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PlayTriviaLA t1_jdejuod wrote

Having grown up and lived 20+ years in RI and then moving to Los Angeles for work for the last 10… most of the things that are “Rhode Island Famous” are things than no one outside of New England have ever heard of.

I have had to explain to people many times…

  • what coffee milk is
  • what chouriço and linguiça are
  • what a little neck is
  • that Narragansett is a real beer named for a real place in RI
  • the Big Blue Bug
  • what the difference is between New England and Rhode Island clam chowder is and that Manhattan / red chowder is not really a thing in RI
  • the Station Night Club Fire
  • Waterfire
  • Dell’s
  • Dunkin Donuts, even though it is originally from MA, is everywhere in RI
  • that TF green is actually not in Providence
  • that Stop and Shop is a grocery store
  • that Papa Gino’s is a pizza chain
  • the Mr. Potato Heads
  • that the state is small by area, but in reality, it’s a fairly long drive from Warren to Connecticut, never mind driving all the way to Boston or worse, New York 🫠
  • that RI is, in fact, the smallest state by land area and not Delaware like they usually insist even though I’m a trivia writer and host from RI
  • that Rhode Island is an island within the State of Rhode Island, it’s just that everyone calls it Aquidneck Island
  • that the name was “The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations”, the longest state name, for the above reason, and that while “plantations” obviously has connotations of slavery, that when the name was used, it was commonly used to refer to any newly established settlement, not a large farm that used slaves from Africa…
  • that RI was the first to declare independence and the first to attack GB openly (Gaspee Affair) long before the rest of the colonies and the last to ratify the constitution—RI was basically coerced into joining the US by the other 12 colonies
  • “wicked” and that’s it’s not just a Boston thing and that you don’t say just “wicked”, it has to come before other value words like “good,” or “bad,” or “fucking annoying”.
  • buying milk and bread before it snows
  • “no school fostah-glostah” —I only include this one because I actually MET someone from Glocester recently at a trivia game and said this and he looked at me like I had spoken Klingon.

RI things most people actually have heard of—at least out here in LA—include:

  • Buddy Cianci—at least if they listen to a lot of crime podcasts.
  • Brown
  • RISD
  • URI for some sports
  • PC (basketball mostly)
  • Newport
  • RI International Film Festival (it’s a qualifying festival to receive Oscar nominations)
  • Family Guy / Quahog (thinking it’s a real town)
  • The Breakers
  • Holiday House / Harkness House because of Taylor Swift
  • H. P. Lovecraft

Things people think they have heard of from RI that are not from RI:

  • ESPN —because they assume when I say I’m from “Bristol” that it’s the same place as Bristol, Connecticut
  • “Oh, I love Long Island!” 🙄
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monkey-seat t1_jdfakot wrote

No school Fostah-Glostah is my very favorite Rhode Island thing. Alongside “it’s a drink”

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PlayTriviaLA t1_jdgx3ju wrote

What what’s “it’s a drink”? When you say coffee milk and someone asks “what’s that?”

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monkey-seat t1_jdh1nh9 wrote

"Awful Awful. It's a Drink."

The best, worst advertising slogan of all time!!!

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PlayTriviaLA t1_jdip80n wrote

haha wow that was locked away so far down in my memory. I can’t remember the last time I thought of an Awful Awful.

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overthehillhat t1_jdeplgl wrote

WOW - -

Are you Mark Patinkin?

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PlayTriviaLA t1_jdeqrop wrote

lol no I am not and he’s another one that no one outside of RI (unless they’re journalists) have heard of 😅

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bzarins t1_jdfd8rg wrote

You only need to explain the buying milk & bread before a snowstorm thing because you’re in LA, that happens anywhere it snows.

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PlayTriviaLA t1_jdgx641 wrote

Maybe so! I’m not sure everyone buys milk and bread specifically though. My family outside Quebec didn’t anyway.

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bzarins t1_jdhf177 wrote

Well, not me, but I lived in Kentucky and most people did when like 2” were forecast. Eggs too, so maybe they were worried they couldn’t make French toast? Idk. Was the same when I lived in Chicagoland too.

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SqueakieDeekie t1_jdgiwc9 wrote

Wait…. Is buying milk and bread before it snows a Rhode Island thing? I thought that was just good planning. Am I so Rhode Islandy that I don’t even know I’m being Rhode Islandy ?

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PlayTriviaLA t1_jdgx8a8 wrote

Possibly! Maybe it’s common anywhere or snows, but I have family in Canada and they did prepare before storms but didn’t specifically buy extra bread and milk.

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Styx_Renegade t1_jdl3v9f wrote

Regarding the plantations thing, tell that to our previous governor. Lol. Now we’re just “Rhode Island”

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