# Do American states have the most iconic shapes of any national subdivisions? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 3, 2015, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-states-have-the-most-iconic-shapes-of-any-national-subdivisions/729845 "2015-09-03T19:57:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2016, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-states-have-the-most-iconic-shapes-of-any-national-subdivisions/729845/81 "2016-03-16T13:40:29Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Hmmm. This thread makes me think that, in Canada, no one really goes around bragging about what province or territory he’s from. Haven’t met many Newfoundlanders, then, have ya? We’re proud of where we came from, no matter where we end up. Also, constantly looking for each other. And…yeah…the US has a strange number of near-rectangular states that make remembering them rather difficult. Canada’s fiddly, strongly geographically defined provinces are way easier (though I have a hard time with the prairie provinces, even though they don’t really look all that much alike). ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2016, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-states-have-the-most-iconic-shapes-of-any-national-subdivisions/729845/82 "2016-03-16T13:54:52Z")
I kind of think what the OP was getting at is that a FEW US states (TX, CA, FL primarily) are some of the most iconic national sub-divisions out there. And that’s hard to argue with. I’d bet that the outlines of Texas or California would be very recognizable almost anywhere. But claiming that all 50 states have iconic shapes is absurd. I’m a pretty geographically literate person, and I’d have a hard time telling North Dakota from South Dakota from Nebraska from Kansas if only shown the silhouette and nothing else. Others have unique shapes, but the states themselves aren’t terribly notable or iconic- Idaho, or Oklahoma for example. I find myself knowing the names of other nations’ sub-divisions, but not necessarily recognizing them on sight alone. For example, if you gave me a map of Britain with the county boundaries drawn in, and said to color in Oxfordshire or Devon, I could do that. But if you actually showed me an outline of Oxfordshire by itself, I wouldn’t be able to tell you what it was. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2016, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-states-have-the-most-iconic-shapes-of-any-national-subdivisions/729845/83 "2016-03-16T13:57:05Z")
Since the OP mentioned Colorado and Wyoming as “outliers,” he appears to think nearly all the US states are easily recognizable. ---
**Author:** ![debbywitt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@debbywitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/debbywitt)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2016, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-states-have-the-most-iconic-shapes-of-any-national-subdivisions/729845/84 "2016-03-16T14:01:51Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Florida: America’s wang! > > Catchy tourism slogan. Comments about the shape of Florida reminded me of the geographic test for the “angle of the dangle” of men’s penises in British films: [VA Viper: The odd geographic test for the "angle of the dangle" of men's penises in British films](http://vaviper.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-odd-geographic-test-for-angle-of.html) ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2016, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-states-have-the-most-iconic-shapes-of-any-national-subdivisions/729845/85 "2016-03-16T14:59:28Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Perhaps an interesting question would be “In what other countries are the shapes of sub-national entities _used as icons_ as they are in the United States?” In the case of the UK, you’d have to determine what counted as “sub-national”. Within the UK, the shapes of Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Cornwall, the Isle of Wight and East Anglia are immediately identifiable to most of us, if we’ve ever looked on a map at all, but that’s because of the coastlines. A random county in the Midlands of England, or, say East Renfrew in Scotland, maybe not so much, so it wouldn’t be used as such, whereas the others may well be, in corporate identity logos and the like. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2016, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-states-have-the-most-iconic-shapes-of-any-national-subdivisions/729845/86 "2016-03-16T15:21:32Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Florida: America’s wang! > > Catchy tourism slogan. Florida. America’s flacid wang (that looks like it might have a few genital warts on it…plus some discharge (the keys)). ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2016, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-states-have-the-most-iconic-shapes-of-any-national-subdivisions/729845/87 "2016-03-16T16:27:49Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Since the OP mentioned Colorado and Wyoming as “outliers,” he appears to think nearly all the US states are easily recognizable. By the people living in or around them. And he’s right. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2016, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-states-have-the-most-iconic-shapes-of-any-national-subdivisions/729845/88 "2016-03-16T16:32:48Z")
As a bare outline without context? No. ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2016, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-states-have-the-most-iconic-shapes-of-any-national-subdivisions/729845/89 "2016-03-16T18:29:57Z")
