# I can place all 50 US states on a blank map! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 26, 2006, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-can-place-all-50-us-states-on-a-blank-map/377965 "2006-10-26T12:47:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-can-place-all-50-us-states-on-a-blank-map/377965/21 "2006-10-26T21:13:23Z")
It took me two seconds, one try and an an average error of zero miles to place this thread in MPSIMS. I win! ---
**Author:** ![Petey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f1d935/32.png) [@Petey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Petey)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-can-place-all-50-us-states-on-a-blank-map/377965/22 "2006-10-26T22:10:08Z")
I was expecting it to be hard, so I was real precise on where I placed the states. Where the states are is second nature to me. 100% in 230 secs. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-can-place-all-50-us-states-on-a-blank-map/377965/23 "2006-10-26T22:13:02Z")
[QUOTE=One And Only Wanderers] 68% average error of 268 miles in 468 seconds, the sad thing is, I doubt i’d do much better with a map of the UK and english counties. [/QUOTE] I doubt if I could \*name \* more than 2 English counties, much less place them on a map. 92%, 11 miles, 263 seconds. ---
**Author:** ![Nanoda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Nanoda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nanoda)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-can-place-all-50-us-states-on-a-blank-map/377965/24 "2006-10-26T22:34:17Z")
Sorry, only 78%, 95 miles, 312 seconds. (Bet I coulda gone faster if I wasn’t, uh, working…) It seems I categorize states more generically ‘north/south’, ‘central farming/east coast’ than I thought. Having the states rotated to the proper orientation really gives a boost to your time/score. I’ll bet it would take me quite a bit longer if I hadn’t had that extra info. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-can-place-all-50-us-states-on-a-blank-map/377965/25 "2006-10-26T22:39:56Z")
[QUOTE=Revenant Threshold] I didn’t realise California was that large. [/QUOTE] #3 in size, after Alaska and Texas. #1 in population. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-can-place-all-50-us-states-on-a-blank-map/377965/26 "2006-10-26T23:22:32Z")
88% for 38 miles, 349 secs with a very dodgy mouse. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-can-place-all-50-us-states-on-a-blank-map/377965/27 "2006-10-26T23:57:10Z")
First try: 92%, avg error of 17 miles, 191 seconds. Second try: 96%, avg error of 3 miles, 173 seconds. ---
**Author:** ![Marlitharn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/779978/32.png) [@Marlitharn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marlitharn)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-can-place-all-50-us-states-on-a-blank-map/377965/28 "2006-10-27T01:23:05Z")
86% with an average error of 32 miles, in 457 seconds. It started me off with all those fiddly little New England states, I was waaay off with Delaware. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-can-place-all-50-us-states-on-a-blank-map/377965/29 "2006-10-27T01:52:38Z")
I played this earlier today, and did it somewhere in the 350seconds range I think. I got 76%, with 120ish miles off 😛 Of course, it didn’t help that 3 out of the first 6 or 7 states I got were some of the big square ones (with Florida and Texas being two other of them!) and while I generally know where they are with respect to each other, I tended to simply be off about how far into the continent some are! Also, I’m Canadian. So, not too bad, I guess! I dare not try to do Africa! ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-can-place-all-50-us-states-on-a-blank-map/377965/30 "2006-10-27T02:11:13Z")
94%, average error of 14 miles, and 169 seconds in time. Not bad, especially since I started with a number of interior states. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-can-place-all-50-us-states-on-a-blank-map/377965/31 "2006-10-27T02:41:20Z")
88%, 14 mile error or whatever and 233 seconds. I had never seen Connecticut isolated (I got that one first) I couldn’t figure out what state it was! The rest were not hard (positioning the NE states is hard). I wish they had this for other countries! I would tank with most others. I’m going to have my kids do this. ---
**Author:** ![PastAllReason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@PastAllReason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastAllReason)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-can-place-all-50-us-states-on-a-blank-map/377965/32 "2006-10-27T02:51:32Z")
Just finished it, and on the first try, I took 497 seconds, but scored 90 per cent with an average error of 15 miles. Pretty good for a Canadian. And hey, I started out with North Dakota which isn’t that bad a place to start for a western Canadian. ---
**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:** [October 27, 2006, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-can-place-all-50-us-states-on-a-blank-map/377965/33 "2006-10-27T03:13:44Z")
Woo-hoo! My results: 92% 13 miles 294 seconds I’d say, not too bad for a non-American. I wonder–how would our American friends do at a similar game about Canadian provinces or Australian states? ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-can-place-all-50-us-states-on-a-blank-map/377965/34 "2006-10-27T03:15:01Z")
92%, Avg error 6 miles, time 267 seconds. All my mistakes were early on states with no natural boundaries. And I’m English. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-can-place-all-50-us-states-on-a-blank-map/377965/35 "2006-10-27T03:41:02Z")
[QUOTE=Spoons] I’d say, not too bad for a non-American. I wonder–how would our American friends do at a similar game about Canadian provinces or Australian states? [/QUOTE] Australia has states? 😉 I could find British Columbia. ---
**Author:** ![Ruffian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71e660/32.png) [@Ruffian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruffian)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-can-place-all-50-us-states-on-a-blank-map/377965/36 "2006-10-27T04:18:48Z")
96% with an average error of 4 miles in 297 seconds. Of course, I taught this (plus the capitals) when I taught 5th grade. I’d _better_ know it. And I’m bitter that I got Tennessee so early–I was the furthest off with it, but damn close considering. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-can-place-all-50-us-states-on-a-blank-map/377965/37 "2006-10-27T05:53:49Z")
[QUOTE=Beware of Doug] 96%, 5 mi, 263 sec Only mistakes were the first 2 states given, New Mexico and Utah, big square states with no natural borders, both of which I placed 70-80 mi off center. What else was I to do? The relatively slow time was because I was a little too careful about placing the other states. [/QUOTE] New Mexico has a three step bottom. The lowest step nestles against that ledge just to the west of where Texas goes. I got everything except for Missouri and Nevada. Drat! ---
**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:** [October 27, 2006, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-can-place-all-50-us-states-on-a-blank-map/377965/38 "2006-10-27T06:50:15Z")
And once you’ve got New Mexico or Utah on the map, the other is a gimme because they meet at Four Corners. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-can-place-all-50-us-states-on-a-blank-map/377965/39 "2006-10-27T10:06:04Z")
98% Average error: 2 miles. Time: 156 seconds. ---
**Author:** ![RancidYakButterTeaParty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/53a042/32.png) [@RancidYakButterTeaParty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RancidYakButterTeaParty)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-can-place-all-50-us-states-on-a-blank-map/377965/40 "2006-10-27T12:17:30Z")
[QUOTE=Spoons] Woo-hoo! My results: 92% 13 miles 294 seconds I’d say, not too bad for a non-American. I wonder–how would our American friends do at a similar game about Canadian provinces or Australian states? [/QUOTE] I’d say most wouldn’t do too well, but I can place all of the Canadian provinces correctly. Have no idea on the Australian states–so now you’ve begun yet another addiction… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-can-place-all-50-us-states-on-a-blank-map/377965.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-can-place-all-50-us-states-on-a-blank-map/377965.md?page=3)