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MesaVerde87 t1_jd503dm wrote

What color? Sprinkles are rainbow, Jimmies are chocolate.

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LeverTech t1_jd58xqy wrote

If you don’t call them Jimmies, you’re probably a fresh transplant.

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Intelligent_Peace134 t1_jd5a352 wrote

Chocolate shots. I don’t remember a name for the multi-colored shots. I grew up in CT, so it could be regional.

−5

PM_Georgia_Okeefe t1_jd5acyu wrote

Those are two different things. Jimmies are chocolate. Sprinkles are multi colored.

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PM_Georgia_Okeefe t1_jd5aln1 wrote

That’s largely a myth. There’s no set origin of where the name came from, but one of the reason that Jimmies is such a prevalent term in New England is because Brighams ice cream used to donate all proceeds from the sale of chocolate sprinkles to the Jimmy Fund.

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Zaius1968 t1_jd5baxo wrote

Jimmie’s. As in I’ll have Jimmie’s on my coffee cabinet (if you are from RI)…always.

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Griddler t1_jd5bi67 wrote

Probably already. Somebody people have said this jimmies are chocolate and sprinkles are colored sugar particles and gives us the only way to put it.

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IAmAn_Anne t1_jd5ciw1 wrote

I’m glad someone else said this too. The question made me hesitate and think more than it should have. (I am sick right now though, so I’m a little dumb) I had to mentally put myself back into the ice cream places of my youth to figure out why I couldn’t answer it. Jimmies, yes correct, but also rainbow sprinkles XD

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gmcgath t1_jd5cyr9 wrote

I call them sprinkles.

One of the restaurant chains, I forget if it was Brigham's or Friendly's, said in their menus that it was because some mother made them for her son Jimmy's birthday. It never sounded plausible to me that the name would have spread from one party, and I suspect they printed the story only because it sounded cute.

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gmcgath t1_jd5dt6i wrote

Nice try.

Snopes says, "No valid reason exists to suppose that 'jimmies' carries a racist meaning or had a racially-charged origin. However, it's difficult to definitively disprove the claim because the term's entry into the English language is downright murky."

But it's such fun to feel superior by making invented claims of racism.

14

Obahmah t1_jd5ey1b wrote

I moved to Florida a few years back... got some interesting looks in the Publix (that's like the Market Basket of FL)

Standing in the confectionery aisle "OK yeah You want to Jimmies or Sprinkles"

8

pillbinge t1_jd5fx1b wrote

What's that "solid evidence" no article has ever listed? And if it's from Jim Crow, why don't other parts of the country even know the term? I asked a girl for jimmies in the South and she was amazingly confused.

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Puzzleheaded-Row-511 t1_jd5gl3z wrote

I grew up in Boston. We always called them jimmies. The first time I heard sprinkles, I wasn't sure what it meant. Thought it was something else LoL.

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LFRebel_603 t1_jd5iqnx wrote

Jimmies are chocolate and sprinkles are the colorful ones.

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Bada__Ping t1_jd5laep wrote

This article:

-Jimmies is a regional term from New England but somehow has something to do with the Jim Crow South, although we have 0 evidence of that

-Here are a handful of reasons why the term wouldn’t be racist

-The term is racist

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Jimbohamilton t1_jd5lb6m wrote

I hate to break it to you guys, but you can't say "jimmies" anymore.

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BooRand t1_jd5m213 wrote

Sprinkles. There’s a reason “jimmies” are only chocolate, it’s a racial thing so i don’t really think I should be saying it. Everyone seems to agree it’s only for chocolate sprinkles but they also seem to think it can’t have anything to do with color 🤷‍♂️

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WelfarePeanutButter t1_jd5mqn4 wrote

You know what? I’m going to eat my hat a bit on this. I had read the Vice article someone else mentioned on this thread not too long ago (my sister owns an ice cream shop, and we were discussing this very issue) and I remembered it as having actual evidence in it. It does not, and coupled with other articles I’ve just read, it is likely not true.

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snerdaferda t1_jd5n7jz wrote

But somehow, nobody makes the connection that this is kinda shitty and we should stop calling them that. Calling them sprinkles despite growing up calling them Jimmies has not caused a major inconvenience in my life.

