More on "Ope"

Following up on one of my recent Twitter round-ups, which included this:

In Minnesota we don’t say “excuse me.” We say “ope” which directly translates to “oh excuse me kind sir/lady, I did not mean to bump into you, please accept my apology as I am a fellow midwesterner and meant you no harm”. Isn’t that amazing?
Sam Rossini‏

Today I saw this from a fellow Minnesotan, Adam Miller @ajm6792

For the record:
Excuse me = I need you to move
Sorry = apologies for bumping you
Ope = let's just acknowledge the near conflict in our personal spaces
Ope, sorry = I’m a native Minnesotan and assume even the potential for human contact scares you a little

I'm not originally from Minnesota, though it has been 31 years and counting... and I still find this usage very amusing.

Though it feels as if I would have used "ope" before I lived here in that circumstance. Hmm. Maybe I brought it with me and I am patient zero? (Imagine the feeling of power.)

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Well, it turns out there's a whole story about "ope" in our local alternative weekly.