MathBuster t1_j8vse8r wrote on February 17, 2023 at 8:22 AM

As a non-american I would have never guessed MD stands for 'Maryland'.

I'll also need to pull up a map because I have no idea how big Maryland actually is.

BrokenEye3 t1_j8vsxo8 wrote on February 17, 2023 at 8:30 AM

As an American, I'm right there with you. Where the fuck did the D come from? Why not, like, M... Y? Is there an MY? I don't think there's an MY.

jesteruru t1_j8vuprv wrote on February 17, 2023 at 8:54 AM

Mentucky is already using MY. They had a bit of a spat with Myoming, but prevailed in the end

What-And_Why t1_j90m17f wrote on February 18, 2023 at 8:52 AM

Comment made my day.

MyDadsGlassesCase OP t1_j8vtfap wrote on February 17, 2023 at 8:36 AM

We're the same with postcodes in the UK. Edinburgh is EH but Croydon is CR, even though there is no CN. And Shetland is ZE (but, in their defence that's cos the council was called Zetland until 1975. Still confuses everyone nowadays though)

SaintUlvemann t1_j8yq2lo wrote on February 17, 2023 at 10:19 PM

There was apparently a system of traditional abbreviations before the introduction of the current set of postal abbreviations, and Maryland's was "Md."

Nebraska's used to be NB, but they changed to NE to avoid conflicting with New Brunswick.

TantorDaDestructor t1_j8vztbz wrote on February 17, 2023 at 10:05 AM

Good idea! I even started ticking off the M states- took me 3...what's even in Maryland except a separate district containing our Capital?

Church_of_Cheri t1_j8wbksg wrote on February 17, 2023 at 12:28 PM

Baltimore, Annapolis and the Naval Academy. It is a very odd shaped state making it hard to imagine its size, going all the way out to West Virginia in a little panhandle.

BrokenEye3 t1_j8w1sdn wrote on February 17, 2023 at 10:32 AM

Well Marylanders, for one. Maries? The Marylish? Marylingians?

SaintUlvemann t1_j8yqp14 wrote on February 17, 2023 at 10:23 PM

You were right the first time. US state demonyms are mostly what you'd expect, with the exception of "Hoosier" for Indiana, and "Hawaiian" typically referring specifically to native Hawaiians.

MyDadsGlassesCase OP t1_j8vsj8m wrote on February 17, 2023 at 8:24 AM

As a non-American I was very aware of that. Maybe a TIL in the making... :-D

edit: Cyprus, if that helps

edit 2: or 1 Gambia / Lebanon for Africans / Asians

dulce_3t_decorum_3st t1_j8vsnsc wrote on February 17, 2023 at 8:26 AM

I’m guessing 75% of Reddit (which is 50% Americans) don’t know that MD stands for Maryland, nor how big the state is.

Wintersbone7 t1_j8y7ovo wrote on February 17, 2023 at 8:16 PM

Or could find it on a map of Maryland

MyDadsGlassesCase OP t1_j8vst1c wrote on February 17, 2023 at 8:28 AM

Well I've done it compared to Cyprus* for all us Europeans

Gisschace t1_j8wcujk wrote on February 17, 2023 at 12:40 PM

For europeans you could use 'as big as the area between the UK, Denmark and The Netherlands'

dulce_3t_decorum_3st t1_j8vsx9g wrote on February 17, 2023 at 8:29 AM

Thanks, I’m not criticising you by the way. Just adding my 2c about the reference.

Now, as an African, I’ll look up the size of Azerbaijan :)

MyDadsGlassesCase OP t1_j8vsz10 wrote on February 17, 2023 at 8:30 AM

Can't please all the people all the time :-D

For reference: Gambia

[deleted] t1_j8vtqem wrote on February 17, 2023 at 8:40 AM

[deleted]

German_Irish_chicken t1_j8y7b7o wrote on February 17, 2023 at 8:14 PM

You don't need a map, just look up the size of it in square Kilometers/miles

[deleted] t1_j8yd7fn wrote on February 17, 2023 at 8:52 PM

[deleted]

EternallyFascinated t1_j8w4qpo wrote on February 17, 2023 at 11:12 AM

Dont worry - just location based Google search results. That wouldn’t come up here - In Italy - for example. It was a very American centric example, but no harm done dude. People can look it up or just ask for clarification. But sometimes these things serve to show us our biases! This is coming from an American who’s lived abroad for 10+ years. Every country sees the world through its own lens, but America being the big bad cultural coloniser makes us sometimes think the whole world will understand ours.

Very interesting fact though - Have a great day!

DaleGribble312 t1_j8w9pko wrote on February 17, 2023 at 12:09 PM

OP seems to be from the UK though. It's also appropriate contextual setting, given over half of reddit is from the US.

EternallyFascinated t1_j8wa0nr wrote on February 17, 2023 at 12:12 PM

Oops, didn’t see that. Just assumed - which you know what that does! And yes, generally Redditors tend to understand the US based stuff anyway - whether actually in the states, from the US, or just accustomed enough.

iproblyrong t1_j8wb9q1 wrote on February 17, 2023 at 12:25 PM

I googled “what is the size of M D” and a bunch of porn sites came up

_mister_pink_ t1_j8wi4x9 wrote on February 17, 2023 at 1:28 PM

How would anyone know that MD stood for Maryland in the context of the UK?

It’s like me saying there was a flood in Ohio the size of skem. Would you have any idea what I was on about?

DirtyProtest t1_j8wvvwi wrote on February 17, 2023 at 3:09 PM

What size is MD

Comes back with 'My Dick'.

maracay1999 t1_j8vve9x wrote on February 17, 2023 at 9:03 AM

Maryland is a pretty mediocre state. Not exactly a hotspot for foreigners.

NY/CA/CO may be easier.

coolflagtho t1_j8wbgbu wrote on February 17, 2023 at 12:27 PM

We have the best state flag. What more do you want from us jeez

TIL of the Storegga tsunami, a tsunami that struck the North Sea in 6000 BC submerging an area of land the size of MD

MyDadsGlassesCase OP t1_j8vsbdr wrote on February 17, 2023 at 8:21 AM