Butter Looks Different Based on Where You Live in America — Here's Why (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Alex Schmidt.Photo:@alexschmidty

@alexschmidty

Butter packaging may seem straightforward, but there’s a lot to learn from what you churn.

TheSecretly Incredibly FascinatingpodcasthostAlex Schmidtunwrapped 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 thatbutter sticks are sold in two different shapesbased on where they’re produced.

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.”

Butter.getty (2)

getty (2)

“Feeling weirdly loyal to my long butter stick now,” one person wrote. Another agreed, “I’ve lived on both sides. Long is better.”

Butter.getty

getty

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 likethe history of the ampersand, whyjokers are on playing cardsandwhy 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.

Alex Schmidt.@alexschmidty

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!”

source: people.com