# Name 50 US States in 10 Minutes **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [October 29, 2008, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-50-us-states-in-10-minutes/470084 "2008-10-29T14:51:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-50-us-states-in-10-minutes/470084/1 "2008-10-29T14:51:11Z")
See if you can name all 50 US states in 10 minutes. Sounds easy, huh? Well, I consider myself knowledgeable in all things American, but only got 49. (I want to make it clear that I am not an idiot; I actually had heard of the state I missed šŸ™‚ ). I request that if you chose to try this, please DO NOT READ PAST THIS OP TO OTHER RESPONSES UNTIL YOU HAVE COMPLETED YOUR ATTEMPT. This is because I would like each respondent to post his or her results including the states, if any, that were missed, and seeing other peopleā€™s results could influence you. Yeah, we could use spoilers, but itā€™s just so much easier this way. To summarize, make your attempt and post which states you missed. extra space added to hide first respondentā€™s post. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-50-us-states-in-10-minutes/470084/2 "2008-10-29T15:01:04Z")
I missed pesky old Nevada. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-50-us-states-in-10-minutes/470084/3 "2008-10-29T15:03:25Z")
Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Conneticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Lousiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Missisipt Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Oklahoma Oregon Ohio Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washinton West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming All fifty, courtesy of a stupid song I had to learn in Junior High School ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-50-us-states-in-10-minutes/470084/4 "2008-10-29T15:05:57Z")
Alabama Arkansas Alaska Arizona California Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Iowa Indiana Illinois Kentucky Kansas Maine Maryland Massachusetts Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New York New Jersey New Mexico New Hampshire North Dakota North Carolina Ohio Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Dakota South Carolina Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Damn, ten minutes is just not enough! ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-50-us-states-in-10-minutes/470084/5 "2008-10-29T15:06:14Z")
1 Maine 2 Vermont 3 New Hampshire 4 Massachussets 5 New York 6 Connecticut 7 Rhode Island 8 Delaware 9 Pennsylvania 10 Maryland 11 Virginia 12 West Virginia 13 North Carolina 14 South Carolina 15 Georgia 16 Florida 17 Ohio 18 Kentucky 19 Tennessee 20 Alabama 21 Mississippi 22 Louisiana 23 Texas 24 Oklahoma 25 Illinois 26 Indiana 27 Michigan 28 Missouri 29 Kansas 30 Arkansas 31 Wisconsin 32 Iowa 33 Minnesota 34 North Dakota 35 South Dakota 36 Montana 37 Idaho 38 Washington 39 Oregon 40 California 41 Nevada 42 New Mexico 43 Arizona 44 Colorado 45 Utah 46 Wyoming 47 Hawaii 48 Alaska 49 New Jersey 50 Nebraska I hope I didnā€™t repeat any. 6 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-50-us-states-in-10-minutes/470084/6 "2008-10-29T15:11:54Z")
Letā€™s see. Started at 10:57am; ended at 11:07am EST. Wrote them down by hand, in two columns of 25 each. Racked my brains for the last two minutes or so, but I missed Kansas, Wyoming and Utah. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-50-us-states-in-10-minutes/470084/7 "2008-10-29T15:15:59Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > All fifty, courtesy of a stupid song I had to learn in Junior High School I like to use this as a bar bet. And Iā€™ve heard of people like you! šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![Kid\_A\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Kid\_A\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kid_A_1)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-50-us-states-in-10-minutes/470084/8 "2008-10-29T15:16:07Z")
Only missed Kentucky. If I had another minute, I wouldā€™ve gotten it. I went through the states that I knew off the top of my head, then added the Presidential toss-up states, the states with pro sports teams, and then college sports conferences. I just didnā€™t make it to the SEC in time. ---
**Author:** ![Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d9b06d/32.png) [@Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boozahol_Squid_P.I)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-50-us-states-in-10-minutes/470084/9 "2008-10-29T15:18:22Z")
Alaska Hawaii Washington Oregon California Idaho Nevada Utah Arizona New Mexico Colorado Wyoming Montana North Dakota South Dakota Nebraska Kansas Oklahoma Texas Arkansas Missouri Louisiana Mississippi Alabama Georgia Florida South Carolina North Carolina Virginia Maryland Delaware West Virginia Tennessee Kentucky Indiana Illinois Wisconsin Minnesota Iowa Michigan Ohio Pennsylvania New York New Jersey Vermont New Hampshire Massachusetts Connecticut Rhode Island Maine Took me six minutes. Itā€™s funny how An Gadai went East to West, and I went West to East, although we both used a top-down approach. Anyone (who doesnā€™t memorize an alphabetic list) start at Florida and go up? ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-50-us-states-in-10-minutes/470084/10 "2008-10-29T15:19:15Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Damn, ten minutes is just not enough! If itā€™s no too much trouble, could you post the ones you missed? I want to see which states are missed the most. ---
