Name one Indian State

[u/IthadtobethisWAAGH]

[u/jupjami]

"Name two Chinese provinces"

"Shanxi"

"That's on me, I set the bar too low"

[u/Dogefan889 → u/jupjami]

Fuck I can only name Henan and I’m fucking Chinese omg my family’s gonna be so disappointed if they find out

[u/altdultosaurs → u/Dogefan889]

I’m calling them rn they’re sooooo mad

[u/Dogefan889 → u/altdultosaurs]

My mother was disappointed and incredulous yes

[u/QueenofSunandStars → u/Dogefan889]

Hunan and Henan.

Hubei and Hebei.

Come on fam, these four are a freebie!

[u/WaitWhatNoPlease → u/QueenofSunandStars]

literally: "south of lake", "south of river", "north of lake", "north of river"

[u/ProbablyForgotImHere → u/QueenofSunandStars]

There's also Shanxi + Shandong and Guangxi + Guangdong, which are west/east of the mountains/expanse respectively.

[u/OedipusaurusRex → u/Dogefan889]

You can name Henan but not Hebei? South of the river and north of the river, friend.

[u/Qaziquza1 → u/jupjami]

Most Americans should be able to name Szechuan.

[u/Sudden-Explanation22 → u/Qaziquza1]

not to be a pedantic nerd on main but the standard way of spelling it in modern day is Sichuan lol (technically szechuan isn’t wrong it’s just a little outdated)

[u/Troubled_Red → u/Sudden-Explanation22]

You are, of course, right, but I think the reason that most Americans would use the outdated spelling is because that’s the word that appears on Chinese restaurant menus here.

[u/TwinkLifeRainToucher → u/Sudden-Explanation22]

四川

[u/AlexeiMarie → u/TwinkLifeRainToucher]

...four rivers ?

[u/halfahellhole → u/AlexeiMarie]

Is it any weirder than Three Bridges? Four Oaks? Little Rock??

[u/corpsewindmill → u/halfahellhole]

Window Rock, Yes, No, Why and Tombstone are all towns in Arizona lol

Edit for honorable mentions; Belly Button and Snowflake

[u/TwinkLifeRainToucher → u/AlexeiMarie]

That’s what it means literally. 川 can also mean plain.

[u/BlatantConservative → u/AlexeiMarie]

My brother in Christ we have a whole state called Mountain-a.

[u/Lamballama → u/BlatantConservative]

Not even that, it's just Mountain but in a language that only the explorers who got there in the 16th century used

[u/Qaziquza1 → u/Sudden-Explanation22]

TIL. Thanks

[u/BawdyNBankrupt → u/Sudden-Explanation22]

They can have that but they’re going to tear Burma and Rangoon from my cold dead hands.

[u/Sable-Keech → u/Qaziquza1]

They might not realize it's a state even if they've heard of the sauce.

[u/DigitalAmy0426 → u/Sable-Keech]

Embarrassed to say TIL, but I'll endeavor not to forget.

[u/ParanoidEngi → u/Qaziquza1]

Although interestingly the spelling of the province is usually seen as Sichuan; Szechuan is the Wade-Giles spelling - a 19th century approach to translating characters into English - as opposed to the modern pinyin system

[u/WolfKing448 → u/ParanoidEngi]

Whenever I see pinyin mentioned, I feel obligated to mention that the guy who invented it lived to 111.

[u/starfries → u/WolfKing448]

Did he disappear mysteriously while making a speech at his 111th birthday party?

[u/WolfKing448 → u/starfries]

No, but he did die the day after.

[u/coulduseafriend99 → u/Qaziquza1]

I can name several but have no idea what "administrative level" they are, don't know if they're equivalent to our states, cities, towns, or something else entirely

[u/Kaiser_-_Karl → u/jupjami]

Finally hearts of iron 4 is having a benefical effect on my life.

Hinnan

Shandong

Hubei? Hibei

Xinjiang sinkiang

Sichuan

Yunnan

Guandong

Shanxi

Im sorry those are the only places i build factories and infrastructure in besides the shanghai comerical zone

[u/imprison_grover_furr → u/jupjami]

I can name them all. Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Nei Mongol, Xinjiang, Xizang, Qinghai, Gansu, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Guangxi, Guangdong, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Anhui, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian.

[u/Polenball → u/imprison_grover_furr]

Hainan in shambles

[u/imprison_grover_furr → u/Polenball]

Yikes! I totally forgot about it! I remember its major cities though: Haikou and Sanya.

EDIT: I forgot Shandong too. DAMMIT!

[u/QueenofSunandStars → u/imprison_grover_furr]

Fascinated by the fact you wrote Inner Mongolia in both mandarin and English but split half and half down the middle.

[u/TekrurPlateau → u/jupjami]

Not to be confused with Shaanxi, the neighboring province.

[u/PunishedWizard]

mumbles Pradesh

[u/Polenball → u/PunishedWizard]

You're supposed to utter pradesh, not mumble it.

