Ignorant questions from people living in a different State than you

[HappyGilmore]

Living in Philly, get inundated with a bunch of random questions.  Questions about Scrapple, The Rocky Steps, Cheesesteaks, Wawa, "Wooder" and a slew of others.

Yes, we say "Wooder."  Get over it.  It's how we talk.  NEXT!  Yes, we shut the "windah".  Yeah, we do randomly go into the E-A-G-L-E-S chant, even if at a Phillies game.  No, not everybody runs the stupid Rocky steps.  Only stupid tourists.

[Ash]

I'm from Iowa and there are two questions I always get asked...

1.) "Iowa...  Is that where they grow potatoes?"  (No.  That's Idaho)

2.) "Are there black people in Iowa?" (this question is almost always asked by a black person)

[BTM]

Well, like Paquita, I live in Illinois, so no one ever asks me anything unless I'm working at my job at the hotel, and usually it's just travel related questions like "Hey, do you know how far it is too..." fill in the blank (usually Chicago and St Louis.)  I'm always amazed though at how many people take trips to places they don't seem to know the location to.  I've had to Google map and print directions for several people.  You'd THINK that when you were going somewhere you'd do something stupid like, oh, I don't know, look up that place on your own BEFORE you started out there, but hey, what do I know?

As for other people, when it comes to their places, sometimes I'll mainly just ask if they've ever been to so and so, as I know something about it.  For instance, when someone's from North Carolina, I ask if they're near Greensboro as I got a friend down there.  If anyone's from Pittsburgh I ask if they've ever visited the Monroeville mall (and if you don't know why, you might be on the wrong web site.)

[BTM]

No  .  No one asks me questions about Illinois.. no one cares. 

Awwww. Here's an ignorant question for you: what do you call someone from Illinois

Usually "poor bastard."

 

[Mr. DS]

Living in Philly, get inundated with a bunch of random questions.  Questions about Scrapple, The Rocky Steps, Cheesesteaks, Wawa, "Wooder" and a slew of others.

Yes, we say "Wooder."  Get over it.  It's how we talk.  NEXT!  Yes, we shut the "windah".  Yeah, we do randomly go into the E-A-G-L-E-S chant, even if at a Phillies game.  No, not everybody runs the stupid Rocky steps.  Only stupid tourists.

Living in PA do you ever get asked about the Amish?

[Flick James]

I'm from Iowa and there are two questions I always get asked...

1.) "Iowa...  Is that where they grow potatoes?"  (No.  That's Idaho)

2.) "Are there black people in Iowa?" (this question is almost always asked by a black person)

I did some demographic research. There are six.

Just kidding. 

[Flick James]

Living in Philly, get inundated with a bunch of random questions.  Questions about Scrapple, The Rocky Steps, Cheesesteaks, Wawa, "Wooder" and a slew of others.

Yes, we say "Wooder."  Get over it.  It's how we talk.  NEXT!  Yes, we shut the "windah".  Yeah, we do randomly go into the E-A-G-L-E-S chant, even if at a Phillies game.  No, not everybody runs the stupid Rocky steps.  Only stupid tourists.

Living in PA do you ever get asked about the Amish?

Here's some questions about the Amish, or the Pennsylvainia Dutch, as they are also known. Are they really Dutch? Are there Dutch people in Holland who practice the same life? Do they have relatives in Holland who come over to visit or live?

Hmmmmmmm.

[AndyC]

Here's some questions about the Amish, or the Pennsylvainia Dutch, as they are also known. Are they really Dutch? Are there Dutch people in Holland who practice the same life? Do they have relatives in Holland who come over to visit or live?

Do you tell them it was probably people like them who misunderstood "Deutsch" as "Dutch" in the first place?

Any time I tell people where I'm from, at least within Ontario, I usually get two things "Beautiful country down there" and/or some question related to Mennonites. But nothing could compare to the annoyance of my friends who actually were Mennonites when somebody asked a dumb question. It usually starts with somebody who doesn't know there is more than one sect of Mennonites, and some of them are indistinguishable from everybody else. My best friend had the mixed blessing of growing up on a corner right next to downtown, so he got asked for directions a lot. He'd be mowing the lawn and a carload of tourists would drive up and ask where they could see some Mennonites. You can imagine where the conversation went from there. He'd say he was a Mennonite, the tourist would think he was being a smartass, and depending on how nice the guy was, he'd explain and answer the question or go on being deliberately obtuse.

