Top 7 Ways To Really Tick Off Any Native Illinoisan

This December marks Illinois' 204 birthday, and there is a lot to the Land of Lincoln.  Much more than some people think.  And when you meet somebody who has lived in Illinois their entire life, don't assume any of the below.  Unless you really want to tick them off.

So what do you call somebody from Illinois?

It's actually more debated than one would think. While one website says it is clearly Illinoisan, others say you can also call an Illinois resident Illinoian or Illinoyer.

Wouldn't Illini make sense? Probably not. Just don't call them one thing for sure that's mentioned below. That will definitely make them angry.

Here are 7 things you never say to a native Illinoisan.

When talking with somebody who was born, raised, and still lives in Illinois, these were some of the things that they told me could easily grind their gears.

7 - They don't all live in Chicago.

My sweet home Chicago does makeup about 1/6 of Illinois' total population, but not everybody who lives in Illinois is from Chicago.

In fact, over 75% of Illinois is farmland.  The only thing they grow in Chicago is traffic jams.

6 - Everybody from Illinois is a Cubs fan.

Um, ever hear of the White Sox?  Or hit up somebody from farther south along the Missouri border and you will run into a lot of...Cardinals fans.

5 - They have all visited Lincoln's Log Cabin.

Ok, this might be the one you can get away with because most native Illinoisans took this trip during school.

4 - Never call a native Illinoisan a Flatlander.

If you are from Wisconsin and run into anybody from Illinois, they are a flatlander.  It's just what people from Wisconsin call people from Illinois. But Illinois is not all flat and boring.

Charles Mound is on a 1,235-foot hill near Galena. OK, it's not the Rockies, but it's not all just flat land.

3 - They don't exclusively order deep-dish pizza.

Deep-dish pizza is great. But there are other styles that can fill bellies and satisfy pizza cravings.

2 - Not everybody from Illinois votes twice.

They all haven't voted for a dead relative, their dog Scrappy, or whatever alias they are using that day.

1 - Pronounce the "s" in Illinois.

It's not called "Illinoise."  When you add the "e" at the end of the word you would pronounce the "s."  But please don't say the "s" or you might get back a "what the s-word" back at you.