Did we really need another thing to tear this country apart?
There are lots of famous debates about what people in different regions call different things . . . like “soda” versus “pop” and “sub” versus “hoagie.” But one of those debates REALLY just started heating up this week on Twitter.
What do you call the shoes you wear when you exercise?
According to a study by Harvard, 45.5% of people call them “sneakers,” mostly in the northeast . . . 41.3% call them “tennis shoes” . . . and the rest use other terms like “gym shoes” or just plain “shoes.”
Apparently, though, LOTS of people had no idea there was any other term than the one they used . . . so the reactions on social media are trending toward disbelief.
Never in my life have I been so caught off-guard by a ‘regionalisms for certain terms’ map. TENNIS SHOES? ALL OF YOU SAY TENNIS SHOES? pic.twitter.com/uXJWZhILed
— Elizabeth Minkel (@elizabethminkel) July 11, 2017
