29 States with Weird Nicknames for their Residents - mental_floss List Show Ep. 512

A weekly show where knowledge junkies get their fix of trivia-tastic information. This week, John shares some of the bizarre nicknames states have for their residents!

Subscribe for new episodes of mental_floss every other Wednesday!

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[emmydog]

Sad Massachusetts was listed as bay staters instead of Massholes

[larrybrade]

in michigan people from the UP refer to people who live in the lower half of the state as trolls because they live south of the Mackinaw Bridge, or under the bridge

[JaxsonGalaxy]

Pfft, whatever. Everyone knows that people from Idaho are called Potatoes.

[teenxtcy]

0:05 - Delaware
0:34 - Arizona
0:43 - Indiana
1:07 - Arkansas
1:23 - California
1:35 - North Carolina
2:10 - Ohio
2:41 - Kansas
3:00 - Oklahoma
3:16 - Connecticut
3:30 - Florida
3:38 - Georgia
3:52 - Alaska
4:10 - Wisconsin
4:16 - Idaho
4:30 - Illinois
4:56 - Hawaii
5:05 - Iowa
5:31 - Maine
5:44 - Michigan
5:53 - Maryland
6:13 - Massachusetts
6:21 - Tennessee
6:29 - New York
6:48 - Missouri
7:01 - Pennsylvania
7:13 - Rhode Island
7:30 - South Carolina
7:51 - Wyoming

[daxfromdracas]

Surprised Cornhuskers didn't make the list for nebraska!

[littlepixy]

I grew up in Indiana and my dad told me that in the old days, they'd go around asking "Hoosier mama? Hoosier daddy?" lol.

[theresajacobs]

People from Maine are also referred to as Maniacs

[flamshiz]

as far as i knew, the arkansas story was true about oklahomans. i have never heard of arkies, but okies were oklahoma transplants who worked as migrant farmers in california and it became a pejorative term but has since been reclaimed. see also: the song "okie from muskogee", with muskogee being a town about an hour east of tulsa.

[EmperorEva]

Similar to Cheese Head, Yankee comes from the dutch insult Jan Kees, literally John Cheese, meaning a simpleton.

And as a Bay-Stater, the most common nickname for us that i hear is Masshole.

[eclecticgal]

And now, because of this video, Pike County will again be the only thing outsiders know about Missouri. And the arch. Why are we so neglected? :) ha

[fleapepper]

Describing Sooners as "overly eager" and "getting early access" is a very nice way of saying they were cheating 😅

[nathanroon]

Lower Peninsula Michiganders are called Trolls because we live under the bridge.

[thomasdegroat]

I'm surprised and kinda disappointed that you also didn't bring up "trolls" for MI as well. It refers to people from the lower peninsula since we live "below the bridge".

[RegisteelTy]

As someone from Florida I can say that the proper name for people from our state is Crazy

[greenxraven]

I like to call people from Oregon Oreganos, instead of Oregonians. Most get upset for some reason. It's such a nice herb.

[pancreasnostalgia]

I've never heard of Arkies. I always heard of the migrants as Okies, like in The Grapes of Wrath.

[billytrespassers]

People from Durango, Colorado refer to themselves as "Durangotangs".

[yushatak]

I've lived in DE all my life and I've never heard us called Muskrats and I've never heard anyone give a damn whether we're eating them or not.

[DavidRynda]

What about Cake Eaters from Edina, MN?

[beccaatuh]

Great job pronouncing the Hawaiian words for "resident" and "newcomer"! Your Hawaiian has improved greatly, John :-)