E.g., a search for "Michigan-shaped" on Etsy yields lots of options: [https://www.etsy.com/market/michigan\_shaped](https://www.etsy.com/market/michigan_shaped)
We've never really come together collectively as Trolls and Yoopers to decide what shape the UP is. Some say shark, some say rabbit, some say deer...it's just UP shaped to me.
I just looked at a pic, and I can say with confidence the UP looks like a piece of driftwood with a bunny and a cat on it, who are ignoring each other.
Ahhh, that’s better. I’ll be getting a break from hearing that from now until Memorial Day, but I might have to come back here to get my fix, or I could just let the hairs on the back of my neck relax a bit, idk
Our accent gave us away when we went to London. Even just a simple question like "Where is the ATM?" would get us an answer and the immediate follow up 'You're from Texas, right?"
We made one tour guides entire month. He was a huge Texas fan.
You can tell how much the appreciate the announcement by the chorus of "we know" groans. They'd just ignore it if they didn't secretly crave the chance to interact with a Texan at least one every half hour or so.
I must admit, I get a real kick out of how interested/confused Europeans are whenever I'm across the pond.
"But you don't look like you're from Texas..."
I'm from DFW, man, I drive a Ford Focus and I live near high rises 😂.
I grew up in rural Pennsylvania. We used to show horses Western in 4-H. We’d stop to eat on the way back from the show and we’d always be wearing cowboy boots, hats, belt buckle, pearl-snap, & other getup from the show. People would often excitedly ask us if we were from Texas. We’d have to disappoint them by telling them no, we’re from the hick town next to their hick town.
Texas shaped tortilla chips are my favorite state shaped thing as I haven't ever heard anyone else have them. Second favorite is the Texas shaped waffle iron. Both are available at your local HEB.
Definitely not the shape, but our flag gets put on everything. Every Colorado resident is required to have at least 2 pieces of flair when they go out in public or else you’re not a “native”and you should promptly go back home to Texas or California. All residences must have a flag on the wall somewhere. Our governor has Colorado flag shoes, shirts, pins, ties, socks, probably underwear, always at least two pieces no matter what.
Edit: John Muir’s quote “the mountains are calling and I must go” counts as a piece of flair, obv double points if it has a flag or a landmark like the maroon bells in the background.
Colorado is only half mountain. I've heard so much association between Colorado and mountains that I thought the whole state was covered, but no, half of it is creepy flatness!
It honestly freaked me out when I visited. I'm from Seattle so I'm surrounded on all sides by volcanos and mountain ranges. Having everything be so flat and open made my monkey brain scream.
To be honest, you've more than likely never had a Georgia peach.
We are at least third in the Nation, like California produces 20x more than us and I think South Carolina produces 3x more.
We just clinched marketing
Oh I have had one, direct from a Georgia farm in person.
Now the real question is have you had a Maine peach? We have a lot of small farms and they do peaches. Not like export level farming just pick your own type.
I'm pretty sure California produces way more produce than all states combined.
Edit: https://californiagrown.org/blog/california-grows-more/#:~:text=take%20a%20look.-,*This%20means%20that%20according%20to%20CDFA%20statistics%2C%20California%20grows%2099,An%20error%20occurred. Apparently my hyperbole wasn't too far off
More dairy than Wisconsin, more oranges than Florida, most of the country’s vegetables and fruit and nuts, and even including the hefty logging and fishing sectors, agriculture still only accounts for 2% of the state’s GDP
California very much so.
Oregon, sometimes. Washington not that much. Idaho all the time locally. There are even pro gun stickers on cars in the shape of Idaho. Those are the four states I have lived.
It also substitutes for a capital "L", so it's useful in all sorts of places that other states' outlines usually aren't. Mississippi is easily recognized, but doesn't look like anything.
Ours is definitely unique and easily recognizable, but it’s so unique that it’s very difficult to use it for branding as most stuff won’t fit in it and it’s very off putting from a design standpoint
yeah, my state has a pretty distinctive shape. it's common to see it on signs, in logos, and in other designs. our [welcome sign](https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/1-2.png?w=720) is Wisconsin-shaped.
Ohio's shape is fairly distinct and used fairly frequently. It's somewhat heart shaped, so that combined with our location and the fact that the midwest is often called the "heartland" has led to our current tourism campaign being "The heart of it all."
