# Info on American States?



## Malic (Jun 19, 2005)

Hi! I'm looking to fill in a gap in my history/geography/culture knowledge. Maybe someone on ENWorld can point me towards a good book? Though we hear a lot about 'America' (USA) in the media and some in school, it's kind of monolithic. I know there are lots of differences between 'North' and 'South', but not really much more about how diverse the country is, how the states are different and so on.

I searched on Amazon, but got tens of thousands of books, which all seemed to be about specific places or specific issues.

Can anyone suggest a book, or maybe a website or some other way of learning, that would give an overview about what all the different areas of the USA are like?

I'd really appreciate any suggestions. I hate having such a big gap in my library, as I have a fair bit of stuff about most other regions.


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## Crothian (Jun 19, 2005)

I don't know of any one book that covers it all.  Most states are pretty different and even inside some states like California and New York there are lots of differnece depending on where you are in the state.


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## Del (Jun 19, 2005)

I might suggest history novelist James Michner (sp?).

He covers most the bigger stories of the different places in the USA.


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## WayneLigon (Jun 19, 2005)

The only thing that comes to mind right off about differing American cultures is _The Nine Nations of North America_ by Joel Garreau, but it's a little dated by now.


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## Eltern (Jun 19, 2005)

America: The Book   

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...002-3978623-0724807?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

Thomas Jefferson even wrote the forward!


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## Joker (Jun 19, 2005)

Eltern said:
			
		

> America: The Book
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...002-3978623-0724807?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
> 
> Thomas Jefferson even wrote the forward!




Seconded .


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## Greylock (Jun 19, 2005)

Good gosh, Malic. I hope you have money to spare. You'd be looking at a minimum of fifty seperate books.  Most states have a lot of diversity contained in one set boundary. And the differences between states and regions can be pretty darned profound. Many Americans who think they know their country well, and are even well educated, can suffer severe culture shock if they move too far beyond their home state/region.

If you find one good book that explains it all, I'd like to read it too.


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## RangerWickett (Jun 19, 2005)

Edit: Congratulations to me.  On my first pass I got 44 of the 50 states! I only forgot 6.  I missed Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, and Vermont.

The quickies (cliched and unfair, but a reasonable representation of what comes to mind for the typical American [meaning me]):


Alabama - Rural, full of racists, but birthplace of the Civil Rights movement.

Alaska - Big, cold, full of Eskimos and oil we can't use.

Arizona - Hot desert state with only two cities -- Tuscon and Phoenix.

Arkansas - Full of farms. Uninteresting except that former president Bill Clinton came from there.

California - The . . . seriously, these people are crazy. They elected Arnold Schwarzenegger as their governor!!!  I mean, we rely on them for a lot of TV and movies, and they make enough food to probably feed half the world, but man do they do some crazy .

Colorado - The Grand Canyon is here, as well as a lot of mountains.

Connecticut - A New England state . . . they probably did something back during the Revolutionary War, but they're not interesting.

Delaware - Another New England state. They're all pretty much the same.

Florida - South-east USA. Home to Disney World, retired old people, and illegal immigrants from Cuba. It's hit by hurricanes a lot.

Georgia - A bunch of rednecks in the backwoods. Oddly, the capital city of Atlanta is cultured, and a major business hub (it has the second busiest airport in the US). Atlanta is the most prominent Southern city, and it representative of the difficult but successful prosperity of the south.

Hawaii - Island nation that is great to vacation at. It has volcanoes.

Idaho - They grow potatoes there.

Illinois - Chicago is a huge city with some history of blues music. Abraham Lincoln came from Illinois.

Indiana - About as rednecky as you can get with a state in the midwest. They have NASCAR car races, but they also have Gen Con.

Iowa - It's important for some reason, but all I know is that they farm.

Kansas - They farm here too, but Kansas was made famous by The Wizard of Oz, because Dorothy came from here.

Kentucky - A farm state. Kentucky Fried Chicken is no longer really associated with Kentucky, as popular fried chicken franchises have risen up in Louisiana.

Louisiana - Coolest state in America. New Orleans is home to the huge party Mardi Gras (during Carnivale), and for the rest of the year it's also pretty active with great music, great food, and hot weather. It's got style, but it doesn't take itself seriously at all. There are lots of swamps and alligators.

Maine - A far northern state on the east coast. Apparently they fish for lobsters there.

Maryland - A small state in New England.

Massachussettes - Boston is where a bunch of people who started the Revolutionary War came from. MIT is a big school that teaches technology and computers.

Michigan - They have a huge lake . . . if you look on the map, the lake actually cuts the state into two halves. Detroit is here. It has lots of crime and makes lots of cars.

Minnesota - See Montana, but with more snow.

Mississippi - The Mississippi River is the biggest river on the continent. So big, it actually goes through, like, 12 states. Mississippi used to be full of racists.

Missouri - *shrug*

Montana - There are lots of mountains here. It's out in the northwest, somewhere in or near the Rocky Mountains.

Nebraska - See Montana.

Nevada - A dry desert state. Las Vegas is here. Prostitution is legal.

New Hampshire - *shrug* It's a New England state, I think.

New Jersey - This is the state that New Yorkers make fun of, because it's right next door and not nearly as cool.

New Mexico - It's a desert state, a lot like Arizona, only a little less interesting.

New York - Aside from New York city, which is famous in its own right, the state of New York is relatively boring, like all other New England states.

North Carolina - The less interesting sister state of South Carolina.

North Dakota - A big frozen state on the border of Canada.

Ohio - It's a midwestern state.

Oklahoma - A farm state. There was a musical made about it, and in the 1930s, the Great Depression caused a lot of people to flee Oklahoma because they couldn't farm.

Oregon - A forested state between California and Washington, on the west coast.

Pennsylvania - Birthplace of the Declaration of Independence, in the city of Philadelphia. Philly is also known as the city of brotherly love, which was used in a bizarre tourism campaign recently, attempting to bring gay couples to visit.

Rhode Island - The smallest state, it has lots of islands and light houses. It's a New England state.

South Carolina - The headlining state for southern slavery back during the Civil War. It's nice and trendy now.

South Dakota - A big, less frozen state just south of North Dakota.

Tennessee - Elvish came from Tennessee. It has a lot of country music.

Texas - The biggest state (This is actually not true. However, even though Alaska is bigger, Texas is second biggest, and it has more interesting stuff). Cowboys come from here, and most people think it's mostly desert and cactus, though it actually wasn't involved in the Old West as much as people believe. We also have lots of oil. People in Texas think they could kick anyone else's ass. We have had two presidents named George Bush who were once governor of Texas, and they both had military operations in Iraq. Americans think of Texas like their crazy uncle -- kinda cool, pretty big, sometimes stupid, sometimes an ass, but all in all pretty popular.

Utah - A big state with Mormons.

Vermont - A northeastern state.

Virginia - Thomas Jefferson, who wrote the Declaration of Independence, came from here. Nowadays it's most important because it's next door to Washington, DC.

Washington - Not to be confused with the capital of the nation. Washington state is on the west coast, just south of Canada. Seattle is there, which is where grunge music came from. Nike is based out of here, and it's an evil corporation. Interestingly, Wizards of the Coast is also based here.

West Virginia - There's really no reason for this state to exist.

Wisconsin - They love football, beer, and cheese, and they're pretty good at all of them. Gen Con used to be here. It's where D&D came from.

Wyoming - Another one of those big states out west, like Montana and the Dakotas.


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## Tarrasque Wrangler (Jun 19, 2005)

> Colorado - *The Grand Canyon is here*, as well as a lot of mountains.




I think the state of *Arizona* might have something to say about that.

http://www.nps.gov/grca/


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## Glyfair (Jun 19, 2005)

RangerWickett said:
			
		

> Delaware - Another New England state. They're all pretty much the same.




That's really funny, considering we are often considered a _Southern_ state 

We are right on the border, the northern county has more in common with Pennsylvania, the southern two more in common with Maryland.  During the Civil War, we were considered one of the border states, the southern states that sided with the north.

Of course, you have Maryland listed as a New England state and that's even further from the truth.  

*Hint* - You have to go north of New York City to hit New England.



			
				Greylock said:
			
		

> Most states have a lot of diversity contained in one set boundary. And the differences between states and regions can be pretty darned profound.




Indeed, Delaware is the 2nd smallest state.  However, we really have two culturally different areas - New Castle County and Lower Delaware (Kent and Sussex county).  New Castle County is pretty tied into the Northeastern Corridor.  The lower counties are much more rural in nature (indeed, they are sometimes referred to as "slower Delaware").


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## Del (Jun 19, 2005)

Tarrasque Wrangler said:
			
		

> I think the state of *Arizona* might have something to say about that.
> 
> http://www.nps.gov/grca/




"The Grand Canyon is more than a great chasm carved over millennia through the rocks of the Colorado Plateau. It is more than an awe-inspiring view. It is more than a pleasuring ground for those who explore the roads, hike the trails, or float the currents of the turbulent Colorado River. "

I never imagined being "pleasured" by a national park


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## Tarrasque Wrangler (Jun 19, 2005)

Del said:
			
		

> "The Grand Canyon is more than a great chasm carved over millennia through the rocks of the Colorado Plateau. It is more than an awe-inspiring view. It is more than a pleasuring ground for those who explore the roads, hike the trails, or float the currents of the turbulent Colorado River. "
> 
> I never imagined being "pleasured" by a national park



 You've obviously never seen the Grand Tetons.


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## Malic (Jun 19, 2005)

Thanks, everyone!

WayneLigon, thanks especially, I think that's got me on the right track. I found that one, put it together with a north america geography and a kid's book "National Geographic Our 50 States" (pictures!  ), and that should at least get me started. I guess when I've read those I'll at least know what more specific areas to look for.

RangerWickett, thanks for the great outline  something to keep me going until those books get here in two months or so.

Anyone got any highlights for Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio or Vermont?

What's this? Kentucky Fried Chicken isn't from Kentucky?


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## BiggusGeekus (Jun 19, 2005)

RangerWickett said:
			
		

> [*]Virginia - Thomas Jefferson, who wrote the Declaration of Independence, came from here. Nowadays it's most important because it's next door to Washington, DC.




This is pretty accurate of the northern four counties.  Everywhere else is completely different.  More rural and such.  Think of the northern tip as an area that wished it was in New York and everywhere else which wishes the northern tip was in New York too.




> [*]West Virginia - There's really no reason for this state to exist.




If West Virginia hadn't broken off, Virginia would be mega huge and we'd be a runner up against Texas.  Kind of like California, only with cheaper housing.  As it is, I think Virginians and West Virginians are happier for the split.


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## BiggusGeekus (Jun 19, 2005)

Malic said:
			
		

> Anyone got any highlights for Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio or Vermont?




Ohio is sort of the red-haired stepchild of the country.  The east coast thinks Ohio is in the midwest and the midwest thinks Ohio is an east coast state.  Nobody wants to claim Ohio as their own.  It's politically divided very evenly.  If you wanted to tour america but only had the money to go to one state, I'd pick Ohio.  Just remember to end your trip in Cincinatti, a very pretty city.

Vermont really, really, really wants to be in Europe.  If they could, the entire population of Vermont would wrap itself up and mail itself to Brussels.  Then they'd wonder why they couldn't get a decent hamburger.  A very lovely, very expensive state to live in.


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## BiggusGeekus (Jun 19, 2005)

RangerWickett said:
			
		

> [*]Maryland - A small state in New England.




Dude, how big do you think New England _is_?  New England is the states north of New York.  New England is not "places that are not Texas".

Sheesh.  Silly Texans.

Anyway.  Maryland is where they grow milk.  Apparently from cows.  I'm not familiar with the exact procedure.


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## Bryon_Soulweaver (Jun 19, 2005)

RangerWickett said:
			
		

> Arizona - Hot desert state with only two cities -- Tuscon and Phoenix.




You forgot that the cops here are dicks from hell, even the female cops. And that its not Valley of the Sun, its Valley of the Spun.


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## Lhorgrim (Jun 19, 2005)

Kentucky Fried Chicken originated in Kentucky, and was the most prolific fried chicken chain in the U.S. for decades.  

I think what RangerWickett was pointing out is that over the last several years, the Kentucky Fried Chicken company started seeing some major competition from other chicken restaurant chains.  They even changed their name from Kentucky Fried Chicken to KFC, which they said stood for "kitchen fresh chicken", that basically removed "Kentucky" from their image.

