Think a jar in the back of your Georgia grandmother’s pantry has to be trash by now? Not necessarily. She might still be working through a jug of sorghum syrup from last year’s Blairsville Sorghum Festival. The syrup’s sugar content means it’d be hard-pressed to spoil. These are the things a Georgia grandmother’s kitchen holds…
Tennessee residents will defend just about anything tied to their state, whether the facts hold up or not. These are the things Tennesseans defend hardest about their state, even when they can’t fully explain why. 1. Jack Daniel’s Tennesseans wear Jack Daniel’s like a state symbol, stamped on koozies, murals, and welcome signs from Bristol…
Oklahoma can make a new resident feel financially lucky and completely unprepared in the same week. Their property tax bill brings relief, while their home insurance quote turns their stomach into knots. Such surprises are only the beginning of what newcomers discover after moving to Oklahoma. Note: This is general information, not financial, tax, insurance,…
A bodega register can turn down your card for a $2 coffee, and it’s completely legal. Wait, what? Federal rules let any New York City corner store set its own credit card minimum as high as $10, and many bodegas use every dollar of that room. These are the bodega rules that catch newcomers off…
Order a hot dog wrong at Chicago’s Wiener’s Circle, and the whole line will hear about it. Many out-of-staters don’t know the rules going in. These are the rules Illinoisans enforce on anyone who didn’t grow up ordering a hot dog this way. No Ketchup, Ever Chicago hot dog stands treat ketchup as a threat…
Think you know Ohio inside and out? Every history class says Ohio became a state in 1803, and Congress left a piece of paperwork on that unfinished for generations. These are the widely repeated “facts” about Ohio that turn out to be false. 1. First in Flight, Sort Of Ohio calls itself the “Birthplace of…
A family pulls in for their first Alabama-Auburn weekend, cooler packed, chairs unloaded, with no idea the campus they just parked on runs by a rulebook longer than the game program. One wrong move on the grass or at the gate, and their gear gets moved, or they get turned away outright. These are the…
A kid in South Carolina learns early that the giant flying bug in the carport gets the name “palmetto bug,” never “cockroach.” Say that word in Ohio, and you get a blank stare. These are the things South Carolinians assume every American grew up doing. 1. Boiled Peanuts South Carolina made the boiled peanut its…
A 2016 GPS survey found that the border between North Carolina and South Carolina had drifted for more than two centuries. Correcting it moved nineteen homes and a gas station into a different state without anyone packing a single box. These are the things South Carolinians do that leave North Carolinians shaking their heads. Note:…
Thirty-four separate signs guide drivers down just one stretch of Interstate 24, more warnings than many visitors will encounter anywhere else in Tennessee. Tennessee’s traffic engineers pick every spot for a reason: An ice-prone bridge, a steep mountain grade, or a slope known for loose rock. These are the road signs that mean something different…
