6. Hoosiers are well-known for their questioning and it is possible the nickname originated because they could not pass a house without pulling the latchstring and crying out, "Who's here?"

5. In 1851 Amelia M. Murray reported that she heard the name Hoosier originate when settlers shouted "Huzza!" when gaining victory over a marauding party from a neighboring state.

4. Kentucky contractor Samuel Hoosier hired Indiana workers to build the Portland canal at Louisville. These superior laborers became known as "Hoosier's Men" or "Hoosiers" and carried the nickname back north with them. Unfortunately, no one has ever been able to prove the existence of Mr. Hoosier.

3. Before its use in America, Hoosier was used in England to refer to someone who lived in the hills or mountains. It may be related to the French osier meaning someone from the countryside. This term is still commonly used in Eastern Canada.

2. Indiana poet James Whitcomb Riley said the origin of the title "Hoosier" came from the pugnacious habits of the early settlers. "They were vicious fighters ... [and] frequently bit off noses and ears. This happened so often that a settler coming into the barroom after a fight would see an ear on the floor and ask, ‘Whose ear?’”

1. Indiana settlers typically gathered in small singing schools, where a number of favorite songs were by a group called “The Hoo.”

(All right, all right: we made up that last one. The rest are courtesy of the Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Association.)