I hear that they are switching back to the original name now.


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## Shemeska (Jun 19, 2005)

RangerWickett said:
			
		

> [*]North Carolina - The less interesting sister state of South Carolina.
> 
> [*]South Carolina - The headlining state for southern slavery back during the Civil War. It's nice and trendy now.[/list]





*NC resident mocks SC*

Less interesting? Nice and trendy? *snicker* In my own experience, outside of Charleston and the beaches near the NC border, SC is a wasteland on the order of Beyond Thunderdome. Seriously, this is the state that probably saw a decent % of its income from sales of fireworks near the NC border (because for the longest time they were illegal in our state). SC is the state of 'South of the Border' the largest and most tasteless tourist trap in the world. They have a giant sombrero with a glass elevator leading up to the rim, and that's not the worst of it.

PedroLand typifies SC for you. Once you've seen the place and realize that it's serious about itself, it's one of those moments where a state just reaches out, shakes you like a British nanny and says 'Where's your God now?'.


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## Shemeska (Jun 19, 2005)

Lhorgrim said:
			
		

> I think what RangerWickett was pointing out is that over the last several years, the Kentucky Fried Chicken company started seeing some major competition from other chicken restaurant chains.  They even changed their name from Kentucky Fried Chicken to KFC, which they said stood for "kitchen fresh chicken", that basically removed "Kentucky" from their image.




Kentucky passed a law that would have put a tax on any business that used 'Kentucky' as part of their name. KFC balked at the idea and changed their name since at the time they were already in the process of updating the look of their logo, advertising, etc.

Man, I haven't had KFC in a few years. Making me hungry.


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## Lhorgrim (Jun 19, 2005)

Shemeska said:
			
		

> Kentucky passed a law that would have put a tax on any business that used 'Kentucky' as part of their name. KFC balked at the idea and changed their name since at the time they were already in the process of updating the look of their logo, advertising, etc.
> 
> Man, I haven't had KFC in a few years. Making me hungry.




I had heard that about Kentucky charging for the use of the name, but couldn't remember where I picked it up.  I also heard that the tax(?) was causing the Kentucky Derby to start advertising itself as the "Run for the Roses" to avoid the situation.  I did see the race referred to as the Kentucky Derby in local advertising this year though.  

I'm going to have to double check my facts on the Derby thing.


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## drothgery (Jun 19, 2005)

Let's try revising some of these, though staying in the cliched mode.



			
				RangerWickett said:
			
		

> The quickies (cliched and unfair, but a reasonable representation of what comes to mind for the typical American [meaning me]):
> 
> 
> California - The . . . seriously, these people are crazy. They elected Arnold Schwarzenegger as their governor!!!  I mean, we rely on them for a lot of TV and movies, and they make enough food to probably feed half the world, but man do they do some crazy .




San Fransisco and Hollywood are crazy. The rest of California is evenly divided between normal Americans and illegal immigrants from Mexico.



			
				RangerWickett said:
			
		

> Delaware - Another New England state. They're all pretty much the same.




Consists entirely of suburbs of Philadelphia. Roughly the size of a postage stamp.



			
				RangerWickett said:
			
		

> Minnesota - See Montana, but with more snow.
> 
> Montana - There are lots of mountains here. It's out in the northwest, somewhere in or near the Rocky Mountains.
> 
> Nebraska - See Montana.




There are no mountains in Nebraska or Minnesota, and no lakes in Montana or Nebraska.



			
				RangerWickett said:
			
		

> New Jersey - This is the state that New Yorkers make fun of, because it's right next door and not nearly as cool.




Evenly divided between the worst suburbs of New York City, the worst suburbs of Philadelphia, and empty space. There are some casinos in the empty space.


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## Crothian (Jun 19, 2005)

BiggusGeekus said:
			
		

> Ohio is sort of the red-haired stepchild of the country.  The east coast thinks Ohio is in the midwest and the midwest thinks Ohio is an east coast state.  Nobody wants to claim Ohio as their own.  It's politically divided very evenly.  If you wanted to tour america but only had the money to go to one state, I'd pick Ohio.  Just remember to end your trip in Cincinatti, a very pretty city.




Ohio is also a good mix of pretty big cities and farms.  WE have a good sized population but they are all cramped into the cities.  It doesn't take long to drive from the cities and get to the farmland.  Ohio has a bit of everything.


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## Campbell (Jun 19, 2005)

(Keeping with the cliche)
Michigan acquired its upper peninsula in exchange for the northern portion of Ohio. We should give it back. Honestly. Our upper peninsula is a huge economic sinkhole. A long time ago the UP had coal mines running around the clock, and wanted to annex as a seperate state. The LP fought this because we liked the mining tax money. Now they have mining museums, indian reservations, indian casinos, fishing and hunting. They call  themselves  'Yuppers' and people from the LP  'Trolls' (Cause we live under the bridge). A typical Yupper spends half of their life in deer camp, and the other half either drinking or complaining about gun control laws. THe more sane portion of the UP wishes it were part of Wisconsin. The majority of the LP forgets that we have a UP most of the time.


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## Quasqueton (Jun 19, 2005)

> North Carolina - The less interesting sister state of South Carolina.



North Carolina - It's a nice place to live, but you wouldn't want to visit.

Quasqueton


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## Acquana (Jun 19, 2005)

*Couple of Things More*

Hey, the best way to learn just about anything is to just ask someone who's from there, right!

Since starting to live in the South I've learned a lot of things.  For one, northerners who spend more than a week here realize they've never truly eaten good food.  Ever.  

Second, Alabama is divided into North and South as well.  Northern Alabama is where Huntsville is, and this is where one of the major centers for NASA is.  So the ratio of working adults who have doctorates versus those who don't is rather insane.  Most of the people in Northern Alabama wish they weren't associated with Montgomery, and most of the state believes firmly in the unofficial state motto: "Hey, at least we're not Mississippi."

I've got a friend from New Jersey.  She hates it there.  The middle of the state reeks of industry and garbage dumps, the highways are near-impossible to manuever, and where she comes from the uh ... *cough cough* the 'blood runs a little thick.'  She has a long list of things to hate about New Jersey, but I shan't go into it all.

Hey, got a north Texas joke for ya!  Why doesn't Texas fall into the Gulf of Mexico?  *pause*


Cuz OKLAHOMA SUCKS!

Not that I'm from North Texas, but a professor of mine was.  He actually worked on a ranch for a while.  He advises all to enjoy the   out of your steak, because cows are stupid.  And let no one ever tell you otherwise.

I've got a friend living in Hawaii.  There are lots of Asians living there, chickens freely roam the streets (and it's legal to hunt them), and instead of mice in your house you're far more likely to get lizards.  She says it's constant.  Lizards on the walls, on the porch, in the laundry room--it's very hard to keep them out.

I used to live in Washington.  A lot of hippies who never "reformed" went up there.  There were a couple of hippie colonies near where my family lived.  The scenery is fabulous, there's Northwest Native American art all over the state ... 

So anyway ... I better be off, gotta go to lunch.  More later.


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## Davelozzi (Jun 19, 2005)

Malic, don't trust what you read here, a lot of it is *totally* off base.


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## Crothian (Jun 19, 2005)

Davelozzi said:
			
		

> Malic, don't trust what you read here, a lot of it is *totally* off base.




And a lot of it is really true.  Perspective is a funny thing.


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## RangerWickett (Jun 19, 2005)

In my defense, I've never been to the west coast aside from southern California, and I've never been to the east coast aside from Florida and Savannah, Georgia.  And yes, since I grew up in Texas, you should be honored I even remembered the names of your other puny states. Bwahahahaha!

By the way, the part of Texas I'm from was heavily forested, and incredibly humid. Hardly a desert, though we did have lots of oil.


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## Capellan (Jun 19, 2005)

Go here and follow the links.


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## Quasqueton (Jun 19, 2005)

> Malic, don't trust what you read here, a lot of it is totally off base.



Very true. The "answers" in this thread are 90% joke.



> And yes, since I grew up in Texas, you should be honored I even remembered the names of your other puny states.



There's a non-Texan joke: "Let's cut Alaska in half and make Texas the third largest state.

Quasqueton


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## Arrellion (Jun 19, 2005)

New England is made up of six states:

Maine
Vermont
New Hampshire
Massachusetts
Connecticut
Rhode Island

No more, no less.

Arrel


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## drothgery (Jun 19, 2005)

Arrellion said:
			
		

> New England is made up of six states:
> 
> Maine
> Vermont
> ...




You could make a pretty decent case that New York City and Philly are New England, even though the rest of New York and Pennsylvania aren't.


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## Dark Jezter (Jun 19, 2005)

RangerWickett said:
			
		

> Utah - A big state with Mormons.




Addendum:  Utah is also home to the best powder skiing and snowboarding in the United States, possibly the world.  This is due to the "lake effect", a phenomenan in which moisture from the Great Salt Lake causes the snow in nearby Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons to be exceptionally light and powdery (I'm not a meterologist, so I couldn't explain exactly how it works).  Because of it's great winter sports conditions, Utah was chosen to host the 2002 Winter Olympics.

Utah is also famous for rock climbing, river rafting, hiking, hunting, fishing, and other outdoor activities.  Utah is also home to the world-famous Slickrock Trail for mountain biking, the Sundance Film Festival which attracts filmmakers from around the world, and the Bonneville Salt Flats where racers routinely break the world land speed record.  But mostly it's known for being a big state with lots of Mormons. 

(Yes, I'm from Utah and yes, I'm a mormon  )


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## francisca (Jun 19, 2005)

Malic said:
			
		

> RangerWickett, thanks for the great outline  something to keep me going until those books get here in two months or so.



Or at least until you get some accurate information.  :\


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## AsEver (Jun 19, 2005)

Quasqueton said:
			
		

> There's a non-Texan joke: "Let's cut Alaska in half and make Texas the third largest state.



Here's another perspective on just how big Alaska is...  link.  Most maps of the U.S. just stick Alaska and Hawaii in the corner underneath California, with no real perspective on how large they are compared to the Lower 48.


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## DaveMage (Jun 19, 2005)

RangerWickett said:
			
		

> Florida - South-east USA. Home to Disney World, retired old people, and illegal immigrants from Cuba. It's hit by hurricanes a lot.




Already hit by 1 storm this season!

Florida is also the home of EN World's server.


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## aceofgames (Jun 19, 2005)

RangerWickett said:
			
		

> [*]Idaho - They grow potatoes there....[*]Montana - There are lots of mountains here. It's out in the northwest, somewhere in or near the Rocky Mountains....[*]Oregon - A forested state between California and Washington, on the west coast....[*]Washington - Not to be confused with the capital of the nation. Washington state is on the west coast, just south of Canada. Seattle is there, which is where grunge music came from. Nike is based out of here, and it's an evil corporation. Interestingly, Wizards of the Coast is also based here....[*]Wyoming - Another one of those big states out west, like Montana and the Dakotas.[/list]




Most interesting...  Well, I'm Oregon, that state between California and Washington.  Nice that they get all the attention...  
Saying Oregon is forested is like asking if there are mountains in Montana.  C'mon!  We've done weirder crap than that!  The state is divided between its two parts, Portland and everything else.  Portland is a super-liberal city that is the forested part (or one of them) of the state.  The city kicked out counter-terrorism groups from the government... and well, they're the ones who pushed the entire "Oregon health care plan" and the "Assisted Suicide law". I don't live in Portland, I live in Pendleton.  You see, between Columbia river and the Blue Mountains to the south of Pendleton, is nothing but desert.  DESERT.  Not sand, but without the irrigation of the Columbia river, our part of the state would be inhabitable.

Washington is the same way, one part Seattle, and the rest tiny towns.  Heck, Central Washington is desert too.

I've been to Montana... It really is only mountains and a bit of plains to the east.  'bout it.  No big lakes like Minnesota...


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## jaerdaph (Jun 19, 2005)

drothgery said:
			
		

> You could make a pretty decent case that New York City and Philly are New England, even though the rest of New York and Pennsylvania aren't.




New York City is defintely NOT New England.


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## Bryan898 (Jun 19, 2005)

> Anyone got any highlights for Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio or Vermont?




I can help you with some insight into Iowa.  

