Today, I learned the origin of the term Tar Heel from a podcast. Which podcast? I'm not sure...I probably listened to six or seven today. It was from one of them.
Perhaps many of you already know how the term came to be. A simple internet search yields the answer. To save you some time, I'll explain briefly. Back in the day (meaning, before the invention of the internet...), one of the industries established in North Carolina was shipbuilding. One way to make ships last longer is to slap tar on the bottom of those boats. Tar helps preserve the material used to build ships back the...wood. Preserved wood is preferred when it comes to ships.
The podcast explained that many who worked in ship building, and specifically, worked with tar used to go without shoes so if you had tar on your feet/heels, you were involved in that industry. The term was not given the same respect back then as it does for residences of the state today, especially fans of the University of North Carolina sports teams. If you'd like a more "educated" story of the term's origin, it can be found by accessing the school's website. You can reach the information by clicking: HERE.
No, I never questioned where the term came from. Maybe because there's almost an entire country between where I live and North Carolina. I always thought the term had something to do with the university's mascot, Rameses the Ram. I imagined perhaps the ram's hooves had tar on them (for what reason, I have no idea...). And maybe the hooves are covered with tar, but I doubt it.
Tar heel...part of the country's history I learned about this very day.
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