Divided?

Funny! Thank you!

Only a few.
hmm.
Texas: queers and steers
Alabama: Incest
Kentucky: Chicken.
California: Movies.
Wisconsin: Jeffrey Dahmer
Alaska: Bimbo politician that could see russia from her house.
Vermont: Bernie Sanders.
West Virginia: A song about West Virginia.
Florida: Florida Man.
Hawaii: Pizza Hawaii.
Iowa: Captain Kirk was born there.
Maine: Lobster?
Massassassasssassasasaschusettsetetets: MIT
Missisisisiispi: a river
Montana: launch place of the Phoenix, Earth’s first warp capable starship.
Nevada: Area 51
Oklahoma: some bombing took place

KANSAS????

Referenced in Wizard of Ounce?

@ragingloli FYI: Washington is famous for its “pea soup” weather.

@gondwanalon
I am pretty sure it is famous for not being Washington DC.

Can jellies who are in the U.S. do the same?

GOP causing a state of confusion.

Some of those are funny and not what I would write, although Florida I can I understand why that comment was made.

@Jeruba Are you going to make a new Q for Americans to make a list? Might be fun to see how Americans perceive or joke about the various states.

Actually, Texas has more tornadoes than Kansas. Of course it’s a LOT bigger than Kansas.
Oklahoma has as many tornadoes as we do.

Alabama: old-fashioned rules in schools
Alaska: very cold, hunting wolves
Arizona: dry, always hot
California: start-ups, pistachios, oranges
Colorado: no idea. Haribo?
Florida: alligators, swamp
Georgia: iced tea and peach pie
Hawaii: islands and volcanoes
Kansas: storms, where @Dutchess_III lives
Kentucky: yes, chicken. Iced tea on the porch.
Louisiana: purchase
Massachusetts: Boston Tea Party
Michigan: snow, great lake
Montana: mountains?
Nebraska: not a tourist destination
Nevada: Las Vegas. Otherwise empty.
New Jersey: not New York. Also, @janbb.
Ohio: industrial area, fiery river
Oklahoma: cowboys
Oregon: awesome forests
Pennsylvania: Amish?
Tennessee: country music
Texas: guns? big.
Utah: red rock, religion
Vermont: green, cheese, changing leaves, cows, cider
Washington: more trees
West Virginia: mountain Mamaaaa, take me hooome
Wisconsin: cold, currently conflict
Wyoming: rural

@longgone Great list! I think the only thing I would add is maple syrup to Vermont, and I think you missed New York.

Not all, but a few:

Massachusetts: Tea Party
Virginia: George Washington
Delaware: that river Washington risked his life to cross?
Kansas: the Wizard of Oz
New York: everything, because it New York
Texas: cowboys
New Jersey: the most diverse state in America, even back in the 18th century. And also Hug Mercer
Florida: beaches?
Kentucky: fried chicken and a certain colonel

Not-so-fun fact: California has a not-so-great reputation among people in my country. It is known as the destination of “Vietnamese-Americans”. It has reached meme status because of that.

Interesting question @raum. Really makes me wonder what foreigners think of each city in Vietnam.

Ha! No one mentioned Idaho. As far as I know, there is still a law on the books that says school children can carry guns to school to protect themselves from Indians.

(As a lifelong Bostonian, I’m okay with how Massachusetts is being portrayed here.)

@JLeslie

Thanks, though I felt bad for how many states I just had nothing to say about. All the ones with “I”, for example. For New York, I’ll add pizza and rudeness, but also a lot of odd and very welcoming people. And Coney Island.

It might be easier with major cities. For example, Chicago: wind and pizza (again).

@cookieman I spent a day in Boston 13 years ago, and I was really impressed with its beauty and the sensation of something – civility, maybe? I loved the old houses and how it seemed like new buildings were added very thoughtfully to not ruin the original architecture. And the sea was around, which always helps.

Oregon: A game about settlers dying from dissing Terry.

I didn’t read the answers above when I wrote my answer. Turns out we all have the same feeling about Massachusetts :)

@longgone: That is mostly on purpose. For decades, the Boston Redevelopment Association basically oversees construction in Boston to ensure that a certain look is maintained. I used to work in architecture and I know that some developers chafe at that, but I like the results. I agree that it’s a beautiful city.

@Mimishu1995: If you ever get to Boston, I’ll be happy to show around.