It's a mix of rural and urban areas, but mostly farmland.  The land is often flat with gently rolling hills, as a result of the glaciers that once covered it, however it's often a nice green.  We sport a deep rich black soil that's perfect for growing crops.  The NE area of Iowa has quite a few hills, a result from streams and rivers.  One of the more beautiful towns is Dubuque, with plenty of large hills covered in trees, and built along the river.  It also sports the most millionaires per captia in the US (IIRC), the most beer per capita (IIRC), lots of Irish, plenty of catholics, and at one time the most one way streets in the US.  So, you have a bunch of drunk catholic irish millionaires driving on one way streets, fun image isn't it? 

The agriculture used to be mainly corn, up until about 1990.  We produce plenty of corn and soybeans, but have also moved into the meat market, namely pork.  You can buy some delicious top quality beef from a local butcher for cheap, a luxury I definetely enjoy.

You have the same cliches here as anywhere else.  Where I went to high school they had kids that dressed as cowboys that would drive down gravels in their ford trucks and ride bulls in rodeo's for fun.  The kids there were often racist, red necks, and deeply religious.  I've also lived in an area that was densely inhabited, where the people tended towards the current fads, whether it's dressing up like Britney Spears or acting like Eminem.  The state is predominately white (90% I believe), and the largest religion is Roman Catholic.  Recreation usually takes place in the form of hunting, fishing, camping, and boating.  I would have to say the biggest sport is football, though we don't have any professional teams in any sport.  The thing about Iowa is that most places tend to have a small town feel to them.  You have you're party towns too, like Ames for example.  Iowa State University was named one of the top ten party colleges not too long ago, and the reputation is well deserved in my experience.

People often think of Iowan's as ignorant, however we're one of the most educated workforces in the US.  We pride ourselves with excellent school systems, including the University of Northern Iowa, which is rather reknown as one of premier teaching preperation schools in the US.  Though you occasionally find those red necks here, it doesn't seem to be more than anywhere else in my opinion.

Hope that's enough.


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## Darth K'Trava (Jun 19, 2005)

> North Carolina - The less interesting sister state of South Carolina.




PFFT!

Without us, we wouldn't have the Bill of Rights in the Constitution....

No airplanes as it was in this state the Wright Brothers tested their plane...

No Carolina Panthers NFL team for people to either respect or ridcule... 

There's probably others...


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## Davelozzi (Jun 19, 2005)

drothgery said:
			
		

> You could make a pretty decent case that New York City and Philly are New England, even though the rest of New York and Pennsylvania aren't.




You could try, but you'd be wrong.  New England isn't a nebulous entity, it's a clearly defined region that includes the six states that Arrellion listed and no other.


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## drothgery (Jun 19, 2005)

Davelozzi said:
			
		

> You could try, but you'd be wrong.  New England isn't a nebulous entity, it's a clearly defined region that includes the six states that Arrellion listed and no other.




Cutlurally, the northeast coastal cities are one block (and arguably the northwest coastal cities are in the same block). While Philly and NYC aren't in New England proper, NYC and Philadelphia residents have far more in common with Boston residents than Buffalo and Pittsburgh (respectively) residents.


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## Vraille Darkfang (Jun 20, 2005)

Malic said:
			
		

> Anyone got any highlights for Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio or Vermont?





Missouri I can Handle.

Got 2 Big Cities, St. Louis & Kansas City (I should note that KC Missouri is where it's at.  KC, Kansas is more of a suburb of KC, MO).  Actually KC is really made up of dozens of smaller towns that make up the Kansas City Metro Area (including KC, MO, KC, KS, Gladstone, Lee's Summit, Overland Park, & many others).  KC is textbook example of Urban Sprawl.

MO has probably the 3rd most distinctive man-made monument in the US. (after the Statue of Liberty & Mt. Rushmore); the St. Louis Arch, signifying the importance of MO to the colonization of the Western US.

Like OH, we're a pretty evenly divided slice of the US. Population & whoever wins Missouri often wins the Presidential Election.  Thus MO often has a much greater impact in election years than her population would suggest.  (Though Republicans have really started to dominate in the aftermath of Democratic Gov Bob Holden, one of the least popular, yet most intensly HATED politicans in Missouris history).

Mo has a loty of state parks & more caves than any other state in the union.  We got Branson!  (sort of like Las Vegas for hicks).

KC. heavily influenced the Blues & BBQ.

Several products were introduced at the St. Louis World's Fair at the beginning of the century (I can't remember what they were).

MO was one of the 'Battleground' states of the Civil War, as it was pretty evenly divided between North & South.  Some of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War were fought here & the scars of (physical & social) still abound in this state.  Northern Mo is thought of as a "Northern" state, while Southern Mo is thought of as a "Southern" State.  Where I live, in Boonville, MO (Small Town about an hour West of St. Louis) we had 2 civil war battles.  In fact, the town theatre still stands from that time & the bricks still have the holes where civil war bullets hit it.  Our house, built in 1930, was made from the bricks of the old Main Street, which Union Troops marched down to meet the Confederate Forces attacking the town.  

Although not thought of as a "Tourist" Stop.  Missouri has more than enough to keep somebody busy during a vacation (really long if you like outdoorsy stuff).


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## Storminator (Jun 20, 2005)

drothgery said:
			
		

> You could make a pretty decent case that New York City and Philly are New England, even though the rest of New York and Pennsylvania aren't.




Of course, you wouldn't if you lived in New York or Philly.

PS


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## WayneLigon (Jun 20, 2005)

Shemeska said:
			
		

> Kentucky passed a law that would have put a tax on any business that used 'Kentucky' as part of their name. KFC balked at the idea and changed their name since at the time they were already in the process of updating the look of their logo, advertising, etc.
> 
> Man, I haven't had KFC in a few years. Making me hungry.




That is actually not true. A page on the Snopes sight says this, yes, but all the stuff in The Repository of Lost Legends (TROLL) is false. http://www.snopes.com/lost/false.htm


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## Aeson (Jun 20, 2005)

RangerWickett said:
			
		

> Georgia - A bunch of rednecks in the backwoods. Oddly, the capital city of Atlanta is cultured, and a major business hub (it has the second busiest airport in the US). Atlanta is the most prominent Southern city, and it representative of the difficult but successful prosperity of the south.



I know you said this was sterotyped. The airport is THE busiest in the country. Charlotte is wishing they could be the most prominent but they have no hope. 

There maybe redneck here but they are some of the nicest and most helpful people. If you meet a rude person here chances are their from some place else. We have a wide variety of ethnic groups here. 

Don't forget we have Dragoncon, Coca Cola, Atlanta Falcons and Braves.


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## Eolin (Jun 20, 2005)

I feel the need to fix the opinions about Oklahoma.

First off, its a terrible awful state. I'm leaving in about 2 months, and my disgust grows pretty reguarly. A quarter the population is technically illiterate.

That being said, only about a third the state works farms. The rest live in one of the few cities. The biggest of which are Oklahoma City and Tulsa. With Norman being third, and that being the location of the University of Oklahoma. Norman is a good place, I'm going to miss some people and a bar or two.

While there are a lot of farms ... the land isn't the best farmland. We've got a lot of clay, and produce a lot of brick. When you've got rockhard red clay a six inches below ground level, its real hard to make a working farm. 

Most of the state has been, in effect, terraformed. We've got more lakes than any other state -- real small ones. And because of that, we've also got the most coastline of any state. We beat out real big states like California. And its all been built by man. Which is pretty neat, except that the land is still barely fit to support life.

Corporate big wigs include Braums and Sonic. They're both headquartered here, and I'm sure a few other things are as well. This was the last place in the 48 states to be settled -- before that, it was Indian Territory. Then the white man took even this place from the natives. Such nice guys, the white man.


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## Steve Jung (Jun 20, 2005)

drothgery said:
			
		

> Cutlurally, the northeast coastal cities are one block (and arguably the northwest coastal cities are in the same block). While Philly and NYC aren't in New England proper, NYC and Philadelphia residents have far more in common with Boston residents than Buffalo and Pittsburgh (respectively) residents.



Yeah, but Boston isn't the be-all, end-all of New England either.


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## Dirigible (Jun 20, 2005)

> Here's another perspective on just how big Alaska is... link. Most maps of the U.S. just stick Alaska and Hawaii in the corner underneath California, with no real perspective on how large they are compared to the Lower 48.




Wow. Now I see why the Russians sold it to you guys.

It's not like they _needed_ another million square miles of arctic nothingness, right?


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## wingsandsword (Jun 20, 2005)

Malic said:
			
		

> What's this? Kentucky Fried Chicken isn't from Kentucky?



Let me speak up here as a Kentuckian, born & raised.

Kentucky Fried Chicken was first created in 1939 in the small town of Corbin, Kentucky by Col. Harlan Sanders.  The first resturant is still open and used as a museum as well.  The first franchise opened in 1952.  

In 1964 he sold the resturant chain to a group of investors, including John Y. Brown (a future Governor of Kentucky), although he remained affiliated with the company and their spokesman for most of his life.  At one point is was sold to a company which decided to cut corners and change recipes to cut costs.  Col. Sanders was outraged, and was very outspoken in the media that the "gravy tastes like wallpaper paste" when they were done.  The new company sued for slander, but suing Kentucky's favorite son in a Kentucky court for complaining about the drop in quality of his product didn't get very far and he won the case.

In 1991 they changed their name from "Kentucky Fried Chicken" to "KFC" because the term "Fried" was considered unhealthy.  There are bogus rumors that the state government wanted to charge a fee for the use of the name "Kentucky" (I'm about 99% sure they legally can't do that) or that they were using genetically modified fowl that couldn't legally be called "chicken", but they were both easily debunked urban legends.  It was all about worrying about an image problem for selling "fried" food.  They tried that "Kitchen Fresh Chicken" idea for a short while in 2001, but there were a lot of objections from Kentuckians about their namesake resturant turning their back on them.

In April of this year, they started slowly going back to their original name, by opening new resturants called "Kentucky Fried Chicken", starting in Louisville, Kentucky.

In Kentucky though, I've noticed we don't have as many Kentucky Fried Chicken as I see in other states when travelling.  Fried chicken, mashed potatos and gravy, green beans, and biscuits are certainly a very popular meal, but are typically homemade or from a local non-chain resturant.

As for what Kentucky is like, it's mostly rural, lots of beautiful rolling hills (becoming low mountains in the east and southeast) and lots of forests.  Heavily dotted with farms (tobacco until recently), and horse farms in the central part of the state (horse country is quite beautiful, with lots of old handmade stone fences).  Plenty of small towns, but only two cities of note, Lexington and Louisville, which have a big rivalry in college basketball (University of Kentucky vs. University of Louisville).  The state has an unfortunate reputation of being ill-educated and uncivilized, and the more rural parts of the state can regrettably sometimes live up to the stereotype, but it's much different in the cities.  The state takes great pride in its horse breeding/racing industry, and the production of bourbon whiskey.  There is little in the way of professional sports, but University of Kentucky Basketball is the sport most commonly followed statewide (except near Louisville).  Much of the state is religously and socially conservative, and evangelical Christianity (especially Southern Baptist) is the most common religion, but in the cities you can find everything (including Wiccan, Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist).

As for regions of the country, the culture really does vary a whole lot based on where you go.  I guess we probably do look a little monolithic to an outsider, but on the inside there is a world of difference between a stereotypical New Yorker, Texan, Californian and a Kentuckian.  We have one common language, but pronounciations and vocabulary widely vary.  The Boston accent is often impenetrable to my ears, and the signature Texas twang sometimes grates on my ears, and while I try to keep my accent under control, I know sometimes I slip into a "southern" accent.  

Also, within the U.S., "Yankee" does not mean somebody from the U.S., it mean somebody from the northeastern US.  Exactly what denotes a "Yankee" varies, but I generally consider it to be the state of Ohio and further north or east.  Many people from the southeastern U.S. (typically parts of the U.S. that formed the Confederacy during the Civil War) consider "Yankee" to be a perjorative and calling one that could easily be taken as a significant insult.


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## Lhorgrim (Jun 20, 2005)

WayneLigon, thanks for the Snopes reference.  I knew I had heard that the name thing was a rumor.  I did a search on Snopes before you posted, but I didn't find the TROLL entry.

Good overview of our state wingsandsword.


