# How familiar are non-US citizens with the 50 states? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 3, 2010, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-familiar-are-non-us-citizens-with-the-50-states/548967 "2010-08-03T03:20:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-familiar-are-non-us-citizens-with-the-50-states/548967/161 "2010-08-26T07:51:03Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > Oddly, the North of Englanders and Scots migrated to the American South, the Home Counties and West Country people to the Northeast. One can speculate on reasons, but the actual trend seems solidly documented. Most of the northern colonies were established by Puritans or Dissenters, and the Puritan movement and Dissenter movement were both strongest in the south of England. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-familiar-are-non-us-citizens-with-the-50-states/548967/162 "2010-08-26T07:51:44Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > And that’s not even getting into podunk places no one’s heard about like Spain or Germany 😛 If I had one euro for each foreigner I’ve met who thought Catalonia, the Balearic Islands or the Canary Islands were separate countries (an attitude favoured by the Catalan government but not by the other ones)… I could go to the movies and have dinner two or three times, depending on how posh the restaurant was. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-familiar-are-non-us-citizens-with-the-50-states/548967/163 "2010-08-26T08:23:23Z")
> [@mnemosyne](#): > > …and most have probably tried to name them all at random drunken parties at some point in their lives! There’s one no one remembers, though. Delaware. I sort of know some of the big ones, and broadly know the groupings (west coast, New England, southern States, the deserty wild west ones) but I know less about the US States than I do about the geographical arrangement of European countries, which is to say, bugger all for both. But then, I lived next to Australia for the first thirty years of my life and didn’t really know a damn thing about its geography and culture in all that time. ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_of\_Lucan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dbc845/32.png) [@Michael\_of\_Lucan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_of_Lucan)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-familiar-are-non-us-citizens-with-the-50-states/548967/164 "2010-08-26T09:52:46Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > > [@mnemosyne](#): > > > > …and most have probably tried to name them all at random drunken parties at some point in their lives! There’s one no one remembers, though. > > Delaware. > > I sort of know some of the big ones, and broadly know the groupings (west coast, New England, southern States, the deserty wild west ones) but I know less about the US States than I do about the geographical arrangement of European countries, which is to say, bugger all for both. > > But then, I lived next to Australia for the first thirty years of my life and didn’t really know a damn thing about its geography and culture in all that time. Curiously, anyone of my age remembers Delaware. Long long ago, when the world was young, there was a song in the charts using the names of the States. The first verse was - “What did Delaware, boys, what did Delaware? … She wore a brand New Jersey …” So everyone remembered Delaware when I was a kid. The delay was in getting states like Nebraska, Wyoming and Wisconsin. Nice places, but foreigners don’t have a reason to remember them. Ah yes. How it all comes back. “Where has Oregon … If you want Alaska, I’ll ask her where she’s gone. She’s gone to pay her Texas …” In fairness, European countries are harder, because so many new ones appeared with the death of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia. Ask people to name all the EU countries. And all the independent 'stans and Caucasian countries. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-familiar-are-non-us-citizens-with-the-50-states/548967/165 "2010-08-26T10:17:34Z")
> [@Bytegeist](#): > > I heard a similar error made over the Carolinas a few months ago, in a British podcast that I subscribe to. (It’s the _News Quiz_, hosted by Sandi Toksvig, if anyone’s curious.) I’d like to check that out. (I’ve already seen every episode of _QI_ on youtube.) Is it anything like _Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me_? > [@Staver808](#): > > I remember when I told him Hawaii was the 50th state, he said I was wrong, and that it was Alaska. he just sounded so certain I didn’t know what to say. He didn’t even doubt he was correct. Send him [this link](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AepyGm9Me6w). He’ll thank you, for the music if nothing else. > [@Raguleader](#): > > Tori Spelling > 92 Melrose Place, > Beverly Hills, CA 90210-1138 What is this, some kind of demented Aaron Spelling/George Lucas mashup? ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-familiar-are-non-us-citizens-with-the-50-states/548967/166 "2010-08-26T15:38:54Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Translation: Bison from upstate New York who are lied to by other bison from upstate New York themselves lie to yet more bison from upstate New York. Personally, I always explain it as “New York bison New York bison bully bully New York bison.” Or, in a more expanded form, “New York bison whom other New York bison bully also bully New York bison.” Apparently I had the slightly wrong connotation to the verb. I think I might go with “baffle” or “bamboozle” now. > [@Kobal2](#): > > As in, I can tell you that the Village or Bel Air is where posh people are at, but could you instantly associate the same with […] Ginza ? :raises hand: But I studied in Tokyo. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-familiar-are-non-us-citizens-with-the-50-states/548967/167 "2010-08-26T18:01:52Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Although, i’ve always wondered: is Prince Ed Island really its own province? Why? Because it was its own colony at the time Confederation occurred. In this, it was no different than New Brunswick or Nova Scotia; or for that matter, New York or Massachusetts roughly a hundred years earlier. They were all individual colonies that became political subdivisions (provinces or states) when their respective countries federated. At any rate, in 1867, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, and Ontario joined together to create Canada. PEI didn’t like the terms of this Confederation, so it stayed out. Eventually, it entered in 1873; and like the other colonies that entered, it became its own province. This is a very simplistic overview but a more in-depth answer would take more space than a brief hijack would allow. But I hope it is suitable to answer your question. ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-familiar-are-non-us-citizens-with-the-50-states/548967/168 "2010-08-26T18:15:39Z")
> [@digs](#): > > And I can rattle off all those Canadian provinces… > (and each of the NW territories) The Northwest Territories used to be divided into _districts_, but that doesn’t seem to be the case anymore. What you probably mean is that you can name all three Canadian territories. > [@Nava](#): > > If I had one euro for each foreigner I’ve met who thought Catalonia, the Balearic Islands or the Canary Islands were separate countries (an attitude favoured by the Catalan government but not by the other ones)… I’ve checked the government of Catalonia on Wikipedia, and the current one doesn’t seem to be in favour of independence. Am I incorrect? ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-familiar-are-non-us-citizens-with-the-50-states/548967/169 "2010-08-27T01:35:13Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Although, i’ve always wondered: is Prince Ed Island really its own province? Why? The same reason Delaware is its own state. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-familiar-are-non-us-citizens-with-the-50-states/548967/170 "2010-08-27T02:25:24Z")
> [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](#): > > > [@digs](#): > > > > And I can rattle off all those Canadian provinces… > > (and each of the NW territories) > > The Northwest Territories used to be divided into _districts_, but that doesn’t seem to be the case anymore. What you probably mean is that you can name all three Canadian territories. There were originally four Districts: Ungava, the mainland north of Lower Canada\*; Keewatin, the mainland north of Manitoba (except the Boothia Peninsula) along with islands in Hudson and James Bays; Mackenzie, the mainland north of Saskatchewan and Alberta and east of the Continental Divide; and Franklin, the Arctic Archipelago, including Baffin Island, and the Boothia Peninsula. Ungava early on was included in Quebec. When Nunavut was created in 1999, it included all of Keewatin, all of Franklin except the western parts of 3 large islands and all of about 6 smaller ones nearby, and most of the coastal plain of Mackenzie. So the districts were abolished, and what had been Mackenzie (less the coast ceded to Nunavut) plus the handful of western islands left out of Nunavut, were just consolidated into one government, at the territorial capital. - Using the old term to mean the land along the St. Lawrence and running 75-100 miles or so inland that was the original “Quebec” ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-familiar-are-non-us-citizens-with-the-50-states/548967/171 "2010-08-27T05:05:26Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > > [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](#): > > > > The Northwest Territories used to be divided into _districts_, but that doesn’t seem to be the case anymore. What you probably mean is that you can name all three Canadian territories. > > There were originally four Districts: Ungava, the mainland north of Lower Canada\*; Keewatin, the mainland north of Manitoba (except the Boothia Peninsula) along with islands in Hudson and James Bays; Mackenzie, the mainland north of Saskatchewan and Alberta and east of the Continental Divide; and Franklin, the Arctic Archipelago, including Baffin Island, and the Boothia Peninsula. Ungava early on was included in Quebec. When Nunavut was created in 1999, it included all of Keewatin, all of Franklin except the western parts of 3 large islands and all of about 6 smaller ones nearby, and most of the coastal plain of Mackenzie. So the districts were abolished, and what had been Mackenzie (less the coast ceded to Nunavut) plus the handful of western islands left out of Nunavut, were just consolidated into one government, at the territorial capital. > > - Using the old term to mean the land along the St. Lawrence and running 75-100 miles or so inland that was the original “Quebec” Uhh… actually, I was totally bluffing. I’ve always read “NW Terr.” on the map, but not once with any reference to what those “Territories” might be. I assumed the answer was hopelessly obscure or lost in the mists of time. I guess not. Also interesting that I’m from the middle of America, have travelled to almost all of the states, and am over-educated, BUT I’d probably do better on a quiz of European countries. Guess I consider them more “important” than mere states. ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-familiar-are-non-us-citizens-with-the-50-states/548967/172 "2010-08-27T05:52:57Z")