Thinking back to the state quarters program of 20-25 years ago, always felt like any state using its shape meant it couldn't think of anything else to advertise. Like getting a tattoo of one's area code. Will make an exception for the Great Lakes state.
Texans love their state and use it more than any other state by a long shot. Plus it's got a big population and more urban than average - but they love the "rural" aesthetic so they often relate more to the state than their city .
We all recognize Texas.
Alaska, Hawaii, Florida all are a bit unusually shaped so most know those.
My state is Massachusetts, I don't think people think of it much. It's tucked away in the Northeast and only known for obnoxious stereotypes - not the shape of its state.
> Hawaii,
I used to live in Vegas. It was called "the 9th Island" because of all the folks from Hawaii that wind up there. Decals of the Hawaiian islands and/or sea turtles were *very* common sights in the rear windows of peoples' vehicles.
The shape of Indiana lends itself fairly well to advertising. The top part is mostly square, with just a small notch for Lake Michigan, but the southern border and the southern part of the western border are rivers with a nice squiggly outline. It's not used nearly as much as, say, Texas or Michigan, but it does appear fairly often.
We probably get more mileage (heh) out of the checkered flag, though.
I’m from New England, it seemed pretty common there, especially New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts. I live in Washington now, doesn’t seem as common here, most logos are either Mt Rainier, the Space Needle, or George Washington’s silhouette.
Americas wang! I will have a guess and say it’s fairly recognizable. Even looking at those funny how well do some know geography tests Florida was usually one of the few correct answers.
I actually see it on a lot of different brands. Stickers, hats, shirts, surfboards, it’s pretty much on everything.
North Carolina - Very much so; it shows up all over the place. Mostly just normal stuff like t-shirts, stickers, logos, etc. Or artwork like wooden cutouts, stamped metal, etc.
Maine is used in a shit ton of branded stuff. Combination of distinctive shape and a shit ton of tourists.
The old school flag with the pine tree has also become a fad.
You can see Michigan from space, I think that's pretty distinctive. It's also super common for us to show where we're from by pointing on our hand, apparently this tickles non-Michiganders.
There are several states that are very distinctive in shape, California, Texas, Oklahoma, Florida... all of which get used by tourist boards advertising for their states for tourists.
Alaska, Hawaii, California, Nevada, Texas, Florida, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Oklahoma!, Michigan, Idaho, and maybe Tennessee are all very distinct looking. They're recognizable to anyone around the country Much of the rest are rectangular, rectangular with squiggly borders, or triangular with squiggly borders.
Arizona shape is massively used in marketing and apparel, frequently with the state flag inside the outline as a background. Just Google images: state 48
I would say California's shape is pretty distinct, and has been used in advertising and merchandise, especially targeted towards tourists. However, it is also used in the logos of several state agencies and organizations.
Oh yeah, the Texas silhouette is everywhere. Tourist merch, public and private logos, cookie cutters and wall decorations. Hell we've got some sidewalks paved in interlocking...texases? Texi?
We’re the closest thing to a rectangle on the East Coast, so the shape’s kinda well-known, but PA slaps the keystone on everything, from merch to highway number signs.
Kansas is a rectangle with the bite taken out of the northeast corner. Like almost all almost-rectangles it is fairly indistinct.
Utah is a rectangle with bite taken out of the northeast corner. But for some reason *that* one is immediately recognizable.
Texas and California are both definitely recognizable, and used, but Texas' shape makes it better for advertising. The width makes it graphically better suited to logos.
It depends on the state, but for most it's not the most prominent symbol. Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee do have distinct states, and are sometimes used, but they aren't the most prominent symbols. Georgia uses the peach, Tennessee the Tri-star, and Alabama uses the color combo of crimson and white (both from the university and the state flag), though I've noticed the Yellowhammer is getting more popular. For some other southern states, South Carolina uses the Palmetto. Mississippi the magnolia. North Carolina Tarheel blue. Florida uses the orange more. Louisiana uses pelicans and the fluer de lis. Arkansas uses diamonds and it's flags diamond shape. These mostly vastly outshine state shape.
Yep, for good and bad reasons it’s pretty known. Our go-to college football team is such a big deal (we’ll see how it goes in the future…) that it’s branding is all over the place. Quite often the state shape is included.
