When an Engineer Owns a Dog

The water fountain map is interesting. Both Rhode Island and the Green Bay region call it a bubbler. I wonder if there's some cultural connection between those two areas.

I spent quite a bit of time with the interactive maps. The deeper one travels into Wisconsin, the stranger the language becomes. Having vacationed there for a decade, all I can suggest is to load up your iPod with head-banging music and practice water skiing.

I've always found it interesting how the Chicago area is this weird amalgam of American language dialects. It's sort-of an anything goes place. You can do something like call a midday meal lunch but call an evening meal dinner or supper and no one thinks you odd for doing such. I'm guessing its the southern migratory influence that creates a weird dual terminology.

Same goes for trash/garbage can or slaw/coleslaw. You'll hear both terms used interchangeably, often by the same individual.
Another good example is yard/garage/rubbish sale, all three are used on signage and in reference to having a sale of your old junk on your front lawn.

Also:
Cart return - most places
Carriage Return - Not called that in the NW.