# 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:** 4
**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 9, 2014, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/61 "2014-07-09T03:23:20Z")
> [@rsat3acr](#): > > in Texas we go to the coast. In Houston, we went to Galveston. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/62 "2014-07-09T03:25:06Z")
> [@Blackberry](#): > > In the other states, D.C. is often referred to as Washington. Not in DC, though. There, “Washington” is the government, “The district” is the city, and “DC” is the metro area. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/63 "2014-07-09T03:26:08Z")
> [@Enola\_Straight](#): > > I would assume LA does not mean Los Angeles to those in and around Louisiana. Or to those in the twin cities of Lewiston and Auburn, Maine. ---
**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 9, 2014, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/64 "2014-07-09T03:29:18Z")
> [@tracer](#): > > In 49 of the 50 states, “I’m going to the City” means you’re going to Manhattan. > > In California, it means you’re going to San Francisco. In Oklahoma, that phrase means Oklahoma City. Where ever you are in the state. Otherwise, you go to town (Ada, Ardmore, Tulsa, Lawton, Vici, Purcell, Jay, Jet, Ponca City, Guthrie, Enid, Stillwater, Cushing, etc…) Why would going to the city mean Manhattan in Texas, or Idaho, or Nevada? Really, I’m curious as to the reasoning. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/65 "2014-07-09T03:38:27Z")
I think New Orleans is unique in that from the central business district, you go north to get Downtown, south to get Uptown, and east to get to the West Bank. ---
**Author:** ![Snnipe\_70E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@Snnipe\_70E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snnipe_70E)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/66 "2014-07-09T04:52:47Z")
> [@Rachellelogram](#): > > I believe the term “hoagie” is only used in Pennsylvania. Everyone else calls it a sub or submarine sandwich. Nope. I like my Hoagies in California. ---
**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 9, 2014, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/67 "2014-07-09T05:30:05Z")
> [@Blackberry](#): > > In the other states, D.C. is often referred to as Washington. In WA, it’s not. Not unique. In western PA, DC is also often referred to as DC instead of Washington, but for a different reason. Due south of Pittsburgh is the city of Washington PA. To avoid confusion, Washington, PA is often referred to as “Little Washington”, and to further avoid confusion, the nation’s capital is usually referred to as DC. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/68 "2014-07-09T06:03:47Z")
> [@AncientHumanoid](#): > > In Oklahoma, that phrase means Oklahoma City. Where ever you are in the state. Otherwise, you go to town (Ada, Ardmore, Tulsa, Lawton, Vici, Purcell, Jay, Jet, Ponca City, Guthrie, Enid, Stillwater, Cushing, etc…) > > Why would going to the city mean Manhattan in Texas, or Idaho, or Nevada? Really, I’m curious as to the reasoning. I cannot believe Vici is on the same list as Ada, Ardmore, Tulsa, Lawton, etc. If you’re gonna go that route why not include Slapout? You’re right about “the City” though. ---
**Author:** ![Elemenopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b5e925/32.png) [@Elemenopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elemenopy)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/69 "2014-07-09T06:07:23Z")
If you are from a few select towns in Indiana near the Lake (Michigan, I almost didn’t think to explain), you are from [Da Region](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=The+Region), as I was, sort of a suburb of Chicago and eschewing the rest of Indiana. Kinda weird. But later, I moved to a similar area in Illinois that bordered St. Louis, considered separate from Illinois, but we were just “cross the river,” St. Louis suburb. I thought Houston et. al. echoed LA in the parish/ward thingie, but I haven’t lived there since I was little, so forgive my ignorance. ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/70 "2014-07-09T06:30:23Z")
Man, I read the OP’s 9-11 bit way differently than you guys. I didn’t think he _literally_ meant that “on New York and Washington (and Pennsylvania)” is part of the ‘title’ (for lack of a better word ATM) people use for 9-11. Rather, that people call it 9-11 or September 11, but _if you were to ask people **where** the events of 9-11 took place_, most non-Pennsylvanians would answer with “New York and Washington (or DC)” and not include Pennsylvania, while Pennsylvanians would answer with “New York, DC and Pennsylvania”. IME I’d say he’s largely right. Even though people remember United Flight 93, I basically hear others reference NYC and DC - but not Pennsylvania - related to 9-11. ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/71 "2014-07-09T06:45:53Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > EDIT: I have a cousin who’s a Pennsylvania highway patrolman. In slang, he’s a “state trooper”, not a “state policeman”. Michigan State Police are called State Troopers, too (it’s the official name of the lowest rank in the MSP). They also have posts instead of stations or precincts, but that’s probably not unique to Michigan. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/72 "2014-07-09T08:24:45Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > 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.” They taught you incorrectly. “Panning out” has never meant exhausting a claim. A gold pan is an inefficient tool, but it has the advantage of requiring no set-up. Miners would use pans to test soil samples for gold. An area that was found to have gold this way was said to have “panned out.” It was only then that the miners would set up better tools (like rocker boxes or sluice boxes) and start extracting larger amounts of gold. ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/73 "2014-07-09T09:03:56Z")
> [@tracer](#): > > In 49 of the 50 states, “I’m going to the City” means you’re going to Manhattan. > > In California, it means you’re going to San Francisco. This is true only in that some New Yorkers who spread out to other parts of the country will still - bizarrely - refer to “the City” in conversation and assume everyone knows they mean New York. Meanwhile, of course, the people they’re talking to think they’re referring to the closest local city. I’ve encountered this a number of times and it never ceases to amaze me. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/74 "2014-07-09T11:39:12Z")
> [@tracer](#): > > In 49 of the 50 states, “I’m going to the City” means you’re going to Manhattan. In 49 of the 50 states, “I’m going to the city” means you’re _not_ going to Manhattan. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/75 "2014-07-09T11:59:26Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > In 49 of the 50 states, “I’m going to the city” means you’re _not_ going to Manhattan. Well, not all of the other 49 states. People in bordering parts of CT,NJ and PA (within commuting distance) still refer to Manhattan as “the city” ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/76 "2014-07-09T12:06:51Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > In 49 of the 50 states, “I’m going to the city” means you’re _not_ going to Manhattan. Heck, in parts of New York state it means you’re not going to Manhattan. In fact, I think “the city” means Manhattan only in the immediate vicinity of Manhattan, including NJ. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/77 "2014-07-09T12:10:54Z")
I imagine there are large parts of New York where “the city” is something else too. Buffalo is hundreds of miles from NYC and is actually closer to Detroit. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/78 "2014-07-09T12:49:20Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > 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. Hell, IME “Down East” is never used. It’s “back East”. Yes, even if you’ve never been there and your family isn’t from there. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/79 "2014-07-09T12:53:42Z")
49 out of the 50 states do Barbeque completely wrong. The one state they do is right is [del]Texas North Carolina South Carolina Kansas Tennessee[/del] you know which one. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653/80 "2014-07-09T12:55:45Z")
> [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](#): > > 49 out of the 50 states do Barbeque completely wrong. The one state they do is right is [del]Texas North Carolina South Carolina Kansas Tennessee[/del] you know which one. Wild guess: Idaho? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-49-of-50-states-one-thing-in-the-50th-something-else/692653.md?page=5)