Massachusetts-Boston the singing group.
Texas-everything is bigger
Montana- cowboys
Idaho – potatoes
Arizona- deserts
New York- people everywhere

Just to name a few

Alabama Racism
Alaska Snowy wilderness
Arizona Heat
Arkansas The bit left when the other states didn’t fit together.
California Sunshine and movies and fires
Colorado Mountains and skiing
Florida Stifling summer heat, alligators and mosquitos
Georgia More racism and Martin Luther King
Hawaii Paradise and palm trees
Idaho Potatoes
Indiana The lack of Indians
Kansas Flatness
Kentucky Horses
Louisiana Swamps
Maine Beaches
Massachusetts Bee Gees
Michigan Mentioned in a Simon and Garfunkel song.
Mississippi Even more racism
Montana More mountains
Nevada Gambling
New Mexico Deserts
New York Skyscrapers and yellow cabs
North Dakota Emptiness
Ohio Dead students
Oklahoma Musicals
Oregon Forests
Tennessee Hill billies
Texas Vast emptiness, Dallas (the TV series)
Utah Radioactivity
Vermont Greenness
Virginia Tobacco
Washington Rain
West Virginia Coal
Wisconsin Apples
Wyoming Ranches

@ragingloli WOW. I’ve lived in State of Washington for 28 years and never knew it was famous for not being Washington DC. Thank you so much for that valuable information.

@gondwanalon
Let me rephrase that, and say that it is the only thing that state is famous for.

@cookieman I’m sending you a holiday gift—an entire case of Necco wafers.

@Mimishu1995 There’s a large Vietnamese community where I live (D.C. area). I enjoy the fabulous Asian-French cuisine (much more than the Vietnamese people enjoyed the French colonization).

@ragingloli Well that is a relief to me. Perhaps if you are correct then that crazy notion will keep people ignorant about the wonderful quality of life that Washington State offers and they will not move here.

I love reading all of these lists. And, honestly, I’ve lived here all of my life and I don’t think my list would be all that better. :P

When I was in Japan and told people I lived in Tennessee I thought for sure they would cite Elvis, because the prime minister of Japan had just visited Graceland not too long before, but almost everybody responded to me saying, “the Tennessee Waltz.”

When I moved to Michigan it was the first time I had to clarify I was talking about Washington DC when I simply said “Washington”. I had grown up in the suburbs of DC and the assumption was always DC unless we said “Washington state.” When I think of Washington state the two things that pop in my mind are rain and apples.

When we lived in California, in the mid 70’s, when we told people we were from NY, they all thought NY state was like one giant New York city. We explained no, where we live it’s a village with a lake, etc.

Nobody mentioned Missouri, which is quite integral to the story of America.
I mean, we invented the ice cream cone and sweet tea for starters!

And Lewis and Clark launched from Saint Louie.

I thought Missouri was better known for the caverns.
Kansas flat. Real flat.
Iowa tall corn grows there
Texas Cowboys
Colorado the Broncos they bust
Idaho potatoes
Utah mormons and trilobites
Wyoming worst blizzard of US history
Oregon wagon trains/Oregon trail
Washington apples
California vineyards
Nevada casinos and hookers
Louisiana jazz and gator tails
Tennessee horses with a cool gait
Kentucky horse races
Maryland slave auctions and Naval academy
Florida Disneyworld
New York lady liberty
Penn an inventor, some documents, a broken bell
Georgia peaches
Maine lobster
Vermont logging
Mississippi crooked letters and humpbacks
Ohio Drew Carey
Indiana Michael Jackson
Illinois Chicago gang killings
New Jersey Bad Medicine
South Dakota Mount Rushmore
North Dakota between Canada and South Dakota
Virginia tobacco
Arizona cactus
Oklahoma roadside native crafts

Maryland is known for slave auctions? I’m shocked to hear that as it’s claim to fame. That’s interesting. Maryland didn’t secede and was basically a divided state in loyalties. It was a slave state, and south of the Mason Dixon line, but even now Southern Maryland feels still part of the South while areas around DC feel more northeastern in culture.

I was stunned when I first heard, but Annapolis was the country’s most major slave auction location. Nobody I know of claims that with pride.
My memory is cloudy, but it might be the location in Roots where Kunta Kinte was sold.
Now I have to plop in a dvd and see if I’m right on that one.

@Patty_Melt I have no idea if it’s true, I’m not questioning if it’s true, I’m just stating I’m shocked that’s what springs to your mind about Maryland as a descriptor. It has nothing to do with pride or embarrassment for me, if it’s a fact it’s a fact. I don’t think you talked about slavery or segregation for any other state, which is interesting too.

Maryland = plantations and wealth. It’s not at all surprising.

I found the Roots excerpt which includes an ad that states Annapolis as the location of the Kunta Kinte auction.
Baltimore was another location, but Annapolis was the bigger.

I didn’t mention slavery for other states, because they have since found other things to be remembered by, and that would bring it to a national mention, rather than states.
Here are a few rarely known tidbits about some slave owners in various states which are better known today for other things.