I was at a wedding recently and started discussing VR with some people when one of them turned to me and unironically said "Wow, you know a lot about technology. That isn't common in Texas, is it?"

I'm not exaggerating when I say that I laughed at that for a solid hour. It happened at the reception and I was sitting in my chair trying to contain my laughter for that entire time.

People unironically believe that Texans are a bunch of uneducated hillbillies. Like here it is, DFW has a population of over 7 million people, a job market that is absolutely exploding, tech companies are moving here en masse (and I have a professional job at one of them), and the state has the 10th largest economy in the entire world. But people still hold the belief that we're living in the 19th century wild west. I thought we were having an intellectual conversation when it turned out they were just impressed I could tie my own shoes, lmao.

That may honestly be one of the funniest things anyone has ever said to me. I still laugh about it from time to time. My dad said he learned a long time ago to lean into it, so he'll say "howdy" to people from out of state and also tell them that DFW airport has the largest stable in the world because we all ride horses to the airport. He said they believe it almost every time.