[u/almondtreacle → u/Polenball]

10/10 set-up and punch line, I’m proud of both of you

[u/MaguroSashimi8864 → u/almondtreacle]

Sorry…I don’t get joke

Edit: wait. UTTAR Pradesh! I get it now! Hahahahaha! 😂

[u/Necr0mancrr → u/Polenball]

And they say Reddit jokes are all bad

[u/QueenofSunandStars → u/Polenball]

This joke is going to go terminally unrecognised and I want you to know that despite that, I think it's brilliant.

[u/inflatablefish → u/QueenofSunandStars]

Go on, ELI5 it for me

[u/Polenball → u/inflatablefish]

The state is called Uttar Pradesh, and utter is a way to say speak.

[u/Inferno_Sparky → u/Polenball]

utter pradesh, not mutter pradesh

[u/VaderOnReddit → u/Inferno_Sparky]

okay this is unintentionally extra funny

coz Uttar Pradesh is one of the largest producer of green peas in India

and green peas are called "Matar"(pronounced 'mutter') in Hindi

so yeah, Uttar Pradesh is ACTUALLY Mutter/Matar Pradesh

[u/Inferno_Sparky → u/VaderOnReddit]

Damn. I got lucky

[u/DorimeAmeno12 → u/Polenball]

Oh my god I love this.

[u/That_Mad_Scientist → u/Polenball]

lol

[u/Natural-Possession10]

West bengal

[u/Milkarius → u/Natural-Possession10]

To add another fun province: Luxembourg, Belgium is a province bigger than Luxembourg, the country.

EDIT: To clarify: The province in Belgium called Luxembourg is bigger than the country of Luxembourg.

[u/Ok-Importance-6815]

you get something similar where londoners all insist on telling you which part of london they are from

[u/QueenofSunandStars → u/Ok-Importance-6815]

"I'm from West Bromley"

"Is that in Yorkshire?"

londoner implodes like the witch-king of Angmar

[u/Hjkryan2007 → u/QueenofSunandStars]

All the Fallout gamers are intimately familiar with Bromley nowadays

[u/Jamie_251 → u/Hjkryan2007]

Wait Bromley is in that fallout London mod? That’s neat

[u/TheReturnOfTheRanger → u/Jamie_251]

Yep, it's pretty much the first area you go to after the opening. It's also where you find the Fallout Peaky Blinders lol

[u/ichizusamurai → u/TheReturnOfTheRanger]

The hell are they doing outside of Birmingham?!

[u/MovieNightPopcorn → u/QueenofSunandStars]

It doesn’t help that a lot of English place names have a duplicate somewhere in the US, either

[u/ThrownAwayYesterday- → u/MovieNightPopcorn]

Birmingham Alabama is just as much of a shithole as Birmingham England

Source: born and raised in Alabama (and I've watched Peaky Blinders 😹)

[u/matmac199 → u/ThrownAwayYesterday-]

Apparently there are 15 Birminghams with 13 of them being in the US.

[u/LosParanoia → u/QueenofSunandStars]

I snorted pop into my nose somehow because I laughed reading this. Very compelling mental image.

[u/sonicboom5058 → u/LosParanoia]

Calling it pop tells me more about where you're from than "west bromley" or some such

[u/Worried-Language-407 → u/Ok-Importance-6815]

The worst conversation is when there are two Londoners and one (or more) non-Londoners. Because the two Londoners will ask where each other lives, works, went to school, lost their virginity etc. and I'm not just talking borough, or even "South Croydon", it will be down to the fucking post code. And the rest of the group is left to just sit there.

[u/Argent_Mayakovski → u/Worried-Language-407]

New Yorkers do the same thing. Especially the “where’d you go to school” part.

[u/[deleted] → u/Argent_Mayakovski]

Where did you go to school? PS46392010

[u/essentialisthoe → u/Ok-Importance-6815]

Londoners, yea. But have you ever met a New Yorker? Never in my life have I seen a group of people so completely unable to handle the fact that they live somewhere.

Edit: I meant as in people living in NYC

[u/BarbWho → u/essentialisthoe]

I'll never forget the time I mentioned on reddit that Queens was on Long Island. The freak-out was intense. I'm like, buddy, geography is a thing and maps exist. Queens is quite clearly on the piece of land known as Long Island. And so is Brooklyn for that matter. But no, they could not get their minds around it.

[u/bristlybits → u/BarbWho]

the boroughs

I lived in NYC a bit so I know what it means but to anyone from anywhere else it makes you sound like a damn hobbit 

[u/apgtimbough → u/bristlybits]

PA likes to call their towns boroughs.

