CURSE OF THE STATE QUARTERS

It's amazing, sometimes, what kind of superstitious people we are. Yet sometimes there exist coincidences that may very well be too distinct, too widespread to be dismissed merely as such. Case in point: dozens of such coincidences, sparked by the release, beginning in 1999, of quarters commemmorating all 50 states. Consider this - within a few years from the release of several state quarters, strange calamities have occurred affecting the object/theme appearing on the quarter.

Alabama: Released in 2003. Only a month after this quarter was released, bearing the likeness of Helen Keller, a revival of "The Miracle Worker", a play about Keller's life, was cancelled before it opened.

California: What can I say? Since its quarter was released in 2005, featuring John Muir and Yosemite, Northern California has been deluged with its absolute worst weather in years, causing catastrophic mudslides, closing highways, and blanketing the Yosemite National Park with over 2 feet of snow in a weekend.

Florida: Florida's state quarter was released in 2004. While the Columbia met disaster in 2003, it relaunched only briefly in 2005 after which a series of mishaps forced it to be grounded again. Also, in 2004, no fewer than 4 hurricanes struck the state.

Georgia: Georgia's state fruit, the peach, was featured on the 1999 quarter. In 2002, Georgia's famed peaches produced much smaller than normal fruit.

Illinois: The Land of Lincoln honored none other than Honest Abe in 2003. Unfortunately, the state had its own version of the Civil War over his presidential library that same year.

Indiana: The 2002 quarter features an Indy racecar ready to burst out of its confined space... well, that year, the Brickyard 400 outshone the Indy 500 with a 6.2 rating compared to 5.8.

Iowa: Iowa prides itself in its school system in its 2004 state quarter. Lo and behold, in 2004, two men sued a former principal at Iowa City Regina High school for sexual abuse.