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## Planesdragon (Jun 20, 2005)

In defense of New England/Upstate NY:


Harvard and Yale, the two most prestiguous colleges in the United States, are both in New England--CT, if I recall correctly.  To say nothing of the plethora of excellent colleges scattered throught the rest of the area.   
Upstate NY is not only the home of Uncle Sam, birthplace of GM, and home to the most haunted cemetry in the country AND the Five Tribes of the Oneidas (sic - may have name wrong), but it's also the place where the Mormon religion was founed.   
Massachusests, in addition to being home of MIT and Boston, is also the only state in the Union to allow homosexual marriage.   
Vermont, just north of MA and one of the few NE states not to be one of the original 13 colonies, is an "exceptionally blue blue-state" noteworthy for not only being the home of the (in)famous Howard Dean, but also the VERY first state in the union to allow the marriage-equivalent Civil Unions for homosexuals.   
Maine, in addition to being the northernmost of the lower 48, is also the eastern-most.  As such, it's where transatlantic flights that must be diverted from the DC area are sent.  Most likely because their mazelike highway system keeps anyone from getting out of Maine.   
More about NY: It's also the home of the first canal that allowed water travel between the east coast and the plains, the Eire Canal.  There's a LOT of history up here--oh, and let's not forget Niagara Falls, which sit right in Niagara Falls, NY.  (Although the best view is from across the river in Canada.)   
(And on a more interesting note, Eden Studios has its headquarters and comapny-owned game store, Zombie Planet, right here in Albany NY.  Where they have a soft competition with the more general used book-and-game store Flights of Fantasy.)


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## yennico (Jun 20, 2005)

Perhaps you need one book for each state.


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## Malic (Jun 20, 2005)

Thanks guys, this is great!

(Taken with a pinch of salt as recommended ...)

Iowa most beer per capita, huh? As an Aussie I can respect that.

Wow, Coca-Cola's from Georgia? That's hard to process, such a massive global icon/presence being from a particular place. How about McDonalds, is that 'from' anywhere?

Love to hear any more comments people have got.

Can anyone educate us about Nebraska?

Cheers all!


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## megamania (Jun 20, 2005)

Vermont-  the good, the bad and the damned ugly-

Good
Beautiful scenic state
5 seasons clearly detectable (Winter, Mud, Spring, Summer and Fall)
Maple syrup
Green Mountain Boys.  If not for the Vermont Rednecks-  We may still be an expansion of Britian

Bad
Howard Dean
Near impossible cost of living conditions (tourist state)
Too many tourist based jobs
City people move here for the peace and nature then drag their city life ethics with them.  Afterwards they complain about how the people of Vermont are screwing the state up.
little cell phone reception

Ugly
Once a lot of dairy and farming.  Now the land is being sold to Tri-state people (NY, CONN, NJ) for crazy prices.  The effect-  higher cost of living, low wages, conflicts between natives and flatlanders
in-breeding    sometimes I think the entire state is related to itself


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## Rystil Arden (Jun 20, 2005)

Ranger Wickett said:
			
		

> Massachussettes - Boston is where a bunch of people who started the Revolutionary War came from. MIT is a big school that teaches technology and computers.



Excellent. Name MIT before that silly...little red school down the road. Well done!  Next step is spelling Massachusetts correctly, but hey, that's what editors are for, right?

~Rystil the MITer


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## The_Universe (Jun 20, 2005)

BiggusGeekus said:
			
		

> Dude, how big do you think New England _is_?  New England is the states north of New York.  New England is not "places that are not Texas".
> 
> Sheesh.  Silly Texans.
> 
> Anyway.  Maryland is where they grow milk.  Apparently from cows.  I'm not familiar with the exact procedure.





> Anyway. Maryland is where they grow milk. Apparently from cows. I'm not familiar with the exact procedure.



Actually, Maryland does have some Dairy Production, but it's a tiny fraction of what's produced in the Midwest.  Wisconsin alone outproduces Maryland, Virginia, and Delaware.


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## Stormborn (Jun 20, 2005)

*Sweet Home...*

Ranger Wickett said:

Alabama - Rural, full of racists, but birthplace of the Civil Rights movement.


Mostly yes to the first one.  There are 3 basic areas:  North, Central, and Lower (LA as we call it.) The Birmingham/Hoover metropolitan area is the biggest city and dominates the center of the state, but only about a 45 min. drive from Tuscaloosa, home of the University of Alabama.  Built in,on, and around Red Mountain its a steel town that recovered from the 70s.  We have the 2nd largest free standing metal statue, next to the Statue of Liberty, in the world.  Its from a World Fair at the turn of the last century, Vulcan God of the Forge.  In fact, Birmingham has a great deal of strange mystical totems, like a suburb named for Vesta, because a former mayor had a replica Temple of Vesta built on his  property.  Birmigham is a strange place geographically, becuase of the mountains, its very broken up into lots of smaller neighboorhoods.  Birmingham also has the richest zip-code in the US, in Mountain Brook (recently in the news as the home of Natalee Holloway who is missing in Aruba)  and what was at one time the poorest, near Birmingham Green.

In North Alabama, Huntsville is worth noting, as was mentioned by a previous poster.  Its where they took Van Braun after WW2 to jump start the US space program.   Huntsville could be another state any where in America if you only moved in Arsenal/Space realated circles, otherwise its very North Alabama.  NA is very hilly, being well into the Smokey Mountains, with several notable waterways and lakes.

In LA, there is Montgomery, Mobile (built on the only real bay in the Gulf of Mexico), and other places.  Mostly flat, 99% rural, one has one of the poorest counties in the nation.  It to is like another state compared to the Birmingham area.


If he has said "full of rednecks" I would have agreed with him on his next point.  A "redneck" is a slang term originally applicable to rural agrarian people who would work out in the sun and burn their neck.  Now it basically means any poor, and largely uneducated, person who possesses a kind of hubris about that state, a kind of mean and unfounded pride in being poor and uneducated.  Like most stereotypes its easier to point out than define.  Typically these people are also racists, but not neccesarilly.  But then not all poor and largely uneducated people are rednecks either.  

Racism in Alabama is highlighted in the American mind becuase of his next point.  It is the birthplace of the Civil Rights Movement.  Something you can learn more about here:  www.bcri.org.   On the one hand a point of pride, that our citizens would have the will and determination to stand up against injustice and act.  On the other a point of shame, that the actions of other citizens would make the first part neccesary.

Other than that Alabama is known for college football (American style of course) and the achievments of Bear Bryant among others.  If you have seen Forrest Gump, he was Forrest's college coach in the whole "run forrest run"  segment.

It is HOT and HUMID, summer lasts from about the 1st of May until the end of Septemeber, if we are lucky.  We are frequently the target of Hurricanes, and they tend to only loose enough power to be Tropical Depressions by the time they make it to Birimingham.    It almost never snows.  And when the weather man says "chance of flurries"  there is a run on milk and bread in the stores, for some strange reason.  One time it really did snow, the Blizzard of 93 dropped about a foot of snow in Birmigham, shut the city down for a bout a week.  We just don't deal with that often enough to have the resources on hand to adress it.

Hmmm... lots more tha could be said, but Iwil be glad to answer any more questions.

Interstingly enough, I have lived in Europe, travelled fairly exstinisivelly, and would still come back to central Alabama to live.

Oh, one more thing about regions in the US:  "Delaware ain't the South!"  North Carolina is only vaguely the South.  When someone around here says "South" they mean "Deep South."  If you refer to it as a "Pea-Con" Pie you are from the south, if you say "Pe-cAn" you might be a Yankee trying to pass.

Florida isn't "the South" either.  It just happens to live down here.


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## Desdichado (Jun 20, 2005)

Malic said:
			
		

> RangerWickett, thanks for the great outline  something to keep me going until those books get here in two months or so.



Uh, yeah.  I think RangerWickett could use those books himself -- I'd disagree with most of his assessments completely.


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## der_kluge (Jun 20, 2005)

State Slogans

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alabama: Yes, We Have Electricity

Alaska: 11,623 Eskimos Can't Be Wrong!

Arizona: But It's A Dry Heat

Arkansas: Literacy Ain't Everything

California: By 30, Our Women Have More Plastic Than Your Honda

Colorado: If You Don't Ski, Don't Bother

Connecticut: Like Massachusetts, Only The Kennedys Don't Own It Yet

Delaware: We Really Do Like The Chemicals In Our Water

Florida: Ask Us About Our Grandkids

Georgia: We Put The "Fun" In Fundamentalist Extremism

Hawaii: Haka Tiki Mou Sha'ami Leeki Toru (Death To Mainland Scum, But Leave Your Money)

Idaho: More Than Just Potatoes. Well Okay, Not Really, But The Potatoes Sure Are Real Good

Illinois: Please Don't Pronounce the "S"

Indiana: 2 Billion Years Tidal Wave Free

Iowa: We Do Amazing Things With Corn

Kansas: First Of The Rectangle States

Kentucky: Five Million People; Fifteen Last Names

Louisiana: We're Not ALL Drunk Cajun Wackos, But That's Our Tourism Campaign

Maine: We're Really Cold, But We Have Cheap Lobster

Maryland: If You Can Dream It, We Can Tax It

Massachusetts: Our Taxes Are Lower Than Sweden's (For Most Tax Brackets)

Michigan: First Line Of Defense From The Canadians

Minnesota: 10,000 Lakes And 10,000,000,000,000 Mosquitoes

Mississippi: Come And Feel Better About Your Own State

Missouri: Your Federal Flood Relief Tax Dollars At Work

Montana: Land Of The Big Sky, The Unabomber, Right-Wing Crazies, And Very Little Else

Nebraska: Ask About Our State Motto Contest

Nevada: Whores and Poker!

New Hampshire: Go Away And Leave Us Alone

New Jersey: You Want A ##$%##! Motto? I Got Yer ##$%##! Motto Right Here!

New Mexico: Lizards Make Excellent Pets

New York: You Have The Right To Remain Silent, You Have The Right To An Attorney

North Carolina: Tobacco Is A Vegetable

North Dakota: We Really Are One Of The 50 States!

Ohio: At Least We're Not Michigan

Oklahoma: Like The Play, Only No Singing

Oregon: Spotted Owl - It's What's For Dinner

Pennsylvania: Cook With Coal

Rhode Island: We're Not REALLY An Island

South Carolina: Remember The Civil War? We Didn't Actually Surrender

South Dakota: Closer Than North Dakota

Tennessee: The Educashun State

Texas: Si' Hablo Ing'les (Yes, I Speak English)

Utah: Our Jesus Is Better Than Your Jesus

Vermont: Yep

Virginia: Who Says Government Stiffs And Slackjaw Yokels Don't Mix?

Washington: Help! We're Overrun By Nerds And Slackers!

Washington, D.C.: Wanna Be Mayor?

West Virginia: One Big Happy Family - Really!

Wisconsin: Come Cut The Cheese

Wyoming: Where Men Are Men (And The Sheep Are Scared)


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## Thornir Alekeg (Jun 20, 2005)

drothgery said:
			
		

> Cutlurally, the northeast coastal cities are one block (and arguably the northwest coastal cities are in the same block). While Philly and NYC aren't in New England proper, NYC and Philadelphia residents have far more in common with Boston residents than Buffalo and Pittsburgh (respectively) residents.




Wow, I think you need to take a closer look at New England if you believe that.  I would not consider each state in New England on culturally similar block, let alone adding in the rest of the Northeast.


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## diaglo (Jun 20, 2005)

Malic said:
			
		

> Wow, Coca-Cola's from Georgia? That's hard to process, such a massive global icon/presence being from a particular place.





not all of GA. just Atlanta even.


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## BiggusGeekus (Jun 20, 2005)

der_kluge said:
			
		

> Washington, D.C.: Wanna Be Mayor?




Heh, I thought it was: "Our mayors don't do crack ...  anymore!"


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## nothing to see here (Jun 20, 2005)

I find this thread hilariously funny.  I mean...if this was about people from different countries tooting their own horns and talking up stereotypes about their neighbours...the thread would be closed by now.  Yet Americans talking about other Americans...and it's all in good humour and even better spirit.

As a Canadian by birth, this is one of the things I find enviable about America.  The Americans in the thread should be proud.  This "we can be different but still love our country" spirit is one of the things that makes your country great.


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## Henry (Jun 20, 2005)

I think Rangerwickett did more to foster understanding of the 'States than people are giving him credit for. 