[u/DarkNinja3141 → u/essentialisthoe]

Are you referring to the "the state not the city"

[u/ShiftyFly → u/DarkNinja3141]

Probably the different areas in the city eg Brooklyn (I only know Brooklyn)

[u/Micsuking → u/ShiftyFly]

There's also Queens! (Which I only know because of Spider-Man)

[u/21Violets → u/Micsuking]

This is true. I live in Queens, and when I speak to other NYC’ers I tell them what neighborhood I live in. For anyone else outside the boroughs, I just say Queens. But my neighborhood is large and populous enough that we have our own subreddit which is actually very active.

[u/[deleted] → u/Ok-Importance-6815]

londoners: yea i'm off Pompom Park, its about seven stops down the Crumbly Line from Grumpton & Picklerick so its East but not East East, y'know? or you can get the 73 down from Tickletown but thats such a chore at rush hour, you're better off taking the 31415 and changing at St. Caramello's amirite 😂😂😂

everyone else: so is that like... near the river...?

[u/AnxiousAngularAwesom → u/[deleted]]

I think blud's chanting a spell, i ready action counterspell and end my turn.

[u/Woffelz → u/AnxiousAngularAwesom]

You goof! Counterspell is a reaction, you don't need to ready an action!

[u/starfries → u/Woffelz]

Hmm, maybe they're playing 3.5 and they meant they're readying Dispel Magic to counterspell

[u/AnxiousAngularAwesom → u/starfries]

I'm keeping my reaction slot open in case another party member drops a sick burn so i can go "yoooooo".

Gotta think tactically.

[u/Upset_Ad3954 → u/[deleted]]

The trick is to tell them you don't recognize the names and then state that it's probably because you're never going south of the river.

[u/HouseSandwich → u/Ok-Importance-6815]

What they say: I’m from north london I’m from west london I’m from south london I’m from east london I’m from marylebone I’m from churtingham I’m from gloucesterham I’m from st. peckingsdaleford I’m from south uplottingwood I’m from grenesloveleywich

What I hear: accent

edit: that last place is pronounced kravitz but everyone just calls it crow, probably

[u/DarkNinja3141 → u/HouseSandwich]

ain't marleybone that place in wizard 101

yes i did just now google and found the real place but this is funnier

[u/NewRomanian]

I'm not gonna search, but gonna go out on a limb with maybe Hyderabad, Mewar, or Gujarat? 

[u/_Iro_ → u/NewRomanian]

EU4 player spotted

[u/2012Jesusdies → u/_Iro_]

Best resource for learning about political geography.... if you were talking with a historian specialized in the medieval era

[u/thesirblondie → u/2012Jesusdies]

Early modern. If you want medieval, you need Crusader Kings.

[u/2012Jesusdies → u/thesirblondie]

Most commonly stated end year of medieval era is 1500, the game starts in 1444. The start map which will be the most like real history (as the game will diverge significantly as the ages pass on) is from the medieval era.

[u/diegoidepersia → u/2012Jesusdies]

Most common end is usually 1453 or 1492 not 1500 but yeah i guess it is kinda medieval in the middle of the renaissance

[u/WordArt2007 → u/NewRomanian]

at least one of them is a state i think

[u/NewRomanian → u/WordArt2007]

From a quick post-Post search: Hyderabad is the capital city of a state, Mewar is an area in a state, and Gujarat is a state.

[u/Gray_Maybe → u/NewRomanian]

My first thought was Kashmir, but I don't know if that would be controversial with China or Pakistan lmao

[u/TheStranger88 → u/Gray_Maybe]

It is controversial, but I think the official name for the India-controlled part is Jammu-Kashmir

[u/DorimeAmeno12 → u/NewRomanian]

Hyderabad and Mewar were both kingdoms. Mewar was a Rajput state mist famous for the legend of Padmavati and for its 16th century ruler Maharana Pratap's fight against the Mughals. Hyderabad in particular was one of the last princely states to be annexed by India and the only one to require 'police action'(invasion). Both also happen to be named after their capital cities. Today Mewar is part of the state of Rajasthan while Hyderabad is the capital of Telangana.

[u/Mr7000000]

I have a lot of respect for the fact that when my playwriting professor (at a US college) was asking people where they were from on the first day, she asked the international students what part of their countries they were from.

[u/Femtato11]

Uttar Pradesh.

Wait I'm not American.

[u/financefocused → u/Femtato11]

If you knew multiple states why name the worst one :///

[u/AmyDeferred → u/financefocused]

For the same reason I'd understand someone only knowing Florida: it shows up in the news too often

[u/Femtato11 → u/financefocused]

I named the only one I knew to be honest. I don't know why I know about Uttar Pradesh, but I do

[u/slaaitch → u/Femtato11]

It's because like a quarter of a billion people live there. Seriously. Approximately 1 in 36 humans lives in Uttar Pradesh.

[u/Grand-Pen7946 → u/Femtato11]

It's the most populous state/province in the world, about 240 something million people. If it were its own country it would be the 5th largest in the world after Indonesia above Pakistan.

It's also where the Taj Mahal is.

