'THE' Ohio State University thinks they can trademark the word 'THE'

"The" Ohio State University, as you've probably heard annoying football fans proclaim, is trying to trademark the word "the."

The move isn't shocking, to say the least, considering Ohio State is in Ohio and Ohio is known for terrible, absurd ideas and for having a lack of lakes. (Bow Wow is also from Ohio)

See more: 13 reasons why the state of Michigan is better than Ohio

Application No. 88571984, filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Thursday, was discovered and publicized Tuesday by Josh Gerben, a prominent trademark lawyer in Washington. The application seeks a trademark on the single word "THE" for use on T-shirts and baseball caps and hats.

The Ohio school has demanded in recent years that we call them "THE Ohio State University," but anyone outside of Columbus uses it to make fun of the school, of course. Nonetheless, Ohio is going to Ohio.

Gerben predicted on Tuesday that Ohio State was "likely to receive an initial refusal of the application."

Related: Michigan moves up 'Best State Rankings,' increasing lead over Ohio

"In this case, just putting the word 'the' on the front of a hat or on the front of a shirt is not sufficient trademark use," he said.