			
				Shemeska said:
			
		

> ...In my own experience, outside of Charleston and the beaches near the NC border, SC is a wasteland on the order of Beyond Thunderdome. Seriously, this is the state that probably saw a decent % of its income from sales of fireworks near the NC border (because for the longest time they were illegal in our state). SC is the state of 'South of the Border' the largest and most tasteless tourist trap in the world. They have a giant sombrero with a glass elevator leading up to the rim, and that's not the worst of it.
> 
> PedroLand typifies SC for you. Once you've seen the place and realize that it's serious about itself, it's one of those moments where a state just reaches out, shakes you like a British nanny and says 'Where's your God now?'.




Get thee behind me, Gehenna-boy!  SotB is indeed a tourist trap, but most of the people paying money to see it are from North Carolina. 

South Carolina is separated into three geographic regions - Low country (along the coast) where the original crops were indigo and rice (more tobacco and cotton now, I believe), the piedmont (literally, _foothills_, which is heavily dependent on textile industry and is horribly suffering right now because of the drop in the textile industry, and the Up Country (higher elevated reaches, some lump the piedmont region in with the Up country). The three largest cities are Charleston, Columbia (capital), and Greenville. It was the 8th of the 13 colonies to secede from Great Britain, and one of the biggest losses of the British in the Revolutionary War took place near Cowpens, SC. It has a VERY long history with slavery and civil rights battles, and was the first state to secede from the Union in 1860, and readmitted in 1868.

Oh, and don't forget that it's not illegal to buy 198 proof alcohol here for consumption, either.  (at least, last time I checked.)


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## RangerWickett (Jun 20, 2005)

Massachusetts?  No, that can't be right. Check again. Your state probably mispelled it. I mean, they wanted 'unalienable' rights.



In Georgia it is illegal to buy alcohol on Sundays, because people shouldn't be drunk on the Sabbath. Of course, certain bars can still sell alcohol, because God's okay with you defying him if you have a state-issued license.

And yes, you can buy Coca-Cola any day of the week.  The World of Coca-Cola (called "the coke museum" colloquially) is basically a trick that makes people pay money to be advertised to, on the pretense that you get all the Coke you can drink. People who visit the museum are typically those with intense phobias regarding fast food restaurants. Exhibits include recreations of an early 20th century pharmacy where a dude in a funny white hat makes you a fountain drink (no cocaine included), a simulated bottling facility, feel-good reminders of how Coke played a role in everything good in the world (even Santa Claus drinks Coke), and a showcase of all the packaging Coke has been through.

The college I went to, Emory University, has a lot of money in Coke stocks. New students are sent in large groups to visit the museum.

Sadly they don't serve New Coke. I don't know what it tastes like.


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## Captain Needles (Jun 20, 2005)

A little more about Massachusetts:
-We're pretty liberal about a lot of issues.  Love us or decry us as the center of satan's future works on earth, we don't care.  As long as it doesn't hurt anyone, most of us are cool with a lot of things.
-We are very self educated.  Most people from around here pride themselves on being able to hold a serious discussion on anything, at any time, with anybody.  We are bright people.  But there is an agenda to this; we are all terribly sarcastic wisea  es!  And the more you are informed about in the world, the more you can mock with scathing comments and dry wit.
-We have our own religion in this part of the country.  It is a lot like Roman Catholicism in that it takes a lot of suffering and pain to finally collect what you've earned.  It requires patience and at least several pilgrimages to Landsdown street in Boston.  While there is no signs pointing you to the church, you can't miss the large lights and green walls of Fenway park.  Also, there will be drunk people in the vicinity saying some derogitory things about the Yankees and Uncle George.  Some people will tell you that this is not a church, but locals will argue that nowhere else in this region of the country will you find one building where as many SINCERE prayers have been offered over the years, than beautiful Fenway Park.  If you lived in this area during the Fall of 2004, you know how true all of this is.
-If you don't like Baseball (nothing better to have on in the background while writing up your new character or game notes):  we also happen to have a first rate Football (American) Dynasty in town as well.  While great in our hearts, The Patriots will always be little brother to our beloved Sox.
-There's also some pretty decent/historic basketball, Hockey (?) and Soccer franchises here as well.
-Don't ever think of Boston as representative of all of Mass or New England.  It's just one point of interest.  That would be as wrong as including New York city in with the New England states (really, that's just wrong.  New Yorkers would feel just as passionate about this as Bostonians do).
-We have a ton of historical sites around here.  Way too many to ever be able to list in a whole series of books.  We also have Salem Mass for all the little goth kids to flock to (it's great on Halloween!), and one of the most haunted sights in America; Danvers State Hospital. 
-According to a new poll, apparently Boston uses more marijuana than any other city in the nation.  I could care less, but it's a drawing point for people with all sorts of agendas.  Just don't expect to go to a concert and be able to breathe clean/non-toxic air.
-There is a great music scene in Boston/New England, for almost every type of music out there.  If you can listen to it, there's a place to catch a good show. 

More later...


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## Aeson (Jun 20, 2005)

Malic said:
			
		

> Thanks guys, this is great!
> 
> (Taken with a pinch of salt as recommended ...)
> 
> ...




McDonald's was started in Des Plaines, Illinois.


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## Prince of Happiness (Jun 20, 2005)

Washington: Actually, Nike is based out of Oregon. However, Seattle has the Experience Music Project (if you're into music) and the Sci-Fi Museum (because Billionaire Paul Allen is a sci-fi geek  ). We also have three national parks (Mt. Rainier, the Olympic National Park which houses a great temperate rainforest, and the North Cascades) and a national monument (Mt. St. Helens...the Ape Caves in the vicinity were named as such after a supposed sasquatch attack on a miners' cabin yeeeeeears ago). Lots of beautiful natural places from rainforest to desert. Seattle also has tons of bands and shows, good music scene if you're into hanging out.

The San Juans, from which I just returned from visiting, are exceptionally beautiful and is also the terrain from which we (the U.S.) almost went to war against Britain...over a pig. A. Pig.  

As a native Washingtonian, I've noticed two things about the people: The natives are weird...this is where the serial killers come from, after all, and everyone else is from Somewhere Else. Two, there is a big difference between the people of Western Washington (that is west of the Cascade Mountains) and the people of Eastern Washington (those people from...over................_there_), especially politically.


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## drothgery (Jun 20, 2005)

Thornir Alekeg said:
			
		

> Wow, I think you need to take a closer look at New England if you believe that.  I would not consider each state in New England on culturally similar block, let alone adding in the rest of the Northeast.




Err... I lived most of my life (before moving to SoCal four years ago) in the northeast and the midwest (I don't really like the name "midwest" for the great lakes states, as they're really not 'midwest', and haven't been since the Louisiana purchase, but that's what history gave us), and I think it's very safe to say the northeastern coastal cities have far more in common with each other than with any other part of the country, except possibly the northwestern coastal cities. It's also very safe to say that Buffalo has far more in common with Cleveland than with New York City.


----------



## Vraille Darkfang (Jun 20, 2005)

Aeson said:
			
		

> McDonald's was started in Des Plaines, Illinois.




Nope, McD's began in California, by the McDonald Brothers.  Ray Kroc bought them out & began to Franchise it out.

See This Website for a brief bio of Ray Kroc the man behind the clown.


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## Desdichado (Jun 20, 2005)

Malic said:
			
		

> Iowa most beer per capita, huh? As an Aussie I can respect that.



I highly doubt that.  I recall an article in the _Wall Street Journal_ when I was in college -- 10% of all the beer sold in the entire U.S. is sold in Texas.  When my wife and I were first married (both students at Texas A&M) we lived about two blocks from the Dixie Chicken.  20/20 came there to do a special on college drinking -- apparently that bar has the highest alcohol consumption per square foot of any bar in the U.S.


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## BiggusGeekus (Jun 20, 2005)

Joshua Dyal said:
			
		

> 10% of all the beer sold in the entire U.S. is sold in Texas.




What's weird is the special beer cans they get.  I didn't believe it myself until I saw the special texas cans with my own eyes.


----------



## Aeson (Jun 20, 2005)

Vraille Darkfang said:
			
		

> Nope, McD's began in California, by the McDonald Brothers.  Ray Kroc bought them out & began to Franchise it out.
> 
> See This Website for a brief bio of Ray Kroc the man behind the clown.





I was going for the McDonald's we all loath and hate today. I'm think the restaurant started by the brothers was different.


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## drothgery (Jun 20, 2005)

Joshua Dyal said:
			
		

> I highly doubt that.  I recall an article in the _Wall Street Journal_ when I was in college -- 10% of all the beer sold in the entire U.S. is sold in Texas.




You do realize that something like 8% of all people in the US live in Texas, right? Texans would have to drink much more than average for this to be true...


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## RangerWickett (Jun 20, 2005)

Texans?  Drinking lots of beer?  What are the odds?

I dunno, but in my mind, the idea of a group of guys getting a pick-up truck, loading the back with coolers of beer and either a) fishing rods or b) rifles just screams "Texas."


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## BiggusGeekus (Jun 20, 2005)

I'll buy 8% of the population drinking 10% of the beer.  Have you tried to get a beer in Texas?  The heaviest stuff they have is Shiner Bock.  They're not drinking Arrogant Bastard or anything heavy.  And that makes sense.  I had to spend a few days in Houston during the summer and you absolutely do not want to drink anything other than lagers or pilsners down there.  Brutal heat.  Absolutely brutal.


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## diaglo (Jun 20, 2005)

you rent beer in Texas


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## wingsandsword (Jun 20, 2005)

RangerWickett said:
			
		

> Texans?  Drinking lots of beer?  What are the odds?
> 
> I dunno, but in my mind, the idea of a group of guys getting a pick-up truck, loading the back with coolers of beer and either a) fishing rods or b) rifles just screams "Texas."



I think that's more the south in general.  I've seen that plenty of times in Kentucky growing up, and I wouldn't doubt that it's common sight throughout the south (and using the "Confederacy" definition, Texas is "south" since it was part of the CSA.  Beer, pickup trucks and rifles is more "rural" than Texas.


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## Aeson (Jun 20, 2005)

RangerWickett said:
			
		

> Texans?  Drinking lots of beer?  What are the odds?
> 
> I dunno, but in my mind, the idea of a group of guys getting a pick-up truck, loading the back with coolers of beer and either a) fishing rods or b) rifles just screams "Texas."





I think you might find that in almost any rural area not just Texas.


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## Desdichado (Jun 20, 2005)

drothgery said:
			
		

> You do realize that something like 8% of all people in the US live in Texas, right? Texans would have to drink much more than average for this to be true...



About 7.5% according to 2003 Census data.

That's still significantly higher than average alcohol consumption, though.

And I don't know that Texas is highly rural compared to other states -- most of the poulation is clustered in some of the largest metropolitan sprawls in the nation -- Houston, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Austin/San Antonio, etc.


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## The_Universe (Jun 20, 2005)

> Texans? Drinking lots of beer? What are the odds?
> 
> I dunno, but in my mind, the idea of a group of guys getting a pick-up truck, loading the back with coolers of beer and either a) fishing rods or b) rifles just screams "Texas."



This is the problem with defining things in terms of stereotypes, and not facts. Many texans might be willing participants in the stereotype, but it deosn't make it any more a universality than the fact that 1) Yes, I'm from South Dakota and 2) Yes, I *did* grow up on a farm. Despite that, even in a place like SD, a plurality of the population is in non-rural areas.


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## Shemeska (Jun 20, 2005)

Henry said:
			
		

> Get thee behind me, Gehenna-boy!  SotB is indeed a tourist trap, but most of the people paying money to see it are from North Carolina.




... *stammer* Only because they sold decent fireworks! I have horror stories of that place from nearly every time my parents stopped there for gas on the way down to Myrtle beach when I was a kid.



> South Carolina is separated into three geographic regions - Low country (along the coast) where the original crops were indigo and rice (more tobacco and cotton now, I believe), the piedmont (literally, _foothills_, which is heavily dependent on textile industry and is horribly suffering right now because of the drop in the textile industry, and the Up Country (higher elevated reaches, some lump the piedmont region in with the Up country).




