Maine is the Nanny State

Having merely the second-highest state/local tax burden in 2007 was obviously frustrating to Maine's government, so they're shooting for number one in 2008:

Gov. John Baldacci said Wednesday that he was proud to sign a new law that will use taxes on beer, wine and soda to provide a stable source of funding for Dirigo Health, the program that includes affordable health coverage for some Mainers.

I occasionally "get down" to Maine, although I'll try to remember to bring my own beverages. The "maine" (heh) difference I notice between there and New Hampshire is the signage. It can get irritating.

On the way in, they'll inform you you're arriving from the way life should not be.

The way life
should be[Source]

They can even do this if you try to sneak in:

The way life
should be[Source]

But most people come in on the highway. Mainers desperately hope that the rest of America will come to see the superiority of the metric system, like the Europeans:

Oh.
3.2 km. [Source]

I've seen this one on the south end of the Maine Turnpike. Yes, yes, invasive marine plant species are a serious problem. So are people stopping on the turnpike to check their boats for milfoil.

milfoil [Source]

Exclamation points are a good indicator of when information/advice slips over into nanny-state nagging.

You can get nagged off the highway too.

stretch! [Source]

Starting with the left buttock is unacceptable and will result in a steep fine.

And, speaking of motorist buttocks, they've noticed that some of them are getting unacceptably large.

snack wisely [Source]

("There's more room at the bottom of the sign." "OK, well, just put 'Snack Wisely' again, in case they missed it up top.")

They're really serious about the unwise snacking:

barrel
picking [Source]

They're more polite—at least they say please—about their ducks' unwise snacking.

duck feeding [Source]

Unfortunately, they couldn't fit "It causes ducks to poop more, which in turn increases levels of swimmer-biting trematode parasites in the water, causing increased likelihood of swimmer's itch" onto the sign.

The sign below might say "You didn't really want to swim here, did you?"

Some of the signs are OK. You really can't be reminded too often that running into a moose is a bad idea. For Maine, this is a little subtle:

moose [Source]

But what one can do, one can overdo:

moose [Source]