Is Pennsylvania weird? 11 reasons why Pa. is the strangest state

Have you ever considered how weird our state is?

Maybe it was the unconventional founder, William Penn, whose Quaker sensibilities led to an eclectic colony and commonwealth. Maybe it’s because Pennsylvania sounds a little bit like Transylvania, which lends us an aura of mystery and the macabre. Or maybe it’s just coincidence. But every now and then, we native Pennsylvanians need to be reminded that these things we’re accustomed to are a little unusual.

After all, how many residents of other states regularly eliminate the phrase “to be” from their sentences, or celebrate the opening of their farm show with the reveal of a massive sculpture made out of butter?

These are just a few of the things that we might take for granted in our day-to-day Pennsylvania life, that seem really weird when you stop and think about it.

We have a famous groundhog

Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney is home to a four-legged meteorological celebrity. Punxsutawney Phil is famed for his ability to block sunlight, and then either observe or not observe the shadow which he may or may not be casting, for the purposes of predicting the end of winter. For some reason, this has become an enormous, nation-wide prediction tradition.

• Groundhog Day 2019 Guide: Punxsutawney Phil facts, tips for going to Gobbler’s Knob and more
• 5 biggest Groundhog Day myths and misconceptions, from the history to the predictions

There’s a town named after a candy bar

Okay, so it’s technically named after the guy who made the candy bar. It’s still unusual. When Milton Hershey founded his chocolate company, he probably didn’t plan on his name also lending itself to the surrounding Derry Township neighborhood. But considering that the company is one of the largest candy makers in the world, and that Milton also founded a school, a theater, a hotel and a park - which help to make the town a huge entertainment destination - it may have been inevitable.

• Hershey Story expands exhibits for 10th anniversary: here’s how you can see them for free
• How the Hershey Theatre saved Derry Township during the Depression: Cool Spaces
• Hersheypark unveils its tallest, fastest, longest roller coaster, Candymonium

We embrace weird, once-hated mascots

When the Philadelphia Flyers’ new mascot Gritty appeared, it seemed like nobody liked the fuzzy, orange, googly-eyed creature. But soon after, suddenly Gritty was everywhere - from making surprise appearances on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” to crashing a wedding party. Philly’s City Council even issued an official proclamation saying he was a monster, but that he was “our monster.”

• Penn State grad designed Philadelphia Flyers mascot Gritty: public response ‘can be overwhelming’

We take junk food really seriously

There’s no shortage of weird foods invented in Pennsylvania. We take food seriously in general, having invented a lot of awesome ones here. But we also specialize in foods you can’t find elsewhere, for better or worse - I personally like scrapple, but I understand it can be a bit divisive. And that goes for our version of chicken pot pie, too, and I don’t care what out-of-staters say. We even have a museum dedicated entirely to McDonald’s Big Mac, which was - you guessed it - invented here.

• 9 more of Pennsylvania’s strangest museums

Our historical religious fundamentalists have a flair for the dramatic

Sure, any state can have extreme religious leaders. But do those other states have preachers who carve passages from holy scriptures into giant rocks? That’s what you can find in Brookville: the Scripture Rocks were created by preacher Douglas Stahlman, who was later jailed for insanity. Or there’s the Cave of Kelpius, which was the home of Pennsylvania’s first recorded doomsday cult. (Spoilers: turns out the world didn’t end in the year 1700.)

• Fascinating, must-see religious sites to visit in Pa.

There’s a town that’s perpetually on fire

Columbia County’s Centralia still has a few residents, but that doesn’t stop the town from having an eerie, ghost town-like reputation. That’s because a vast majority of residents had to abandon their homes when an underground coal mine caught fire in 1962 - and is still burning to this day.

• Centralia, the ghost town, then and now
• Ex-Centralia residents to celebrate birth of dying town

We are home to the nation’s worst president

James Buchanan perpetually ranks among historians as one of the worst presidents of the United States - including the historian that works at James Buchanan’s own home. Sure, Pennsylvania was also the state that Dwight Eisenhower eventually called home, but Buchanan was the only native-born Pennsylvanian. Plus, he also had a weird multi-person outhouse.

• James Buchanan: worst president ever? Or deserving of a spot with our 100 Greatest Pennsylvanians?
• The 'Pittsburgh toilet’ and five other major movements in Pa. potty history

The world’s biggest beer can collection is here

Not only did Jeff Lebo of York Haven collect more beer cans than anyone else in the world, and let us in to take a look, he also lets everyone in - provided you want to stay over. He rents out the building where his collection is stored as an AirBnB.

• 12 of the most unusual beer cans from the world’s largest collection

A famous painting horse lived here

When an athlete retires, it’s a big life change. That even applies to animals, in some cases, such as the case of Metro the retired race horse. A number of serious health problems led to him being adopted and rescued by Ron Krajewski. Metro’s habit of nodding up and down led Krajewski to try letting him hold a paintbrush in his mouth, and thus create his own artwork.

• Can you paint better than a horse? Former race horse in Gettysburg is a professional artist

We had a museum for famous people’s hair

Have you ever wanted to visit George Washington’s hair? How about Thomas Jefferson and Napoleon Bonaparte? Of course, we all have! But only in Pennsylvania could your dead famous people hair dreams come true. Specifically, the collection of Peter A. Browne’s on display at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University in Philadelphia had those very pieces on display until March 24.

• A hairy collection: Locks belonging to Washington, Jefferson and Napoleon on display in new exhibit at Pa. museum

This is our state’s official amphibian

This slimy little guy is called a hellbender. It also goes by Allegheny alligator, devil dog, mud devil and snot otter. And it has recently become Pennsylvania’s official state amphibian. Not every state can say that, can they?

• The Hellbender, aka ‘snot otter’, is now Pa.’s official amphibian
• What is a hellbender? And why do they want to protect it?

Want more uniquely Pennsylvanian stories from PennLive? Check these out:

• Things no one tells you before you move to Pennsylvania
• Here are 22 odd words and phrases you’ll hear in Pa.
• 14 freaky places in Pa.: Where gravity is reversed and ice builds in summer