Rhode Island (ⁱ/ˌroʊd ˈaɪlɨnd/ or /rɵˈdaɪlɨnd/), officially the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, is a state in the New England region of the United States. Rhode Island is the smallest in area, the 8th least populous, but the 2nd most densely populated of the 50 United States. Rhode Island is bordered by Connecticut to the west and Massachusetts to the north and east, and it shares a water boundary with New York's Long Island to the southwest.

Rhode Island was the first of the 13 original colonies to declare independence from British rule, declaring itself independent on May 4, 1776, two months before any other state in the whole U.S. and the convention. The state was also the last to ratify the United States Constitution.

Rhode Island's official nickname is "The Ocean State", a reference to the state's geography, since Rhode Island has several large bays and inlets that amount to about 14% of its total area. Its land area is 1,045 square miles (2706 km²), but its total area is significantly larger.

William "Bill" Burr (born June 10, 1968) is an American stand-up comedian, radio host and actor.

Burr was born in Canton, Massachusetts. His father was a dentist, and Bill worked as a hygienist for a short time. He began stand-up at age 23 after attending Emerson College, where he majored in Radio. Burr also had a early morning slot on college radio during this period. In 1995, he moved to New York City and lived there for eight months. Burr then moved to Los Angeles, California, where he worked on a number of film and television projects. He returned to New York in 1999 and moved back to Los Angeles in 2008, where he currently resides. Burr stands 5'10" in height, is left handed, and is of German and Irish descent.

He performs over three hundred shows annually, had two movies released in 2006, and has performed on The Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, and The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. In early 2004, he appeared in two episodes of Chappelle's Show, and in September 2005, his HBO One Night Stand special aired. Along with many other projects, Burr has also been a guest comedian on the Bob and Tom Show as well as on the Opie and Anthony Show on XM Satellite Radio, sometimes sitting in when third member Jim Norton is away. He has also performed on the Comedy Central Presents show.