The Gershwin song “They All Laughed” (and yes, I know there are versions with more verses, but this one will suffice), contains the line, “But people from Missouri never incensed me.” Huh? In the context of the song, what in the world is this supposed to mean? Are Missourians notorious for being doubting Thomases, or what?
Missouri is known as the “Show-Me State”; perhaps he’s using that as a reference to doubters in general - i.e., people saying “prove it!”