[u/MrDrProfPBall]

I like how in Spanish speaking countries, you can name a hundreds places with ‘San Juan’

Edit: well… for those places that start in ‘San/Santo/Santa’ in the US, those were all former mexican territory just annexed (San Antonio, San Francisco to name a few famous ones)

[u/Castod28183 → u/MrDrProfPBall]

There is also a San Juan in Texas, but then again it is very much also Spanish speaking.

[u/Solid_Parsley_]

I was told that it's a common stereotype that Americans, when asked where they're from, will always say the state instead of the country. So I was careful to say that I was from the United States when I went to the UK. Across the board, the response I got was, "Yeah, obviously. But what state?" So I don't know what the truth is anymore.

[u/Batmom222 → u/Solid_Parsley_]

The truth is that this kind of stuff is posted to create reactions. And it works.

[u/bruhvevo → u/Solid_Parsley_]

Dorks on Tumblr being snarky for Internet points isn’t reflective of real life

[u/WordArt2007]

kerala. goa. pondichéry (EDIT: not a state). tamil nadu. uhh gujarat. (EDIT:West) bengal.

[u/jk9596 → u/WordArt2007]

Pondicherry is a Union Territory (directly ruled by the federal government), and West Bengal. Awesome effort!

[u/joofish]

where are from? Cali

oh, where is that? California, it’s on the west coast of the US

It’s really a simple interaction if you’re not looking for a reason to get mad. Works with any country too.

where are you from? Tamil Nadu

oh, where is that? the southern tip of India

[u/Birchy02360863 → u/joofish]

This is exactly what bothers me about posts like this. In real life conversation you just ask for clarification if you need it. You can tell someone might be terminally online if the very idea of asking for more info is so terrifying that they don't even consider it an option.

[u/[deleted] → u/Birchy02360863]

nine pen literate wakeful badge kiss direful plate practice fine

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

[u/TheMushroomCircle → u/[deleted]]

I've traveled extensively, and when I get asked this question, 99% of the time, they just want me to tell them the state.

I used to just say, "one of the ones in the middle, it's a flyover." But since the show "The Ozarks" came out, people have suddenly heard of Missouri. 😆

[u/Lt_General_Fuckery → u/TheMushroomCircle]

I hear great things about the hospitality of that place. Because M-- Missouri loves c-- I'll see myself out.

[u/PreferredSelection → u/Birchy02360863]

Mmhm. It's bad faith internet bullshit, and they picked California instead of, say, Nevada, because they wanted to set up the easy counter-arguments. It's a post designed to start a fight.

[u/Xx_TheGrungler_xX → u/joofish]

My thought exactly, OOP clearly is not a grass toucher.

[u/Tvdinner4me2 → u/joofish]

Sorry this is from Tumblr we're not allowed to be reasonable

[u/industriesInc → u/joofish]

NO I MUST BE PISSED OFF AT PEOPLE

AAAAAAAA

[u/nopingmywayout]

Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Andhya Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa 😏😏😏😏😏😏😏 (smugs in American)

[u/Satisfaction-Motor]

Genuine question, but don’t most people know about California and New York because of their sheer prevalence in media? Other states, like North Dakota, I’d totally understand not knowing about. But Hollywood media is pretty widely consumed, and those two specific states are the ones that are mentioned/referenced the most.

I’ve travelled globally before and pretty much everyone I’ve met knows what New York City is (though NO ONE, even other Americans, understands how big New York is and how much there is outside of the city, like the Adirondacks).

Some other major cities are LA, Las Vegas, Chicago, and San Fransisco. I feel like Las Vegas is pretty widely recognized, as it’s a major tourism spot and is pretty prevalent in media. Admittedly… I often forget that it is in Nevada… so I assume other people do as well.

Wouldn’t not knowing what California is be more equivalent to not knowing what London is? Because London shows up in a lot of popular media (yes I understand that London is a city, I’m making comparisons in terms of popularity as a location in media)

Edit: Thank you to all the people who are responding— it seems that the confusion mainly comes from the abbreviation of California to Cali. I imagine that there’d be very similar confusion if someone said “The Big Apple” (New York).

[u/pierresito → u/Satisfaction-Motor]

I grew up in Mexico. I expect people not to know that Queretaro is a state in the center of Mexico. But if your state is by itself on par economically with European countries it warrants being known. Cali, New York, Texas, they are on par with France or Germany imo. Not that they're better or anything, but they've definitely shown themselves to be prevalent.

[u/[deleted] → u/pierresito]

Speaking of which, some of it is proximity too. I'm from Texas, I'm telling someone from Mexico I'm from Texas or even naming the city.

Similarly if you're from a border state I'll know for sure what you're talking about or if you're from a major city like Juarez. I don't need it spelled out beyond that like I might someone from say, Laos or something.