You know, a point of similarity between N and S Carolina: you could just change South to North in what you said above, and it would still entirely apply 

I of course grew up within a smaller seperate area of NC that's really a region of its own: The Sandhills. Exclusively longleaf pine forest in the middle of an otherwise deciduous region that was full of ritzy horse farms, golf courses, and retired yankees. Heck, my hometown actually held a fox hunt every year because of the horse enthusiasts and the nearly monolithic scotch/irish immigration into our particular region.


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## MaxKaladin (Jun 20, 2005)

wingsandsword said:
			
		

> and using the "Confederacy" definition, Texas is "south" since it was part of the CSA.



Well, I've always thought Texas can be divided into at least two regions, the western part that's more like "Western" states and the eastern part that's more like "Southern" states.


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## Darth K'Trava (Jun 20, 2005)

Aeson said:
			
		

> I know you said this was sterotyped. The airport is THE busiest in the country. Charlotte is wishing they could be the most prominent but they have no hope.
> 
> There maybe redneck here but they are some of the nicest and most helpful people. If you meet a rude person here chances are their from some place else. We have a wide variety of ethnic groups here.




Better than some of the jerks we have here... I think we got transplanted yankees here.... (not to mention lots of mexicans)



> Don't forget we have Dragoncon, Coca Cola,




Kewl!



> Atlanta Falcons and Braves.




Feh and feh.

I'm a Panthers/Cowboys fan and don't watch baseball.


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## der_kluge (Jun 20, 2005)

A while back when I was job hunting seriously, I'd occasionally get job offers for places out of the blue - like Pierre, South Dakota, or Boise Idaho.  I mean, talk about some cities totally not on my radar scope. 

While I'm sure those are fine cities (aside from being too blasted cold in the winter time), I had no desire to work in either one.

And then it occurred to me, that this was an area in which an Indian consultant was probably more valuable than I was as an American. We're probably the only citizens of a country simply unwilling to relocate to certain parts of the country. For example, you'd have to pay me craploads of money to work in Pierre, SD; Fargo ND; Boise, ID, or Biloxi, MS, to name a few.  But someone from another country wouldn't have those reservations; even any preconceived notions about those places. That's probably appealing to recruiters.

I used to work for Wal-Mart in Bentonville, AR. B'ville is a great town, it's always growing, the schools are really nice, and the people are really friendly, and the area is really pretty. But someone in HR admitted to me once that they have an extremely hard time hiring people simply because most people wouldn't think of living there. They even had a guy drive down from St. Louis for an interview, and then turn around and drive back once he made it to the city, and didn't even bother with the interview, because he knew he wouldn't be happy there.

Funny.


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## Darth K'Trava (Jun 20, 2005)

Stormborn said:
			
		

> And when the weather man says "chance of flurries" there is a run on milk and bread in the stores, for some strange reason. One time it really did snow, the Blizzard of 93 dropped about a foot of snow in Birmigham, shut the city down for a bout a week. We just don't deal with that often enough to have the resources on hand to adress it.




It seems that's true of any state in the south. People do that here in North Carolina as well... And our "snow budget" is gone after one or two good snows (meaning those where you actually have to pull out the salt trucks and maybe, just maybe, the plows).



> Oh, one more thing about regions in the US: "Delaware ain't the South!" North Carolina is only vaguely the South. When someone around here says "South" they mean "Deep South." If you refer to it as a "Pea-Con" Pie you are from the south, if you say "Pe-cAn" you might be a Yankee trying to pass.




The south stops at the Mason-Dixon Line.



> Florida isn't "the South" either.  It just happens to live down here.




Considering just how many "transplanted" yankees there are in Florida...


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## Warehouse23 (Jun 20, 2005)

It has been said that Florida is a large chunk of Long Island that broke off, floated south, and got snagged on a southern coral reef...

(for our non-US friends, Long Island is an affluent area outside of New York City, an island, from which many people have retired to Florida from)


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## RandomPrecision (Jun 20, 2005)

Aeson said:
			
		

> I was going for the McDonald's we all loath and hate today. I'm think the restaurant started by the brothers was different.




It's both.  Ray Kroc heard about the McDonald's hambuger stand in California and opened a restaurant in Des Plaines.  Kroc sold a milkshake-making-machine called the Mulitixer, I believe, and the McDonalds had eight of them, so Kroc figured he'd be able to sell just as many in the subsequent restaurants.


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## Greylock (Jun 21, 2005)

Darth K'Trava said:
			
		

> Stormborn said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I live in Tennessee and grew up here. Always saw this and heard the news people comment. Imagine my surprise when I moved to Illinois then Wisconsin and saw folks there doing the same thing. It just doesn't get bandied about. 



> The south stops at the Mason-Dixon Line.



The line doesn't,  however,  extend far enough west. Where it ends what I like to call the Bratwurst Line starts.


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## wingsandsword (Jun 21, 2005)

Aeson said:
			
		

> I was going for the McDonald's we all loath and hate today. I'm think the restaurant started by the brothers was different.



To expand on what was said before, the McDonald brothers started a small resturant in San Bernadino, California in 1940, which they converted to a new format they'd come up with in 1948, essentially inventing "fast food" by streamlining the entire ordering and preparation process and sharply reducing the menu to a few items to provide uniform meals quickly and efficiently.

Ray Kroc was a milkshake mixer salesman who had sold several machines to the McDonalds and was very intrigued by their phenominal popularity, and eventually in 1955 was allowed to open a franchise in Iowa.  By 1961 Kroc bought the company outright, although the McDonald brothers were allowed to keep their own resturants (although in an oversight, they forgot to keep the rights to the names to their resturants, so they refused to license the McDonalds name back from Kroc and changed the name).  Kroc promptly ran them out of business by opening a McDonalds right by their store and taking their customers.  

Since the point of this thread, I think, is to help explain the US to a foriegner, I think it's fair to say that *McDonalds "Food" is not an accurate representation of casual American cuisine*.  Most of my friends won't eat there, or eat there sparingly at best.  You're not going to get a good burger and fries from a fast food place (okay, Wendys is the best you'll get from a major worldwide chain, but it still isn't anywhere nearly as good as the real thing).  McDonalds runs through raw name recognition, the ubiquitousness of being just about everywhere, and it's really popular with little kids.  Please do not judge us by _that place._


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## Dagger75 (Jun 21, 2005)

California is part of the USA?   Really?  You sure? 

 Kidding, only because most of the calls I get for work are from California.  I have learned 2 things you might find interesting, nobody in California has any idea what a Zip Code is.  How they get mail I will never know.  Also, like England anything over a 15 minute is to long a drive.  It takee me that long to drive to work.


Florida is also a NORTHERN state. There are way more people from up north than from the south.  But the nice thing is you can order a grinder, sub, hoagie or po boy and will get what you want.

 Didn't read the whole thread, just wanted to post.


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## Aeson (Jun 21, 2005)

Darth K'Trava said:
			
		

> Better than some of the jerks we have here... I think we got transplanted yankees here.... (not to mention lots of mexicans)



We have lots of transplants also. Many Yankees, a lot of Mexicans. One of the things I've heard about Georgia is most evryone is from somewhere else. Of all the gamers I've gamed with only about 3 or 4 were from Georgia.


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## Aeson (Jun 21, 2005)

Greylock said:
			
		

> I live in Tennessee and grew up here. Always saw this and heard the news people comment. Imagine my surprise when I moved to Illinois then Wisconsin and saw folks there doing the same thing. It just doesn't get bandied about.



They freak about the snow here also. I think it could be very dangerous in the south because we don't get much, many would not have experience driving in it.


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## Stormborn (Jun 21, 2005)

Aeson said:
			
		

> They freak about the snow here also. I think it could be very dangerous in the south because we don't get much, many would not have experience driving in it.





Wait...people DRIVE when it snows?  No they don't, thats a lie, why do you lie?

Kidding, but honestly in Birmingham if it snows 1/4 inch no one goes anywhere.


And No, the South does not end at the Mason Dixon Line.  It ends around South Carolina, the rest of you people are too close to "up north" to count.  Guilt by association.


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## BiggusGeekus (Jun 21, 2005)

You know, maybe we should make stuff up for the non-USers.  Like we tell them that the Washington Monument is made entirely from cheese and on Tuesday we all paint our noses green.  Any TV they see where we don't have green noses has been photoshopped.

Think it'll work?


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## Greylock (Jun 21, 2005)

Aeson said:
			
		

> They freak about the snow here also. I think it could be very dangerous in the south because we don't get much, many would not have experience driving in it.




Well, my remark was about the much ballyhooed "grocery run" Southerners make fun of themselves for making, and the fact Yanks do it to.

BUT, since you point it out .... Yankees have a hard time adapting to Southern winter driving. It's very different driving on slick ice that refreezes every damned night. Those raised on pack-ice and six inches or more snow have much trouble.


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## Aeson (Jun 21, 2005)

BiggusGeekus said:
			
		

> You know, maybe we should make stuff up for the non-USers.  Like we tell them that the Washington Monument is made entirely from cheese and on Tuesday we all paint our noses green.  Any TV they see where we don't have green noses has been photoshopped.
> 
> Think it'll work?




How about we're all great in bed. Our Actresses actually have breast that big.


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## The_Universe (Jun 21, 2005)

Aeson said:
			
		

> We have lots of transplants also. Many Yankees, a lot of Mexicans. One of the things I've heard about Georgia is most evryone is from somewhere else. Of all the gamers I've gamed with only about 3 or 4 were from Georgia.



 I think the same is true of any reasonably large metropolitan area.  I think the Washington, DC area has it the worst for "people are all from somewhere else," though. Though I'm certainly biased, I think there are actual statistics that illustrate that DC has one of the largest american "transient populations" in part because at least 1/3 of the people "in power" change every two years, so the industries that support them must constantly shift to support the new overall ideology, etc.  Add a large american military presence (with people shifting in and out of stations in the area very frequently), consultants, and all the normal populace shifts that accompany a big business area, you've got DC.  I've lived here for 2 years, and only met 2 people who are actually from the region, and both of them are actually from Maryland.


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## drothgery (Jun 21, 2005)

Stormborn said:
			
		

> Wait...people DRIVE when it snows?  No they don't, thats a lie, why do you lie?
> 
> Kidding, but honestly in Birmingham if it snows 1/4 inch no one goes anywhere.




When I lived in Syracuse, they didn't even think about cancelling school for less than six inches of snow...


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## Aeson (Jun 21, 2005)

New York gets like 6 ft of snow in October or something like that.


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## Quasqueton (Jun 21, 2005)

I'll point out: 1/5th of the Conferderate troops came from North Carolina. The South wouldn't have won the War of Northern Aggression without North Carolina.

Stick that in your pipe and smoke it.

Thank y'all very much.

Quasqueton


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## MonsterMash (Jun 21, 2005)

der_kluge said:
			
		

> And then it occurred to me, that this was an area in which an Indian consultant was probably more valuable than I was as an American. We're probably the only citizens of a country simply unwilling to relocate to certain parts of the country. For example, you'd have to pay me craploads of money to work in Pierre, SD; Fargo ND; Boise, ID, or Biloxi, MS, to name a few.  But someone from another country wouldn't have those reservations; even any preconceived notions about those places. That's probably appealing to recruiters.



I'm not so sure about people being unwilling to relocate being only a US phenomenon I see it in the UK as well, partly because of high levels of home ownership over here and even though our distances look trivial to the US travelling times are long.

For non-US citizens recruitment I think that if a position is available in NYC or San Francisco or Seattle then there will be more applicants than if a job is in Bentonville or St Louis, etc. I've only been to NYC (for vacation) and St Louis (for work) so my experience of the states is limited. I do think about coming to the US to work at some point (I'm an IT specialist so its not impossible) and have to admit I'd be a lot keener on some locations than others, as a Londoner I'd probably find most US cities small and the climate kind of odd in a lot of places. 

Nice to see you have plenty of sterotypes about each other in the US, but you'd find that the Brits could make plenty of jokes about our regions with each other - maybe we should start a thread.


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## Prince of Happiness (Jun 21, 2005)

BiggusGeekus said:
			
		

> You know, maybe we should make stuff up for the non-USers.  Like we tell them that the Washington Monument is made entirely from cheese and on Tuesday we all paint our noses green.  Any TV they see where we don't have green noses has been photoshopped.
> 
> Think it'll work?




The guns violence thing? Yeah, that's just a polite way of saying "hello." Nobody actually _means_ ill by it. You're just supposed to shoot up, that's all.


