11 Things Arkansans Do That Would Horrify the Rest of America

Arkansas sits quietly in the middle of the country, largely unbothered by what the rest of America thinks — which is fortunate, because the rest of America doesn’t think about Arkansas nearly enough. The Natural State is a place of deep traditions, fierce pride, and a set of daily habits that would leave an outsider blinking in polite confusion. From the food to the football to the firmly held belief that Walmart is a perfectly acceptable date night destination, Arkansas plays by its own rules. Pull up a chair and try to keep up.

1. Make a Walmart run a legitimate social outing

Arkansas is the birthplace of Walmart — Bentonville, to be exact — and locals treat the supercenter with a reverence that borders on civic duty. A Walmart run isn’t a quick errand. It’s a two-hour social event where you will see your cousin, your old high school teacher, and at least one person you’ve been meaning to call back since 2019. You will not be in a hurry.

2. Pronounce the state name in a way that makes no phonetic sense and defend it fiercely

It is not “Ar-KAN-zas.” It is “AR-kan-saw.” Always has been, always will be. Arkansas is so committed to this that the state legislature actually passed a law in 1881 making the pronunciation official. Outsiders who say it wrong will be corrected immediately, warmly, and as many times as necessary.

3. Eat fried catfish and hush puppies for any meal, including breakfast

Catfish is not a regional delicacy in Arkansas — it is a food group. Fried golden, served with hush puppies, coleslaw, and enough hot sauce to make your eyes water, it is appropriate for lunch, dinner, Sunday supper, and honestly if you think about it, probably breakfast too. Nobody is stopping you.

4. Treat Razorback football like a matter of life, death, and eternal salvation

When the Razorbacks take the field, Arkansas essentially shuts down. The Hog Call — “Wooooo, Pig! Sooie!” — is performed at full volume, with arms raised, in stadiums, living rooms, parking lots, and occasionally at funerals. Outsiders find it alarming. Arkansans find it spiritual.

5. Go to the Walmart Museum in Bentonville as a sincere tourist destination

The Walmart Visitor Center in Bentonville — built inside Sam Walton’s original five-and-dime store — draws genuine tourists who walk through reverently, read the plaques, and nod thoughtfully at displays about discount retail. It is treated with the energy of a national monument. Because in Arkansas, it basically is.

6. Float a river on an inner tube with a cooler full of drinks and call it a vacation

The Buffalo National River is America’s first national river, and Arkansans celebrate this by spending entire summer weekends floating down it on inner tubes, coolers in tow, moving approximately one mile per hour. This is considered peak leisure. No resort, no itinerary, no shoes required.

7. Eat chocolate gravy over biscuits for breakfast and see nothing unusual about this

Chocolate. Gravy. On biscuits. It is a real thing, it is beloved, and it has been an Ozark breakfast tradition for generations. It tastes like warm brownie batter poured over a fluffy biscuit, which sounds incredible when you say it that way — and yet the rest of America remains completely unaware this exists.

8. Refer to every wooded area as “the woods” regardless of its actual size

Three trees in a backyard corner? The woods. A national forest? Also the woods. In Arkansas, “the woods” is a geographic category that covers everything from a small tree line to thousands of acres of Ozark wilderness, and the distinction is rarely considered important. You go to the woods. That’s all the information needed.

9. Wave at every single person while driving, known or not

The two-finger wave — index and middle finger lifted briefly off the steering wheel — is the standard greeting between drivers on any road with fewer than four lanes. You don’t need to know them. They don’t need to know you. You’re both in Arkansas. That’s enough. Failing to wave back is noted.

10. Take Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art completely for granted

Bentonville is home to one of the most extraordinary art museums in the entire country — world-class collection, stunning architecture, free admission — and Arkansans treat it with the casual familiarity of a neighborhood park. Meanwhile, art lovers from New York and Los Angeles make pilgrimages there with genuine awe. Locals show up in boots and think nothing of it.

11. Hunt, fish, and garden not as hobbies but as a genuine food strategy

In Arkansas, filling your freezer through hunting and fishing season isn’t a romantic notion of self-sufficiency — it’s a practical plan. Deer season is essentially a second calendar system. A man who fills his tags and puts up a garden has simply done what needs doing. The grocery store is a supplement, not the point.

Arkansas doesn’t spend a lot of time worrying about its reputation, and that might be the most Arkansas thing of all. While the rest of America is busy being loud about itself, Arkansas is quietly floating a river, eating chocolate gravy, calling the hogs, and living a life that’s slower, deeper, and a whole lot more interesting than the flyover country jokes would have you believe. Come visit sometime. Just say the state name right when you get here, or you’ll never hear the end of it.