There seems to have been more than four districts in the Northwest Territories. If the [Wikipedia article](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northwest_Territories) is to be trusted (and it agrees with what I’ve heard), the District of Keewatin was the first (in 1876, and at times administered as a separate territory), but a bunch of others were created in 1896 and gradually disappeared as new provinces were created or their territory was annexed to other provinces. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-familiar-are-non-us-citizens-with-the-50-states/548967/173 "2010-08-27T11:03:23Z")
> [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](#): > > > [@Nava](#): > > > > If I had one euro for each foreigner I’ve met who thought Catalonia, the Balearic Islands or the Canary Islands were separate countries (an attitude favoured by the Catalan government but not by the other ones)… > > I’ve checked the government of Catalonia on Wikipedia, and the current one doesn’t seem to be in favour of independence. Am I incorrect? The party currently in government is PSC, which is sort’a but not quite the local branch of the socialist party. They are not as independentist as ERC (neither is CiU), but they still do spend a lot of time banging on the “Catalonia is a nation” and “Spain steals from us” keys of the piano. There is currently a lot of arguing over the new version of the Estatut (think “State Constitution”), which has (finally, for some reason the judges couldn’t agree on an acceptable version of the decision) been partially rejected by the Constitutional Tribunal, specifically over the definition of Catalonia as a nation and their unilateral assumption of certain rights which belong either to the Spanish Government or to the Government of other Regions. They’re not in favour of independence in that they know it’s not economically viable unless they can get as much money from Brussels as they are getting from Madrid, and unless they can get independence without pissing off the rest of Spain, but the rethoric is very heavily anti-Spain. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-familiar-are-non-us-citizens-with-the-50-states/548967/174 "2010-08-27T12:18:14Z")
> [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](#): > > There seems to have been more than four districts in the Northwest Territories. If the [Wikipedia article](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northwest_Territories) is to be trusted (and it agrees with what I’ve heard), the District of Keewatin was the first (in 1876, and at times administered as a separate territory), but a bunch of others were created in 1896 and gradually disappeared as new provinces were created or their territory was annexed to other provinces. You’re right – in focusing on Nunavut and the abolition of Districts, I forgot that the Prairie Provinces were all formerly assembled from an array of NWT Districts. Sorry! ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-familiar-are-non-us-citizens-with-the-50-states/548967/175 "2010-08-27T19:04:17Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > The party currently in government is PSC, which is sort’a but not quite the local branch of the socialist party. They are not as independentist as ERC (neither is CiU), but they still do spend a lot of time banging on the “Catalonia is a nation” and “Spain steals from us” keys of the piano. There is currently a lot of arguing over the new version of the Estatut (think “State Constitution”), which has (finally, for some reason the judges couldn’t agree on an acceptable version of the decision) been partially rejected by the Constitutional Tribunal, specifically over the definition of Catalonia as a nation and their unilateral assumption of certain rights which belong either to the Spanish Government or to the Government of other Regions. That sounds more regionalist and nationalist than independentist. But in a unitary country like Spain, that didn’t recognize any nationality or cultural group other than “Spanish” until recently, I guess one may seem the same as the other. > [@](#): > > They’re not in favour of independence in that they know it’s not economically viable unless they can get as much money from Brussels as they are getting from Madrid, and unless they can get independence without pissing off the rest of Spain, but the rethoric is very heavily anti-Spain. You’re much more knowledgeable about this than I, but claiming that Catalonia is a nation isn’t on its surface anti-Spain sentiment. There’s a difference between “we’re not the same as you” and “we hate you”. But as I remember, you are a Spanish person of very recent Catalan ancestry. I can see why you may not like being forced to “choose”. > [@Polycarp](#): > > You’re right – in focusing on Nunavut and the abolition of Districts, I forgot that the Prairie Provinces were all formerly assembled from an array of NWT Districts. Sorry! No problem, and I was partly wrong as well. Some of the NWT districts were created in 1882, not all in 1896 as I said. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2010, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-familiar-are-non-us-citizens-with-the-50-states/548967/176 "2010-09-04T03:10:41Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > So the districts were abolished, and what had been Mackenzie (less the coast ceded to Nunavut) plus the handful of western islands left out of Nunavut, were just consolidated into one government, at the territorial capital. To the best of my knowledge, at the time Nunavut was created, there were no “district governments” in the NWT to consolidate. There might have been some administrative functions that were divided by district, but I don’t think they had their own councils or the like. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-familiar-are-non-us-citizens-with-the-50-states/548967.md?page=8)