Boston vs. Chicago: Which is the real Beantown?

One Twitter user sparked public debate (in the form of 2,500 retweets, 337 replies, and over 70,000 likes) about whether Boston or Chicago is the real Beantown.

The Beantown tweet heard around the world, from a comedian who lives in neither place, Kevin Burke, outlined that while Boston is called Beantown, Chicago does boast a 20-foot bean downtown.

In a thread, Burke also questioned the “windy city” nickname Chicago was given as well.

He proposed some interesting replacement nicknames for both cities, dubbing Boston “NotChicago.” Burke’s “New nickname generator” sparked debate in the replies about which city is actually Beantown and which is the Windy City.

Boston is actually the windiest major city in the United States, one Twitter user said. He cited an article on Current Results, a “weather and science facts” website, which listed Chicago as the 12th windiest city.

And while it’s relatively well-known that the Windy City title refers more to Chicago’s political climate than its weather, it seemed foolish to Twitter users that the obvious (20-foot bean and 11.5 mph wind obvious) nicknames weren’t attributed to each city appropriately.

Some users poked fun at Boston’s bean origins, making a reference to how Boston got its bean-themed nickname — Boston Baked Beans.

“For people not from Massachusetts, Boston has a city ordinance where every food item must be served with a side of baked beans or they could be hit with heavy fines,” wrote one user.

The Twitter discourse didn’t stay on topic for long (as usually happens on the Internet) but the question remained: which city is the real Beantown?

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