Every state has its own quirks, but until you leave your home state, or become friends with someone from a different state, you don't know about them. Everything you do, say, and eat is normal to you. Growing up in Northeast Iowa, my friends and I realized some things weren't the same as other states. Some of these are also generic to Iowa, but they are all specific to the Northeast part of the state.

1. Random trips to Walmart.

Whether or not you actually needed something was indifferent.

2. The two finger wave as you pass someone on the road.

You wave to everyone, doesn't matter if you know them or not, it's polite.

3. Padiddle.

It's a childhood game that never ends.

4. You're not surprised when people hear you're from Iowa and proceed to ask if it’s the potato state.

It's not surprising, but it is super annoying.

5. Friday night football games.

You made it to every home game.

6. You eat a lot of corn.

Corn on the cob, corn casserole, popcorn, pretty much everything corn you could imagine.

7. You can handle anything mother nature throws at you.

It can go from sunny to a huge thunderstorm in five minutes, and in the next 10 minutes go back to sunny. Weird, I know.

8. Iowa nice.

Iowa people are different than the rest; you bet our mom raised us with manners but we've got more than that.

9. Family rivalry between University of Iowa and Iowa State University.

Someone in your family rooted for the other team, and some friendly trash talk happened at family gatherings.

10. Corn hole.

It's a staple to tailgating, picnics, and other gatherings.

11. Explaining what maid-rites, puppy chow, walking tacos, and scotcharoos happens a lot.

You have to make the explanation as simple as possible by relating it to other foods that are similar and more well-known, and the more you explain it to someone, the hungrier you become. It's all so good!!

12. A trip to the Iowa State Fair is a vacation in and of itself.

You see the rides, the fried food, the concerts, everything.

13. It’s duck, duck, goose.

Apparently some people say it's "duck, duck, gray duck". That's just not right.

14. It's "casserole" not hot dish.

Yes, it's a casserole. No, it's not a hot dish.

15. Pop.

I will always call it pop — not soda, not soft drink... pop. It's always pop.

16. You’d rather take a backroad.

Have you heard Rodney Atkins' song, "Take a Back Road"? If you have, you'd understand why.

17. Drive your tractor to school day.

This usually happened in the spring, during the seniors' last week of school, to celebrate and show off your family tractor.

18. Cheesy potatoes, pulled pork, and Oreo fluff is at more than 50% of graduation parties.

It's a major crowd pleaser, and simple to make too.

19. Pick up trucks in the back of the parking lot.

The back of the school parking lot was where the pickup trucks parked and you knew who drove which truck.

20. The people in your class are mostly the same as your graduation class.

The same people who you went to Kindergarten with are the same people you graduated with. You still know who moved away, where they moved to, and you know who moved into town, what year, and where they're from, today.

21. Everyone knows you and you know everyone.

Or at least everyone knows your parents.

22. Summers consisted of county fairs, rodeos, truck and tractor pulls, dirt track racing, bonfires, baseball, and softball games.

It's the by far the best time of the year.

23. You bought sweet corn from the back of a pickup truck by the gas station.

You'd get one dozen to eat that night, and another dozen for mom to freeze.

24. RAGBRAI.

It stands for Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, a non-competitive bicycle ride organized by The Des Moines Register that goes from west side of the state to the east side of the state.

25. You know what the phrase “knee high by the fourth of July” refers to.

And you noticed if it was taller or lower than normal.

26. You know the all the police officers by their last name.

You knew which officer pulled kids over for what, and if they had any kids at school with you.

27. You hung out in the parking lot after school activities to avoid going home.

Late night talks in someones car sometimes was great therapy, as well as a good spot to catch up on all the town gossip.

28. The smell of manure? No problem.

There was probably a farm just down the road, so the smell of manure may have been gag worthy to others, but not to you.

29. Traffic means you’re stuck behind a tractor on a two lane road or waiting at a railroad crossing.

It just means more time to listen to the radio, no big deal.

30. Morel hunting is something people get excited about.

Either your family hunted them, or family friends did. Although people get excited about mushroom hunting, the excitement is nothing compared to deer season.

31. You have a line of volunteer firefighters in your family.

Maybe it's your dad, grandpa, uncle, cousin, or all of the above... someone you know is.

32. You know someone who says “warsh” instead of “wash”.

Your grandma probably says it, and maybe your mom too, but you probably don't.

33. The best therapy you know is cruisin’ down a gravel road with the windows down and the radio up.

Whether it's therapy for a breakup, stress from school, or just to escape life, you know how good it feels.

34. If it’s a good sunset you know it’ll be on 50% of the Snapchat stories.

These Iowa skies are hard to beat.

35. Never ending road construction.

It seems like there is always some road under construction. It's frustrating but you'll just take a back road.

36. There's no other place like it.

It's home.