Back in the early 90s, I was on a snowmobile trip (actually not that far from where I live now) with some friends. They went out for an evening ride, while I passed and went to the motel bar, where I eventually got chatting with some other guys we'd seen on the trail. The subject got around to where everybody was from, and one of them asked the usual "There a lot of Mennonites around there?" Shortly after that, my friends came strolling back in, and I introduced them: Reg Martin, Nevin Martin, Leroy Martin, Darrell Martin, Curvin Martin, Dwayne Martin and Dennis Brubacher. A couple of them were related, but there was still about five distinct Mennonite families represented, four of them Martin. I was the only non-Mennonite in the group.

It's kind of amusing that I can do a phone search on a town of just over 10,000 people and pull up over 300 listings for Martin. There are maybe half a dozen really prominent Mennonite names in the area, but that's the big one. And that number doesn't account for the ones in the rural areas who don't have phones.

[HappyGilmore]

Living in Philly, get inundated with a bunch of random questions.  Questions about Scrapple, The Rocky Steps, Cheesesteaks, Wawa, "Wooder" and a slew of others.

Yes, we say "Wooder."  Get over it.  It's how we talk.  NEXT!  Yes, we shut the "windah".  Yeah, we do randomly go into the E-A-G-L-E-S chant, even if at a Phillies game.  No, not everybody runs the stupid Rocky steps.  Only stupid tourists.

Living in PA do you ever get asked about the Amish?

Quite a bit.  "Ever see an Amish with a horse and buggy?" comes out quite a bit, as if they've got all day to just roam around.  Although, it's not too far from here, and yes, they do pop up quite a bit.  Went out there for a concert (which boggles most people's minds, as they imagine only like, farms and Amish in Lancaster), and there's this thing where it's half Amish, half like, "civilian' I suppose you'd say. 

The amount of questions we get asked are pretty funny. 

Most people, some tourists, do ask about Scrapple if they're eating a breakfast at a diner or restaurant.  Apparently Scrapple is unknown to most people outside of the PA/NJ/DE region.  Without a proper way to describe it, it's this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrapple

[indianasmith]

When I was living in Japan, and let it be known from Texas, I would always hear:

"COWBOY!!! Bang bang!!" 

Some of those whose English was a bit better would ask me:

Who shot J.R.?  (this was in 1983)
How many horses I owned?
Where my guns were?

[Trevor]

Who shot J.R.? 

That was me, I think. 

[Jack]

We've got quite a few Amish around SE Minnesota.  Not in my immediate are, but drive 20 or 30 miles and you often see them in their horse and buggies. 

[AndyC]

Most people, some tourists, do ask about Scrapple if they're eating a breakfast at a diner or restaurant.  Apparently Scrapple is unknown to most people outside of the PA/NJ/DE region.  Without a proper way to describe it, it's this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrapple

I've heard of that. Never had it, but I recall it being mentioned back home. Looking at the recipe, it seems very similar to some haggis variants, with the scraps, broth, grain, etc.
On a side note, I love how the Wiki Nazis are all over that article. Seems they require a citation for every step in a brief description of making a loaf out of pork scraps and cornmeal.

[trekgeezer]

The first computer company I worked for was based in Massachusetts and to be honest the culture shock of going there was almost the same as when I lived in Scotland.

Two of the most notable things that bugged those of us lived in South was that in the fall you couldn't get iced tea in a restaurant  in the fall (it was out of season).  Also they would only give you one refill of  coffee before they charged you for another cup.

I had an incident once when I was there for training the company was moving their training center from Lowell to Lawrence.   I volunteered to go a Dunkin Donuts across the street for coffee. One of the instructor said he wanted a plain coffee.  When I got back with it and he took a sip and went yuck, this is black!

Seems there a plain coffee includes a shot of cream.   

I'm surprised nobody  has mentioned grits.

[Mr. DS]

I'm surprised nobody  has mentioned grits.

 You know Trek, that is one great point there.   Here in the NE we simply don't have grits anywhere so we assume all the Southerners are hoarding them.    One day I was at a Denny's and the waitress gave me the option of them.   I was shocked to say the least.  Though I will admit, I prefer home fries.