# stereotypes of states **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 2, 2003, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stereotypes-of-states/152272 "2003-02-02T07:08:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2003, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stereotypes-of-states/152272/61 "2003-02-05T00:39:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ringo \* > **Seriously, why do some places attract detractors? Texas… get(s) slammed every week here.** People say bad things about Texas? ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2003, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stereotypes-of-states/152272/62 "2003-02-05T01:20:41Z")
I’ve lived in **Pennsylvania** all of my life. It is one the most paternalistic throwback states left on the face of the union. In surrounding states, adults can purchase alcohol at convenient places like supermarkets and gas stations. Only recently has the legislature allowed a certain number of State Stores to sell booze on Sundays. You still need to find a bar with takeout to purchase beer on Sunday. Motor vehicle testing centers used to shut down during inclement weather. I’m not sure if this practice continues, but I recall a line of teenagers being turned away at the test locations when rain began to fall. I guess that makes them certified dry drivers. Over the road trucking magazines regularly rate PA as having the worst roads, and I’d readily agree. Why is it that the Atlantic City Expressway can repave miles of lanes at a time, using cones for lane closure, and PA needs 5 miles of concrete barrier so seven guys can watch one guy put blacktop in a hole? Snow removal is another issue. PA plow trains travel at a speed not to exceed the growth rate of moss, and take up the entire roadway, such that passing is not an option. I’ve already been passed by a plow on the New York State Thruway, and was doing 60 when passed. They know how to plow snow. ---
**Author:** ![Krisfer\_the\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Krisfer\_the\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Krisfer_the_Cat)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2003, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stereotypes-of-states/152272/63 "2003-02-05T01:32:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by danceswithcats \* > \*\*I’ve lived in **Pennsylvania** all of my life. It is one the most paternalistic throwback states left on the face of the union. In surrounding states, adults can purchase alcohol at convenient places like supermarkets and gas stations. Only recently has the legislature allowed a certain number of State Stores to sell booze on Sundays. You still need to find a bar with takeout to purchase beer on Sunday. > > \*\* Ummmmmm **dwc** if those booze restrictions bug you, pray you NEVER get transfered to Utah. Trust me ours are a lot wierder… I think the legislature does that just to be different. Beer can be bought most anywhere until midnight or 1 am. Any stronger alcohol has to purchased at a State Liquor Store: not open after 9 pm or on Sundays. Bars can only sell beer. Private Clubs sell the hard stuff. Oh yeah, I get IMs on ICQ all the time from people asking if they should bring their own booze when they visit/come skiing. I tell nope, you can get just as wasted here… just takes a bit more creativity:D ---
**Author:** ![Shootout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Shootout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shootout)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2003, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stereotypes-of-states/152272/64 "2003-02-05T02:04:25Z")
I just drove back from my militia meeting though the pathetically potholed roads in Michigan. I sure do like them Indian casinos. I can’t wait to go “Up North” again. I will head up to da U.P. and hang out with all my Yooper friends and bag me a buck. Ted Nugent kicks ass. ---
**Author:** ![bristlesage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@bristlesage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bristlesage)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2003, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stereotypes-of-states/152272/65 "2003-02-05T05:28:06Z")
**Nevada** is comprised entirely of Las Vegas and prostitution is legal everywhere. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2003, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stereotypes-of-states/152272/66 "2003-02-05T06:00:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by yosemitebabe \* > \*\* > Some of the people here in Hooterville try to put down California, telling me how they _never_ want to visit it, or that when they visited it, they didn’t like it much. They say this with great relish, looking at me carefully and hoping to see signs of hurt feelings or offense. I never give them the satisfaction. For one thing, who cares? California is overcrowded enough—the last thing it needs is more clueless tourists getting lost on the freeways. > \*\* Right on! I used to travel to Boston quite a bit and during the winter I would be asked how I liked the weather. My invariable answer was, “Better than California when I left.” I don’t want any more people. Thirty five million are enough. They should stop televising the Rose Parade. I was hoping for horrible weather in San Diego for the Super Bowl. No such luck. Don’t come, there’s nothing here worth seeing, just mail the money. I keep watching the San Andreas Fault down at Palmdale hoping to see some of that separation from the mainland that is supposed to happen sometime. It’s too slow, dammit! Since I’m here already they can pull up the drawbridge any time. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2003, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stereotypes-of-states/152272/67 "2003-02-05T13:12:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Pablito \* > \*\*Other stereotypes: **Texans** are loud and always take disproportionate pride in being the only state that was once its own nation … \*\* Next time one of them says that tell them that it is most definately not true. The Kingdom of Hawaii was around long before Texas became independant and was around long after it was annexed. My Dad was 3rd generation, left and never looked back. