# Indiana = "Hoosier"; Illinois = "Sucker"!? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 12, 2003, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indiana-hoosier-illinois-sucker/160835 "2003-03-12T15:42:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![\_possum\_stalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/b77776/32.png) [@\_possum\_stalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_possum_stalker)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indiana-hoosier-illinois-sucker/160835/1 "2003-03-12T15:42:09Z")
In the book Steamboat on the River (by Darwin Teilhet, 1952, which nobody on earth has ever read or heard of), the author says that old timey Illinois settlers were called “Suckers,” just as those who live in OH are, um, buckeyes, etc. How the hell did the Land of Ill end up with such an unfortunate nickname for its inhabitants? When did people stop using the term? ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indiana-hoosier-illinois-sucker/160835/2 "2003-03-12T15:47:09Z")
Illinois - suckers? I always heard the reason it was so windy in Illinois was because Iowa blows and Indiana sucks. Seriously, I seem to have some stirrings back in the grey matter that suggest the nickname was due to land speculation and real estate practices. WAG - perhaps the prairies were considered agriculturally not viable prior to metal sodbuster plows. If that is so, improvements in agri-technology might explain the demise of the nickname, as previously untillable land increaed in productivity and value. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indiana-hoosier-illinois-sucker/160835/3 "2003-03-12T15:50:34Z")
Google is your friend: [Illinois sucker] [http://newton.dep.anl.gov/natbltn/200-299/nb233.htm](http://newton.dep.anl.gov/natbltn/200-299/nb233.htm) ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2003, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indiana-hoosier-illinois-sucker/160835/4 "2003-03-13T21:23:50Z")
Well, this Sucker State stuff is news to me. I’ve lived in Indiana since birth. I’ve heard a lot of derogatory talk about Kentuckians. However, though I live closer to Ohio and Illinois, I’ve rarely heard anyone joke rudely about folks from those states. Even Effingham, which would seem a natural joke bait, is unscathed. ---
**Author:** ![troub](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troub/32/14802_2.png) [@troub](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/troub)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2003, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indiana-hoosier-illinois-sucker/160835/5 "2003-03-13T21:38:26Z")
From the site provided by **Earl** > [@](#): > > There are several legends. . .One is that. . .early travelers obtained water by sucking it up through straws thrust > down into “crawfish” holes. I lived in Illinois, and am quite familiar with the holes in question, and the various creatures that may be found in them–the thought of drinking from them had honestly never occured to me (and, really, we’re not talking about the desert here. . .while fields may seem endless, there’s usually some surface water around _somewhere_). I vote for the mine worker migration theory. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2003, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indiana-hoosier-illinois-sucker/160835/6 "2003-03-14T04:42:06Z")
Abe Lincoln was sometimes referred to as the “Tall Sucker”, as for example in the [campaign song](http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/collections/lincoln/langarts.html) on this site. I suspect that Abe is at least partly responsible for the term falling into disuse, as “Land of Lincoln” tended to crowd out “Sucker State” as a nickname for Illinois. Or it may be that “Prairie State” simply sounded more euphonious.