15 Ways Illinois Is America's Black Sheep... And We Love It That Way
By Elizabeth Crozier|Published November 03, 2017
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Elizabeth Crozier
Author
An Illinois transplant who grew up and went to school in Indiana for 22 years, Elizabeth holds a BFA in creative writing and has enjoyed traveling across the country and parts of Europe. She has visited half of the states, as well as parts of Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean, and regularly travels home to the Hoosier State to see friends and family. With more than five years of writing experience, Elizabeth’s articles have been featured on several websites, and her poetry and short stories have been published in multiple literary journals.
Illinoisans really don’t care if people think we’re weird. We may be the black sheep of America, but to us, it’s the only place worth living. These 15 things that make us strange are actually really cool, and everyone else is just jealous.
The rest of the country may try to forget we exist, but with so much land and one of the biggest and baddest cities in the states, our culture flourishes. Read on, little lamb. Baa…
1. We're obsessed with Abraham Lincoln. Though he wasn't born here, this is the state he spent the majority of his life in. We have museums, statues, and historic sites preserved in his honor throughout the state.
2. We like to buy food off the side of the road. Sometimes, we just take what we need and leave the money in a box. It may seem strange, but the freshest produce is sold near the farm at which it was grown.
3. We claim the town from Superman is real. Metropolis, Illinois is a real city. It is sits along the banks of the Ohio River and is rife with superhero memorabilia. Statues, murals, and museums abound.
4. We claim to see Bigfoot all the time. Illinois has the fourth most Sasquatch sightings in the United States with 285 reports. We're nowhere near as bad as California with more than 400 sightings and should hardly be considered back sheep at all compared to Washington state's 600+ sightings.
5. We call this a meal. This is a horseshoe, and it's delicious. It is an open-faced sandwich topped with a hamburger patty, french fries, and cheese sauce. Don't knock it until you've tried it.
6. Tractors cause traffic jams. We don't love this aspect about Illinois, but it's just part of living out in the country. It's easy to pass them unlike in real traffic jams where you're just stuck.
7. We have a fire-breathing dragon. The Kaskaskia Dragon is a roadside attraction few know about in Illinois. A special coin makes this larger-than-life structure blow fire, and it's not as lame as it sounds.
8. We can't decide what to call fizzy sugar drink. Is it pop? Is it soda? Why does anyone really care? Depending on which part of the state you hail from though, you might have some big opinions.
9. We prefer our food fried. Yes, it's unhealthy, but there's something about a fried, onion ring, cheese curd, potato, etc... that makes our mouths water. We even host festivals to celebrate this great love.
10. We consider our lake to have the best beaches. While many other states have their ocean coasts, Illinois' claim to sand bars comes from Lake Michigan. It's almost just like an ocean with the waves, endless sea, and seagulls.
11. It's not just Chicago that's windy. "Windy City" is not a term meant to describe weather conditions in Chicago. It was first used to describe its politics, and the corruption has extended through the whole state. Dont lose hope on us now, though. We're working hard to fix it.
12. We wear shorts and flip flops even in winter. Some people are shorts-every-day sorts while others are just stubborn about putting those thong sandals away before the first snow.
13. There's always an ice scraper in the backseat. Somehow this never moves to the trunk and just sits on the floor. You just never know when the first or last frost is going to be.
14. Many of us also keep shovels in our trunks. This is not to bury dead bodies. Those of us who live in an urban area know that trucks can plow you in, and you'll have to dig your car out.
15. We have the worlds largest ketchup bottle. Located in Collinsville, this gigantic water tower is shaped like everyone's favorite condiment. We're kind of proud of it.
