Things you never knew about other states

I find it funny how different parts of America can be so different. Recently I found myself feeling dumb for not knowing things that other people seem to know about our country.

When I went to PA a few weeks ago ( mind you I have been to PA many times ) I was looking out the car window and i said to my boyfriend "the nerve of people, 3 cars in a row with no front plates" He told me that PA residents only need a back plate, I never knew that.

Then Sunday, while watching the hurricane Katrina news people were ranting on about "my parish this" and "my parish that". So I say to my mom and my boyfriend. "Why are the people all so religious?? They don't even have houses, but they are concerned about their church" And my mom was like "I don't know, that is odd" and my boyfriend laughed at both of us and told us that a parish and a county are the same thing. I never heard that term used like that before.


anyone else ever visit another part of the country and finding something shocking to you??

What I actually just realized that in my own state there are regionalisms...

In North New Jersey: people say Sub for a big sandwich
In South New Jersey: people say hoagie

In NNJ: people say italian ice
in SNJ: people say water ice

In NNJ: people say soft serve ice cream
in SNJ: people say custard

In NNJ: people say taylor ham
In SNJ: people say pork roll

when i moved to south jersey a few years ago, it was so bad that the first time i saw water ice and pork roll on a menu i actually didnt know what it was and had to ask my dad.

Haha yeah I am from NY and NNJ myself. When I came out to Missouri to go to school not one single person knew what a sub sandwich was, or what a hero is for that matter.

One of the biggest oddities out here has to be the use of the word "onnery" though. I've had to stop a few conversations because I had no clue what the person talking had just said. Apparently, it means to act up or get fussy.

One of the biggest oddities out here has to be the use of the word "onnery" though. I've had to stop a few conversations because I had no clue what the person talking had just said. Apparently, it means to act up or get fussy.


omg i wouldn't know that either lol. i would feel so dumb, i didn't even know that was a word.

Having grown up in California, when I moved to a colder climate and started seeing vehicles from colder climate, I wondered "Why do they have those little plugs dangling from behind the front car bumper?" LOL :D

Having grown up in California, when I moved to a colder climate and started seeing vehicles from colder climate, I wondered "Why do they have those little plugs dangling from behind the front car bumper?" LOL :D

Well why do they?

Being from California myself...

What are plugs hanging from the front bumber....never heard or seen them before myself!


:confused:

LOL!

Those are engine-block warmers!

When you live in godawful-cold states like Minnesota or Alaska where it's 20 degrees Fahrenheit or lower, you need to keep your engine warm all night long.

That's the only way it will start in the morning.

Ahh thanks Harrison! You know, I've seen those little plug thingies too but never knew what they were for. Good Lord though, I don't know if I could live in a place that was so cold. Brrrrr!!!

LOL...I just found out about those little plugs myself....Alec has one on his truck and I had to ask him why!!!

When I moved to Florida....I lived with tons of people from all over the US...and i found out...

In Oregon...they're not allowed to pump their own gas.

Also...one of those regional speaking things...when I ask you if you would like a soft drink....being from Texas I'll say..."What kinda coke you want?"

Other states will say "pop" or "soda" in place of the word coke. *grin*

Nadine.

In NNJ: people say soft serve ice cream
in SNJ: people say custard.
Oh, no way! Soft serve and custard are two VERY different things. It's sacrilige to call soft serve "custard!" :p Come to Wisconsin and have REAL frozen custard!

"onnery" reads like someone with an accent saying "ornery" which is a real word that does mean being cranky or irritable.

We call soft drinks "soda"

Drinking fountains are "bubblers"

Wisconsinites refer to the Green Bay Packers as "We"

A "brat" is lunch, not a bad child

There is something like one bar for every 40 people in Wisconsin

I'll think of some more...

I am glad SOMEPLACE has something special called custard. B/c when i moved to south jersey, i ordered it expecting something special, and all i got was soft serve ice cream, i was really disappointed. I really wanna try your thing now :)

Nadine- We can't pump our own gas in NJ either. Whenever I have to go to PA or NY I always fill up on my side of the bridge b/c I am scared to do it myself lol.

I have heard of people down south saying COKE instead of soda...but i never understod it, b/c Coke is just a brand. does anyone know where that comes from??

Frozen custard is ambrosia...in soft lickable form. :p

In your eyes..........in Florida (or at least the part of Florida I am in) when we order a "soda" .......we just coke ........that means you'll either get coke or pepsi ....but yep, that's what we call it.

Another thing we say here that other states tend to make fun of or laugh at is "ya'll" ..........Ya'll have fun ...........but then I've heard people NOT from here say "You all" and that tends to make me laugh as well.

