if there's any state whose people possess a sweet collective nickname, it's the citizens of maine. oh you maniacs! ok. technically people from maine are "mainers," but that nickname's lamer than keyser soze so i ignore it. maine officially came into existence back in 1820, when it seceded from massachusetts & became its own state, one that's almost as big as all the other five new england states put together. it's 90% covered in trees, a fact that makes it the most heavily-forested state in the nation & leads to the state nickname, the "pine tree state." other than its bounty of trees & the fact that like much of northern new england, its population is extremely white (96.1%), what really makes maine special?