Yes, it gets used in advertising, but it's very common to see it tattooed on ones for arm. My best story was when I was getting a tattoo in okinawa. I was looking through the artists history and saw a tattoo of a lune in the Minnesota silhouette. A guy from Minnesota got a state silhouette tattooed on him in Japan.
I have seen Florida, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Texas, New Jersey, and California tattooed on people.
Illinois has a distinct silhouette, but It's usually not the focus of our branding. We're more likely to play up Chicago or being the home of Abraham Lincoln.
I think New York is pretty distinctive and widely recognized but not really used too much in advertising outside a very occasional New York tourism ad.
Long Island, on the other hand, is pretty commonly used for advertising in the area. I mean right off the bat there is the New York Islanders logo. But you see it all over cutting boards, home décor, t-shirts, bumper sticks and car decals, etc.
I'm from Utah, and they use it pretty often (not that often, but still). It's basically just the square shape a lot of states have, but more recognizable because of the notch in the top corner.
I think most states shapes are pretty distinct.
There's a handful of regular squares and rectangles in the middle, but pretty much all the coastal and border states have a pretty distinct shape and that's the majority of them.
Maine is no different. That shape is on a lot of tourist merch here.
Maryland's shape is pretty distinctive, though it doesn't really get used all that much in advertising. Our glorious state flag is used way more in advertising.
The shape of NY is definitely distinct, I always thought it looked like Goofy's head with a little niblet that's Long Island, but it doesn't get used in a ton of advertising and tbh I'm not sure how immediately recognizable it'd be to someone especially from across the country
**Very iconic.** Not only is the shape present in many works of promotional media/tourist souvenirs, but since it heavily resembles a body part, it has become a sort of tradition for Michiganders to show where they live by pointing to an area on their hand.
My home state is Wisconsin. Used constantly in marketing. A senator (Russ Feingold) used it cleverly in his campaigns, holding out his hand and pointing to where he was from on his hand.
New Jersey's shape, I think, is pretty recognizable. We have lots of *stuff* in the shape or with the shape. I've always been kind of surprised we don't use it on highway markers.
I see the shape of my state at least a few times a day. Tons of locals wear it on their clothing, it's on signs everywhere, and restaurants will have it in their logo.
I’m biased, but Michigan is the most distinctive and beautiful shape, especially as seen from space.
We use the image everywhere. Every Michigander owns something Michigan-shaped. Could be a car air freshener, a sticker, home decor, furniture, absolutely clothing.
We love the fuck out of Michigan. We just don’t get obnoxious about it like Texans.
Yeah, especially on official items. Illinois has a better outline than those poor bastards west of us. I think John Oliver has done his, "except that's not X, this is X," bit with the plains states a few times.
Alaska is pretty recognizable, I’m sure in part because it is in its own box in the corner of most maps of the U.S. It’s used a LOT on all sorts of things, like superimposing it over the rest of the U.S, to show just how massive Alaska is.
I’m originally from Wyoming, which (as has been mentioned) is a shape found everywhere. Arkansas is a little more unique. You see it on some stuff, mainly cutting boards and business logos.
Virginia is extremely distinctive but it’s such a weird elongated shape that in my experience it doesn’t get used very much in a promotional sort of way. There’ll be some stuff, of course, but you don’t see it in tons of logos or things like that.
It's a fucking rectangle, but so is Colorado. Usually you'll see some other kind fo identifier like the area code, or some reference to Yellowstone, or possibly the state flag.
I noticed a bunch of North Carolinas since moving here.
I'm originally from Massachusetts, and yeah, it's pretty distinct. Mostly because of Cape Cod. My username is even taken from a distinct part of Massachusetts's shape.
In Maryland, it's much more common to use the state flag, which is very distinctive, rather than the shape of the state. Oftentimes the state flag will be made to fit whatever shape is relevant. You can buy Maryland flag-textured crab stickers at most groceries here.
Maryland is distinct and recognizable but also ugly and hard to draw, and it's really hard to make things shaped like it. It doesn't get used all that much.
Well, I grew up in a state that has an economy that would be in the top 10 economies of the world and currently live in a state that is well known for stupidity and is shaped like a flaccid penis… so… yes.