**Author:** ![Hoopy\_Frood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoopy_frood/32/8452_2.png) [@Hoopy\_Frood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoopy_Frood)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-50-us-states-in-10-minutes/470084/11 "2008-10-29T15:46:23Z")
> [@Fiddle\_Peghead](#): > > I like to use this as a bar bet. And Iā€™ve heard of people like you! šŸ™‚ Mark me down as another one of those that had to learn that song in their youth. It was fifth or sixth grade for me, IIRC. I have never, ever, forgotten all 50 states in alphabetical order. Iā€™ve tried. Believe me, Iā€™ve tried. So yeah, it would take me a mere matter of seconds to think of them all. And I could probably type them all out within a couple minutes. ETA: And a big old hearty ā€œFuck You!ā€ for getting that blasted song stuck in my head again! šŸ˜‰ ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-50-us-states-in-10-minutes/470084/12 "2008-10-29T15:48:50Z")
> [@Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](#): > > Took me six minutes. Itā€™s funny how An Gadai went East to West, and I went West to East, although we both used a top-down approach. Anyone (who doesnā€™t memorize an alphabetic list) start at Florida and go up? I was gonna start the West - East way but I realised the East Coast has so many wee states that Iā€™d likely forget some, I nearly forgot New Joisey. I remembered the fictional state of Delaware though. Anyone care to try naming the 32 counties of Ireland now? šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-50-us-states-in-10-minutes/470084/13 "2008-10-29T15:50:13Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > ā€¦Anyone care to try naming the 32 counties of Ireland now? šŸ™‚ Start your own damn thread! :mad: šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-50-us-states-in-10-minutes/470084/14 "2008-10-29T15:53:42Z")
> [@Fiddle\_Peghead](#): > > I missed pesky old Nevada. Me too! I got 49 states in 2 minutes. It took me another 2 minutes to figure out which one I missed. I worked through it by visualizing a map and writing down the states as I traveled over it. I used the two-letter postal abbreviations instead of full spelling, so I could go pretty fast. ---
**Author:** ![Mullinator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@Mullinator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mullinator)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-50-us-states-in-10-minutes/470084/15 "2008-10-29T15:57:16Z")
Slightly over 2 and a half minutes, but thatā€™s mainly because I have that Animaniacs song memorized. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-50-us-states-in-10-minutes/470084/16 "2008-10-29T15:58:36Z")
Back in the day, my roommates and I would do this for fun ā€¦ writing them out in a notebook. Invariably, there would be one little fucking state that would escape us, to the point of irritation. And every time we played this little game, it was a different state that would be the elusive one. Weā€™d collectively have that ā€œtip-of-the-tongueā€ syndrome until several hours later, in the middle of a card game or something, out of no where ā€¦ ā€œFucking Kentucky!ā€ :smack: ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-50-us-states-in-10-minutes/470084/17 "2008-10-29T15:59:11Z")
[Countries of the World Map Quiz](http://www.sporcle.com/games/world.php) I think this thread derives from here. You can name the presidents,state capitols, NFL teams and many others. Naming presidents would seem easy but Buchanan,Polk,Van Buren and some others take a deep memory search. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-50-us-states-in-10-minutes/470084/18 "2008-10-29T16:03:31Z")
> [@Mullinator](#): > > Slightly over 2 and a half minutes, but thatā€™s mainly because I have that Animaniacs song memorized. Same here. ---
**Author:** ![WormTheRed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/bbe5ce/32.png) [@WormTheRed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WormTheRed)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-50-us-states-in-10-minutes/470084/19 "2008-10-29T16:05:28Z")
My dearest apologies to anyone from or living in: Alabama Kentucky Maine Maryland Minnesota Montana Nebraska Wisconsin Wyoming I suck ā˜¹ And whatā€™s worse, I used to know this. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-50-us-states-in-10-minutes/470084/20 "2008-10-29T16:06:59Z")
Got them all, in 6 minutes. Almost forgot Kansas. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-50-us-states-in-10-minutes/470084.md?page=2)