No state is spared a roasting in this 19th-century nickname map
Image: Library of Congress
When a livestock supply company tries to get clever, the result is likely to be something like this “odd and obscure” (h/t Slate) map of the U.S. showing common state nicknames of the day, many of which haven’t changed since the map was printed as a promotional offering by H.W. Hill & Co. in 1884. Each state’s nickname is illustrated by a portly porker doing whatever it is that state would probably rather not be known for doing best: New York’s “knickerbocker,” Ohio’s “buckeye” and Michigan’s “wolverine” are present and accounted for; Kentucky’s “corn cracker” and Georgia’s “cracker” are similarly skewered.
North Dakota is certainly “in the land of the Dakotas” but we’re not sure why South Dakota is the land of the “bug eater.” Florida’s obsolete nickname of “fly up the creek” apparently refers to the state’s native green heron, South Carolina’s “weasel” is one we haven’t heard, and Utah’s version is a bit ham-fisted in its depiction of a pig with what looks like several wives. It’s yet another illustration of the way we love to use maps to sort out social subtleties, from how many hipsters are in our neighborhood to what the nightlife is like. Check out the map and see how your home state gets a ribbing.
Images: Library of Congress
[Via Slate]
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