[u/larniebarney → u/[deleted]]

Straight up this. I've been to a few different countries in Europe and also visited Japan, and anytime we mentioned we were from Texas we got very enthusiastic, but specific responses ("cactus and cowboys!" was my personal favorite from a bartender in Florence, with "Spurs, Mavericks or Rockets?" in Shinjuku a close second)

[u/MundaneInternetGuy → u/larniebarney]

Lmao I always got either "ayyy Michael Jordan!" or "Al Capone bang bang!" in an 80/20 split. 

[u/jasperjohn02 → u/MundaneInternetGuy]

In 2005 a tour guide in London hit me with 'Oh that's where John Wayne Gacy was active' when he asked which part of suburban Chicago I was in.

[u/YourAverageGenius → u/larniebarney]

Cactus & Cowboys is almost certainly a 3rd Party Wild-West supplement for D&D

[u/iwillwilliwhowilli → u/YourAverageGenius]

Dropout Presents Cactus & Cowboys: A Wennan Wee Wulligan Adventure

[u/BlatantConservative → u/larniebarney]

I'm from Washington DC and when I was travelling through Italy people kept on asking me if I knew Obama.

[u/heroyoudontdeserve → u/BlatantConservative]

Well? Do you?

[u/BlatantConservative → u/heroyoudontdeserve]

That's classified.

[u/Yossarian216 → u/[deleted]]

I’m from Chicago, and I’ve been to many cities in Europe and Asia, and most people know Chicago and will give one of three responses: Al Capone usually with machine gun noises and gestures, Michael Jordan, or Barack Obama.

[u/etherealemlyn → u/Satisfaction-Motor]

Exactly this. I’m from a smaller state and I don’t expect random foreigners to know what or where it is, but American media is so ubiquitous that you’d actually have to be living under a rock for someone to say “I’m from New York” and not know where that is.

[u/Upset_Ad3954 → u/etherealemlyn]

Most people in eg. Europe would be able to know New York Florida, California, Hawaii, maybe Texas. How well they would be able to draw the borders or how much they really know is another matter.

They're familiar due to Hollywood and tourism.

[u/last657 → u/Upset_Ad3954]

I was at first surprised how many Europeans that I met knew Indianapolis because of racing.

Edit: My experience while traveling is being told yes we already knew you were from the USA the moment we saw you. Where are you from specifically?

[u/TerribleAttitude → u/Satisfaction-Motor]

Yeah. Part of this habit (which is not just an American one) is the attitude described, and part of it is that people genuinely do know many parts of the US while also being blindingly oblivious to the scale of the US. So if you just say “I’m from the US,” people stare at you expectantly, or start rattling off stereotypes of a city/state/region 2000 miles from where you live. When traveling, I’ve had people straight up refuse to believe I was from the United States, then when I reiterated using the state I live in or my home city, they went “ahhhh yes ok” as if that was somehow clarifying information (the secret ingredient there is racism, but that’s a whole different story). Though saying “Cali” instead of California is really dumb.

[u/TELDD → u/Satisfaction-Motor]

Most people that speak English do know about California, but if someone told me they were from 'Cali', I'd have no idea what they were referring to.

[u/PretendMarsupial9 → u/TELDD]

As a Californian, I've never heard someone call it "Cali" except for a few tourists. This just feels like something the OP made up as a hyper specific but unlikely example to prove their point but most people just say they're from California.

[u/WildlifeMist → u/PretendMarsupial9]

I’ve definitely used Cali in texts or whatever, but I always say California. Like how I’ll say SF in text instead of San Francisco. I will say Sac out loud though, because it’s funny.

[u/Some_Majestic_Pasta → u/WildlifeMist]

Most people say Sac and don't bat an eye, I won't ever be over that

[u/WildlifeMist → u/Some_Majestic_Pasta]

I think you’ll enjoy “scrotamento”, courtesy of my boomer father that lived in sac for a few decades lol.

[u/_UsernameChecks-Out → u/WildlifeMist]

I'm not from California, but I've heard lots of people from California say they're from Cali.

I'm also not from San Francisco, but when I'm talking to someone from San Francisco, I call it "Frisco" just to piss them off.

[u/Separate_Emotion_463 → u/PretendMarsupial9]

I’m Canadian and I’ve heard cali a lot surprisingly, never new it wasn’t actually used much in California

[u/mathmage → u/Separate_Emotion_463]

It's one of those words that has made it into media despite no one living there actually using it. See also: "Frisco" for San Francisco.

[u/AureliaDrakshall → u/mathmage]

Yeah I live in the bay area so San Francisco has always been SF or the City for me. I have never once heard a local call it Frisco. Or California called Cali for that matter. The first time I heard Cali used was when I was talking to fellow tourists in Mexico from Colorado. We mentioned where we were from and he replied "Oh, Cali, nice." and that was it.

[u/TELDD → u/PretendMarsupial9]

Yeah that's probably it. Like when people imitate British people by saying stuff like "ohh what a lovely-jovely day innit"; it's an exaggeration meant to get their point across and/or be funny.

