Everyone, even people who have never been to this country, knows about New York and California and Texas. Everyone knows about Alaska and Hawaii and Florida. Mention any of these states, and all sorts of images come to mind. But what comes to mind when someone mentions Indiana? Or New Hampshire? Or Nebraska? Or, dare I say, Ohio? To me, my most forgettable state has to be Indiana. Though I’ve been there, and been through it several times, to quote Gertrude Stein, “There’s no *there, *there.” Sure, the state has history, and many places worth visiting, but I just can’t wrap my mind around the state as a whole.
I’d say Kansas, over Oklahoma. Oklanoma makes me think of the bombong in OK City, but there really isn’t anything I think when I hear the word Kansas, except maybe college basketball. Even their “City” is mostly in another state.
Hey, now! Admittedly, I fled the state because it was so boring - but it’s certainly not the most forgettable state in the Union. Not even close. They’ve got the first-in-the-nation Presidential primary, one of the largest English-speaking legislatures in the world, and a damn fine constitution. (The bill of rights goes first, you see.) And we gave America the man who was, arguably, the Worst President Ever: Franklin Pierce.
And they just sent Democrats to the House of Representatives in the last election, for the first time in living memory.
In fact, the more perfectly straight line borders a state has, the more forgettable it is. That puts WY (Wyoming) and CO (Cobalt) right at the top of the list. Followed by the Dakotas, Utah and Kansas and its ugly cousin, Nebraska.
New Mexico and Nevada are next, in spite of Las Vegas. Millions of people go to Las Vegas every year, but most of them still don’t know what state it’s in.
Next comes Montata and Arizona - Iced Tea not withstanding.
Oregon and Washington, being mostly square, come next.
Finally, the vertical line of states from LA (which I always thought meant Los Angeles) to MN.
Then comes MS, which used to be called MISS until the late 70’s.
I’m going to say that it is a state which is almost never referenced in the news or has a product which is associated with it… A state like Nebraska gets in the news because of the university’s football program. Iowa and New Hampshire command a lot of political news. Maine and Idaho are remembered because of their food products.
So, I"ll suggest Wyoming, New Mexico, Montana, and the Dakotas. Sure, there are some natural wonders there, but the states are rarely in the news and thus, ‘forgettable.’ They don’t make the news because of major college or pro sports. There are no lobsters associated with New Mexico. Your baked potato probably isn’t North Dakota grown.
Delaware wins this one hands down simply because most people won’t even think of it enough to mention it in this thread. We have had a few heated debates on this board about whether Delaware exists or not as a real and functioning state. The evidence is still coming in but the facts are still strongly biased towards it being a fictitious entity created for corporate purposes and other acts of deception like additional toll booths. I have been to every state on the east coast except for Delaware and I wouldn’t know how to go about finding the place if I wanted to. I have never met any (truthful) person from Delaware either and neither have you. There are no national news stories coming out of Delaware either,
New Hampshire is not forgettable. It is a beautiful state with a cool history. It also contains a good portion of suburban Boston and has all kinds of recreational opportunities.
The day before the battle of Little Big Horn, General Custer is meeting with his scouts. His most trusted scout tells him, "Well General, I’ve got some good news and some bad news.
“What’s the bad news?” asks the General.
“Well sir, every Indian within a thousand miles is on the other side of that hill, and we’re all going to die tomorrow.”
“Oh my God!” Custer exclaims. “What’s the good news?”
Not Utah. Utah is the Mormon state, which makes it many things but certainly not forgettable. I’m not American and this is the first thing that comes to my mind if you mention Utah. Unlike, say, Nebraska, which doesn’t bring anything to my mind.
Non-American who has never been there checking in.
Kansas is the home of Dorothy Gale.
Indiana is where a big car race is held.
Four dead in Ohio.
To me, Nebraska is the most forgettable state mentioned so far. Also, I often get Ohio, Idaho, and Iowa mixed up in my head, and I know next to nothing about those last two, so I’ll go for them.
The problem with Wyoming is that it’s too forgettable. In my mind it’s the paradigm of forgettable states, which makes it quite memorable. Sort of similar to Timbuktu.