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2003, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stereotypes-of-states/152272/68 "2003-02-05T13:33:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by NinetyWt \* > \*\*. > > Yeah. :rolleyes: Just what we need more of around here. Look, just \*stay out \* of Mississippi, OK? We kinda like for it to stay friendly here. Shoo. \*\* The thing I was going to respond to about the post concerning Alabama being the most redneck state is that it’s curious because the title so CLEARLY belongs to Mississippi. Mississippi is always at the bottom of the pile in all the states that mean quality of life is good, and at the top in the stats that mean it’s poor. It’s certainly saved my home state’s ass a time or two. I don’t think they have crime stats to match most other states, but this is only because the biggest city in Mississippi couldn’t support more than 2 or 3 criminals, max. I’m not really down on Mississippi, or up on Alabama, I just find it curious that Mississippi somehow manages to dodge the bullet in regard to being recognized as the pits of the South, and Alabama keeps getting nailed. ---
**Author:** ![Broodha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@Broodha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broodha)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2003, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stereotypes-of-states/152272/69 "2003-02-05T18:58:38Z")
**Rhode Island** “Ooh! It’s so little! Oooh it’s so small! Ooooh, how long does it take to drive across it? Oooh, how tiny! Oooh, does everyone know each other? Oooh, it’s as big as my city/county/my daddy’s farm! Oooh, is it really an island? Oooh, how do you all fit in that puny state? Oooh, why is it its own state? Oooh, aren’t you basically a city in Massachusetts? Oooh, you could fit like a million Rhode Island’s in my state! Oooh, how far do you live from Providence? Oooh, I guess you’re never far from Providence, ha ha!” ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2003, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stereotypes-of-states/152272/70 "2003-02-05T20:39:15Z")
Any halfway decent government would have gotten rid of Rhode Island’s state government strucutre a long time ago, and made Vermont and New Hampshire into one state, too. Most of those Northeastern states are WAAAAY too small. We’re not in colonial times any more. ---
**Author:** ![I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_can_t_believe_that_s_butter)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2003, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stereotypes-of-states/152272/71 "2003-02-05T22:07:19Z")
> [@](#): > > [_Originally posted by Ringo_ > **Everybody else talks funny. 'Specially them noathuhnuhs.** Okies talk funnier though. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Blackeyes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f6c823/32.png) [@Blackeyes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackeyes)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stereotypes-of-states/152272/72 "2003-02-06T03:44:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Winston\_Smith \* > \*\*Don’t you mean _horns_? \*\* Them too. ---
**Author:** ![Leap\_of\_Faith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/278dde/32.png) [@Leap\_of\_Faith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leap_of_Faith)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stereotypes-of-states/152272/73 "2003-02-06T03:50:45Z")
Hmm…and then there’s New Mexico…oh wait, that’s not really part of the US, right…don’t you need a green card if you live there? New Mexico Magazine always runs a feature on the last page entitled, One of Our Fifty is Missing, with lots of amusing stories about people forgetting about New Mexico. Another good one about New Mexico: New Mexico…Land of the Flea and Home of the Plague On the plus side, the best green chile in the universe comes from New Mexico ---
**Author:** ![Balle\_M](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/13edae/32.png) [@Balle\_M](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balle_M)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stereotypes-of-states/152272/74 "2003-02-06T04:02:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fear Itself \* > \*\*Well, it is a fact that the toothbrush was invented in West Virginia. If it had been invented anywhere else, it would be call the _teeth_brush. \*\* Good one, FI. That’s the first time I heard it…today. Now i’m gonna sit on the sofa on the front porch of my trailer and sulk… ---
**Author:** ![Blackeyes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f6c823/32.png) [@Blackeyes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackeyes)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stereotypes-of-states/152272/75 "2003-02-06T04:07:29Z")
**General Mississippi-bashing in this thread and other discussions:** > [@](#): > > **6** Mississippi’s rank (out of 50 states) for charitable giving as a percentage of income > **49** Mississippi’s rank (out of 50 states) in average personal income > **45** New Hampshire’s rank for charitable giving as a percentage of income > **6** New Hampshire’s rank in average personal income. Cite: _TIME_, January 13, 2003 ---
**Author:** ![raz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@raz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raz)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stereotypes-of-states/152272/76 "2003-02-06T04:27:24Z")
No one in Kentucky has a full set of teeth. And they all live in trailor homes with couches in the front yard and at least 3 trucks up on blocks around the property. > [@](#): > > _originally posted by elmwood_ > 'Round these parts, folks on the Kansas side of the KC metro say that Missourians are rednecks, while those in Missouri say that Kansas residents are hicks. I hear ya. I’d rather be a hick then a redneck though. Because all we do is sit on our tailgates and drink beer. Oh and another thing: There are absolutely no trees in Kansas. I went to Maryland a few years back, and I told this guy that I was from Kansas. His response? “Kansas, huh? There aren’t any trees there.” It was such a culture shock, you know. Seeing those big sticks with green stuff all over the top of them, hoo boy I’ll never forget that! ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stereotypes-of-states/152272/77 "2003-02-06T06:57:52Z")
Everyone from VT is a ‘granola-head’ who does nothing but ski, eat Ben & Jerry’s, and smke weed. ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stereotypes-of-states/152272/78 "2003-02-06T07:10:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tigers2B1 \* > \*\*Well I know for a fact that people in Tennessee don’t wear shoes. People in Alabama are bigots and those in Mississippi don’t read well. Not sure about the other states. \*\* [ul]You might have that backwards, since I could read it just fine. ;)[/ul] ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stereotypes-of-states/152272/79 "2003-02-06T07:14:55Z")
> [@](#): > > David Simmons wrote: > > I keep watching the San Andreas Fault down at Palmdale hoping to see some of that separation from the mainland that is supposed to happen sometime. It’s too slow, dammit! > > Since I’m here already they can pull up the drawbridge any time. Not until I get back there! I am homesick! ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stereotypes-of-states/152272/80 "2003-02-06T07:20:03Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Pablito \* > \*\* South Carolinians also take ridiculous pride in being the first state to ‘secede’ from the Union in the War of Northern Aggression_\* [ul] \*\*Secede HELL! \*\* \*\*You STARTED the DAMN thing! \*\*[/ul] 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stereotypes-of-states/152272.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stereotypes-of-states/152272.md?page=5)