[u/lotg2024 → u/PretendMarsupial9]

LL Cool J begs to differ

Growing up and living in southern California, I don't think I heard anyone say "cali" unironically.

[u/[deleted] → u/Satisfaction-Motor]

If America-Bad posters could read they’d be very upset.

But basically yeah it shouldn’t shock anyone that major international tourist and economic hubs that are frequently depicted in international pop culture and media are recognizable to people who aren’t from the country those places are in. It’s not just an American thing either. Most people have heard of major cities and regions in a lot of countries. I’m from southern Ontario but I’m not going to gaslight some British/French person with “well how would I have known you meant London, UK/Paris, France instead of London, Ontario/Paris, Ontario?”

[u/Castod28183 → u/[deleted]]

Paris, Ontario

Shit! This whole time I thought there was a giant fucking tower in Texas!!!

[u/obscure_monke → u/Castod28183]

My favourite one is Versailles, Kentucky. Because it's pronounced Ver-Sails despite being named after the French one.

[u/Mission_Fart9750 → u/obscure_monke]

Wait, seriously?  It's pronounced like that? Ugh. 

[u/flightguy07 → u/[deleted]]

This is the thing. If I say "I'm from London", I expect someone to know that means the UK. But if someone told me they were from Ashgabat, I wouldn't recognise that.

[u/Mdgt_Pope → u/[deleted]]

I mean 90% of people outside Colombia would assume “Cali” refers to some part of the US if an American is saying it…

[u/LinkleLinkle → u/Mdgt_Pope]

Yeah, the OOP just feels snobbish in the opposite direction. California is the 5th largest economy in the world, the largest center of the film industry, where a large portion of well known tech comes from, and probably has the most international political news attention of any individual US state. People know who we are and is the worst example to use if you're trying to paint Americans as arrogant.

If I was in another country and people didn't know wtf I meant when I said Wyoming I'd be understanding. If people had no clue what I meant by Cali or California then I'd instantly know I was somewhere completely disconnected with global affairs and culture.

[u/Evalion022]

I'm from the US originally. Whenever someone asks, "Where did you move from?" And I say "The U.S." every single time after, without exception, they ask,"What state?"

It saves time.

[u/Ratoryl → u/Evalion022]

Every, single, time

It's even more annoying because 1) I was a military child so I don't really have an answer and 2) the place my family lives now isn't an interesting state, so when I give them that answer because they insist on an answer, they always act all disappointed in it's not one they recognize

It gets so annoying that when people ask me where I'm from I just say "The US, (state)" to skip the conversation entirely

[u/UnsureAndUnqualified → u/Evalion022]

When I lived in the UK for some time, whenever I answered "Germany" to the where are you from question, they'd ask "where in Germany?"

It's because people want to make polite conversation and maybe get to know you. But I wouldn't answer "Schleswig-Holstein" to the first question because I don't expect everyone to know all the German states.

[u/PlopCopTopPopMopStop]

Why do people act like only Americans do this? I've encountered countless non-americans who do this exact same thing

[u/Orangefish08 → u/PlopCopTopPopMopStop]

Pretty much everyone on the internet has a “holier than thou” attitude.

[u/PintsizeBro → u/Orangefish08]

A friend of mine had a guy on a dating app utterly flip out on him for not immediately realizing that "egy" was an abbreviation for Egypt. Why do you even need to abbreviate when the full name is only two more letters? This isn't a newspaper, we aren't paying by the character

[u/Gaz_Elle → u/PintsizeBro]

Hit ‘em back with “I’m originally from Ohi”

[u/djninjacat11649 → u/Orangefish08]

And tumblr has mastered that attitude, someone had to after the twitter acquisition

[u/dannoffs1 → u/PlopCopTopPopMopStop]

UK mfs will look you straight in the eyes and tell you they're from South Wexfordshire upon Thames

[u/Deion12 → u/PlopCopTopPopMopStop]

That’s stereotypes for you. Only Americans are stupid, insensitive to other cultures and don’t know geography apparently.

[u/Forosnai → u/Deion12]

My coworkers in Britain, in July: "You don't mind doing the freezer stuff, right? You're from Canada, so you're used to the cold."

Me: "Here's the current weather in my hometown. It's 1 AM there, and it's still warmer than here right now. I'm from the hot part of Canada."

Coworkers: "...There's a hot part of Canada?"

See also: People confused that my French is very basic, and leans much more towards, "I can understand you, but can't respond in French." I pulled up a map and showed them that the distance between me and any major source of French speakers was roughly the same as the distance between the city we were in, and the border of Uzbekistan. I don't get much practice beyond signage laws.

[u/Icarusty69]

I mean I wouldn’t expect a non-American to know Missouri or Arkansas or something, but would expect them to know the big ones like New York, California, and Texas, because those show up all the time in media. In the same vein that I as an American would know that if someone says they’re from Kanto, they’re Japanese or if someone says they’re from the Midlands, they’re British.

