# I Live In The Dumbest State **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 23, 2002, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-live-in-the-dumbest-state/133481 "2002-10-23T05:09:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![fizgig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f04885/32.png) [@fizgig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fizgig)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-live-in-the-dumbest-state/133481/1 "2002-10-23T05:09:01Z")
I guess it’s fitting that I don’t have anything intelligent to say about this. How do you rank, and what do you think of these? [http://www.morganquitno.com/edrank.htm](http://www.morganquitno.com/edrank.htm) ---
**Author:** ![typhoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ed8c4c/32.png) [@typhoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typhoon)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-live-in-the-dumbest-state/133481/2 "2002-10-23T05:29:39Z")
When I saw the thread, I immediately thought of New Mexico. WHOO! ---
**Author:** ![Spit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/76d3ee/32.png) [@Spit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spit)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-live-in-the-dumbest-state/133481/3 "2002-10-23T06:18:34Z")
Interesting that WV is #18, proving that just because you might not be wealthy, does not mean you can’t get an education. My commonwealth is #37 unfortunately. _sigh_ ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-live-in-the-dumbest-state/133481/4 "2002-10-23T06:31:28Z")
😃 [sup]When we see something like this in Mississippi, we say:[/sup] \*\*Thank God for [ul][_]Louisiana & [_]New Mexico![/ul] \*\* ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-live-in-the-dumbest-state/133481/5 "2002-10-23T07:02:22Z")
OUT OF THE BOTTOM TEN! WOO-HOO! Actually, I’d say that doesn’t reflect actual improvement. I’ll guess that Tennessee is falling more slowly than the bottom ten. Actually, I’ve only passed briefly through New Mexico; is there something I don’t know about it that makes it stand out? Because it’s listed as the dumbest state by quite a large margin. Hmm… the more I look at this list, the more it seems that an ordered list of “ **jackelope** ’s favorite states” would be an almost perfect reversal of this one. That’s a little unsettling. (No offense, Connecticut!) ---
**Author:** ![honkytonkwillie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@honkytonkwillie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/honkytonkwillie)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-live-in-the-dumbest-state/133481/6 "2002-10-23T07:14:57Z")
_WOOO HOOOOOO!!!_ Alaska - #25! We cleared the “average” bar! ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-live-in-the-dumbest-state/133481/7 "2002-10-23T07:40:13Z")
Holy…living…fuck. The fact that NC is in the top 25 is literally shocking and disturbing to me. I literally feel like I was robbed of an education by growing up in this state. I can’t imagine going through the public school system in one of the 26 _worse_ states. I swear to god I thought we were 48th or 49th. ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-live-in-the-dumbest-state/133481/8 "2002-10-23T07:53:51Z")
**Cisco** , Tennessee’s education system is ranked 49th in the country, and Memphis City Schools are dead-last in Tennessee. I used to teach at the University of Memphis, teaching Memphis City Schools graduates (_graduates_!) almost exclusively. These people got horribly screwed over by the half-baked education they received; I had students who _did not know what quotation marks were_. If you’re on this board, and writing posts in which words are spelled correctly, you’re WAY ahead of the game. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-live-in-the-dumbest-state/133481/9 "2002-10-23T08:07:58Z")
**jackelope** - Let’s see, I know a few high school graduates around here that can’t read (this still baffles me, I literally have no clue how they graduated), lots of hs graduates that can’t spell simple everyday words, and very, very few who can use proper grammar (written or verbally.)\* -My fourth grade teacher thought I made up the word “ditto” and one of my ninth grade teachers laughed at me because I thought “ought” was a word (it is.) -Precious few girls have been able to tell me who won the American Civil War when asked, and a few failed to even know who participated (long story as to why I ask so many girls who won the Civil War.) The list goes on and on. I repeat: I feel sorry for those 26 states below us. \*I fully realize that I will probably have at least one spelling or grammatical error within this post. ---
**Author:** ![happyheathen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5e925/32.png) [@happyheathen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/happyheathen)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-live-in-the-dumbest-state/133481/10 "2002-10-23T10:00:24Z")
be sure to see the agenda: [http://www.morganquitno.com/aboutus.htm](http://www.morganquitno.com/aboutus.htm) and [http://www.morganquitno.com/edfact.htm](http://www.morganquitno.com/edfact.htm) p.s. - “verbal” means “of, or pertaining to, words” (“verb” derives from same root as “word”). Hence, “written” is “verbal”. I suspect you meant “oral” (of, or pertaining to, the mouth). ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-live-in-the-dumbest-state/133481/11 "2002-10-23T10:08:27Z")
From [www.m-w.com](http://www.m-w.com): Main Entry: 1ver·bal Pronunciation: 'v&r-b&l Function: adjective Etymology: Middle French or Late Latin; Middle French, from Late Latin verbalis, from Latin verbum word Date: 15th century … **3 : spoken rather than written \** … I’m still safe at this point. ---
**Author:** ![Spooky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Spooky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spooky)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-live-in-the-dumbest-state/133481/12 "2002-10-23T10:49:42Z")
New Mexico?? I don’t get it. That’s not part of America. ---
**Author:** ![White\_Lightning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@White\_Lightning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/White_Lightning)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-live-in-the-dumbest-state/133481/13 "2002-10-23T11:37:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by \*\*happyheathen \*\*\* > be sure to see the agenda: This was my favorite part: “Neal Quitno (pronounced Quit No).” ---
**Author:** ![AntaresJB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c2a13f/32.png) [@AntaresJB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AntaresJB)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-live-in-the-dumbest-state/133481/14 "2002-10-23T12:57:20Z")
## #15, baby, oohhhhh yeah. All my New York friends goin on about how PA school suck (yet they’re attending a PA State University…) can put that in their pipe and kiss my butt. 😃 Antares JB [http://www.mp3.com/antaresjb/](http://www.mp3.com/antaresjb/) ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-live-in-the-dumbest-state/133481/15 "2002-10-23T13:24:38Z")
Tennessee 39 number? Me no like. OK y’all. ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-live-in-the-dumbest-state/133481/16 "2002-10-23T13:29:22Z")
My state’s number 30? Somebody’s been bought. ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-live-in-the-dumbest-state/133481/17 "2002-10-23T13:39:07Z")
WooHoo! I went to grade & high school in #4, and college in #20. Me much smarter than you. I am so smart! I am so smart! S-M-R-T! D’oh! (Simpson’s reference) ---
**Author:** ![dono](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e0b2c6/32.png) [@dono](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dono)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-live-in-the-dumbest-state/133481/18 "2002-10-23T14:07:40Z")
#8! Yee-hah! ::looks around:: So, where are all the _other_ smart people around here, anyway? ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-live-in-the-dumbest-state/133481/19 "2002-10-23T14:42:31Z")
I knew it, they should just put Maryland on the bottom, well before New Mexico any way. I’ve seen some pretty stupid people around here, and I know that I went to school with a bunch of em too. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-live-in-the-dumbest-state/133481/20 "2002-10-23T14:49:31Z")
I have nothing to post with respect to the OP, but I was wondering if by chance you are an Edward Lear fan, and if you are old enough to remember the Saturday morning cartoon “Tomfoolery.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-live-in-the-dumbest-state/133481.md?page=2)