7 things that identify Hoosier-ville

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Spotting Indy is not too difficult a task. If you are driving along I-80, I-90, I-65, or US 52, and wondering where you turn off for Indiana, you cannot possibly miss it.

Here are 7 ways you will know you are in this limestone-rich, wagon-making (turned into car-manufacturing), Land of the Indians, home of the Saturday Evening Post, Grand Central Station of the Underground Railroad, corn-producing region, better known as The Hoosier State:

The highway drops from 4 lanes to 2
The view becomes less colourful – fields of green – unless of course, the corn is popping out and then it will be fields of green, speckled with yellow
The billboards change from insurance, medical, and legal ads to food and cars
And in accordance, the highway is amply punctuated with shreds of busted tires, and other mechanical paraphernalia
As you look in your rear view mirror, the cars will show no front license plate
Oh, and did I mention that the traffic will slow to……yes, you guessed it,….. tractor pace, immediately after you pass the arch that announces ”Entering Indiana”
The last indicator is a close-to-my-heart telltale sign – roadkill is sparse. And that could be because corn-on-the-cob is not a favourite of the Indy omnivorous wildlife…..just a wild guess.

So now that you’ve located it, and ventured into these verdant flatlands, you are probably lounging insouciantly around Monument Circle (because someone back home told you how groovy it was to be there on a Saturday night, and that it is the joie de vivre of Hoosierdom), nursing a cup of chocolate nectar (well, it’s thick and sweet – that defines nectar) from South Bend Chocolate Factory, wondering how to fill your dreary days in what you had imagined was a retrograde, ”brunt of the market crash,” farmland region of the Midwest; so here are 50 interesting facts, which I’m sure you did not know, about the home of the Indy500.

Now if perchance you are the frugal type, this list of little-known conversational morsels can last through your short-lived visit, and even provide stimulating conversation-fillers (now you know you’ll need those!) for future travel occasions, or at least something to guffaw about with the chaps back home as you chug your way through the welcome-home keg…..and as you get closer to the bottom, you’ll probably remember 50 more facts, which were not on the list.

Regardless, I’ll wager that you’ll be a hit everywhere with your neo-Hoosier savvy-ness, and may surprise even the most patriotic Indiana farmboy…..woops, did I say that out loud!?…..okay, don’t go calling anyone that, or then there may be some road-kill dotting that pristine highway.