13 Strange Habits Every Arkansan Will Defend To The Death
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J.B. VanDyke
Author
You may read this list of weird habits of Arkansans that we will defend and think to yourself, “Strange?! What do you mean strange?” If so, good. I’ve done my job well enough that I’ve thought of weird things you don’t even know are weird. These things may seem normal to us, but to outsiders, these choices require a little explaining. We’re not here to argue about all our awesome, but let it be known that we’re going to defend these habits until our dying days.
We do try to pack out what we pack in, but a cooler full of beer in a waterway is necessary to our outdoor adventure. We can’t just go on fishing, camping, or tubing without beer, and the water keeps everything as cool as we need it.
Most Arkansans don’t really see strangers, instead we see future friends. We’re nice to people not because of what we can get out of it, but because we want our loved ones to be treated like everybody’s family too. Some people think this is one of the strange habits of people in Arkansas, but it just comes naturally to us.
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Honestly, I don’t prefer my tea what I call "mammaw sweet," but countless Arkansans are throwing down every day in support of "tea so sweet the spoon stands straight up." On behalf of those who only like tea "’bout half mammaw sweet," we support your choices, super sweet tea drinkers. It's just one of those endearing Arkansas habits.
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We’ve all got a family recipe for chocolate gravy, and that recipe is just about as important an heirloom as we’ll ever own. We’re not going to apologize for it, but we sure do feel sorry for you if you’ve never tried it. Bless your heart.
Tornadoes are serious business, and we should take them seriously. But at some point we may have become a little desensitized to the whole storm season situation . . . not that I sat in a chair on my front porch a few days ago until the sirens went off or anything. What do you think? Is this one of the weird habits of Arkansans?
We really will swim in anything, especially our favorite creeks. And hey, if the water isn’t deep enough for a swim, we’re always up for wading.
We like to eat, and we like to spend time with our folks, too. Large scale outdoor food making is the best way to combine those two favorite things.
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Anyone else have a grandmother who says things like "y’all better eat up, I made enough to feed an army?" At my grandmother’s house, there’s always enough to feed more than a few extras, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
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Almost every small town in Arkansas has its own festival in the spring, summer, or fall. We’re all proud of our odd little festivals, and we do what we can to make them successful. After all, the Purple Hull Pea deserves to be celebrated, and rotary tillers are just begging to be raced.
The Graphic Southern Baptist Church declares "even Jesus had a fish story," while the church a block from my house still offers, "silly rabbit Easter is for Jesus." Nearly every church in the Natural State has some kind of slogan on their sign that looks like it was brainstormed by a think tank composed entirely of especially corny dads, and we just love them to pieces.
Razorback football, baseball, hockey, the Naturals—just because they don’t always win doesn’t mean we don’t love them. We’re comfortable yelling at refs and umps no matter what really happened.
Friday night lights are important in the Natural State. From tiny peewee players to high school boys to Hogs who’ve gone pro, we’re all about that football fandom.
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We know all the jokes about our little state, and we can laugh at them too—as long as they’re told by a fellow Arkansan. The rest of y’all need to watch it.
Here are some funny jokes about Arkansas. Then check out these weird things only Arkansans do.
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Habits every Arkansan will defend
Who are some famous Arkansas residents?
Arkansas has produced many famous residents. Here are just a few:
- Billy Bob Thornton is most known for writing, directing, and starring in the film Sling Blade.
- Many children are familiar with the voice actor Rodger Bumpass, who voices Squidward in the cartoon, SpongeBob SquarePants.
- Don Tyson was the CEO of Tyson Foods while it rose to prominence.
- Sam Walton was the founder of Walmart.
- Glen Campbell was a well-known country music artist and actor.
- Johnny Cash was an iconic singer and songwriter known around the world as the “Man In Black.”
- Lefty Frizzell was a famous and influential country music singer.
- The Reverend Al Green is an influential and revered soul singer.
- Levon Helm was known for his soulful country-inspired singing with the Band.
- Sister Rosetta Tharpe was a gospel singer and a wildly influential electric guitar player.
- Pharaoh Sanders was a jazz saxophonist whose music was often considered spiritual and experimental in nature.
Plus, there are loads of important political figures from Arkansas. That’s a whole different topic! If we left off someone you feel we should not have, you are correct! Please let us know who you wish we included!
What if I wanted to start a life in Arkansas?
There are many good reasons to move to Arkansas.
- 13 Failproof Ways To Convince All Your Friends To Move To Arkansas makes the point pretty well! Mainly, the people are great, the food is amazing, and you'll love it.
- Here is another piece to get your mind on the matter of moving here: 10 Surprising Things You May Not Expect When Moving To Arkansas
- If you are tired of city life, here are some small quiet towns.
- US News and World Report named Fayetteville one of the best places to live in our country. 18 Reasons To Drop Everything And Move To This One Arkansas City will show you why.
- Here are 11 Ways You Know You’d Fit In Perfectly In Arkansas. (Hint, you probably would!)
Let us know if you are making the move!