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## Captain Needles (Jun 21, 2005)

Around here in the winter I won't get concerned with travelling until it hits at least a foot of snow, and then it will impact my 40 minute drive to work, at night.  We just deal with it.  For the past two winters we've had weekend storms that left 3 feet of snow in my neighborhood in just under 36 hours.  All it meant was 1 night out of work for me, so I could shovel.  

However, when I was at Ft. Leonard Wood in Missouri, I saw an entire military base shut down under the threat of 2 inches of snow!  I could tell they were simply not used to it.  They had these little rubber blade guards on their snow plows, so it wouldn't scratch the pavement or some such insanity.  I told the driver the whole point was to scrape the ground, not caress it.  All they really ended up doing is create some nicely packed road ice.

And for the record, Northeast drivers can adapt to most winter conditions, be it ice or snow.  We have black Ice up here.  Absolutely invisible on the road.  You know it's there when you're slipping on it.  The real problem is meatheads who own an SUV who think they can drive however they want on ice or in a blizzard.  I don't care if you have 4 wheel drive, if you hit black ice on the highway while on a slow curve travelling at 65mph, you will probably spend the next couple of hours in a ditch, hospital or police station.


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## S. Baldrick (Jun 21, 2005)

Dark Jezter said:
			
		

> Addendum:  Utah is also home to the best powder skiing and snowboarding in the United States, possibly the world.  This is due to the "lake effect", a phenomenan in which moisture from the Great Salt Lake causes the snow in nearby Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons to be exceptionally light and powdery (I'm not a meterologist, so I couldn't explain exactly how it works).  Because of it's great winter sports conditions, Utah was chosen to host the 2002 Winter Olympics.
> 
> Utah is also famous for rock climbing, river rafting, hiking, hunting, fishing, and other outdoor activities.  Utah is also home to the world-famous Slickrock Trail for mountain biking, the Sundance Film Festival which attracts filmmakers from around the world, and the Bonneville Salt Flats where racers routinely break the world land speed record.  But mostly it's known for being a big state with lots of Mormons.
> 
> (Yes, I'm from Utah and yes, I'm a mormon  )




Thank you Dark Jester.  My thoughts exactly.  There is a lot more to Utah than "just a state full of Mormons.  
(Yes, I'm from Utah.  No, I'm not Mormon but some of my best friends are.)


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## Farganger (Jun 21, 2005)

drothgery said:
			
		

> Cutlurally, the northeast coastal cities are one block (and arguably the northwest coastal cities are in the same block). While Philly and NYC aren't in New England proper, NYC and Philadelphia residents have far more in common with Boston residents than Buffalo and Pittsburgh (respectively) residents.




Just another dissent here. Not only is New York City not "in New England proper", but I think a good case could be made that NYC residents, almost regardless of socio-economic class, have *less* in common with their counterparts in Boston than they do with even with those of more distant cities, such as Chicago.

I'm by no means opining on the relative merits of New England versus New Amsterdam. Both are fascinating regions, and I'm lucky enough to have some old Boston roots as well as ancestors among the late, lamented Hudson River Patroons.

More on topic, although mainly of historical value, the OP might want to check out "Albion's Seed" which contains some fascinating discussion of the different folkways English-speaking immigrants brought with them to this country, and how many were retained or reshaped over time.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...ne/purchase/ref=pd_sxp_r0/103-6676494-9155869


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## glass (Jun 21, 2005)

Stormborn said:
			
		

> Wait...people DRIVE when it snows?  No they don't, thats a lie, why do you lie?




If it snows while I am at work, of course I am going to drive in the snow. How else would I get home?


glass.


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## glass (Jun 21, 2005)

MonsterMash said:
			
		

> Nice to see you have plenty of sterotypes about each other in the US, but you'd find that the Brits could make plenty of jokes about our regions with each other - maybe we should start a thread.




Good idea. _EDIT: In fact I think I'll do it._


glass.


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## Arnwyn (Jun 21, 2005)

BiggusGeekus said:
			
		

> You know, maybe we should make stuff up for the non-USers.
> Think it'll work?



You seem to be mistaking non-USers for... well... yourselves. We can do that to you and be successful. You can't.


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## Stormborn (Jun 21, 2005)

glass said:
			
		

> If it snows while I am at work, of course I am going to drive in the snow. How else would I get home?
> 
> 
> glass.





You went to work when it might snow?  When there was even a CHANCE of flurries?Obviously not from Alabama.


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## Arnix (Jun 21, 2005)

California:  Yes they are crazy, and its infectious.  I have relatives who moved out there and more than one has gone crazy.  Earthquakes.  Frequently.  Why do people choose to live somewhere like that?

South Carolina:  One of the most depressingly desolate places I have ever driven through.  Btw, Charleston was the first place to Seceed from England and from the Union (according the them at least).  Interresting group of people.

Indiana:  How many miles of corn does it take to make a driver fall asleep at the wheel?

Tennessee:  Home of the great "Rock City",  Rocky Top, and the Vols.

Virginia:  Home of George Washington, Robert E. Lee, and part of Arlington Cemetary (same property btw)

North Carolina:  Pretty.  Interresting cities.  Biltmore.

Alabama:  Sigh.  The worst roads.  Ever.  I think they could learn something from Roman technology for smooth transportation.  You really don't need a sign to tell you that you left Georgia and entered Alabama.

Florida:  It is a northern retirement community.  Its not the South if I can't buy Sweet Tea.  no Lipton from a fountain doesn't count nor does a spoon, some sugar, and cold unsweetened tea.  Hurricanes.  Why do people choose to live somewhere like that?

Georgia:  Very Rural and Rednecky.  Savannah is beautiful.  Atlanta is large and northern in feel.  Augusta is a "large" city but has a small town feel.  Everyone known everyone, its closer to 3 degrees of seperation.  The place where it is correct to call a georgia man a "cracker" and a georgia woman a "peach" (see the histories of these words).  Oh, and we are home to Jimmy Carter...

Louisiana:  Swampland, but a load of fun in New Orleans.

West Virginia:  One big happy family, literaly.  They don't have family trees so much as family braids.  Its not their fault really.

Oklahoma:  Isn't it called Tornado Alley for a reason?  Why do people choose to live somewhere like that?

Texas:  Yeah, very much a place of interresting people.  Be careful how/when you insult on.  Home of "open containers and gun racks".  Isn't it still legal to shoot a person on your land, not just inside your home?  Home of the Alamo and the Cowboys.

In the South, everything north of Virginia is "New England".  We don't care how its defined.  I should be able to buy sweet tea at any resteraunt.  If you don't serve it, I won't come back.  Bar-B-Que is great.  Friends are like family and we can insult each other at will, but you don't get to insult us at all (see Texas).


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## rogueattorney (Jun 21, 2005)

A few things about Illinois...

Number one:  It's pronounced Ill-annoy.

If anyone ever tells you they're from Chicago, they're lying.  They're actually from a suburb and are afraid you've never heard of it.  Anyone who's actually from the city of Chicago will tell you what part of Chicago they're from - South Side, North Side, West Side, or even the neighborhood, Lincoln Park, Rogers Park, etc.

Chicagoans like to think they're somehow different from the rest of the state.  It isn't true.  If you scrunched Peoria, Springfield, Rockford, Bloomington and Danville together, you'd get something that looked an awful lot like Chicago.  Chicago is so neighborhood oriented, unless you are right down town, it doesn't feel as much like living in a big city.  That's a good thing.  I love Chicago.

We're generally political pragmatists here.  Our Democrats tend to be a little right of usual and our Republicans tend to be a little left of usual.  Political ideology usually isn't very important.  That might sound nice, but political corruption on both sides of the aisle is an epidemic.  We're so used to it, that we take it pretty matter of factly.

The weather is simply amazing.  Not amazing good.  Amazing as in it will constantly amaze you.  The old saying is if you don't like the weather, wait five minutes, it'll change.  It's absolutely true.  If you live in Illinois for more than a few months, you WILL use your heater and air conditioner on the same day at some point.

R.A.


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## drothgery (Jun 21, 2005)

Arnix said:
			
		

> California:  Yes they are crazy, and its infectious.  I have relatives who moved out there and more than one has gone crazy.  Earthquakes.  Frequently.  Why do people choose to live somewhere like that?




Cold winter day in coastal SoCal - low of 50, high of 60 (we keep our snow in the mountains where it belongs).
Hot summer day in coastal SoCal -- low of 70, high of 80 (we keep our heat waves in the desert where they belong).

Any questions?


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## Crothian (Jun 21, 2005)

drothgery said:
			
		

> Cold winter day in coastal SoCal - low of 50, high of 60 (we keep our snow in the mountains where it belongs).
> Hot summer day in coastal SoCal -- low of 70, high of 80 (we keep our heat waves in the desert where they belong).
> 
> Any questions?




How can you live with such boring weather??


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## Greylock (Jun 21, 2005)

rogueattorney said:
			
		

> Chicagoans like to think they're somehow different from the rest of the state.  It isn't true.  If you scrunched Peoria, Springfield, Rockford, Bloomington and Danville together, you'd get something that looked an awful lot like Chicago.  Chicago is so neighborhood oriented, unless you are right down town, it doesn't feel as much like living in a big city.  That's a good thing.  I love Chicago.




As someone who lived near Chicago, and in south central Illinois, there's a funny map distortion that goes on in the minds of Chicagoans. They really can't fathom how long and big the state is. People from southern Illinois or St.Louis area are just outside the suburbs as far as they know.


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## Darth K'Trava (Jun 21, 2005)

Quasqueton said:
			
		

> I'll point out: 1/5th of the Conferderate troops came from North Carolina. The South wouldn't have won the War of Northern Aggression without North Carolina.
> 
> Stick that in your pipe and smoke it.
> 
> ...




Touche, Monseur!!


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## Glyfair (Jun 21, 2005)

The_Universe said:
			
		

> I think the same is true of any reasonably large metropolitan area.  I think the Washington, DC area has it the worst for "people are all from somewhere else," though.




I have a few friends that live or have lived in that area.  One of them had a theory that the reason driving is so bad in DC is because so many people are from other countries.

This wasn't a stereotypical "foreign drivers are bad" comment he was making.  He believed that a lot of people were used to their own laws and habits in their country.  When they came to DC and mixed with other drivers, driving habits start to clash.  You get a dozen different habits on the same stretch of road, and you begin to get a mess. That leads to the local drivers getting used to an "every man for himself" attitude, and that compounds the problem.


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## Darth K'Trava (Jun 21, 2005)

glass said:
			
		

> If it snows while I am at work, of course I am going to drive in the snow. How else would I get home?
> 
> 
> glass.




Heck. Everytime it snows, I STILL have to go to work! And the lamearses who only live less than five MINUTES away normal driving time, can't get there! But yet I can get there. A guy who WALKS to work can get there!...      

At least people have recently started listening when they say don't get out.... not as many do as they used to.... and they do buy up all the milk and bread they can...  :\


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## rogueattorney (Jun 21, 2005)

Greylock said:
			
		

> As someone who lived near Chicago, and in south central Illinois, there's a funny map distortion that goes on in the minds of Chicagoans. They really can't fathom how long and big the state is. People from southern Illinois or St.Louis area are just outside the suburbs as far as they know.




Oh yeah.  They think Kankakee is "southern" Illinois.

R.A.


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## Galethorn (Jun 21, 2005)

*Washington State*: Half temperate rainforest, half inhospitable desert in which only brave fools and vicious mutants live (with lots of apples around the only river that goes through said desert). 

Surprisingly, we don't really get all that much rain in the Seattle area, but everybody seems to get the idea that it's always rainy up here. To tell the truth, we've been having uncomfortably warm, dry, california-like summers for the last several years.

Culturally, we're...well, very diverse. I live on an island of yuppies and former hippies, right between the conservative military-family cluster around Bremerton, and the somewhat more mixed population of the Seattle/Tacoma area.

As for the food...well, we don't have anything 'local' really, unless you count salmon, but it's pretty much limited to special occasions, being so expensive and all. As a state composed entirely of 'immigrants' from other states (since we didn't really get populated until around a hundred years ago), we've got food from all over the rest of the country--and world--of varying quality.

