There are many impressive things about being a Minnesota native, but a survey says *THIS* part of being a Minnesotan is one of the least sexy things out there.
Being from the North Star State means a lot of great things. Like being able to embrace all four seasons -- sometimes all in one day -- with a smile and a casserole in hand. Minnesotans also appreciate our 10,000 lakes (more like 11,842 according to the DNR, but who's counting?) and the beauty of the outdoors. We're polite! And, there's that whole Minnesota Nice thing. (Come to think of it, with its passive-aggressive nature, maybe that's *not* one of our greatest qualities.)
But are we sexy? Well, I'm afraid on that front we have some bad news, especially if you're a Minnesotan trying to win someone's heart from another state. Because a part of our Minnesota heritage, the part that's practically embedded in the DNA of each and every native of the Gopher State, has just been called distinctly un-sexy.
What is it? Why, that would be our distinctly Minnesota accent. And it has just been ranked as one of the least sexy in the country.
We may not always like to admit it, but we DO have an accent here in Minnesota, right? I mean, it's not as completely over the top as the accent the Cohen brothers used in the movie, Fargo (which was set here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes) but we still do have a sometimes-unique accent and way of speaking.
From uttering the now-classic "ope!" when we bump into someone or the occasional "You betcha!" that finds its way into our patterns of speech, yah, sure, there's a definite Minnesota accent, don'tcha know!
But apparently, our Minnesota accent, which we might think is quaint, isn't very sexy. At least according to this BigSevenTravel survey which ranked all 50 states by the sexiness of their regional accents. And here in the Bold North, we ranked 47th out of 50. Yikes.
That's not too good. In fact, only Florida, Long Island/New York, and New Jersey had accents that were deemed even less sexy than ours here in Minnesota, coming in at numbers 48, 49, and 50 on the survey.
According to the survey, to find the sexiest accent in the U.S., you have to head down to the Lone Star State, because Texas came in at #1 on the list, followed by New York, Boston/Massachusetts, Alabama, and Chicago/Illinois at numbers 2, 3, 4 and 5.
Is this survey accurate? I don't necessarily buy it-- I mean, is a Chicago accent sexy? Come one. Plus, as I always point out, a Midwest accent is the most standard accent (or lack thereof) in broadcasting and the voiceover industry-- most national commercials and national broadcasters sound similar to our way of speaking here in Minnesota.
Whether they're considered sexy or not, there ARE some distinct things we really only say here in Minnesota. Keep scrolling to see how many you recognize!