Dear Kid,
If you’d been hanging around in the United States in the 1600s, you would not have heard anyone use the term “Hoosier.” Even if you went to the area now known as Indiana, you wouldn’t have found anyone talking about Hoosiers.
Today, you can’t miss ‘em.
Somewhere in the 1800s, the term “Hoosier” sprang up, full grown, into usage.
There are lots of “explanations” given for the derivation of the term, some of them more outlandish than others.
Outlandish: They wanted to be the cool kids on the block when the phrase “Who’s Your Daddy?” came into usage.
Realistic: They wanted to be able to give people the “Duh” look when asked what a Hoosier is.
Outlandish: It comes from the word hoosa which means American Indian maize (corn).
Realistic: Indiana University inherited a mascot uniform and they had to have a name to go along with it.
And still History Departments at major academic institutions don’t call me to guest lecture. Go figure.
We had lovely time at IU yesterday, even if our presence caused yet another home team to forget to win while we were there.
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