Duck Duck What?
About half the people at my work are from Minnesota, and half are not. On Tuesday, one of the Minnesotans at work went around, popping his head into each office and taking a poll. "Finish this thought," he said, "Duck, duck . . . ?"
"Goose," I said.
"Goose," said one of my coworkers, who just moved out here from New Hampshire.
"Grey duck," said my other coworker, a Minnesota native.
"What?" we said. I honestly thought he was referencing a Pokemon character or something, some kind of inside geeky cultural reference that was going over my head. "Why did you say goose?" he said, and a couple minutes of "You're kidding, right?" ensued.
Turns out that Minnesotan children play Duck Duck Grey Duck, not Duck Duck Goose. The really interesting part, though, is that many Minnesotans, like my coworker, are surprised to find out that people in most of the other states say "goose" and not "grey duck." I mean, Midwesterners say "pop" instead of "soda," but most people I talk to, whether Midwesterner or "Coaster," are aware of this regional difference. But evidently many Minnesotans have never heard of the goose/grey duck thing.
It's easy enough to understand. You play Duck Duck Goose/Grey Duck at an age when when you're not really interacting with too many out-of-state peers, and then by the time you are encountering people from other parts of the country, Duck Duck Goose/Grey Duck just doesn't come up nearly as often as something like pop/soda.
The fellow who started all this by taking the poll (which turned out to be about 50/50 along Minnesotan/non-Minnesotan lines) in the first place informs me that he had someone from Montana tell him that they play "Fox and Goose" instead, explaining, "Why would a goose chase a duck?"
I don't why I find this kind of thing so fascinating, but I do.
"Goose," I said.
"Goose," said one of my coworkers, who just moved out here from New Hampshire.
"Grey duck," said my other coworker, a Minnesota native.
"What?" we said. I honestly thought he was referencing a Pokemon character or something, some kind of inside geeky cultural reference that was going over my head. "Why did you say goose?" he said, and a couple minutes of "You're kidding, right?" ensued.
Turns out that Minnesotan children play Duck Duck Grey Duck, not Duck Duck Goose. The really interesting part, though, is that many Minnesotans, like my coworker, are surprised to find out that people in most of the other states say "goose" and not "grey duck." I mean, Midwesterners say "pop" instead of "soda," but most people I talk to, whether Midwesterner or "Coaster," are aware of this regional difference. But evidently many Minnesotans have never heard of the goose/grey duck thing.
It's easy enough to understand. You play Duck Duck Goose/Grey Duck at an age when when you're not really interacting with too many out-of-state peers, and then by the time you are encountering people from other parts of the country, Duck Duck Goose/Grey Duck just doesn't come up nearly as often as something like pop/soda.
The fellow who started all this by taking the poll (which turned out to be about 50/50 along Minnesotan/non-Minnesotan lines) in the first place informs me that he had someone from Montana tell him that they play "Fox and Goose" instead, explaining, "Why would a goose chase a duck?"
I don't why I find this kind of thing so fascinating, but I do.
posted by James at 9:17 PM
1 Comments:
Grey Duck is much harder to say quickly than "goose".
And ironically, I was thinking the same thing abuot Grey Goose. It certainly would make for an interesting game.
(I work with your mom, btw.)
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