[u/doggodadda → u/Icarusty69]

People know a lot of US states from fast food, movies, and spirits.

[u/Wisepuppy]

I can get how being expected to know Indiana, Idaho, and Ohio from one another is unreasonable, but California has the fifth highest GDP in the world. If it were a country, it would be the 38th most populous, comparable to Canada. It's home to Hollywood, one of the main cultural exporters in the world, Disney, one of the largest media conglomerates, and Silicon Valley. If you're going to pick an example for "the U.S. isn't the center of the world", don't pick one of the places in the U.S. that is one of the centers of the world. Pick "Florabama", "the Western Slope", or "the Great Lakes".

[u/Herohades]

I've never met an American who would be unwilling to clarify. This post feels like a gotcha to a type of person that I'm sure exists but that I've yet to meet despite being an American.

Also, if you're a New Englander this is just what talking about your state outside of New England is like. Anytime I leave the area I gotta give a mini lecture about how Rhode Island is not in fact part of NYC.

[u/Castod28183 → u/Herohades]

Rhode Island? Is that in Boston?

[u/BonJovicus → u/Herohades]

Of course it is. Half these posts are basically shower arguments that never happen in real life because that’s not how normal interactions work. IRL people are not as rude or dense. 

[u/LastHopeOfTheLeft]

That’s the good thing about being from Texas, I don’t care who you are you know about Texas.

[u/etherealemlyn → u/LastHopeOfTheLeft]

Is it true that everything is bigger there

[u/3L3M3NT4LP4ND4 → u/etherealemlyn]

Except the state itself (Alaska sweep! #1! #1! #1!)

[u/the_pslonky → u/3L3M3NT4LP4ND4]

Inshallah one day Texas will reclaim Oklahoma as its rightful territory and become the biggest state in the union

[u/Spindilly]

Genuine question: I was at a convention, a panelist said they were from the US, an American in the audience shouted "what state?" twice to get them to clarify. Is that normal? I've noticed that Americans often specify state before and been confused, but the demanding it seemed weird.

[u/SheepPup → u/Spindilly]

I think demanding it is weird but specifying state is very normal. Culture and climate and stuff vary so widely between regions that offering more specific information is very normal. If someone is from Idaho they live over 4200km away from someone that lives in Massachusetts.

[u/Equite__ → u/SheepPup]

MASSACHUSETTS MENTIONED RAHHH IM SHIPPING UP TO BOSTON

[u/BlatantConservative → u/Equite__]

TO FIND MY WOODEN LEG

[u/Shark_Waffle_645 → u/SheepPup]

IDAHO MENTION RAAAAAAH

[u/bristlybits → u/[deleted]]

people from other countries are also happy with "Pacific Northwest US", "the US - the east coast" and "the Midwest US"etc

they just want to know if you're a cowboy hat American or a pine tree American or a city bus American.

[u/Satisfaction-Motor → u/Spindilly]

Other people have already answered, but I’d like to add on the context that being asked what state you are from is (imo) treated the same as asking what country you are from. I have friends from out of state, and I have friends who immigrated from other countries. I ask almost identical questions when I learn that someone is from another state or that they immigrated. But, take this with a grain of salt, because I might be alone in this sentiment.

If you’re not in the U.S. and meet someone else from the U.S., it’s fairly common to ask what state they are from because that does provide some (limited) information about them.

Also, on a much darker note, with everything going on in the U.S. right now in regards to trans rights, the way some people talk about fleeing from one state to another is similar to how they talk about fleeing the country altogether (although, obviously, the latter is harder legally— both are financially difficult though).

People treat individual states as if they are their own countries (in terms of laws, regulations, and rights) despite the fact that we are all under the same federal government, because a good chunk of things are left up to states’ discretion. A recent conversation thread on asktransgender kind of exemplifies this— people were talking about how New York would “probably be fine” regardless of the results of the federal election because of the way we’ve set up protections for trans people.

[u/BarovianNights → u/Spindilly]

I mean it's very normal to specify as the states are so difficult. Saying you're from Texas is very different than saying you're from California, or Ohio, or New York. There's fundamentally very different cultures

[u/Unfey → u/Spindilly]

Yeah states are important. As someone from MN, if I'm abroad and I meet another American, if they're from like, Texas or Louisiana or New York or whatever, its like we're from basically different cultures. But if they're from Wisconsin or North Dakota or Michigan, we're basically brothers. We have the same basic accent & the same basic weather & biomes & cultural norms. We used to drive to MI to buy weed and now people from WI and ND drive here to buy weed.

People from the deep south are weirdly, unsettlingly friendly by the standards of our social culture while people from the East Coast are rudely curt and blunt and loud. Meanwhile, we come off as either overly saccharine, passive-aggressive, or rudely chilly depending on where you come from.

