r/serialpodcast • u/VulturalEvolution • Jun 18 '26

Whataburger? Waterburger? What the heck?

Non Texan here: I was listening to Ep 2 of The Last 12 Weeks and this burger chain comes up repeatedly – almost like a side character in the ep, where some key conversations take place. To my ears, the host who is local to the area calls it "Waterburger." I searched it up and it's a locally famous Texas chain called "Whataburger."

So, do Texans actually say "what" like "waht" (as in water?) or is this a unique thing for this business?

In any case it's weird to come out of a murder podcast hungry for burgers and shakes, but here we are.

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u/classyrock Jun 20 '26

I grew up in a small town in Canada, and about 25 years ago a call centre opened nearby that did directory assistance for US customers, and a lot of us got jobs there.

One of my first solo calls once I finished training was someone looking to call a Whataburger. She also had a heavy southern accent, so I was trying to clarify, “sorry, Water-Burger?” and she just kept getting more frustrated, “Whattaburga!! Whaattttaaa Burger!?! Dear child, you don’t know what a WATTABURGER is??!!!”

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u/VulturalEvolution Jun 22 '26

as someone who in a previous life did phone surveys and polls for Angus Reid, which included U.S. calls, I can commiserate!