If you grew up near the Gulf in Alabama, you can tell a yellow flag from a red one, and you likely date your memories by hurricane names. Here’s what life by the water taught you, and what folks from farther inland are missing. 1. Jubilees A jubilee is a window of a few hours…
Welcome to the Sunshine State, where lovebugs arrive twice a year and many drivers around you are uninsured. Few of these problems make it onto travel blogs. Here are the Florida problems many locals prefer to pretend don’t exist. Note: This is general information, not insurance advice. Coverage, rates and figures are subject to change,…
Ask for city chicken in northeast Ohio, and you’ll get pork or veal on a skewer, not chicken. If you grew up in Ohio, you’ve probably said a few phrases like that without a second thought, and anyone from outside the state was left guessing. Here’s what these sayings mean and where each one came…
A new Rutgers poll found that New Jerseyans’ pride in their state doesn’t rise or fall in a straight line with age. Income, hometown type and gender add more detail, and some of the gaps are smaller than you’d guess. Here’s how New Jerseyans answered, and what separated the groups. How the Poll Was Run…
The words you grew up with don’t always mean the same thing to younger people. Michiganders who learned these terms decades ago may still use them without meaning any harm. Here’s a look at some of the things Michigan baby boomers say without realizing they’re offensive nowadays, and why. 1. Gypsy Moth Michigan’s invasive species…
Some Pennsylvania road signs can make you laugh before you even reach the town. Locals drive past these names without a second thought, but the stories behind them are often better than you’d expect. Here’s how some of the state’s oddest place names came to be. 1. Blue Ball Blue Ball takes its name from…
Some words sound perfectly normal until a visitor gives you a funny look. Marylanders pick up local sayings so early on in life that they may never notice how unusual they are until an out-of-stater questions them. Here are the phrases that leave other Americans scratching their heads. 1. Down the Ocean Down the ocean…
Sometimes you have to leave a place to appreciate it. Many West Virginians have left for school or work and found their way back. Here’s what brought them home. 1. The Pull of Community Amanda Wenisch, a Mercer County native, was getting ready to move back when a 2014 profile in West Virginia Living caught…
Early November means a trip to the cemetery for some Louisiana families. It’s a quiet, personal tradition, and one many Americans outside the state have never seen. Here’s how families mark the day. 1. Candlelit Graves at Dusk On All Saints’ Day in Lacombe, a community on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain, folklorists in…
Close your eyes almost anywhere in Florida, and you can probably still tell where you are. Floridians grow up with sounds so familiar they barely notice them anymore. Here’s what’s behind those sounds, and where you’ve likely heard them. 1. Afternoon Thunder Afternoon thunder is the sound of the rainy season, which the National Weather…
