Puzzle - ordering of US States

Factual Questions
1

Check out this puzzle on Google Answers Any ideas? Let’s show the world that THE STRAIGHT DOPE is smarter than anyone!

2

Well, it can’t be anything related to educational performance. Arizona’s way too high up on the list for that.

3

I thought it might have something to do with state bond ratings, bankruptcies, IPOs, tax revenue, or some other finance-related issue (since Delaware, home of corporations seeking freedom from state taxes, tops the list), but I can’t find anything.

4

A WAG: The date (exlcusive of year) in which they became part of the US or ratified something or other?

5

It’s been eliminated.

Oh, and FYI for those who haven’t visited the link (or who had trouble accessing it, as I first did), the list is:

  1. Delaware
  2. Connecticut
  3. Massachusetts
  4. Rhode Island
  5. New Jersey
  6. Illinois
  7. Wisconsin
  8. Texas
  9. Arkansas
  10. Louisiana
  11. Indiana
  12. Ohio
  13. Iowa
  14. Arizona
  15. Alabama
  16. Mississippi
  17. Florida
  18. Minnesota
  19. West Virginia
  20. Maryland
6

Naval vessels? How would I check that?

7

Not Navy vessels.

U.S.S. Delaware 1910-1924

U.S.S. Connecticut 1906-1923

U.S.S. Massachusetts 1939-1965?

8

Any way to find out what order the Electoral College votes were read in 2000?

9

What are the street names on the east side of Broadway?

10

Actually, I think that might be a red herring :o

11

Haven’t found the site that proves it, but I suspect it has something to do with unclaimed property filings (or escheat tax), or the amount of property being held by the state that has been abandoned or the owner remains unknown. Since Delaware is a haven for corporate registrations, I can see how they would be first on the list.

12

dreamlab, wouldn’t New Hampshire be high on such a list?

13

I blelieve Kentucky is typically the first to close the polls and would probably be at the top for that sort of list. Seems to me that Arizona is WAY too high for it to be about time order in presidential elections.

14

Besides, there sits Florida at number 17…

15

Be sure to check through the chatter on the link provided by the OP. It eliminates a bunch of stuff, and the guy posing it adds the following clues:

It turns out that the guy works at Microsoft, in the Sports Games Studio, where the contest originated. The originator of the contest was the head of the studio, and, thus, there is a strong possibility that it’s sports related. He also promises $100 to anybody who cracks it for him, so be sure to take him up on it.

16

You’re misunderstanding me. In December, the Vice-President reads the Electoral College votes in front of the Senate. I’m asking if we can find what order those ballots were read in.

17

Another problem with “election” theory: Washington DC makes 51 places from which electoral votes come. The list is of 48 or 50 states.

18

How funny - one of my good friends works in that department too and sent me this puzzle about a year ago. The originator’s prize, BTW, is $100 per month that the puzzle is running, so I’d ask for a bigger cut than $100 …

Most of the stuff we guessed at the time has been eliminated in the chatter on the Google site, but one other thing we tried was connecting the states in the order they were listed, thinking that they might form letters that spell out a work. But we didn’t get anything useful out of that approach.

19

Incorrect. The District of Columbia has no representation in the Electoral College. Citizens of the district therefore have no influence on presidential elections.

20

Whoops. Not sure if that went through or not, but I apparently had no awareness of the 23rd Amendment.