Yahoo Finance Butter Looks Different Based on Where You Live in America — Here's Why (Exclusive)
'Secretly Incredibly Fascinating' podcast host Alex Schmidt explained the little known history behind butter's varying shapes and sizes across America
@alexschmidty
Alex SchmidtPodcast host Alex Schmidt delighted thousands of TikTok users with his video detailing how butter is packaged differently based on where it's produced in the United States
He explained that East Coast butter comes in long, skinnier bars known as "Elgin sticks," while butter found west of the Rocky Mountains is short and stout, hence its nickname, the "Western Stubby"
Schmidt spoke to PEOPLE about why he thinks people are so fascinated by his trivia
Butter packaging may seem straightforward, but there’s a lot to learn from what you churn.
The Secretly Incredibly Fascinating podcast host Alex Schmidt unwrapped some little known history about the dairy industry on TikTok, and his seemingly trivial trivia captured the attention of 1.2 million viewers on Instagram.
In his now-viral video, which currently has over 96,000 likes, Schmidt explained that butter sticks are sold in two different shapes based on where they’re produced.
If you live east of the Rocky Mountains, he says, you’re likely used to buying longer, thinner sticks of butter known as “Elgin sticks.” To the west of the Rockies, you’ll find a shorter, wider stick, which is aptly referred to as a “Western Stubby.”
Schmidt dove deep into the reasons behind the butter variants, explaining how they earned their “wacky names," starting with the lengthier bars nicknamed for the town of Elgin, Illinois.
“Companies in Elgin first packaged butter in wooden tubs before developing machines that slice it into sticks,” he summarized. Schmidt continued, “That was the U.S.’s butter stick shape until the 1960s, when California started to surpass the midwest in dairy production.”
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ButterThe newer California-based butter hubs crafted bigger machines for the slicing, “and they adopted the new western stubby shape,” he added in the video. According to Schmidt’s research, East Coasters “refused to switch” to the western stubby and built new machines for their familiar Elgin stick shape.
The minute details of butter history stirred up TikTok users, many of whom flocked to the comments to advocate for their side of dairy history.
“Feeling weirdly loyal to my long butter stick now,” one person wrote. Another agreed, “I’ve lived on both sides. Long is better.”
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ButterBetween some conflicting arguments over which shape wins, plenty of commenters shared their appreciation for Schmidt’s niche fun fact. The social media sensation has actually built his following by unearthing fascinating truths about pieces of everyday life.
Schmidt tells PEOPLE that his podcast is “all about why the seemingly ordinary things in our lives (like butter) are Secretly Incredibly Fascinating,” hence the show’s title.
He has complemented his podcast episodes with a number of short explanatory videos like the butter deep dive, covering topics like the history of the ampersand, why jokers are on playing cards and why stop signs are octagons. The TikToker believes that his fans are drawn to such trivia for a range of reasons, from being plainly curious to being afraid to ask.
@alexschmidty
Alex Schmidt“For some folks it's neat to discover another way life is totally different across America. For others, this answers a minor mystery in their lives,” he explains, adding that he was personally confused by “stubby-shaped” butter sticks after his move to California. “I assumed it was something about my specific store, until many years later, when I researched butter for our podcast.”
Between his podcast and social media account, Schmidt is glad to enlighten his followers about the historical depths behind seemingly simple concepts and ordinary objects. If his butter-based curiosity was once piqued in a California grocery store, he figures others may be keen to learn something new, too.
“I'm thrilled we can answer that question for people all over the country,” he tells PEOPLE. “Especially because it's the kind of question people might be embarrassed to ask out loud. We don't bring up our burning questions about butter!”
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Read the original article on People.