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Simon_Jester88 t1_jd5ndm9 wrote

My thoughts, jimmies has undertones because of the whole named after black people thing. I only use jimmies for chocolate, sprinkles for rainbow. I don't think the comparison was made to be racist at the time, why would you name something negatively after all if you were trying to sell it?

−9

FuckM3Tendr t1_jd5nog2 wrote

I don’t eat em so I avoid it altogether lol

Think somebody told me once when I was young “Jimmie’s” was a slur or derogatory word and did my best to avoid it

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Wifey1786 t1_jd5psmf wrote

Chocolate = Jimmies Rainbow = sprinkles

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Emsflyer1984 t1_jd5qjue wrote

Never heard of Jimmies until I moved to N.H. Now since I first heard the rumor that “Jimmies” originated as a “racist” term referencing Jim Crow laws, I can’t bring myself to say it. Even though the racist origins have been all but proven false.

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sjm294 t1_jd5qrop wrote

Jimmies is kind of sexist

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HeresW0nderwall t1_jd5s9z1 wrote

I call the chocolate ones Jimmies and the rainbow ones sprinkles

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gladysnevermind t1_jd5sipx wrote

Sprinkles are for sissies and children. Any self respecting adult will proudly ask for jimmies on their oreo cookie in a cone.

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NHiker469 t1_jd5t3vt wrote

I don’t think you can say jimmies anymore lol. Very un PC.

−13

ExileonShakedownSt t1_jd5ud4g wrote

If you don’t feel comfortable saying it, you do you, but there no evidence Jimmies is a racial thing in this context. Not dismissing Jim Crow one bit, but no one has been able to make a connection to the chocolate sprinkles.

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pointwelltaken t1_jd5vrag wrote

Sprankles but admittedly I’m a transplant from the South.

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asphynctersayswhat t1_jd5x6rp wrote

That’s bullshit. Jimmies is a specifically New England term that has its roots in a confectioner in Rhode Island who used a cheese grater on a chocolate bar to shave on ice cream. His name was Jim.

It’s been retconned by some dumbass virtue signaler to be tied to Jim Crow - New England had no Jim Crow states. I’m all for inclusive language, but it’s dangerous to give people this kind of power over how we speak. Yes jimmies is a trivial thing, but it’s indicative of what misinformation can do.

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Cmama2Boyz t1_jd5xfh9 wrote

I only call them Jimmie’s when we vacation in Maine one week out of the year every August….then it’s back to sprinkles in New York. I know, total poser.

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AnythingToAvoidWork t1_jd5xq79 wrote

Closest I've seen is they nicknamed them after some dude who ran the sprinkle machine lol

But at the end of the day, I don't give a shit what people call sprinkles and I can get how people could take it the wrong way (especially today).

I can get why people could roll their eyes, but it's a weird hill to die on.

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VinsonChe90 t1_jd5y3nc wrote

They are not the same. Jimmies are chocolate and sprinkles are rainbow like others have said.

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pewterpetunia t1_jd604eu wrote

How many of you who use the (incorrect) term ‘sprinkles’ actually grew up in NH?

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Maldonian t1_jd60rz0 wrote

Anyone caught saying “jimmies” in public might find themselves getting hauled off in a paddy wagon.

−5

Red_Febtober t1_jd62qq6 wrote

Jimmies are Chocolate

Sprinkles are Multicolored

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BeemHume t1_jd660is wrote

"According to the Boston Globe, one potentially viable origin story for the sprinkles term comes from confectionary company Just Born—the monster best known for Easter’s most divisive treat, the Peep. The company doesn’t give a hard date on the invention, but credits the name to the employee who invented them (his name was Jimmy, obviously)."

*Just Born is a PA company

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SeniorBootLance t1_jd68mc4 wrote

I thought Jimmie’s was just “ole timey” for a condom.

2

Infinite_Vanilla2243 t1_jd6aadg wrote

New Hampshire: the home of “if you say something racist but there aren’t any people of color around, is it still racist?”

−8

tre1001 t1_jd6b5z1 wrote

Jimmies and sprinkles are different things

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jeo3b t1_jd6bc7m wrote

Umm both. Jimmy's are chocolate and sprinkles are different colors.

