passed by a weary , bedraggled , dusty pod of veterans , and their fresh uniforms , grey tinged with brilliant yellow , reminded some jokester vet of the woodpecker , so he let out a mocking call : `` Yallerhammer , yallerhammer , flicker , flicker ! '' Mississippi state toy : the teddy bear ; Massachusetts state bean : navy bean .
Wisconsin 's Badger State comes from miners who dug caves to survive winters . They weren't rich, but they had a lot of land and the money was there for them to dig out their own cave. State drinks : Nebraska -- Kool-Aid , Indiana -- water . Mississippi state toy : the teddy bear ; Massachusetts state bean : navy bean .