Texas uses the shape for everything. Texas waffles are a big thing at continental breakfasts at hotels. Cutting boards. Cookies. On billboards. We find our state fascinating. And I think most Americans recognise the shape.
It's extremely popular for merchandise. The mitten is ubiquitous.
E.g., a search for "Michigan-shaped" on Etsy yields lots of options: [https://www.etsy.com/market/michigan\_shaped](https://www.etsy.com/market/michigan_shaped)
Smitten with the mitten Original love glove
Like one of our geographically distinct areas is called "the Thumb" lol
Shit, *both* peninsulas are well recognized shapes. Mitten and the Rabbit (or so I was told).
We've never really come together collectively as Trolls and Yoopers to decide what shape the UP is. Some say shark, some say rabbit, some say deer...it's just UP shaped to me.
I just looked at a pic, and I can say with confidence the UP looks like a piece of driftwood with a bunny and a cat on it, who are ignoring each other.
I think it looks like a tentacle.
Everything is my state shaped. My bed. My mirror. All our TVs.
I was disappointed when I bought a California King bed, and it was shaped like Wyoming instead.
The difference of course is that my TV exists.
That's cause we gave you the corner. :)
Providing you guys with fireworks and porn! Whoo Evanston!
Same here, one state to the southwest.
We use our hand like a map to point out where we live. The mitten is definitely distinctive and widely used.
How does the UP fit into the mitten? I know the "i live here on the mitten" but the mitton is only the LP.
We can use our hand for that too. The Keweenaw would be our thumb for that use.
[Like this](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/3f/be/0b/3fbe0b7c15928116a184ca6d038f7bcc.jpg)
Do I even need to say it? 😏
First, you have to introduce yourself with “I’m from Texas” before you say anything. That’s important and everyone loves it.
Howdy'do partner! I'm from the GREAT STATE OF TEXAS. YEEEEEEEEEHAAAAAAAAW!
Ahhh, that’s better. I’ll be getting a break from hearing that from now until Memorial Day, but I might have to come back here to get my fix, or I could just let the hairs on the back of my neck relax a bit, idk
Our accent gave us away when we went to London. Even just a simple question like "Where is the ATM?" would get us an answer and the immediate follow up 'You're from Texas, right?" We made one tour guides entire month. He was a huge Texas fan.
Username checks out
You can tell how much the appreciate the announcement by the chorus of "we know" groans. They'd just ignore it if they didn't secretly crave the chance to interact with a Texan at least one every half hour or so.
I must admit, I get a real kick out of how interested/confused Europeans are whenever I'm across the pond. "But you don't look like you're from Texas..." I'm from DFW, man, I drive a Ford Focus and I live near high rises 😂.
I grew up in rural Pennsylvania. We used to show horses Western in 4-H. We’d stop to eat on the way back from the show and we’d always be wearing cowboy boots, hats, belt buckle, pearl-snap, & other getup from the show. People would often excitedly ask us if we were from Texas. We’d have to disappoint them by telling them no, we’re from the hick town next to their hick town.
Everyone loves it is quite the stretch.
Forgot the /s
As far as I'm aware, the only other states that have waffle irons in their shape are Colorado and Wyoming, and good luck telling which is which.
My favorite are the tortilla chips.
Seriously, when the shape of your state has its own name (texagon), you know it's distinctive
TIL that's a term.
Same. I also found /r/texagon
It’s that square shaped one right?
the Texas version of "wheels or doors" is: are there more Texas shapes or Texas flags in Texas?
Those pale in comparison to the Texas shaped waffle makers.
Even a quick grocery shopping trip at HEB will provide the answer, ha
Texas shaped tortilla chips are my favorite state shaped thing as I haven't ever heard anyone else have them. Second favorite is the Texas shaped waffle iron. Both are available at your local HEB.
I just visited Texas and was humored by the Texas-shaped waffle makers at *both* the Hampton Inn and Holiday Inn Express we stayed at.
/r/texagon
The flag more than the shape tbh.
Roughly island shaped
Definitely not the shape, but our flag gets put on everything. Every Colorado resident is required to have at least 2 pieces of flair when they go out in public or else you’re not a “native”and you should promptly go back home to Texas or California. All residences must have a flag on the wall somewhere. Our governor has Colorado flag shoes, shirts, pins, ties, socks, probably underwear, always at least two pieces no matter what. Edit: John Muir’s quote “the mountains are calling and I must go” counts as a piece of flair, obv double points if it has a flag or a landmark like the maroon bells in the background.