In your eyes..........in Florida (or at least the part of Florida I am in) when we order a "soda" .......we just coke ........that means you'll either get coke or pepsi ....but yep, that's what we call it.

Another thing we say here that other states tend to make fun of or laugh at is "ya'll" ..........Ya'll have fun ...........but then I've heard people NOT from here say "You all" and that tends to make me laugh as well.


but what if you want rootbeer? or orange soda?? is it still coke??

Frozen custard is ambrosia...in soft lickable form. :p
where in NJ r u from?? u look familiar

ha ha .........nope, and don't ask the logic behind it, because there isn't any.

If you want coke / pepsi .......we just ALWAYS say "coke" ........if it's anything other than those 2 ......you have to call it by name !! Strange I know .....but we'd never say soda !!!

Let's see ....I met someone from boston not long ago and when they were petting my cat they actually called it the P word ...........I was shocked !! But, I had talked to some other people from around that area and that's just what they called it.

I met a guy from England (an artist) and when he first moved here he went to wal-mart to get "rubbers" ........So he was asking the lady where the "rubbers" were and she took him to the condom aisle ............he was shocked .........he wanted erasers !!!! They call them rubbers over there !!!

In NY we say "you's" or "you's all", but in MO they say ya'll quite a bit. That and "fixin' to." For some people, "you's" can be pronounced as "ya's" instead. Weird no? Haha! :rolleyes:

Allow me to demonstrate in sentences:

You's all
How you's all doin'?

You's
What are you's doin'?

Fixin' to
I was just fixin' to call you!

where in NJ r u from?? u look familiar

I used to live in Livingston which is situated right next to East Hanover. I spent my high school years there.

I have no idea where saying Coke meaning a soda in general came from...

Yes....Coke is a brand....but most people understand when I ask them what kind of coke they want. :D Its just one of those weird southern things...like sweet tea!

Nadine.

I used to live in Livingston which is situated right next to East Hanover. I spent my high school years there.

I am over there now, I go to school in Caldwell.

I grew up in Wood-Ridge though.

I realized what it is though, you look like this kid Jeff that lives in Union/Springfield, you could be his twin.

I forgot about hearing "you's" ............there are some people here that say "fixin" but it's considered bad grammer ................you know, because other words we say, like ya'll ............isn't !! ha ha

I have no idea where saying Coke meaning a soda in general came from...

Yes....Coke is a brand....but most people understand when I ask them what kind of coke they want. :D Its just one of those weird southern things...like sweet tea!

Nadine.
what's sweet tea??

i am so clueless lol

OOOOHHHH...I say fixin to all the time and Alec always gives me strange looks....that and yall...I say yall way too much.

It just easier.

If you want a different type of soda....when I ask you what kinda coke ya want...just tell me...Dr. Pepper please!


Ohhh...another thing....its hard to find Dr. Pepper when you go out to eat up here....in Texas you can find it everywhere....here...its all Mr. Pibb...which isn't half as good.

Thankfully I can buy it in the stores.

Nadine.

Sweet tea is the best! Its ice tea....but its already sweet. If its really good it'll be sweet enough to rot your teeth. YUM!!!

Nadine.

Sweet tea is the best! Its ice tea....but its already sweet. If its really good it'll be sweet enough to rot your teeth. YUM!!!

Nadine.

oooo

here we do it the opposite lol

Iced tea that comes sweet and prepared, say for instance like Nestea in a can, we just call that iced tea.

if someone wants like the old fashion, less calorie kind with no sugar we call that unsweetened iced tea

No no no no no....Sweet tea can't be compared with Nestea or anything processed like that.

Sweet tea is made fresh....with tea bags.

If you put it out in the sun while making it...its called Sun Tea.

If you go to a restaurant down here and ask for sweet tea...I can tell you for sure that you won't be getting nestea. Think a ton more sugar. *grin*

Nadine.

yep .......even though everything is "coke" down here .........you have to specify what "kind" of tea ..........if you ask for tea, you have to say sweet or unsweet.

And alot of places don't offer sweet tea, just unsweet, that you have to put your own sugar in at the table ...........since I don't drink sweet tea, I don't know, but my ex said "it just isn't the same" .........

I have friends who are Americans (from California) and here are the major differences:

- They say PAWSTA (for pasta), pronouncing the a as in AH. We say pasta, with the a as in cat.
- They say beanie instead of touque, hehe.
- They say restroom, we say washroom.
- We say pop, they say soda.

Yep. There's more, too, just can't think of anything right now.

Oh gosh it sure isn't. Sweet tea is the bomb.com. In fact....I wish I had a glass of it right now.