The outline of national subdivisions must be the saddest source of national pride out there ☹ ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2016, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-states-have-the-most-iconic-shapes-of-any-national-subdivisions/729845/90 "2016-03-16T18:38:32Z")
> [@Svejk\_1](#): > > The outline of national subdivisions must be the saddest source of national pride out there ☹ You’ve never heard of lutefisk or harkal (sp?) have you ? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2016, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-states-have-the-most-iconic-shapes-of-any-national-subdivisions/729845/91 "2016-03-16T18:52:16Z")
_Games_ Magazine one had a “Mappit” puzzle with pictures of various geographical areas from all over the world–different colors, and not to scale. One shape mystified me completely. The text read “Answers next issue,” and at the time _Games_ was coming out only every other month.😕 It turned out to be Gambia (or The Gambia, if you prefer). ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-states-have-the-most-iconic-shapes-of-any-national-subdivisions/729845/92 "2016-03-17T17:34:01Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > If the USA still looked like the USA, but the states rejiggered, by Randall Munroe. Quite extraordinary. I don’t know where/if he cheats much. > > [VA Viper: Map of the United Repositioned States](http://vaviper.blogspot.com/2016/03/map-of-united-repositioned-states.html) > > A nice icon for this thread. He lost the UP. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-states-have-the-most-iconic-shapes-of-any-national-subdivisions/729845/93 "2016-03-17T18:00:52Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > He lost the UP. Also seems to be missing Manhattan & Long Island, NY. ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-states-have-the-most-iconic-shapes-of-any-national-subdivisions/729845/94 "2016-03-17T18:14:20Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > He lost the UP. He has the UP, it’s part of New England now (and not close to the rest of Michigan) marked as “MI (Upper)”. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-states-have-the-most-iconic-shapes-of-any-national-subdivisions/729845/95 "2016-03-17T18:27:03Z")
American states are the size of many countries. It’s not a good comparison. I think shape knowledge has more to do with size. How many foreign citizens know the shapes of their cities? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-states-have-the-most-iconic-shapes-of-any-national-subdivisions/729845/96 "2016-03-17T18:59:11Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > In the case of the UK, you’d have to determine what counted as “sub-national”. Within the UK, the shapes of Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Cornwall, the Isle of Wight and East Anglia are immediately identifiable to most of us, if we’ve ever looked on a map at all, but that’s because of the coastlines. A random county in the Midlands of England, or, say East Renfrew in Scotland, maybe not so much, so it wouldn’t be used as such, whereas the others may well be, in corporate identity logos and the like. There are other geophysical shapes (not regional boundaries) that we have that are pretty iconic - the meanders of the Thames (well known even before Eastenders); probably the shape of the M25 motorway, the Isles of Wight, Anglesey, Portland ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2016, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-states-have-the-most-iconic-shapes-of-any-national-subdivisions/729845/97 "2016-03-18T17:59:08Z")
It may be an urban legend but I read somewhere that when Manuel Noriega was in charge of the Philippines he redraw all the county (province) lines to look like his face. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2016, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-states-have-the-most-iconic-shapes-of-any-national-subdivisions/729845/98 "2016-03-18T18:00:43Z")
Manuel Noriega was never in charge of the Phillipines. I think you mean Panama. ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2016, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-states-have-the-most-iconic-shapes-of-any-national-subdivisions/729845/99 "2016-03-18T19:10:38Z")
> [@furryman](#): > > It may be an urban legend but I read somewhere that when Manuel Noriega was in charge of the Philippines he redraw all the county (province) lines to look like his face. [QUOTE=Really Not All That Bright] Manuel Noriega was never in charge of the Phillipines. I think you mean Panama. [/QUOTE] I have it on good authority that every time Manuel Noriega was in charge of the Philippines, he re-drew all of the lines to look like his face. He also did it every time he was in charge of the Netherlands and again every time he was in charge of Portugal. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2016, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-states-have-the-most-iconic-shapes-of-any-national-subdivisions/729845/100 "2016-03-18T19:56:09Z")
Since you mention it, it was Imelda Marcos who designed Florida, not, as has been suggested, to model her husband’s flaccid penis, but to model something far more important to her, one of her shoes, signaling to her designers in the Southern Hemisphere. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-states-have-the-most-iconic-shapes-of-any-national-subdivisions/729845.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-states-have-the-most-iconic-shapes-of-any-national-subdivisions/729845.md?page=6)