From: utzoo!decvax!harpo!ihnss!ihps3!pcl
Newsgroups: net.jokes
Title: Etymology of "hoosier"
Article-I.D.: ihps3.271
Posted: Fri Jun 18 09:18:43 1982
Received: Sun Jun 20 06:06:48 1982


Back in the earlier days of our country, the "not-quite-civilized West"
included Indiana, Michigan, & Illinois, instead of just California and
the surrounding area as it does now.  At that time, apparently, Indiana
experienced quite a large number of bar brawls, and it was not at all
uncommon for the participants to bite off one another's ears as one way
of expressing their hostility.

Well, as one might imagine, cleaning up after one of these ordeals
included picking up a number of unattached ears, and trying to identify
their owners so they could be returned (as a keepsake, perhaps).  Out of
this oft heard inquiry as to "whose ear is this?", came the
identification of natives of Indiana as "whose ear"s (phonetically
transcribed as "hoosier").

[That's what they said on the radio, honest!]