Are you tired of defending Minnesota to everyone you meet?  It seems people think MN is an arctic wasteland, and it can be really frustrating when people don’t realize how awesome this state is! To make it a little easier we made this brief list for you to show everyone, and prove easily once and for all that the world as we know it would cease to exist without the amazing folks and places in Minnesota!

  1. Medical accomplishments would be years behind if not for the University of Minnesota, where many a medical first was accomplished.

Flickr/Michael Hicks

  1. Not to mention the Mayo Clinic! It’s extremely prominent in US medical history, and even good enough for the Dalai Lama!

Flickr/Michael Hicks

  1. The Civil War could’ve had a very different outcome without the heroic efforts of the First Minnesota Volunteer Infantry at the Battle of Gettysburg.

Flickr/The National Guard

  1. We wouldn’t be shopping at indoor malls, though some might prefer this.

  2. We wouldn’t get to enjoy the deliciousness of everyday favorites like this.

Flickr/Mark Morgan

Or these.

Flickr/Mike Mozart

  1. Our culture would be sadly without mention of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Bob Dylan, Prince, or Garrison Keillor. And would it even be a culture at all without them?

Flickr/Cliff

  1. Children would hate going to the library, as they would have nowhere to congregate, read children’s books, and escape the adults.

Flickr/mwp_42

  1. Business would, by definition, be worse. No Better Business Bureaus.

Flickr/Flazingo Photos

  1. Kids would lack memories of Twister and Nerf Toys, Rollerblades, and even waterskiing.

Flickr/Chris Perriman

  1. We would be without the conveniences of post-its, sandpaper, tape, automatic toasters, and so many more everyday items we take for granted!

Flickr/Mike Mozart

  1. Cars would be stuck in history without automatically retracting seatbelts. Maybe it would be nice if they didn’t lock up on us all the time though…

Flickr/drewwh

  1. Air travel as we know it wouldn’t exist without closed cabin airplanes, oxygen masks, and black boxes.

Flickr/Aero Icarus

  1. And forget bus travel too. Commercial bus lines wouldn’t have been started either.

Flickr/Vetature Fumare

  1. No kid would understand the real struggle of making it across the country in a wagon. Nor would they know what dysentery is.

Flickr/Trevor Owens

  1. We would be stuck hauling our groceries (which could never include microwave popcorn or crispy crust frozen pizza) in handle-less bags leading to more accidents and unhappy felines.

Flickr/Alisha Vargas

Does that prove it well enough for you? Have you ever defended Minnesota to a stranger?

Flickr/Michael Hicks

Flickr/The National Guard

Flickr/Mark Morgan

Flickr/Mike Mozart

Flickr/Cliff

Flickr/mwp_42

Flickr/Flazingo Photos

Flickr/Chris Perriman

Flickr/drewwh

Flickr/Aero Icarus

Flickr/Vetature Fumare

Flickr/Trevor Owens

Flickr/Alisha Vargas

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