Ohio is the anti-rizz capital of the nation.
Gen Z and Gen Alpha have developed a bizarre fixation with the house of rock and roll, scary roller coasters, chili with cinnamon and JD Vance — adopting The Buckeye State’s given name as slang for anything “weird or absurd.”
Earlier this summer, search phrases like “Only in Ohio” and “You’re so Ohio” tripled on Google to 58,021 — while last yr, the term was second most searched meme on the engine, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The insult can also be typically mixed in with a gen alpha word “skibidi” — a gibberish phrase tied to “brain rot”-style videos kids watch online about a bathroom.
“Ohio is type of weird, absurd,” 12-year-old Eden Rodriguez of Chevy Chase, Maryland — who has never been to the state — told the outlet.
That goes for many of the children using the phrase, based on KnowYourMeme editor Owen Carry.
“Most people who find themselves making these memes about Ohio have also never been there, they usually are making them for other individuals who have never been there,” Carry told the Journal.
But could this be not more than a case of “the children as of late?”
The web — and even before — has been poking fun on the Rust Belt state for generations.
In the trendy era, first got here the viral “Swiftly Made Cleveland Tourism” YouTube videos in 2009, which bragged that “at the very least we’re not Detroit.”
Then rapper Lil B dropped “Swag Like Ohio” in 2010, followed by a widely-shared 2016 Tumblr post that called for Ohio to be “eliminated.”
Ohioans aren’t letting this latest affront get by them; several local outlets have even recently published public service announcements explaining to the masses — those not in highschool — what the heck is occurring.
“Are you a skibidi Ohio rizzler?” a recent headline from the Columbus Dispatch read. “Are ‘Ohio’ memes the source of ‘brainrot’ amongst Gen Alpha?” The Cincinnati Enquirer published.
Some residents are relatively relaxed regarding their accidental fame.
“We’re very real, friendly, down-to-earth people,” 31-year-old Clevander Kelsey Will told the Journal. “Nearly all of us wouldn’t be offended by it and would take part on the fun.”
And, perhaps the locals could have the last laugh — a latest report shows a considerable boost in tourism for one piece of the state.
The economically-challenged Youngstown area of Mahoning County reported a ten% increase in tourism revenue since 2021 — saying that the segment has grow to be a billion-dollar income for the region.
One Gen Zer, Delaney Hendershot from Lebron James’ home of Akron, says no news is bad news.
“We all know our value within the state,” Hendershot told WSJ.
“I might much fairly be a component of the conversation than not, because some states truly are forgotten,” they said.
Ohio is the anti-rizz capital of the nation.
Gen Z and Gen Alpha have developed a bizarre fixation with the house of rock and roll, scary roller coasters, chili with cinnamon and JD Vance — adopting The Buckeye State’s given name as slang for anything “weird or absurd.”
Earlier this summer, search phrases like “Only in Ohio” and “You’re so Ohio” tripled on Google to 58,021 — while last yr, the term was second most searched meme on the engine, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The insult can also be typically mixed in with a gen alpha word “skibidi” — a gibberish phrase tied to “brain rot”-style videos kids watch online about a bathroom.
“Ohio is type of weird, absurd,” 12-year-old Eden Rodriguez of Chevy Chase, Maryland — who has never been to the state — told the outlet.
That goes for many of the children using the phrase, based on KnowYourMeme editor Owen Carry.
“Most people who find themselves making these memes about Ohio have also never been there, they usually are making them for other individuals who have never been there,” Carry told the Journal.
But could this be not more than a case of “the children as of late?”
The web — and even before — has been poking fun on the Rust Belt state for generations.
In the trendy era, first got here the viral “Swiftly Made Cleveland Tourism” YouTube videos in 2009, which bragged that “at the very least we’re not Detroit.”
Then rapper Lil B dropped “Swag Like Ohio” in 2010, followed by a widely-shared 2016 Tumblr post that called for Ohio to be “eliminated.”
Ohioans aren’t letting this latest affront get by them; several local outlets have even recently published public service announcements explaining to the masses — those not in highschool — what the heck is occurring.
“Are you a skibidi Ohio rizzler?” a recent headline from the Columbus Dispatch read. “Are ‘Ohio’ memes the source of ‘brainrot’ amongst Gen Alpha?” The Cincinnati Enquirer published.
Some residents are relatively relaxed regarding their accidental fame.
“We’re very real, friendly, down-to-earth people,” 31-year-old Clevander Kelsey Will told the Journal. “Nearly all of us wouldn’t be offended by it and would take part on the fun.”
And, perhaps the locals could have the last laugh — a latest report shows a considerable boost in tourism for one piece of the state.
The economically-challenged Youngstown area of Mahoning County reported a ten% increase in tourism revenue since 2021 — saying that the segment has grow to be a billion-dollar income for the region.
One Gen Zer, Delaney Hendershot from Lebron James’ home of Akron, says no news is bad news.
“We all know our value within the state,” Hendershot told WSJ.
“I might much fairly be a component of the conversation than not, because some states truly are forgotten,” they said.
