Midwest means the region of the country that includes Michigan, Illinois, etc. You might think it shouldn’t mean that, given that this region isn’t actually in the western half of the present day U.S. Well, tough shit. That’s what it means, whether it makes sense or not. Get over it.
The thread title made me think this was to pit the airline. Surely we have no quarrel with chocolate chip cookies?
Gotta agree, that’s hysterical. Nice catch.
See, I think parts of Michigan aren’t the midwest… mainly the part I grew up in. 
It really does seem like the Midwest is too gigantic of an area to be one region. Like the wiki link said, there seems to be at least a Great Plains / Great Lakes divide. I’m firmly in Great Lakes territorry and when someone from a Great Plains state (which is still in “my region”) talks about traditions over there, they sound foreign to me.
Plus, regarding Michigan: there seems to be a difference between eastern Michigan and western (not gonna even touch the UP ;)). I’m in the Detroit area and I feel far more culturally connected to Ontario and the rust belt. When I drive to the west side of the state, though, it seems far more similar to the areas I’ve been to in Indiana and parts of Illinois.
And for god’s sake, most of Michigan is in the Eastern time zone, yet we’re “Midwest”? 
And hot dish. WTF is hot dish?
So I grew up in Los Angeles, but I never argued to anyone that I lived in the South. I’m looking at a map, and Los Angeles is pretty damn south.
As a Michigan person, I take comfort in the fact that I will never be stopped on the street and told that I need a makeover. Nobody will shove a microphone in my face and ask me if I have a question for Suze. I’ll never get caught looking stupid (at least not on camera for a national audience) in a Jay Leno Streetwalking bit. It’s nice to be ignored.
“Coast” trumps any other potential regional designations, followed by “west,” and then “south.” Everyone is pretty clear on what New England is, so everything left over is the midwest.
I just think of the whole US as The South - it’s simpler that way. 
I wondered about this a while ago, too - I had also looked on my map and saw that The Midwest was neither mid nor west. I got all the same explanations about original territories and whatever. It’s just one of those things, I guess.
Don’t hold back, tell us what you really think. 
ATTN: Chimera
Go jump in a lake.
-acsenray, Ohioan, Midwesterner
Cultural terms don’t have to be geographically accurate.
The Midwest goes from Las Vegas to Pittsburgh. Unless it’s south of DC and east of Little Rock. Then it’s the South. Northeast of DC and Pittsburgh is wasteland, fire and desolation. Nothing lives there.
Given that Alaska and Hawaii are states (at least for now), maybe we should just refer to the rest of the country as the East. Or to solve that touchy “Midwest” thing, Minnesota can be renamed East Dakota.
That’s how I regard western Pennsylvania - Redneck Central for the northeastern U.S.
“Mid” west? I live all the way out in the Western Reserve.
Lol. On my job when Canadian people as me where I’m located I say;
“Minnesota. We’re the American Canada”.
Since we have about 15,000 of those in Minnesota, including better than a half dozen in my suburb, this will be quite easily accomplished.
Midwest to me consists of the following states: Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and North Dakota.
Kansas, Nebraska and the Dakotas are “The Great Plains”. Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana are eastern Midwestern states. Michigan and Ohio can be called “Midwestern” or can be lumped in as a “rust belt” state with Pennslyvania, New York, and West Virginia. the midwestern states I have mentioned above is basically agricultural in scope, have a similiar population, with similiar economics, especially the western midwest states. Of course, the people in the Dakotas might call themselves westerners, while the Great Plains reaches halfway into traditional western states such as Colorado, Wyoming and Montana.
Some states defy regional geography. Oklahoma is considered a southern, a midwestern and a western state all in one. Texas can also be southern and western (due to its behometh size and geography). West Virginia is classified by some as southern, but the state seceded from Virginia to remain in the North. Also, the northern part of the state is very close to Pittsburgh and its eastern stretch is near Washington D.C.
Missouri is another interesting midwestern/southern state. Southern Missouri is like Arkansas, while the northern reaches of the state is more like Iowa, Illinois and Nebraska. The landscape changes about north of St. Louis. What is St.Louis? A Midwestern city? Too far north to be a southern city, although I consider Southern Missouri part of the south.
The lower areas of Illinois is more akin to Mississippi than say Wisconsin. Lots of poor people, small towns, and blight. What are Hawaii and Alaska consideredm western states?
What is considered Southwest? Or Northwest? Or anywhere? Regionalism as we know it is more or less finished in the USA, due to the changing demographics. South, north, whatever, doesn’t mean anything.
George Carlin made a career out of schtick like this.
The dividing line for Missouri is Interstate 70. I grew up 15 miles south of it; we were Southern, easy-going and hospitable, and our potlucks involved really good food. I now live about 20 miles north of it, amongst bland people with no background. The landscape is flatter and drearier up here. You have to ASK for sweet tea! And the things they do with crushed pineapple and Jell-O…:eek:
I want to move back south. Not too far, though; I don’t like grits.
Talk to some local yokels. Believe me, it’s true. They fear hummus.
Living in suburbia and working in technology, I often forget how it is. But believe me. I’ve had the hummus conversation with some co-workers recently and gotten the look of disgust and fear when I describe what it is.
Midwesterners do not like ethnic foods. Exceptions may be made if it is deep fried, covered in sweet sauce or cheese, and without any spice whatsoever.
To be fair, I’ve had American hummus, and it *is *terrifying.