# In 49 of 50 states one thing, in the 50th something else??? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 8, 2014, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653 "2014-07-08T17:38:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Suicide](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Suicide](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suicide)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/1 "2014-07-08T17:38:24Z")
in 49 of the 50 states, the 9/11 attacks are known as the 9/11 attacks on new york and washington, but in pennsylvania, where i live, it’s known as the 9/11 attacks on new york, washington and pennsylvania, because one of the planes crashed here…also, to people in the other 49 states, the abbreviation tmi means too much information, but here in pa. it means and always will stand for three mile island does this phenomenon exist in other states, that is, do you have expressions or terms that mean one thing in your state and something everywhere else, or are expressed differently or understood to be one thing in your state but something else in the other states? i am not referring to local slang, such as in massachusetts they call a soda a tonic, i’m talking about concepts like 9/11 that are thought of differently from one place to another:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/2 "2014-07-08T18:00:07Z")
Since the OP is asking for personal opinions, let’s move this to IMHO. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/3 "2014-07-08T18:02:18Z")
All state flags are rectangles except Ohio’s, which is a burgee or pennant shape: [Flag of Ohio - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_ohio) ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/4 "2014-07-08T18:05:44Z")
When I was going to grade school in California and we learned about the gold rush, they taught us that “panning out” was a very bad thing, because it meant you had panned all the gold out of your claim and you had to go find another one now, which was hazardous (mountain lions, other prospectors, starvation). Elsewhere in the country, “panning out” means a good thing, as in, “this came out the way I expected.” ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/5 "2014-07-08T18:11:44Z")
> [@Suicide](#): > > in 49 of the 50 states, the 9/11 attacks are known as the 9/11 attacks on new york and washington, but in pennsylvania, where i live, it’s known as the 9/11 attacks on new york, washington and pennsylvania, because one of the planes crashed here This is not true. The rest of the country is aware that a plane went down in Pennsylvania and does not restrict the terrorist event of 9/11 to just NYC and DC. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/6 "2014-07-08T18:14:58Z")
There is an amusement park in western PA called Kennywood. If you tell someone, “Kennywood’s open” it means their zipper is down. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/7 "2014-07-08T18:29:38Z")
In Nebraska, news reports of the State Legislature call it “the Unicameral”, because Nebraska is the only state in the union that has a unicameral state legislature (only one assembly, not a House and a Senate). ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/8 "2014-07-08T18:35:46Z")
> [@Suicide](#): > > in 49 of the 50 states, the 9/11 attacks are known as the 9/11 attacks on new york and washington, No. In everywhere, the 9/11 attacks are known as “the 9/11 attacks”. Or “the events of 9/11”. Or “September the 11th”. I have never heard anybody anywhere tack on a list of any length of geographic locations. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/9 "2014-07-08T18:45:32Z")
In the other 49 states, “Down East” means all of Maine. In Maine, it means the coastal region between Penobscot Bay and New Brunswick. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/10 "2014-07-08T18:48:56Z")
In Oklahoma, the corn is as high as an elephant’s eye. In 49 states, it gets to just under that. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/11 "2014-07-08T18:57:35Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > All state flags are rectangles except Ohio’s, which is a burgee or pennant shape: [Flag of Ohio - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_ohio) Oregon’s state flag is the only flag to have two different pictures on it. a state seal on one side and a beaver(the animal) on the other. > **[Flag of Oregon](https://statesymbolsusa.org/symbol-official-item/oregon/state-flag/flag-oregon)** > > The Oregon state flag was adopted in 1925 and is the only U.S. state flag that displays different images on front and back. All State Flags ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/12 "2014-07-08T19:00:26Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > In the other 49 states, “Down East” means all of Maine. In Maine, it means the coastal region between Penobscot Bay and New Brunswick. You overestimate the knowledge people have on the West Coast about the East Coast-- especially New England. 😉 People out here who have never been to the east coast have a hard time understanding that there is a place in the US where the accent changes about every 200 miles as you drive down I- 95. That just doesn’t happen out here. “Down East” probably doesn’t mean anything to most folks in CA. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/13 "2014-07-08T19:07:36Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > No. In everywhere, the 9/11 attacks are known as “the 9/11 attacks”. Or “the events of 9/11”. Or “September the 11th”. I have never heard anybody anywhere tack on a list of any length of geographic locations. I live in PA and I’ve never heard the geographical locations tacked onto it either. It’s always just 9/11 or September 11th. > [@kayaker](#): > > There is an amusement park in western PA called Kennywood. If you tell someone, “Kennywood’s open” it means their zipper is down. I have a hunch you know what “yinz” means, too. 😉 But the OP did exclude local slang. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/14 "2014-07-08T19:10:41Z")
I believe the term “hoagie” is only used in Pennsylvania. Everyone else calls it a sub or submarine sandwich. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/15 "2014-07-08T19:13:18Z")
> [@Rachellelogram](#): > > I believe the term “hoagie” is only used in Pennsylvania. Everyone else calls it a sub or submarine sandwich. It has spread to Tennessee, but hasn’t become as popular as other names for the same concoction. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/16 "2014-07-08T19:15:38Z")
> [@Rachellelogram](#): > > I believe the term “hoagie” is only used in Pennsylvania. Everyone else calls it a sub or submarine sandwich. And in western PA a hoagie is a hoagie is a hoagie. Eastern PA a hoagie becomes a grinder if it is heated. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/17 "2014-07-08T19:38:46Z")
The legal system in Louisiana is different than the legal system in the other 49 states due to the history of French law, especially in civil law. Add me to the chorus that doesn’t agree with the OP relating to 9/11. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/18 "2014-07-08T19:45:09Z")
And the geopolitical area known as a county in 49 states is called a parish in Louisiana. ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/19 "2014-07-08T19:45:51Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Add me to the chorus that doesn’t agree with the OP relating to 9/11. …And the TMI/Three Mile Island thing as well. Granted, I’m not a native, but I did live in Pennsylvania for a number of years and I never heard anyone use the acronym to mean anything other than “too much information.” ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/20 "2014-07-08T19:49:12Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > And the geopolitical area known as a county in 49 states is called a parish in Louisiana. 48 states. Alaska doesn’t have counties. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653.md?page=2)