Southern California doesn't have the four seasons, but many residents joke that it does have four seasons: eathquake, fire, flood and drought. The joke has been cited in print since at least…
"Keep Portland Weird" is a popular bumper sticker and an unofficial slogan of the city of Portland. The idea was borrowed from "Keep Austin Weird," an Austin, Texas, initiative…
"Oregonians don't tan, they rust" is a classic joke about Oregon's rainy weather. Ron Abell, president of the James G. Blaine Society, told jokes about Oregon's weather to…
Portland has been dubbed "where hipsters go to retire" and "where young people go to retire." "Colin Meloy once heard it (Portland, Oregon -- ed.) referred to as the place…
For most of the United States, the start of summer is marked by Memorial Day at the end of May. For people who live in Oregon and Washington, the start of summer is marked by the day after the 4th…
"The mountain is out (today)" means that the sky is clear and Mount Hood is visible from the city of Portland. "Oh, look: the mountain is out today" was cited in Bennett…
"What follows two days of rain in Oregon? Monday!" is a joke that has been told about many geographical locations. ""What comes after two days of rain in Vermont?" was…
"Where has Oregon?" is a pun on the state's name. "Where has Ore-gon?" was printed in The Idaho Avalanche (Silver City, ID) on July 5, 1879. "Where has Oregon?"…
Oregon is known as the "Beaver State" because fur companies operated in Astoria from 1811. "DEMOCRACY OF OREGON. -- The gallant Democracy of the Beaver State are actively in…
"Beervana" (beer + nirvana) is a nickname for the city of Portland, where brew-pubs are almost everywhere. Portland's craft beer movement started in the 1980s and the…
The Oregonian is a daily newspaper published in Portland, Oregon, since 1850. The newspaper has been nicknamed The Boregonian (bore + Oregonian) by some critics since at least 1994. Another…
The city of Portland has been nicknamed "Bridgetown" because of the many bridges crossing the Williamette river (11 bridges) and Columbia river (3 bridges). Deborah Betron founded…
Salem (Oregon's capital city) has been called the "Cherry City" since at least 1907. Salem held its first cherry fair in 1903, the 1906 fair was held along with the midsummer meeting…
Portland is called the "Rose City" or "City of Roses" largely because of the efforts (currently unrecognized) of attorney, historian and amateur rosegrower Frederick V. Holman…
Stew Leonard's food stores in 2014 sold a "crogel" (croissant + bagel). The name has not yet been trademarked. Supermarket NewsStew’s Bakery Tries ‘Crogels’Jan. 9, 2014Hot on…
The city of Portland acquired the nickname "De-Portland" or "Deportland" ("deport-land") in 2000 when several news articles stated that the Portland International…
The name "Emerald City" was popularized in the Oz books by L. Frank Baum (1856-1919) and the movie The Wizard of Oz (1939). The city of Eugene, Oregon, has called itself the "Emerald…
Oregon has been called the "Hard Case State" because life for its earliest settlers was very hard. Inhabitants of Oregon were called "Hard Cases" by at least April 1845.…
When President George H. W. Bush visited Portland in May 1990, 25 people were arrested after a four-hour confrontation with police. When President Bush visited Portland again in September 1991, 400…
The Pacific Northwest receives so much rain that it has been dubbed the "Pacific Northwet" (Pacific Northwest + wet) and its inhabitants "Northwetters." The nicknames date from…