What do people wonder most about Michigan?

By Alexandra Fluegel

Jul 28, 2016 at 1:43 pm

Audio By Carbonatix

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Is it why we say "pop" instead of "soda"?

Why we have a 10 cent deposit on returnables or so many damn potholes?

True, those are all valid questions and ones often asked on Google, but when the folks at Mental Floss asked the search engine "why does Michigan..." there was one auto-generated response that reigned supreme.

Drumroll please.

"Why does Michigan have the UP?"
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Yup, internet users can't seem to figure out why the Upper Peninsula is the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and not just a part of Wisconsin.

As readers of such a fine publication like Metro Times, you probably already know that the Michigan was given the western three-quarters of what would become the UP after losing the Toledo War to Ohio. Though, as some have pointed out, given that Michigan got the UP (and not Toledo), it's hard to say who the real loser was. Hint: Ohio...and also Wisconsin. Sorry, Wisconsin.