Review: State quarters - Ohio

Where to begin.

OK, the Wright brothers. As already mentioned, North Carolina did a pretty good job with its quarter design because it focused on one element only: a depiction of the Wright brothers performing the first powered airplane flight in history. So, looking at Ohio's quarter, I have to ask: Why is the Wright Flyer also on this design?

The answer is, of course, BIRTHPLACE OF AVIATION PIONEERS!!!

How's that for a slogan? Lame, that's what. OK, OK, Ohio, you have Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, which -- according the oracle of the internet, Wikipedia -- is "one of the largest, most diverse, and organizationally complex bases in the Air Force with a long history of flight test spanning from the Wright Brothers into the Space Age." That goes a long way toward explaining why the Wright Flyer is there and why the astronaut is also there. Wright brothers to the Space Age. I get it.

But if that's the case then WHY IS THERE NO FREAKIN' ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE ON YOUR STUPID QUARTER??!! Geez, I had to spend a decent amount of time looking this up to try to figure out what your design even means. I had to dig to find out Wright-Patterson AFB is in Ohio, and then I had to look that up to see if there is some kind of history that's being depicted here, and dammit I'm working too hard for such a simple concept as a state quarter!

Make it easier for your audience, the rest of the whole blessed United States! Replace "Birthplace of Aviation Pioneers" [retch] with "Wright-Patterson Air Force Base" and then the images would at least be slightly less cryptic.

And the state outline, normally a decent element, doesn't even redeem the design. It's a simple line overlaid by the other components, and it makes it look like the poor astronaut has had some horrific accident and now his intestines are spilling out into the emptiness of space.

Geez.

Way to go, Ohio. You have a cool flag. You should have put that on your quarter instead.


Overall rating - 1 - Bad

Louisiana to follow