11 Things Iowans Do That Seem Insane To Everyone Else

We don’t even really mind being made fun of for doing (and loving) these Only Iowa things. In fact, check out the list in case you need to entertain out-of-towners sometime soon.

We get excited about fair food. That’s right. The Iowa State Fair has a list of more than 80 food-on-a-stick items. Most of them are delicious.

Iowa State Fair Website

When Iowa plays Iowa State, lines are drawn. Parties are thrown. Someone celebrates. Someone cries.

Phil Roeder/Flickr

Rhubarb is everywhere in Iowa, so we make pies, wine, crisps, and even just eat it raw. Whether we like it or not, we respect it.
Iowans understand that Hy-Vee is the go-to grocery store in most neighborhoods. Some may say we even prefer them to other, bigger, chain stores. For us, Hy-Vee means home.

Windsor Heights Hy-Vee/Flickr

We prefer Iowa-made beer. Or even better, neighborhood-made beer. Everyone knows a homebrew hobbiest. Everyone knows that Iowa beer is the best.

Danielle Griscti/Flickr

We like fire so much. Most outdoor get-togethers involve a bonfire. We cook smores, stay warm, and enjoy the way the glow makes us all even more attractive.

Yoninah/Wikimedia

Whether you bike the entire route, only a few miles, or just show up to the parties, RAGBRAI is a very big deal to Iowans.

Dave Herholz/Flickr

If we had an official State Dessert, it would be the Scotcheroo. Everyone’s mother makes a different version, but they are all wonderful.

Amber DeGrace/Wikimedia Commons

More pigs than people? Yes. Iowa is the #1 pork producing state in the country. Ya know what? That’s how we like it. Bacon. Yum.

Scott Bauer/Wikipedia

We caucus like we are actually choosing the next President of the United States. Iowans take caucusing very seriously.

Citizensharp/Wikimedia Commons

Snow storm? Great! That just means a day (or two) off of school. Iowans gave up hating snow a long time a go. We just live with it, and some of us really like it.

Sondrekv/Wikimedia

So, do you feel weird, now? Probably not. The best part about being in Iowan is how the “insane” things we do just make us feel more at home.