# Puzzle - ordering of US States **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 12, 2002, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzle-ordering-of-us-states/123573 "2002-08-12T18:21:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![fighting\_ignorant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ac8455/32.png) [@fighting\_ignorant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fighting_ignorant)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzle-ordering-of-us-states/123573/1 "2002-08-12T18:21:31Z")
Check out this puzzle [on Google Answers](https://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=50956) Any ideas? Let’s show the world that THE STRAIGHT DOPE is smarter than anyone! ---
**Author:** ![Strainger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/strainger/32/244_2.png) [@Strainger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strainger)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzle-ordering-of-us-states/123573/2 "2002-08-12T18:35:57Z")
Well, it can’t be anything related to educational performance. Arizona’s way too high up on the list for that. ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzle-ordering-of-us-states/123573/3 "2002-08-12T21:02:21Z")
I thought it might have something to do with state bond ratings, bankruptcies, IPOs, tax revenue, or some other finance-related issue (since Delaware, home of corporations seeking freedom from state taxes, tops the list), but I can’t find anything. ---
**Author:** ![Milton\_De\_La\_Warre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Milton\_De\_La\_Warre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milton_De_La_Warre)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2002, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzle-ordering-of-us-states/123573/4 "2002-08-13T12:40:52Z")
A WAG: The date (exlcusive of year) in which they became part of the US or ratified something or other? ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2002, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzle-ordering-of-us-states/123573/5 "2002-08-13T13:58:23Z")
> [@](#): > > The date (exlcusive of year) in which they became part of the US or ratified something or other? It’s been eliminated. Oh, and FYI for those who haven’t visited the link (or who had trouble accessing it, as I first did), the list is: 1. Delaware 2. Connecticut 3. Massachusetts 4. Rhode Island 5. New Jersey 6. Illinois 7. Wisconsin 8. Texas 9. Arkansas 10. Louisiana 11. Indiana 12. Ohio 13. Iowa 14. Arizona 15. Alabama 16. Mississippi 17. Florida 18. Minnesota 19. West Virginia 20. Maryland ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2002, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzle-ordering-of-us-states/123573/6 "2002-08-13T14:03:27Z")
Naval vessels? How would I check that? ---
**Author:** ![Ottoerotic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/6de8d8/32.png) [@Ottoerotic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ottoerotic)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2002, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzle-ordering-of-us-states/123573/7 "2002-08-13T14:44:21Z")
Not Navy vessels. U.S.S. Delaware 1910-1924 U.S.S. Connecticut 1906-1923 U.S.S. Massachusetts 1939-1965? ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2002, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzle-ordering-of-us-states/123573/8 "2002-08-13T15:05:08Z")
Any way to find out what order the Electoral College votes were read in 2000? ---
**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:** [August 13, 2002, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzle-ordering-of-us-states/123573/9 "2002-08-13T15:11:45Z")
What are the street names on the east side of Broadway? ---
**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:** [August 13, 2002, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzle-ordering-of-us-states/123573/10 "2002-08-13T15:25:26Z")
Actually, I think that might be a red herring :o ---
**Author:** ![dreamlab](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8dc957/32.png) [@dreamlab](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dreamlab)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2002, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzle-ordering-of-us-states/123573/11 "2002-08-13T15:35:35Z")
Haven’t found the site that proves it, but I suspect it has something to do with unclaimed property filings (or escheat tax), or the amount of property being held by the state that has been abandoned or the owner remains unknown. Since Delaware is a haven for corporate registrations, I can see how they would be first on the list. ---
**Author:** ![JS\_Princeton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/57b2e6/32.png) [@JS\_Princeton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JS_Princeton)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2002, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzle-ordering-of-us-states/123573/12 "2002-08-13T16:11:24Z")
**dreamlab** , wouldn’t New Hampshire be high on such a list? ---
**Author:** ![JS\_Princeton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/57b2e6/32.png) [@JS\_Princeton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JS_Princeton)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2002, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzle-ordering-of-us-states/123573/13 "2002-08-13T16:14:49Z")
I blelieve Kentucky is typically the first to close the polls and would probably be at the top for that sort of list. Seems to me that Arizona is WAY too high for it to be about time order in presidential elections. ---
**Author:** ![JS\_Princeton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/57b2e6/32.png) [@JS\_Princeton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JS_Princeton)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2002, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzle-ordering-of-us-states/123573/14 "2002-08-13T16:17:12Z")
Besides, there sits Florida at number 17… ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2002, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzle-ordering-of-us-states/123573/15 "2002-08-13T16:32:10Z")
Be sure to check through the chatter on the link provided by the OP. It eliminates a bunch of stuff, and the guy posing it adds the following clues: > [@](#): > > 1. The puzzle started with one state revealed during the first month, and then one state every month after that. With 19 states revealed already, the puzzle has been going on for 19 months now. > 2. I asked the creator / discoverer of the puzzle for some hints / > clues, and he gave me the following specific hints: > a. The answer is available on the internet > b. The answer may be either 48 or 50 states > c. The answer was published in a publication “with many colorful > pictures” (this comment made me suspect USA Today, and the puzzle creator in fact gets a daily subscription to USA Today. This might be circumstantial evidence …) It turns out that the guy works at Microsoft, in the Sports Games Studio, where the contest originated. The originator of the contest was the head of the studio, and, thus, there is a strong possibility that it’s sports related. He also promises $100 to anybody who cracks it for him, so be sure to take him up on it. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2002, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzle-ordering-of-us-states/123573/16 "2002-08-13T16:37:04Z")
> [@](#): > > I blelieve Kentucky is typically the first to close the polls and would probably be at the top for that sort of list. Seems to me that Arizona is WAY too high for it to be about time order in presidential elections. You’re misunderstanding me. In December, the Vice-President reads the Electoral College votes in front of the Senate. I’m asking if we can find what order those ballots were read in. ---
**Author:** ![JS\_Princeton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/57b2e6/32.png) [@JS\_Princeton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JS_Princeton)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2002, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzle-ordering-of-us-states/123573/17 "2002-08-13T18:12:18Z")
Another problem with “election” theory: Washington DC makes 51 places from which electoral votes come. The list is of 48 or 50 states. ---
**Author:** ![jessicala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/eb9ed0/32.png) [@jessicala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jessicala)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2002, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzle-ordering-of-us-states/123573/18 "2002-08-13T18:14:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by yabob \* > \*\*It turns out that the guy works at Microsoft, in the Sports Games Studio, where the contest originated. The originator of the contest was the head of the studio, and, thus, there is a strong possibility that it’s sports related. He also promises $100 to anybody who cracks it for him, so be sure to take him up on it. \*\* How funny - one of my good friends works in that department too and sent me this puzzle about a year ago. The originator’s prize, BTW, is $100 _per month_ that the puzzle is running, so I’d ask for a bigger cut than $100 … Most of the stuff we guessed at the time has been eliminated in the chatter on the Google site, but one other thing we tried was connecting the states in the order they were listed, thinking that they might form letters that spell out a work. But we didn’t get anything useful out of that approach. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2002, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzle-ordering-of-us-states/123573/19 "2002-08-13T19:12:10Z")
> [@](#): > > Another problem with “election” theory: Washington DC makes 51 places from which electoral votes come. The list is of 48 or 50 states. Incorrect. The District of Columbia has no representation in the Electoral College. Citizens of the district therefore have no influence on presidential elections. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2002, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzle-ordering-of-us-states/123573/20 "2002-08-13T19:18:49Z")
Whoops. Not sure if that went through or not, but I apparently had no awareness of the 23rd Amendment. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzle-ordering-of-us-states/123573.md?page=2)