Nadine.

...

Iced tea that comes sweet and prepared, say for instance like Nestea in a can, we just call that iced tea.

if someone wants like the old fashion, less calorie kind with no sugar we call that unsweetened iced tea

Same thing here.

You know what else is different in different states???

Grocery stores!

In Texas we have HEB...which is only the best grocery store ever.

Here in North Carolina we have Food Lion and Lowe's (which is weird to me...cuz Lowe's should just sell tools and hardware stuff)

Driving through the south I saw Piggly Wiggly's and when I lived in Florida....they had Publix....which was like HEB...but more expensive.

Nadine.

No no no no no....Sweet tea can't be compared with Nestea or anything processed like that.

Sweet tea is made fresh....with tea bags.

If you put it out in the sun while making it...its called Sun Tea.

If you go to a restaurant down here and ask for sweet tea...I can tell you for sure that you won't be getting nestea. Think a ton more sugar. *grin*

Nadine.
wow that sounds good!! i really wanna try it. does Florida make it?? I'll be in florida in the winter.

You know what else is different in different states???

Grocery stores!

In Texas we have HEB...which is only the best grocery store ever.

Here in North Carolina we have Food Lion and Lowe's (which is weird to me...cuz Lowe's should just sell tools and hardware stuff)

Driving through the south I saw Piggly Wiggly's and when I lived in Florida....they had Publix....which was like HEB...but more expensive.

Nadine.

yeah you're right....

when i am in north jersey we mostly have Shop Rite, Kings, Stop & Shop and Acme

in south jersey they still do shop right...but they have Super G or Giant and Wegman's which I had never seen in north jersey.

I have never seen a Lowe's food shop either, only tools :p

Bi-Lo, Food Lion, and Winn-Dixie are the major players here in Tennessee...with Super Wal-Mart starting to make some inroads.

They're killing a lot of the Winn-Dixies here in North Carolina...I think thats due to Super Walmarts and Super Targets taking over.

They've already closed a whole bunch of them in Texas.

Nadine.

They have Shnucks and Gerbes here in Columbia, MO.

In Boston a regular coffee means coffee with tons of cream and sugar (YUCK!!)

Kroger is the grocery store here in AR. Also Harvest Foods.
Sweet tea is one of the most southern things you can drink. Besides coke, by which we mean any kind of canned drink or "cold drink", as we used to say.
I love remembering that "what kinda coke you want, honey?"

i am still craving this mysterty tea lol

no one answered me, can i purchase it in florida??

i am still craving this mysterty tea lol

no one answered me, can i purchase it in florida??


yeah gal

but!
you should be able to just make it yourself

Lipton tea bags.

boil your water, once it starts to boil, remove it from the heat, then set your tea bags/bag in and let it steep for like an hour, depending on how strong you like it and the size bags you get, pour it into your tea pitcher then usually....1 1/2 to 2 cups of sugar, lots of ice in your glass, enjoy :D

And don't forget the cornbread 'n grits too....

Right, Trace? :p

Gal, do you have Arby's where you live? You know, the roast beef places. If ya do, go to Arby's and ask for sweet tea. They make actual sweet tea.

Most places near me, you just get "tea" and have to put in your own sugar, etc.

My Cajun friend has introduced me to several louisianisms--another friend from northern part of the state has contributed.....

The word y'all.

y'all = you singular
you would say to your brother 'y'all comin over fer dinner?'

y'alls = you possessive'
you would say to your brother 'y'alls truck is blockin my driveway'

all y'all = you plural
you would say to your brothers whole family 'all y'all comin over fer dinner?'

all y'alls = you plural possessive
you would say to your brothers whole family 'all y'alls truck is blockin my driveway'

From the northern part of the state:

If you are really angry, you have 'a dose of the ***'
If someone makes you mad, she 'chapped your ***'
If you are really really really angry you have 'a dose of the red ***'

Here in rural eastern coal country pennsylvania we have

youse
and every sentence ends with 'a while'
a server in a restaurant will ask you if 'youse want a drink a while'

ps:

*** means
a$$

[QUOTE=thesedays]
Let's see ....I met someone from boston not long ago and when they were petting my cat they actually called it the P word ...........I was shocked !! But, I had talked to some other people from around that area and that's just what they called it.

[QUOTE]

Must be a section I'm from boston my whole life .. in a city 10 min north.. I've never called a cat that... it was always Cat and everyone did that... i mean they called P for Sexual reasons really...

In Boston a regular coffee means coffee with tons of cream and sugar (YUCK!!)