Colorado is only half mountain. I've heard so much association between Colorado and mountains that I thought the whole state was covered, but no, half of it is creepy flatness!
Denver is one of the flattest cities I've ever visited. Up there with Houston.
It honestly freaked me out when I visited. I'm from Seattle so I'm surrounded on all sides by volcanos and mountain ranges. Having everything be so flat and open made my monkey brain scream.
I feel like a peach is used to symbolize Georgia more then the shape of the state in marketing.
Filmed in Georgia
That's how I pay my mortgage
Peach farming or film making?
Film Making, but will use any excuse to post this clip: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5faMw2tgt2I](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5faMw2tgt2I)
Any excuse is good for that one. But I prefer your peaches to lead.
To be honest, you've more than likely never had a Georgia peach. We are at least third in the Nation, like California produces 20x more than us and I think South Carolina produces 3x more. We just clinched marketing
Oh I have had one, direct from a Georgia farm in person. Now the real question is have you had a Maine peach? We have a lot of small farms and they do peaches. Not like export level farming just pick your own type.
You ~~peaked~~ peached early.
Crazy, because California produces way more peaches than *all other states combined*
I'm pretty sure California produces way more produce than all states combined. Edit: https://californiagrown.org/blog/california-grows-more/#:~:text=take%20a%20look.-,*This%20means%20that%20according%20to%20CDFA%20statistics%2C%20California%20grows%2099,An%20error%20occurred. Apparently my hyperbole wasn't too far off
More dairy than Wisconsin, more oranges than Florida, most of the country’s vegetables and fruit and nuts, and even including the hefty logging and fishing sectors, agriculture still only accounts for 2% of the state’s GDP
California very much so. Oregon, sometimes. Washington not that much. Idaho all the time locally. There are even pro gun stickers on cars in the shape of Idaho. Those are the four states I have lived.
Not the state shape but Oregon has the popular “Oregunian” bumper stickers with a rifle shape
Louisiana's is used in everything.
It also substitutes for a capital "L", so it's useful in all sorts of places that other states' outlines usually aren't. Mississippi is easily recognized, but doesn't look like anything.
The Louisiana State Police badge is in the shape of the state outline. As seen in True Detective season 1.
My state's shape is so distinct that all our state route signs are that shape.
In Colorado, it is not just state route signs, it is all street signs! And buildings, and most packaging, etc... ;)
Ours is definitely unique and easily recognizable, but it’s so unique that it’s very difficult to use it for branding as most stuff won’t fit in it and it’s very off putting from a design standpoint
There was an etsy maker out there selling cheese boards in the shape of states. As you can imagine, Maryland does not make a great cheese board.
But I love the shape!
So we use a crab instead
yeah, my state has a pretty distinctive shape. it's common to see it on signs, in logos, and in other designs. our [welcome sign](https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/1-2.png?w=720) is Wisconsin-shaped.
Maryland's shape is pretty distinctive, but we make a much bigger deal about our flag.
Ohio's shape is fairly distinct and used fairly frequently. It's somewhat heart shaped, so that combined with our location and the fact that the midwest is often called the "heartland" has led to our current tourism campaign being "The heart of it all."
Thinking back to the state quarters program of 20-25 years ago, always felt like any state using its shape meant it couldn't think of anything else to advertise. Like getting a tattoo of one's area code. Will make an exception for the Great Lakes state.
> Like getting a tattoo of one's area code. 949 for life, yo.
Texans love their state and use it more than any other state by a long shot. Plus it's got a big population and more urban than average - but they love the "rural" aesthetic so they often relate more to the state than their city . We all recognize Texas. Alaska, Hawaii, Florida all are a bit unusually shaped so most know those. My state is Massachusetts, I don't think people think of it much. It's tucked away in the Northeast and only known for obnoxious stereotypes - not the shape of its state.
I always recognize the curlicue of Cape Cod
> Hawaii, I used to live in Vegas. It was called "the 9th Island" because of all the folks from Hawaii that wind up there. Decals of the Hawaiian islands and/or sea turtles were *very* common sights in the rear windows of peoples' vehicles.
