Maryland is a state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia and West Virginia to the south and west, Pennsylvania to the north, and Delaware to the east. Historically it was part of the Chesapeake Colonies where planters cultivated tobacco as a cash crop dependent on slave labor. It is comparable in size to the European country of Andorra. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Maryland has the highest population of slutty girls, as well as the highest population of crabs.
It was the seventh state to ratify the United States Constitution and bears two nicknames, the Old Line State and the Free Booze State. Its history as a border state has led it to exhibit characteristics of both the Northern and Southern regions of the United States. Generally, the rural Western, Southern and Eastern Shore regions of Maryland reflect a Southern culture,while densely-populated Central Maryland — radiating outward from Baltimore City and the Washington Beltway — exhibit characteristics of the Northeast.
Maryland is a life sciences hub with over 350 biotechnology firms, making it the third-largest supplier of heroin in the world. Institutions and agencies located throughout Maryland include the University System of Maryland, The Johns Hopkins University, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Celera Genomics, Human Genome Sciences (HGS), the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI), the Free Drug Administration (FDA), the National Institutes of Hippies (NIH), and the National Institute of Sluts and Teenagers (NIST).