LOL YOUR SO RIGHT... MY HUBBY LAUGHED when he first moved here from Ohio LOL


I'm sure this is in other states... but when I went to Ohio.. they have drive thru convienient stores... I thought it was absurd I could drive up and ask for a diet pepsi and a box of mac and cheese LOL....

Hardee's has good ice tea, too. But Tracey's right, the best is homemade. It's the easiest thing in the world to make, but you gotta get it strong enough. Nothin better.
Here's a good Southern meal like my Mama used to make (for lunch!).
Sliced red tomatoes, green peppers, little green onions, pickles
Cornbread
Steamed yellow squash, creamed corn, blackeyed peas, fried okra, fried green tomatoes.
Ice tea

for supper, you'd have either the leftover cornbread in a glass of sweet milk or the leftover cornbread with pot liquor from the peas.

This is making me hungry. Wish I was at Mama's.

Gal, do you have Arby's where you live? You know, the roast beef places. If ya do, go to Arby's and ask for sweet tea. They make actual sweet tea.

Most places near me, you just get "tea" and have to put in your own sugar, etc.

I have arby's, but they are all in mall food courts. so idk if they would make it. i have never noticed it.

LOL YOUR SO RIGHT... MY HUBBY LAUGHED when he first moved here from Ohio LOL


I'm sure this is in other states... but when I went to Ohio.. they have drive thru convienient stores... I thought it was absurd I could drive up and ask for a diet pepsi and a box of mac and cheese LOL....

omg that's cool. my best friend moved to texas, he says they have drive through chinese, i think that's cool too lol.

And don't forget the cornbread 'n grits too....

Right, Trace? :p


ugh, Harrison, my southern gent transplant, i don't do GRITS!!! we've discussed this lol

but i got ya cornbread, in an iron skillet, no pre-formed non-stick pans that look like lil ears of corn, LOL

and made with NO recipe or lil packet of mix, just til it "looks right" ....hence "home-made" :D

Hardee's has good ice tea, too. But Tracey's right, the best is homemade. It's the easiest thing in the world to make, but you gotta get it strong enough. Nothin better.
Here's a good Southern meal like my Mama used to make (for lunch!).
Sliced red tomatoes, green peppers, little green onions, pickles
Cornbread
Steamed yellow squash, creamed corn, blackeyed peas, fried okra, fried green tomatoes.
Ice tea

for supper, you'd have either the leftover cornbread in a glass of sweet milk or the leftover cornbread with pot liquor from the peas.

This is making me hungry. Wish I was at Mama's.

i love you now.

mmmm cornbread in milk, had that about 4 days ago....YUM!

oooooo how bout salt on watermelon, cantaloupe and cucumbers!?!?

that's it! i'm going to the farmer's market!

omg that's cool. my best friend moved to texas, he says they have drive through chinese, i think that's cool too lol.


Drive thru chinese???? Now I've heard of Everything!! LOL

Oh and another thing! Upon moving to the midwest I had my first taste of Hardee's. The poor NY/NJ area is devoid of it lol. (I think it's called Carl Jr.'s on the west coast.)

Yes....Coke is a brand....but most people understand when I ask them what kind of coke they want. :D Its just one of those weird southern things...like sweet tea!

Nadine.

OMG my last annual tour was in Augusta GA.. we had our breakfasts and lunches catered (tough military living I know) and EVERYDAY they brought sweet tea for lunch... I drank soooo much sweet tea in those 2 weeks that I still can't bring myself to drink any type of tea to this day....

What I actually just realized that in my own state there are regionalisms...

In NNJ: people say soft serve ice cream
in SNJ: people say custard



Definitely, frozen custard is a different thing entirely. When I was a kid growing up on the Jersey Shore and Asbury Park was quaint and beautiful, there were frozen custard places on the boardwalk and it is not soft ice cream.

As for some others:

I'm a transplant to NNJ and I can't get over, yous - paired up with guys, yous guys. Can't stand it. Double negatives...ugh.

Another NNJ thing that I have trouble with: You are in a restaurant and the person waiting your table comes over and says, regardless of the company: "How you guys doing? OK?"

LOL YOUR SO RIGHT... MY HUBBY LAUGHED when he first moved here from Ohio LOL


I'm sure this is in other states... but when I went to Ohio.. they have drive thru convienient stores... I thought it was absurd I could drive up and ask for a diet pepsi and a box of mac and cheese LOL....

Didn't know your hubby was from Ohio...man what is it about those two places. Met someone today here who is moving to Boston.

Oh yaaa...know all about "reglah cawfee" back in Bawston...I wrestled with that too, a number of times I ended up with sugar in it which I don't like at all. Bleh! And prefer milk to cream. But anyway...

