This...is the definition of Minnesota nice! A Minnesota man gave back a library book after nearly five decades. This restores my faith in humanity a little and is an awesome story. Being nice is one stereotype about Minnesota that is actually true.

Other stereotypes of Minnesota? That we all live on lakes and own boats. While that isn't true at all, a recent video is going viral on social media and it isn't going to do anything about those stereotypes. It involves a Minnesotan bringing his boat back home in ice. Yikes.

There are also stereotypes surrounding Minnesotans about what we eat. Many people think we eat things like lefse for every single meal! While this isn't true, it is a Minnesota staple. There's even a cute little drive-thru that serves it.

Some Minnesota stereotypes are true and others are not. However, like I said, I do think that being nice is not really a stereotype but rather a real thing. I don't know what it is that makes us so nice but we really are.

Get our free mobile app

This story is a shining example of being Minnesota nice. A Minnesota man returned a book to a library, along with a handwritten apology, nearly fifty years after it was due at said library! The library shared a video of them receiving the package, along with a message of their own.

The library is known as the Lake Elmo Library! According to their post, the book has been overdue since the 1970s. It was first checked out in 1975, to be exact. The book is called Chilton’s Foreign Car Repair.

The library also shared in their post that the Minnesotan was worried he wouldn't be able to pay the overdue fees so instead, sent a monetary donation for them to buy another newer edition of the book. The video shares some of the things the apology note said and gives more context to the situation as well.

The man who took the book out shared that he checked it out of the library because he was doing work on his Mercedes Benz and since this was pre-internet times, he needed the book for reference.

A few months later, he says he moved and the book simply got packed up along with the rest of his stuff. He ended by apologizing to anyone else who may have wanted to repair an old Mercedes Benz and wasn't able to because he had the book!

He eventually found the book packed in a box with a bunch of other stuff from the 1970s. I would love to see what else is in the box! The library has been open since 1966, by the way.

In case you're wondering why he didn't just walk it in himself, Good News Network says that he wanted to avoid the librarians at the front desk who might be a little upset with him that the book was never returned. I think it ended up even better!

Get our free mobile app

11 Very Common Stereotypes About Minnesota

10 Words & Phrases You Will Only Hear In Minnesota And Wisconsin