When you’re from Louisiana it usually doesn’t take long for others to figure out that you come from some place special. Louisiana is a great “small talk” destination. I call it a “small talk” destination because even people you’re just meeting for the first time know at least a little something about our state. So, it generally leads into a conversation. That’s why folks think we are so friendly.  

Larry Richardson via YouTube
Larry Richardson via YouTube
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To be clear, their knowledge of Louisiana isn’t quite deep enough to engage in a complete conversation but they do know enough to at least make a reference which someone from Louisiana should understand. Unfortunately, their references and reference materials are sometimes a bit misguided.  

Now it is entirely possible that these well-meaning individuals from other lands simply don’t have all the facts. In fact, for some people that we’ve met on our journeys beyond the bayous I have realized that the only “facts” some people know about our state come from movies, television shows, sporting events, and the occasional strange but true news story. Oh, and COPS, you know the tv show that used to run on Fox? Our state contributed a lot of footage to that program.  

(Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
(Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
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This leads to a lot of misinformation about Louisiana and often creates some rather unique conversation starters when people realize that you are visiting from The Boot. I guess it’s our human nature to see if we can’t form a bond with other humans we meet, so naturally “where you from” becomes the starting point for a lot of meaningless chats. But if you take a minute or two and think about them, those “meaningless chats” are actually hilarious when you stop to realize that this is how others perceive our state.  

Evidently, we are not the only one’s who have experienced Pelicanignorance. I just made that up. I know it sounds like a department of the legislature but for our purposes, Pelicanignorance is the term that describes a basic understanding of life in Louisiana. It’s not a bad thing, it’s an opportunity to teach, an opportunity to learn, and opportunity to share, and that is in lock step with our attitude about life in Louisiana.  

Jared Tomasek via YouTube
Jared Tomasek via YouTube
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Still, y’all say some funny things.   

We did an impromptu social media survey and asked real Louisiana people, What’s the strangest/dumbest response you’ve ever gotten from someone when they found out you are from Louisiana. In no particular order here are the results of that query. 

11 Odd Things People Say When They Find Out You're From Louisiana

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