I'm surprised that nobody mentioned the drive-through liquor stores we have here. We call 'em beer-throughs...liquor and cars - great combo! Heh.

As for the much debated sandwiches, I think everyone calls them subs here. But having grown up in NJ, I remember hoagies well.

I always called soda "soda" accordingly - but knew that if you used that word elsewhere you might get almost what they call a "frappe" in Boston (actually a French word meaning 'whipped'...frappé if you pronounce it the right way, which they don't in Boston). I think they call soda "pop" here (dunno, I don't drink it)...they still call it "tonic" (pronounced "tawnic" of course) in some parts of Boston - where a "spa" is where you get such tonics...'cause way back when, when mineral and other drinks were considered health supplements, well, you get the idea. As for the "coke" thing, some places in Europe use it the same way.

Another NNJ thing that I have trouble with: You are in a restaurant and the person waiting your table comes over and says, regardless of the company: "How you guys doing? OK?"

Yeah I remember a time when I was asked to design a flyer for the vagina monlogues on my campus. When they asked me to speak I used "yous guys" strictly from habit. I tell you...sometimes people are too progressive for their own good. I limped home that day. JK JK :p

They like the flyer idea though...after a few dozen drafts lol.

Definitely, frozen custard is a different thing entirely. When I was a kid growing up on the Jersey Shore and Asbury Park was quaint and beautiful, there were frozen custard places on the boardwalk and it is not soft ice cream.

As for some others:

I'm a transplant to NNJ and I can't get over, yous - paired up with guys, yous guys. Can't stand it. Double negatives...ugh.

Another NNJ thing that I have trouble with: You are in a restaurant and the person waiting your table comes over and says, regardless of the company: "How you guys doing? OK?"

this is not at the Jersey shore...this is in Burlington/Camden county. They do things PA style over here. And I'm telling everyone I ordered custard at Rita's and the lady gave me cheap vanilla ice cream from the soft serve machine. I have heard of real custard and thats what i wanted, but its not what I got. Trust me, if you never lived over here, its weird in Burlington County. The jersey shore is normal. Coming from Bergen COunty sometimes burlington county feels like mars.

Kopp's Custard stands are famous here for chocolate & vanilla and a daily flavor. They also have the jumbo burgers. I've heard of celebrities ordering Kopp's for delivery. Wonder if you can still do that? I'd send ya some! :D

OMG I just googled it and you CAN order custard from Kopp's and they'll FedEx it to you! Too funny!

OMG I just googled it and you CAN oder custard from Kopp's and they'll FedEx it to you! Too funny!
haha now i am tempted to. i want the real custard lol.

I love drive thru chinese food places!!! OMG they are the best!

My friends and I used to drive through them and I would always quote that movie..."Dude, Where's my car?"

lol!!!

I just moved here to North Carolina....and now even McDonalds is selling Sweet Tea...its their new thing here!

Nadine.

Egg Roll King, drive through Chinese, the biggest, hugest, freshest egg rolls you could get in the known world for 99 cents. Huge enormous vats of food, mostly for under $5. I kid you not, the soup comes in 16oz bowls, for $1.50. And it's very good. Too bad I'm the only one in the family who loves Chinese. Egg roll, combo fried rice, and hot and sour soup for under $5, and for me, that's at least three meals.

Nebraska, lets see. Huskers, my God, some days I'm so sick of the word. Football, college, is the most important thing on this earth, and if you don't wear red on game day you actually get dirty looks.

University of Nebraska, Lincoln is one of the most eclectic schools in the country, groups of kids with piercings, mohawks, and black leather, walking across the street with cowboy cut blue jeans and boots dressed kids, and its all good. Many celebs get their high school diploma and college degrees from it's international correspondence school.

We have the second highest gay population per capita, second only to San Francisco, so there's lots of diversity.

Pop, soda, whichever. Coke is coke though.

Omaha is a massively progressive city, lots to do, most major shopping available, Crate and Barrel, Pottery Barn, Nebraska Furniture Mart is actually considered a tourist attraction. All they need is Ikea, I'm still waiting....

Still friendly enough that if you have a flat tire, someone will stop and help in the first five minutes. I have never yet had to change a flat completely by myself, even without AAA.

David's "ya'll" gets him teased a lot, the first time I heard him say ya'll two ladies talking about me and my daughter, my brain went AWWWWW.

His main culture shock was the scarcity of biscuits for breakfast. How can one live with plain old sandwich bread toast for breakfast instead of biscuits!!!! North Carolina ain't Nebraska, Toto. (Little Kansas joke there for Jody)