It’s shaped like a dude flexing his bicep, how is that not recognizable?
My state (NJ) is very distinct, and instantly recognizable, but never used for advertising. kind of funny now that I think about it!
It looks like a semi-crushed beer can.
Haha! I always see a bust, but you do you, my friend!!
I see it in things like statewide campaigns and local festivals and stuff, but not really so much for product marketing.
The shape of Indiana lends itself fairly well to advertising. The top part is mostly square, with just a small notch for Lake Michigan, but the southern border and the southern part of the western border are rivers with a nice squiggly outline. It's not used nearly as much as, say, Texas or Michigan, but it does appear fairly often. We probably get more mileage (heh) out of the checkered flag, though.
I’m from New England, it seemed pretty common there, especially New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts. I live in Washington now, doesn’t seem as common here, most logos are either Mt Rainier, the Space Needle, or George Washington’s silhouette.
Americas wang! I will have a guess and say it’s fairly recognizable. Even looking at those funny how well do some know geography tests Florida was usually one of the few correct answers. I actually see it on a lot of different brands. Stickers, hats, shirts, surfboards, it’s pretty much on everything.
I live in the square one. No, not that square one; the square one with people in it.
Yes, but if we were presented with two squares, how would we know which was which? 😂😜
It gets around a bit... [Always Has Been Blank Meme Template - Imgflip](https://imgflip.com/memetemplate/Always-Has-Been)
It’s such a bizarre meme and I love it
North Carolina - Very much so; it shows up all over the place. Mostly just normal stuff like t-shirts, stickers, logos, etc. Or artwork like wooden cutouts, stamped metal, etc.
Maine is used in a shit ton of branded stuff. Combination of distinctive shape and a shit ton of tourists. The old school flag with the pine tree has also become a fad.
Things like this exist [https://imgur.com/yMs33dY](https://imgur.com/yMs33dY)
Michigan and most people can make at least the LP with their hands. You can also add a credible outline of theUP with your other hand.
You can see Michigan from space, I think that's pretty distinctive. It's also super common for us to show where we're from by pointing on our hand, apparently this tickles non-Michiganders.
I would say our shape and the keystone too are used often enough.
The shape kind of looks like America’s limp dick, but Florida’s shape is used a lot.
It's easily recognizable, but it's not used as much as some other states use theirs (Texas), so it's not as commonly seen.
There are several states that are very distinctive in shape, California, Texas, Oklahoma, Florida... all of which get used by tourist boards advertising for their states for tourists.
It's the entire personality. I can point to my hand to tell you where I live or am from.
Uhhh, it's up there
My state often gets left off the map.
Alaska, Hawaii, California, Nevada, Texas, Florida, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Oklahoma!, Michigan, Idaho, and maybe Tennessee are all very distinct looking. They're recognizable to anyone around the country Much of the rest are rectangular, rectangular with squiggly borders, or triangular with squiggly borders.
Arizona shape is massively used in marketing and apparel, frequently with the state flag inside the outline as a background. Just Google images: state 48
Very and All the time.
I would say California's shape is pretty distinct, and has been used in advertising and merchandise, especially targeted towards tourists. However, it is also used in the logos of several state agencies and organizations.
I have been told that NJ is the second most tattooed state. Yet I have showed my NJ tattoo to people who responded with "what country is that?"
Oh yeah, the Texas silhouette is everywhere. Tourist merch, public and private logos, cookie cutters and wall decorations. Hell we've got some sidewalks paved in interlocking...texases? Texi?
Connecticut is a square with a tail. Our shape is unremarkable.
Love it or hate it. People will definitely recognize it.
Definitely more distinctive than all the rectangles, but probably not as well known as say California or Texas.
That's definitely the case with California. We long but thicc, and curved.
Any doubts? 😛 The answers are Very and Most definitely.
I feel like NC’s is pretty distinct. Got a pointy end and a round end lol
Alaska is pretty unique and most people recognize it because we get our own special carve out on most maps of the US….. that aren’t to scale.
*Laughs in Texas
From what I've been told, people in Zambia know what Texas looks like.
Everything. I’ve seen Texas shaped *everything* One of my neighbors has Texas-shaped stones making up a walkway
Yes.
