There is no place like Nebraska ...
With 1.7 million people -- compared to 6.3 million cows -- Nebraska is small. That means everyone is connected by six degrees of separation, usually fewer.

This state is so small and interconnected that it's a good idea to check your family tree before dating someone, just to make sure that your Great Uncle Homer isn't your boyfriend's Great Uncle Homer. (Andy claims that one of his high school friends dated a girl for two years before realizing she was his second cousin. The couple broke up immediately, and neither asked the inevitable "Why doesn't he/she want me anymore?" question because the reason was obvious.)

On my second day at the new job, I went to lunch with three women from the office.
New co-worker: So, where are you from originally?
Me: I grew up in Beaver Crossing, a little town about 35 miles west of --
NCW: (while gasping and clutching my hand) OHMYGAWD, honey! Me too!

It turns out that she knows Elroy Senior and her two kids went to school with me before they moved to Lincoln.

Just two hours prior to this conversation, another coworker asked me if I was related to the Washburns of Ashland. Why, yes, yes, I am! This coworker used to ride horses with Andy's aunts and uncles and has a daughter that plays softball with Andy's cousin.

Was this a strange, out-of-the-ordinary day? No. Nebraskans engage in these "I know you through someone" conversations all the frickin' time. It's part of what I love about this state, but it gets eerie at times.

Does this happen in Wisconsin, a state with real metropolitan areas? Or are these exchanges limited to residents of the Dakotas, Nebraska, Montana, and Wyoming? (Iowa's a damn showoff with its 4 million+ population, so it doesn't count.)