And the Pursuit of Random U.S. Trivia

One of the things I like most about Washington, DC is that it's a city that attracts people from all over the country. Between the politically-minded who come here to work for their Senators and Congressmen, the students who flock to local universities, and those who are employed by the area's countless non-profits, NGOs and lobbying firms, each and every one of our 50 states are represented. Of course, this diversity can also lead to cross-cultural clashes, with generalizations about people from the north, south, east and west being bandied about at will (ok, so some of those are actually true), but for the most part DC is a place where Americans of all kinds can live, work and play together in harmony.

Meeting Americans from all over the United States has opened my eyes to fun facts I would not otherwise have known. In the three years I've been here, I've learned such useful things as the names of regional U.S. grocery store chains, how to correctly pronounce Akron, that people on the east coast say "10 of three" not "10 to three" when giving the time, and that not everyone knows what a fish fry is, what a V.F.W. is, or what pull tabs are. This past weekend I was invited to the birthday cookout of a friend and fellow blogger from Texas. She has been a wealth of information about life in the Lone Star State, but she saved her best tidbit for Sunday afternoon. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Dr. Pepper BBQ Sauce.

Don't be surprised if you've never heard of it until just now. Many of us who grew up north of the Mason-Dixon line have not had the pleasure of being able to purchase it in grocery stores. In fact, it's not even sold in DC. My friend had to go all the way to North Carolina to get some. If, by chance, you manage to get your hands on a bottle, say, by ordering it off the Internet, you won't be disappointed. The ribs I ate on Sunday were to die.