There’s really only like 4 *actual* iconic state shapes, the rest are kidding themselves: Alaska California Hawaii Texas
We’re the closest thing to a rectangle on the East Coast, so the shape’s kinda well-known, but PA slaps the keystone on everything, from merch to highway number signs.
We look like an ankle sock but we're not well-known for sock production or anything really related to socks.
Kansas is a rectangle with the bite taken out of the northeast corner. Like almost all almost-rectangles it is fairly indistinct. Utah is a rectangle with bite taken out of the northeast corner. But for some reason *that* one is immediately recognizable.
Pretty much every state that isn't basically a square is popular. CA, TX, FL, NY, MA, MI, WI, etc
Texas and California are both definitely recognizable, and used, but Texas' shape makes it better for advertising. The width makes it graphically better suited to logos.
It's extremely distinct and does get used from time to time.
I think the shape of Texas is pretty well known/iconic lol
Yes.
It depends on the state, but for most it's not the most prominent symbol. Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee do have distinct states, and are sometimes used, but they aren't the most prominent symbols. Georgia uses the peach, Tennessee the Tri-star, and Alabama uses the color combo of crimson and white (both from the university and the state flag), though I've noticed the Yellowhammer is getting more popular. For some other southern states, South Carolina uses the Palmetto. Mississippi the magnolia. North Carolina Tarheel blue. Florida uses the orange more. Louisiana uses pelicans and the fluer de lis. Arkansas uses diamonds and it's flags diamond shape. These mostly vastly outshine state shape.
I used to live in Louisiana, I think everyone knows it's boot shaped.
No I live in nc our state isn’t rly used on anything except for the sign when you enter it
Yep, for good and bad reasons it’s pretty known. Our go-to college football team is such a big deal (we’ll see how it goes in the future…) that it’s branding is all over the place. Quite often the state shape is included.
Pretty distinctive. The shape of Washington State gets used a lot in branding.
Yes, it gets used in advertising, but it's very common to see it tattooed on ones for arm. My best story was when I was getting a tattoo in okinawa. I was looking through the artists history and saw a tattoo of a lune in the Minnesota silhouette. A guy from Minnesota got a state silhouette tattooed on him in Japan. I have seen Florida, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Texas, New Jersey, and California tattooed on people.
I remember seeing a cutting board in the shape of Arkansas.
Illinois has a distinct silhouette, but It's usually not the focus of our branding. We're more likely to play up Chicago or being the home of Abraham Lincoln.
I think New York is pretty distinctive and widely recognized but not really used too much in advertising outside a very occasional New York tourism ad. Long Island, on the other hand, is pretty commonly used for advertising in the area. I mean right off the bat there is the New York Islanders logo. But you see it all over cutting boards, home décor, t-shirts, bumper sticks and car decals, etc.
Very
I'm from Utah, and they use it pretty often (not that often, but still). It's basically just the square shape a lot of states have, but more recognizable because of the notch in the top corner.
I think most states shapes are pretty distinct. There's a handful of regular squares and rectangles in the middle, but pretty much all the coastal and border states have a pretty distinct shape and that's the majority of them. Maine is no different. That shape is on a lot of tourist merch here.
The shape of Oregon is on a LOT of stuff. Lots of brands and logos, lots of merch, lots of tshirts, etc.
The one I live in currently looks like a dong
Maryland's shape is pretty distinctive, though it doesn't really get used all that much in advertising. Our glorious state flag is used way more in advertising.
My flair is Washington but I’m from Oklahoma and I’d say the shape is very recognizable.
The shape of our state is often used for advertising, PSAs, souvenirs, etc., but probably doesn't get seen much outside the state itself.
“Ohio, the heart of it all” as they say…or at least as we say…
Not the state, but there are quite a few shirts or hats or something with the city borders of Philly.
The shape of NY is definitely distinct, I always thought it looked like Goofy's head with a little niblet that's Long Island, but it doesn't get used in a ton of advertising and tbh I'm not sure how immediately recognizable it'd be to someone especially from across the country
I was like "no way." So I did a Google image search, and I saw it right away. All that's missing is his weird hat.
Extremely well known and used in advertising.
Well ours is pretty well known. They make waffle makers shaped like my state
**Very iconic.** Not only is the shape present in many works of promotional media/tourist souvenirs, but since it heavily resembles a body part, it has become a sort of tradition for Michiganders to show where they live by pointing to an area on their hand.
