Tar Heels are inhabitants of the Tar Heel state, North Carolina. "Tar Heels" is also the nickname of the University of North Carolina athletic teams, students and alumni. The exact etymology of the nickname is unknown and disputed, but most experts believe its original roots stem from a unique history - tar created from the vast North Carolina pine forests was an important export early in the state's economy. North Carolina was the world's largest producer of tar products at the turn of the 19th century. This vast production led many, including Walt Whitman, to give the derisive nickname of "Tarboilers" to the residents of North Carolina. The nickname "Tar Heel" was used to refer to residents of North Carolina, and gained prominence during the American Civil War. During this time, the nickname was pejorative, but starting around 1865, "Tar Heel" began to be used with a sense of pride. In 1895, the students of the University of North Carolina founded a newspaper and christened it The Tar Heel. By the early 1900s, the term was embraced as a non-derisive term for North Carolinians.

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