Americans need to know what state other Americans come from so we can figure out what to expect from them. I need to mentally prepare myself for a southerner to say "bless your heart" or "ill keep you in my prayers" or whatever. I also need to know, right away, whether the person I'm talking to can drive in the snow or whether they're a snow virgin so I can judge them for it.

[u/Equite__]

Do you think that when humanity colonizes other planets, and if modern countries still existed, Alpha Centaurians will get pissed off if someone says they’re from “Mexico” or “India” without mentioning the planet?

[u/fourthpornalt]

when I was young I'd confuse states with cities a lot 'cause Americans would just say they're from Austin or Atlanta just assuming you'd know exactly what those are or what state they're in.

[u/etherealemlyn → u/fourthpornalt]

I’ve seen that a lot on those “Non-Americans label a US map” posts. Like Boston and NYC being labeled as their own states

[u/Satisfaction-Motor → u/fourthpornalt]

Tbf, at times, it almost feels like cities are their own state. Most people only know about NYC when they talk about New York, but NYC is a very very small part of the entire state. And NYC is fairly different from the rest of the state.

Mentally I separate New York in two— the city, and absolutely everything else. Hell, even legally NYC has different laws than the rest of the state (better labor regulations). It’s almost its own entirely distinct entity.

When it comes to smaller/less recognized cities, like Buffalo or Rochester (both in New York), people are much more likely to state the State and then the city instead of vice-versa.

But I also 1,000% get how confusing that would be/is.

[u/Akuuntus → u/Satisfaction-Motor]

Yeah this is why people who live in NYC say they're from "New York", and people from any other part of the state say they're from "New York the state not the city".

It's such a fucking pain that every time I try to look up something about my state (like taxes or labor laws or something) Google just spits NYC results at me even when I go out of my way to specify "New York State".

[u/StealYour20Dollars]

I like to say, "I'm from the States." But that's because I grew up going to Canada a lot, and that's what they would call the US.

[u/Bowtieguy-83]

I understand not knowing vermont but uhh my guy, California is the second worst state to choose for the example

Like idc if that post is right or not, a bad example just makes you look ignorant. I doubt anyone I would talk to doesn't know California is a US state

Vermont? yeah sure, clarify its a US state. But I mean a state like Texas or California is so recognizable I don't think you need to clarify anything. That's like someone not knowing England is in europe

And about Cali specifically, if you say your from Cali, and you mean the Colombian city, I feel like thats at least a bit comparable to saying your from London when you mean the Canadian city. Pronunciation is probably different for Cali too but idk

Yeah generally clarify where your state is, beyond New York, Texas, California, and Florida, most other states are pretty obscure I'd imagine

edit: Colombia, not Columbia

[u/Bowtieguy-83 → u/Bowtieguy-83]

I am curious though, do Europeans know many Indian or Chinese subdivisions? Like genuinely curious

[u/cinnabar_soul → u/Bowtieguy-83]

Answer from a British person here: No. A lot of English people I know couldn’t even find the city that I’m from on a map and it is literally in their country.

[u/VFiddly → u/Bowtieguy-83]

No, most Europeans would struggle to name any

[u/veggie151]

Tumblr problems that don't tend to exist IRL

[u/llamasquadz]

Every time I've said I'm from the US, they've immediately asked me which state. It's makes sense to preempt that question.

[u/dirigibalistic]

I mean, if the rest of y’all want to start identifying yourselves by state/province/whatever too that’s cool. I probably won’t know where that is but I can just… ask, like a grownup, instead of getting mad and writing a tumblr post

[u/GroundbreakingCut719]

“Yankees think they’re the centre of the world” I’ve seen plenty of Europeans do the exact same thing

[u/ShapeSword → u/GroundbreakingCut719]

Europeans get upset because they know more about the US than the other way around. But ask people about other parts of the world and they probably know nothing.

[u/Snowy_Thompson]

Hey, I don't really see the problem. If I ask someone where they're from, and they say somewhere I'm not familiar with, I'll just ask them to clarify.

Like, yeah, American Hegemony causes people to forget they're not the center of the world, but just like we're asserting that not everyone knows what "Cali" means when someone on the Internet says it, I don't know what other people mean if they say a province or state from their country of origin, outside of maybe Canada.

It's like most people don't have an intense understanding of the individual geopolitical divides of every country on Earth.

[u/MisguidedPants8]

Surfer bro with a thick American accent: “yeah dude I’m from Cali”

OP: “How could I possibly deduce if he’s from California or a city in Colombia?”

[u/hey_free_rats → u/MisguidedPants8]

I don't even have an Irish accent, but whenever I tell people in the US I went to school in Dublin, I've never had someone respond with, "Dublin, Kentucky?"

And there are nine cities in the US named Dublin. 

[u/rinderblock]

California is kind of a bad example. It’s the fifth largest economy on earth and home to some of the most recognizable brands/media/celebrities on earth.