In terms of vistas, I think we've got it pretty good; in the Seattle area, we've got the Cascade Mountains (including Mt. Ranier) on one side, the Olympics on the other, and Puget Sound right down the middle. In other parts of the state, we've got some very, very dense forest, the Columbia River (and its associated cataracts, islands, and gorges), and the deserts of Eastern Washington.

All in all, only the second best state/region I've been to in my life (I much prefer British Columbia); it's ahead of all of California, all of Mexico, all of Oregon, and...well, I don't travel much, but I know I wouldn't like the climate in most of the rest of the country...I particularly dislike places where it gets much over 80 degrees more than a few times a year.


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## Aeson (Jun 22, 2005)

Crothian said:
			
		

> How can you live with such boring weather??




In tank tops, year round tan and girls in bikinis.


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## Templetroll (Jun 22, 2005)

Dagger75 said:
			
		

> Florida is also a NORTHERN state. There are way more people from up north than from the south.  But the nice thing is you can order a grinder, sub, hoagie or po boy and will get what you want.
> 
> Didn't read the whole thread, just wanted to post.




Key West, Fl was a northern held city through the (ACW, WBtS, WoNA - choose your appellation for it.     )  There was Union Navy base there and it was not easily attacked.  There was a woman back then who would run up the Stars and Bars every so often and get it down and hidden by the time Union troops could get over to her place.   I think the Commander figured not dealing effectively with that small rebellion kept things from getting out of hand in the community at large.  Key West has a way of making everyone just a little bit laid back.

Great place to visit but hell to live there... unless you have lots of money.  The only undeveloped land is protected or owned by Federal, State or Local government; everything that is privately owned is built on.  Key West imports sand.  Don't buy a t-shirt on Duval.  Do take the trip to the Dry Tortugas/Fort Jefferson, very worthwhile.


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## Dingleberry (Jun 22, 2005)

rogueattorney said:
			
		

> Oh yeah.  They think Kankakee is "southern" Illinois.
> 
> R.A.



I wish I still had it, but I remember clipping a Chicago Tribune article from the early 90s in which it reported that of polled Chicago residents, a ridiculously high percentage of them were not aware that they were also citizens of the State of Illinois.


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## glass (Jun 22, 2005)

Stormborn said:
			
		

> You went to work when it might snow?  When there was even a CHANCE of flurries?Obviously not from Alabama.




Would I be right in thinking that there is a Coventry in Alabama?

Either way, I'm from the original   

_EDIT: To answer the question- On average, it snows a handfull of times a year in these parts, but it's rarely a big deal. Usually, it doesn't even settle, and the few times it does you just have to drive slower. Anyway, it's usually only for a day, then the roads get gritted._


glass.


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## Darth K'Trava (Jun 22, 2005)

Templetroll said:
			
		

> Key West, Fl was a northern held city through the (ACW, WBtS, WoNA - choose your appellation for it.     )  There was Union Navy base there and it was not easily attacked.  There was a woman back then who would run up the Stars and Bars every so often and get it down and hidden by the time Union troops could get over to her place.   I think the Commander figured not dealing effectively with that small rebellion kept things from getting out of hand in the community at large.  Key West has a way of making everyone just a little bit laid back.
> 
> Great place to visit but hell to live there... unless you have lots of money.  The only undeveloped land is protected or owned by Federal, State or Local government; everything that is privately owned is built on.  Key West imports sand.  Don't buy a t-shirt on Duval.  Do take the trip to the Dry Tortugas/Fort Jefferson, very worthwhile.




I haven't been to Key West since I lived in Homestead... that was back in the latter part of the 70s... I have friends who plan on going late this year and I hope to save up the $$ to go and be able to have a roomie there as I can't afford a room on my own...   I'd love to see just how much it's changed since the more "barrenness" it was back then.... Granted all I really recall is some "stupid" fence with the sign "90 Miles To Cuba" stuck on it...


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## Templetroll (Jun 22, 2005)

Darth K'Trava said:
			
		

> I haven't been to Key West since I lived in Homestead... that was back in the latter part of the 70s... I have friends who plan on going late this year and I hope to save up the $$ to go and be able to have a roomie there as I can't afford a room on my own...   I'd love to see just how much it's changed since the more "barrenness" it was back then.... Granted all I really recall is some "stupid" fence with the sign "90 Miles To Cuba" stuck on it...




I got to KW in the early 90s and I saw construction all over until I left in 98.  The big lot they used to hold the State Fair on was the last piece of land to go and it had houses way too expensive to consider.  even there they built this two foot tall wall to seperate the row of houses actually on the water from the line of houses that were the next row.  It was just weird.   

I think that sign is still there.  Some things don't change.


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## MrFilthyIke (Jun 22, 2005)

My mom's family is from Key West, go there yearly (ie free crash pad).  They're all in their 80+'s, and can remember riding Flagler's Train.


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## Lhorgrim (Jun 22, 2005)

MrFilthyIke said:
			
		

> My mom's family is from Key West, go there yearly (ie free crash pad).  They're all in their 80+'s, and can remember riding Flagler's Train.




Flagler's Train, yikes!

I saw a documentary about the hurricane that took out that train.


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## Benben (Jun 22, 2005)

der_kluge said:
			
		

> A while back when I was job hunting seriously, I'd occasionally get job offers for places out of the blue - like Pierre, South Dakota, or Boise Idaho. I mean, talk about some cities totally not on my radar scope.
> 
> While I'm sure those are fine cities (aside from being too blasted cold in the winter time), I had no desire to work in either one.




I'll respect your decision to ignore Boise job offers because we've had more than enough growth in the past 15 years than we can handle.    Although it's always good to have more gamers.

I will correct you in thinking that Boise has cold winters.  Even in deepest, darkest winter the  temperature rarely drops below 25 degrees, mostly though it's in the mid 30s for most of the winter.  You also won't see more than a lick of snow, and that won't even last more than a day.  Honestly, the summers are much worse than the winters.


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## Desdichado (Jun 22, 2005)

Benben said:
			
		

> I will correct you in thinking that Boise has cold winters.  Even in deepest, darkest winter the  temperature rarely drops below 25 degrees, mostly though it's in the mid 30s for most of the winter.  You also won't see more than a lick of snow, and that won't even last more than a day.  Honestly, the summers are much worse than the winters.



My experience from living in Detroit for five years now is that it isn't how cold the winters are so much as it is how long they last.


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## Benben (Jun 22, 2005)

Joshua Dyal said:
			
		

> My experience from living in Detroit for five years now is that it isn't how cold the winters are so much as it is how long they last.




So what is Detroit like?  The media doesn't paint a pretty picture of it.  I imagine the city as Blade Runner industrial apocalypse with gray snow.  What are the perks?

Boise winters last from December till Febuary.


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## Desdichado (Jun 22, 2005)

Benben said:
			
		

> So what is Detroit like?  The media doesn't paint a pretty picture of it.  I imagine the city as Blade Runner industrial apocalypse with gray snow.  What are the perks?



The suburbs.  Lots of nearby lakes.  Spring and summer are really nice.  Blade Runner is pretty accurate -- shortly after moving up here my folks came to visit; my dad's comment on downtown was that it looked like a leftover set from Mad Max.

Winter lasts from late November until mid-April.  That's not a perk.


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## Simplicity (Jun 23, 2005)

Man, California is taking a lot of flak in this thread, so I guess I'd better 
stand up and give the other side of the story...

1) One poster mentioned that people in California don't know zip codes, and 
think 15 minutes is too long to drive anywhere.  The poster CLEARLY hasn't
lived in California...  First, we've got the same USPS you've got.  Zip codes 
are how mail works here too...  Second, the entire state is based around the 
automobile.  Literally.  Drive-thrus started here.  You've gotta drive to get 
virtually anywhere, because everything is so sprawling and spread out.  

2) Regarding earthquakes.  People who don't live in California are terrified of 
the idea of the whole earth moving and killing everyone and flattening the whole city.
Californians, on the other hand, just try to decide whether this earthquake is worth
getting up for or not.  Most earthquakes are easily slept through.  There are RARE
cases of large earthquakes causing massive damage, but the number of people who 
actually die is pretty low (We actually BUILD for earthquakes now.  Go figure.)  

3) Some people think Californians are crazy.  I don't think crazy is necessarily the right word.  California (even Hollywood) is not like what you see on TV.  Some people see Venice Beach (where you can find 31 flavors of loons) and think the entire state is that way.  It's not.  Some of California is very liberal (and people call that "crazy"), but I think that's simply because everyone who lives in California is pretty much either a transplant from another state or their family came from another state.  We have to be open-minded, as we are the melting pot state of the melting pot country.  Some of California is very conservative.  San Diego has a large number of military families.  Orange County is very religious, and very Republican.  

4) Arnold.  Yeah, okay you got us there.  At least we didn't elect Gary Coleman.

Good things about California:
1) Geek central due to the computer boom and a general love of movies/TV.  That's gotta count for something on a D&D board...
2) Nice weather.  Not seasons, mind you, but great weather.
3) Lots of ocean, mountains, forest, desert...  It's a huge state.
4) Very diverse.  Dense city in L.A. turns into sticksville in central California which turns into more wooded sticksville as you head north, and then back to urban.
5) Food.  The food is very good.  Mexican food, thai food, japanese food, chinese food, italian food, steaks (okay, not as good as midwest steaks, but they're okay) and on and on.


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## Arbiter of Wyrms (Jun 23, 2005)

Malic said:
			
		

> Anyone got any highlights for Iowa, *Missouri*, Nebraska, Ohio or Vermont?



If you're from there, or have kin there, you can sometimes get away with pronouncing it "miZERra," though I make a point of pronouncing it "misery."  

I live in California, and have most of my life.

I used to be annoyed by Texans who would go on and on about how great Texas is, but now I've realized I do the same thing with California, but then, with California, it's deserved.   

It could be argued that San Francisco and Los Angeles are right up there with New York, Chicago, London, & Paris for western cultural significance.  This is land siezed wrongfully from Mexico by a president afraid to challenge Britain for what is now British Columbia.  It's said that folks came for the gold, and stayed for the agriculture.  The only crops not grown in California are tropical ones like banana, coconut, and mango.  Our fair state includes just about every kind of climate, and I believe we have the highest and lowest elevations in conus.  Ours is the third largest economy in the world.  Hollywood and agriculture are not our only industries, by any means.  We are the U.S.'s most populous state, one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse states, and yes. . . while I can't really go into it here, we can be kind of wacky politically.


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## Desdichado (Jun 23, 2005)

Arbiter of Wyrms said:
			
		

> I used to be annoyed by Texans who would go on and on about how great Texas is, but now I've realized I do the same thing with California, but then, with California, it's deserved.



_Everyone_ from Texas does that.  In California, no more people do that than anywhere else.

Something to think about.


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## Quasqueton (Jun 23, 2005)

> People who don't live in California are terrified of the idea of the whole earth moving and killing everyone and flattening the whole city.



The west coast has to suffer through earthquakes, and has gotten used to it. 

The great plains has to suffer through tornadoes, and has gotten used to it. 

The southeast coast has to suffer through hurricanes, and has gotten used to it. 

The northeast coast has to suffer through being the northeast coast, and has gotten used to it. 

Alaska has to suffer through ice and snow and 6 month nights, and has gotten used to it. 

Texas has to suffer through being only one of 50 states, and hasn't gotten used to it. 

Hawaii has to suffer through. . . OK, so it doesn't suffer from anything.

Quasqueton


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## Simplicity (Jun 23, 2005)

Quasqueton said:
			
		

> Hawaii has to suffer through. . . OK, so it doesn't suffer from anything.




Well, other than the fact that whole ISLANDs could blow up at any minute, yeah, not so much to worry about.  

Living in Hawaii is like starting your campaign in Cauldron from Dungeon's Adventure Path.  The DM knows it's going to blow.  The players know it's going to blow.  Until it does, everyone just goes out, kills cellar rats, and keeps an eye out for falling ash.


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## Darth K'Trava (Jun 23, 2005)

> 1) One poster mentioned that people in California don't know zip codes, and
> think 15 minutes is too long to drive anywhere. The poster CLEARLY hasn't
> lived in California... First, we've got the same USPS you've got. Zip codes
> are how mail works here too... Second, the entire state is based around the
> ...




I guess they think all zip codes in California should be 90210.

They've never been in *ANY* rush hour traffic, nevermind the LA Freeway... (I've not been there either but I've been in Atlanta traffic....)


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