1. The Jucy Lucy Is The Best Burger You’ll Ever Eat
It seems so simple, but when two local Minnesota bars— The 5-8 Club and Matt’s Bar—put cheese right inside the burger patties and cooked them up, the most delicious cookout treat, the Juicy Lucy, was born.
2. Yes, Minnesota Is Home To Royalty
Bob Dylan and Prince? Yes, they’re both from Minnesota, so it’s basically the home of absolute music icons.
3. If You’re Not Into Ice Fishing, Art Shanties Might Be Your Thing
Not everyone is as enthused with sitting on the cold ice for hours, and so launched the Art Shanties at Medicine Lake, and now on White Bear Lake. Local artists set up these “shanties”—even a sauna shanty!—on the ice to poke a little fun and host performances.
4. The Ugliest Fish Makes The Best Festival
The eelpout might be one of the grossest bottom-dwelling fish in the lake, but the International Eelpout Festival, complete with beer, fish fries, and entertainment galore, draws more than 10 times the population of the teeny tiny town of Walker where it’s held.
5. There’s Always A Cherry On Top
This unique statue bridge has become iconic to Minnesota. The fun Spoonbridge and Cherry may have been questioned when it was first built in the 1980s, but now the Minneapolis wouldn’t be the same without it.
6. The Best Days Of Summer Are In Minneapolis
Celebrating the city’s natural bodies of water, the Minneapolis Aquatennial has basically anything an outdoor loving soul could imagine: sand castle competitions, the famous Milk Carton Boat Races, games, parades, shows, and this list could go on and on and on.
7. Love Country Music? Then You Should Probably Pack A Tent
Camping is a major pastime in Minnesota, so it’s no surprise that the city of Detroit Lakes has combined it with another love: country music. The WE Fest features huge-name country acts in a barn, and concert-goers stay the weekend camping out in tents.
8. The T-Wolves Are A Pretty Big Deal
Moving on from the Kevin Love era, the Minnesota Timberwolves are primed and ready for a big 2014-2015 season—and so are their loyal fans.
9. Minnesotans Go Wild For Hockey
Is it hockey season yet? In St. Paul—and the rest of Minnesota—everyone’s hearts are always looking toward when the Minnesota Wild are back. And making the playoffs of course.
10. Pay No Attention To Those Cheeseheads Next Door
The rivalry of Minnesota and Wisconsin echoes through most everything locals do, but it comes full throttle when the beloved Minnesota Vikings are playing the Green Bay Packers.
11. Prepare To Fight For Your Favorite Ice Cream
There’s so much sweet, delicious ice cream in Minnesota that locals will debate on which should take the crown. Is it Izzy’s with its crazy flavors like Birchwood Key Lime Pie or Nelson’s historic ice cream shop? Maybe it’s Grand Ole Creamery with its 200 different flavors.
12. There’s Only One Thing That Brings Two Million Minnesotans Together
The Minnesota State Fair is known as the Great Minnesota Get-Together for good reason—nearly 2 million people attend every year to take in the fattest pig competition, dairy (not fairy) princesses, carnival rides, and eat all kinds of fried food. Deep friend candy bars anyone?
13. Calling It The Land Of 10,000 Lakes Is Inaccurate
There’s actually closer to 12,000. And they are used to the fullest extent by outdoors-loving Minnesotans for boating, tubing, fishing, and just plain sitting back and staring at the gorgeous views.
14. But You Don’t Have To Go To A Lake For Water Fun
As if Minnesotans didn’t have enough natural water to work with, it’s also home to some of the best waterparks in the country.
15. This Man In The Mountain Is Still Standing Tall
Sorry, New Hampshire, but Minnesota’s famous Old Man of the Dalles has outlived and outlasted your iconic natural-made sculpture, looking over the St. Croix River in Interstate Park.
16. They’re Not Quite Nice... They’re Minnesota Nice
Sure the phrase has been tossed around a lot, but as the story goes, Minnesota locals aren’t afraid to speak their minds—but they’ll tell you what they think in the nicest way possible.
17. Snow Isn’t Just Fun, It’s A Means Of Travel
When you get snow like you get in Minnesota (read: a lot of it), you learn to be adept at travelling as best as you can. And nothing beats cross country skiing—it’s scenic and it’s efficient.
18. Minnesota Does Winter Right
You can complain about it, or you could celebrate it, and St. Paul chooses the latter. The St. Paul Winter Carnival is a long-standing, epic winter event with loads of things to do like dog sledding, drinking at the beer festival, seeing ice sculptures, and taking part in the pageant-style parade.
19. In Minneapolis, Manhole Covers Are Works Of Art
Look down when you’re walking, because Minneapolis has replaced the typically grimy manhole covers with literal works of art.
20. If You Like “The Walking Dead,” You’ll Love Minnesota
Minneapolis hosted the first ever zombie pub crawl, and it was such a hit loads of cities across the country followed suit. But to take part in the original, you’ve gotta be in Minnesota in October.
21. Nobody Celebrates Saints Like Menahga
Okay, so the patron saint of Finland St. Urho never did expel the grasshoppers from the country, but that doesn’t stop Finland (the city) and Menahga from partying hard in his honor anyway.
22. You Can (And Will) Fish Every Month Of The Year
More than a third of Minnesotans know how to fish (and fish well), but bundle up because fishing doesn’t stop when the snow and ice hits. Ice fishing is wildly popular in Minnesota, so pack hot chocolate packets and your warmest gloves.
23. This Is Your Grandma’s Marathon
Grab your running sneakers and race to the finish line in gorgeous Canal Park during of one of the biggest marathons in country—and certainly one of the prettiest. Grandma’s Marathon travels along the north shore of Lake Superior, so try to stay focused on the road.
24. You’ll Need A Map To Get To This Hidden Treasure
Already well-known by locals of all walks of life, tourists are starting to make the trek to find the Hidden Beach on the east side of Cedar Lake in Minneapolis.
25. The World’s Largest Ball Of Twine. ‘Nuff Said
Darwin is home to the world’s largest ball of twine—rolled by a single man. That man was legendary Minnesota farmer Francis Johnson.
26. Shhh! Keep It Down In Here
Keep your voice down in the Orfield Laboratories. The Guinness Book of World Records calls this South Minneapolis room the quietest room in the world. Just see if you can stay in there for more than a half hour without driving yourself mad.
27. It’s Home To Legoland—The Real Legoland
Though it’s only open a couple days a week, Brickmania Toyworks will fulfill all the wildest dreams of Lego lovers young and old, with the entire space devoted to the iconic toy.
28. Please Touch The Art
Absolutely please touch the art at the Franconia Sculpture Park in the St. Croix River valley—and it’s free, too. There are more than 100 rotating sculptures in this awe-inspiring artists’ residency to climb up on.
29. This Mall Could Probably House America, Too
Okay, so maybe not literally, but Bloomington’s Mall of America is flat-out massive, so grab yourself a Caribou coffee, because a trip there could take all day—or weekend.
Did we miss anything? Tell us what you have to explain to Minnesota outsiders in the comments below! 
