Ohio is the anti-rizz capital of the nation.
Generation Z and Generation Alpha have developed a bizarre fixation on the home of rock ‘n’ roll, scary roller coasters, cinnamon chili, and JD Vance – and have adopted the Buckeye State’s name as slang for anything “weird or absurd.”
Earlier this summer, search terms like “Only in Ohio” and “You’re so Ohio” tripled to 58,021 on Google – last year the term was the second most searched meme on the search engine, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The insult is also usually mixed with the Gen-Alpha word “skibidi” – a nonsense phrase related to videos about “brain rot”-type toilets that children watch online.
“Ohio is kind of weird, absurd,” 12-year-old Eden Rodriguez of Chevy Chase, Maryland, who has never been to the state, told the outlet.
According to KnowYourMeme editor Owen Carry, this is true for most children who use the expression.
“Most of the people who make these memes about Ohio have never been there either, and they make them for other people who have never been there,” Carry told the Journal.
But could this simply be a case of “today’s kids”?
On the Internet – and even before that – the Rust Belt state has been ridiculed for generations.
In modern times, the first thing to come was viral YouTube videos titled “Hastily Made Cleveland Tourism” in 2009 that boasted, “At least we’re not Detroit.”
Then rapper Lil B released “Swag Like Ohio” in 2010, followed by a widely shared Tumblr post from 2016 calling for the “elimination” of Ohio.
Ohioans are not missing out on this latest insult; several local media outlets have even recently issued public service announcements explaining to the general public—and especially those not in high school—what the hell is going on.
“Are you a Skibidi Ohio Rizzler?” read a recent headline in the Columbus Dispatch. “Are ‘Ohio’ memes causing ‘brain rot’ in Generation Alpha?” published the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Some residents are relatively relaxed about their accidental fame.
“We’re very genuine, friendly, down-to-earth people,” 31-year-old Clevander Kelsey Will told the Journal. “Most of us wouldn’t be offended and would join in the fun.”
And perhaps the locals will have the last laugh: A new report shows a significant increase in tourism in one part of the state.
The economically depressed Youngstown region of Mahoning County reported a 10% increase in tourism revenue since 2021 – and said the sector has become a billion-dollar revenue source for the region.
A member of Generation Z, Delaney Hendershot from Akron, LeBron James’ hometown, says no news is bad news.
“We know what we are worth in this state,” Hendershot told the WSJ.
“I would rather participate in the discussion than not, because some states are truly forgotten,” they said.