3

DemonDuo t1_jd6cu1h wrote

We have truly fell as a state

−1

sername-checksout t1_jd6ovsv wrote

To end the back and forth over whether 'jimmies" is racist or not let's just agree to call all jimmies and sprinkles regardless of color by the obviously superior choice... Fairy shit 🧚‍♂️.

"yeah I'll take a two scoop, and a couple of single scoops for the kids, oh and make sure the fairy shits all over them. Thanks."

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next2021 t1_jd74rao wrote

Friendly’s & Brigham’s always charged extra for Jimmies

−1

Raindropzonroses t1_jd7c7yq wrote

Yes I called them Jimmies like many of us in this area do but it is racist and we all need to hop on the sprinkles train. 🚂💨

−5

longlostgem t1_jd7fc3q wrote

Go say it to a little black girl’s face while you’re ordering and convince her you’re not trying to be offensive. I was made so uncomfortable when I used to work at JP Licks on Newbury St. I just tacked it onto the list of things white ppl do that make us feel shitty about but can’t do anything about. I just smiled and nodded it away. The history doesn’t matter, it’s the connotation. And frankly my friends you can’t change how it makes non-whites feel. The rest of the country has no problem calling chocolate or rainbow- sprinkles. The ppl who care enough will change their ways and the nonempathetics will keep do their thing knowingly. That’s just how ppl are- stuck in their bubbles only thinking about themselves and no one else around them.

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longlostgem t1_jd7fmjh wrote

Go say it to a little black girl’s face while you’re ordering and convince her you’re not trying to be offensive. I was made so uncomfortable when I used to work at JP Licks on Newbury St. I just tacked it onto the list of things white ppl do that make us feel shitty about but can’t do anything about. I just smiled and nodded it away. The history doesn’t matter, it’s the connotation. And frankly my friends you can’t change how it makes non-whites feel. The rest of the country has no problem calling chocolate or rainbow- sprinkles. The ppl who care enough will change their ways and the nonempathetics will keep do their thing knowingly. That’s just how ppl are- stuck in their bubbles only thinking about themselves and no one else around them.

−18

drdactyl t1_jd7gm4y wrote

If you consistently complain about transplants, massholes, or how Cow Hampshire used to be you probably call them jimmies.

−1

KrissaKray t1_jd7h40e wrote

Came up from southern CT when I was a LITTLE little kid (like 6 or 7) and down there we called them "shots"

I still sporadically call them that for no apparent reason other than demented regression but OTHERWISE? They're jimmies.

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andtheIToldYouSos t1_jd7xrzc wrote

At The Big Catch on Newfound Lake the menu lists them as "rambow sprangles"

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jjmenace t1_jd7zb7p wrote

Sorry you've been put through the ringer on this topic. I think this world would be a better place if people knew the facts before spouting implications but that's not the world we live in anymore, the facts don't matter and people have no problem crushing someone else in the name of love.

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zeeke42 t1_jd8fenq wrote

Jimmies are cylindrical, sprinkles are spherical.

0

Infinite_Vanilla2243 t1_jd8r8kn wrote

I’ve lived in New Hampshire and Mississippi and I’ll give you one guess as to which one was more racist

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ReauxChambeaux t1_jd8yeh0 wrote

That’s like saying apples or motorcycles? Two completely different things

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FavorableState t1_jd9hoi3 wrote

Sprinkles for rainbow,Jimmies for chocolate is the only acceptable answer.

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Mynewadventures t1_jd9owww wrote

And you would have been wrong. And you call yourself a New Englander!

Now after reading the responses you know the whole truth, and you can start dropping your "Rs" with a little bit more swagger. Kid. ;)

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CrimsonTerror57 t1_jdaiwyt wrote

I've never heard anyone call em Jimmies, but then again I never usually get sprinkles so maybe I'm just not observant.

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wern00 t1_jddtoep wrote

"Sidney Farber, a cancer researcher in Boston, founded a charity named after one of his patients called The Jimmy Fund. His nephew opened an ice cream restaurant called Brigham's and charged an extra penny for chocolate sprinkles on a cone, which benefited The Jimmy Fund."

2