Many American areas have certain regional slang, customs, and even holidays. According to a recent online forum discussion, these are the strangest things that locals didn’t realize were regional until they traveled outside their hometowns.
Pop or Soda?
Depending on where you live in the U.S., you may call it soda or pop. The Midwest region of America mostly refers to soft drinks as pop. One reader says, “I didn’t realize Missouri was pretty much the only Midwest state that calls it “soda.”
Yogurt Rockets
“It wasn’t until after I left Colorado that I realized you don’t have to open yogurt away from you every time. At lower elevations, it’s not pressurized enough to give that little bloop of yogurt that’ll hit you in the face,” according to one Colorado native.
Waterfall Drinking
“I live in Orange County, CA. I didn’t know this until pretty recently, we use a different word for taking a drink of water without having your lips touch the bottle. Most people call it a waterfall or an airsip, waterfall being most common. In Orange County we call that a birdie. If you go to LA county or SD county, they’d call it a waterfall,” says one user.
Devil’s Night/Mischief Night
In certain areas, the night before Halloween wasn’t just any other day. One commenter recalls, “Where I grew up, October 30th was ‘Mischief Night,’ and kids would do small pranks like putting shaving cream on cars or toilet paper people’s yards. It turns out that is only a thing in a pretty small area of the US.”
Trick-or-Treat Jokes
Another regional Halloween custom involves a bit of humor at each house before you get your candy. One user said, “Saying a joke while trick or treating is a requirement to receive candy in St. Louis, Missouri.”
Bubblers or Water Fountains?
“I didn’t realize most other places call bubblers “water fountains” until I went away for college,” says one commenter. It’s likely that more areas in the U.S. used to call them bubblers before changing to water fountain, but today, the term mostly remains in Wisconsin and Massachusetts.
Time Off for Deer Hunting
“Apparently, not everyone gets the day off school for the first day of deer season. My dad was surprised when I had to go to class that day when I was in college. ‘But that’s a Pennsylvania national holiday!'” says one user. Some areas even offer free drinks at local bars on the first week of hunting season if you show off your deer.
Time Off for Yom Kippur
“I thought everyone had off from school for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, and that everyone sang Hanukkah songs along with Christmas carols. Turns out that there’s just not a whole lot of Jewish people in the US outside of NY/NJ,” according to one commenter.
Duck, Duck, Grey Duck
Most of us know of the favorite children’s game “duck duck goose,” but some areas have a different name for it. One reader says, “Growing up in Minnesota I always thought the game duck duck goose was called duck duck gray duck. Nobody else in America actually calls it gray duck”
Pigs in a Blanket
“I grew up in western PA and always knew stuffed cabbage as “pigs in a blanket.” Imagine how confusing it was for me when other people insisted that weenies wrapped in biscuit dough were pigs in a blanket,” says one user.
Source: Reddit
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