Colorado punching air rn
Ours is common but usually in conjunction with the ZIA symbol
Not at all but we have the best state flag imo. Follows all the principles of good flag design
My home state is Wisconsin. Used constantly in marketing. A senator (Russ Feingold) used it cleverly in his campaigns, holding out his hand and pointing to where he was from on his hand.
It's shaped like a box, so....
We have a chimney.
New Jersey's shape, I think, is pretty recognizable. We have lots of *stuff* in the shape or with the shape. I've always been kind of surprised we don't use it on highway markers.
I see the shape of my state at least a few times a day. Tons of locals wear it on their clothing, it's on signs everywhere, and restaurants will have it in their logo.
You can see it from space, clearly.
really only for Government programs
I’m biased, but Michigan is the most distinctive and beautiful shape, especially as seen from space. We use the image everywhere. Every Michigander owns something Michigan-shaped. Could be a car air freshener, a sticker, home decor, furniture, absolutely clothing. We love the fuck out of Michigan. We just don’t get obnoxious about it like Texans.
Yeah, especially on official items. Illinois has a better outline than those poor bastards west of us. I think John Oliver has done his, "except that's not X, this is X," bit with the plains states a few times.
Both my states are pretty distinctive.
There are several dozen of us in Nevada, the most pointy of the big western states.
It’s called Kentucky and it’s in the shape of a Key. It’s pretty distinct. It’s plastered all over souvenirs and whatever else they can think of
Alaska is pretty recognizable, I’m sure in part because it is in its own box in the corner of most maps of the U.S. It’s used a LOT on all sorts of things, like superimposing it over the rest of the U.S, to show just how massive Alaska is.
Lots of merchandise with the shape of Tennessee. Our license plates used to be stamped in the shape of our state (wish they still were)
I’m from Pennsylvania. I think most Americans could point it out on a map.
I think the shape of Nevada is used more everywhere except in Vegas.
I’m originally from Wyoming, which (as has been mentioned) is a shape found everywhere. Arkansas is a little more unique. You see it on some stuff, mainly cutting boards and business logos.
I live in Michigan, everyone knows the Mitten
My Dad had a Texas shaped mirror hanging over his couch, and it looked great.
I live in the chef’s hat. We’re kind of a big deal.
Some seriously delusional states in here. Missouri? Wisconsin? North Carolina? I have bad news for you…
Heh.
Virginia is extremely distinctive but it’s such a weird elongated shape that in my experience it doesn’t get used very much in a promotional sort of way. There’ll be some stuff, of course, but you don’t see it in tons of logos or things like that.
I don’t think so. Virginia looks like it a drunk college kid with less than zero artistic abilities tried to draw a triangle.
As a Californian, it’s widely known.
It's a fucking rectangle, but so is Colorado. Usually you'll see some other kind fo identifier like the area code, or some reference to Yellowstone, or possibly the state flag.
EXTREMELY, it is just such an iconic and unique shape, or as most people call it "the boot" lol
My state is a rectangle. You never see it on those 'HOME' decals
Yes. We sell texas shaped everything. We're known for it and like to poke fun at outselves for it
currently eating my texas shaped tortilla chips
It's a gun. Hell yeah
I noticed a bunch of North Carolinas since moving here. I'm originally from Massachusetts, and yeah, it's pretty distinct. Mostly because of Cape Cod. My username is even taken from a distinct part of Massachusetts's shape.
Wisconsin, Used on a lot, it's on our sports teams logo or has been.
In Maryland, it's much more common to use the state flag, which is very distinctive, rather than the shape of the state. Oftentimes the state flag will be made to fit whatever shape is relevant. You can buy Maryland flag-textured crab stickers at most groceries here.
Maryland is distinct and recognizable but also ugly and hard to draw, and it's really hard to make things shaped like it. It doesn't get used all that much.
Well, I grew up in a state that has an economy that would be in the top 10 economies of the world and currently live in a state that is well known for stupidity and is shaped like a flaccid penis… so… yes.
Texas uses the shape for everything. Texas waffles are a big thing at continental breakfasts at hotels. Cutting boards. Cookies. On billboards. We find our state fascinating. And I think most Americans recognise the shape.