National Public Radio announced today that the state of Wisconsin, in addition to a state flower, a state bird, etc.; now has a state microbe!  Given Wisconsin’s prowess as a premiere cheese making state, it should be no great surprize that lactococcus lactis was chosen as the official state microbe.  And that got me to thinking - since I was originally born in Wisconsin, it may have been that which pushed me into cheese making in the first place.