# The most boring U.S. state **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 22, 2019, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-boring-u-s-state/845262 "2019-12-22T22:57:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-boring-u-s-state/845262/81 "2019-12-23T20:53:46Z")
As a non-American, it looks to me like a toss-up between Fugue State and State of Ennui ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-boring-u-s-state/845262/82 "2019-12-23T22:29:52Z")
> [@Kropotkin](#): > > As a non-American, it looks to me like a toss-up between Fugue State and State of Ennui So which is it in your view - Kansas or Connecticut? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-boring-u-s-state/845262/83 "2019-12-23T22:39:31Z")
> [@Kovitlac](#): > > My area has a huge Mexican population. You’re almost expected to look Mexican in some parts, lol. Maybe you mean more central or east Iowa. It’s a reference to a news story from the last couple days of a woman in Iowa running over someone for looking Mexican. I actually quite like Iowa, or at least the eastern part of it. Iowa City is a fine college town; Decorah is a lovely place to get away to and home of Seedsavers (an organization that preserves heirloom plants). Dubuque has its funicular and gambling on the Mississippi if you’re into that. 🙂 OK, I know I’m not selling it hard, but Iowa is AOK with me, or at least that part. Heck, I even like the Quad Cities (split between Iowa and Illinois). I don’t know much about the rest. I do know that driving I-80 west of there does get quite dull. For me, it would have to be Nebraska, I think – at least of the states I’ve been to (I think I still haven’t visited about six.) ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-boring-u-s-state/845262/84 "2019-12-23T22:52:51Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > Last month I was in Boring, Oregon. Just driving through… Was it as Boring as it purports to be? ([I think it’s kind of pretty there](https://www.alltherooms.com/blog/boring-oregon/)!) > [@Bullitt](#): > > Yes, they both are. Also, the Central Valley of California on I-5 between Santa Nella and Grapevine is very boring. > > Map: [Google Maps](https://goo.gl/maps/PxcAaNFwrmeUz4HE8) That spot is bad, for sure, but at least the traffic keeps you from getting _too_ bored. (!!!) I maintain that the bit between Redding and Woodland enters a time/space wormhole that expands the 140-ish miles to about 1,000. Honestly, I can drive the rest of the way from Sacto to LA in less time than that stretch. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-boring-u-s-state/845262/85 "2019-12-23T22:54:54Z")
> [@Alpha\_Twit](#): > > I’m a Kansas native currently residing in Nebraska. > > Not really gonna argue with this but I might throw out Utah IF (strong emphasis here) you’re not into outdoorsey type recreation. > > Also, North Dakota sucks unless you like buying your crystal meth from vending machines. I’m in Kansas right now. I happen to adore Nebraska, especially Lincoln and the Norfolk/ Meadow Grove area. Kansas? Kansas is like standing in line to be hired as an extra in D.W. Griffith’s “Birth of a Nation”, only to discover that everyone around you really believes it. -shudder- Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-boring-u-s-state/845262/86 "2019-12-23T22:56:59Z")
> [@Hedda\_Rosa](#): > > The further you drive into Kansas on I-70 the further you have to go. Scientific fact. You drive all day and then it turns out you have a whole next day to drive. Eventually you arrive somewhere that is not Kansas but it took longer than it had any right to. Yeah. You wind up in Goodland. Realizing that you still have a LONG way to go, battling the tumbleweeds, until you hit Colorado. Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Alpha\_Twit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpha_twit/32/265_2.png) [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-boring-u-s-state/845262/87 "2019-12-23T23:05:09Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > Kansas? Kansas is like standing in line to be hired as an extra in D.W. Griffith’s “Birth of a Nation”, only to discover that everyone around you really believes it. > > -shudder- “Boring” isn’t the term I would use to describe that feeling. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-boring-u-s-state/845262/88 "2019-12-23T23:12:16Z")
North Dakota and Nebraska are tied for me. I’ve driven across ND on the freeway more times than I can remember, summer and winter, and I’ve driven across the northern tier also. Wrist-slitting boredom. I only drove across Nebraska once, and admittedly it was on the freeway, but it was unendingly flat and featureless, as I recall. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2019, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-boring-u-s-state/845262/89 "2019-12-24T00:00:57Z")
Indiana is Bleak. ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2019, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-boring-u-s-state/845262/90 "2019-12-24T00:03:55Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > So which is it in your view - Kansas or Connecticut? Well played, sir, well played! ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2019, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-boring-u-s-state/845262/91 "2019-12-24T00:21:17Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > Was it as Boring as it purports to be? ([I think it’s kind of pretty there](https://www.alltherooms.com/blog/boring-oregon/)!) I was just driving through, but based on that I should’ve stayed a bit. > [@](#): > > That spot is bad, for sure, but at least the traffic keeps you from getting _too_ bored. (!!!) > > I maintain that the bit between Redding and Woodland enters a time/space wormhole that expands the 140-ish miles to about 1,000. Honestly, I can drive the rest of the way from Sacto to LA in less time than that stretch. :dubious: Most definitely. I did that stretch last month (Vacaville to Redding, actually). It looked like Kansas. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2019, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-boring-u-s-state/845262/92 "2019-12-24T01:14:50Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > [What,](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_River_Range#/media/File:GreenLakesWY.jpg)[are](https://www.flickr.com/photos/clinteverett/33783493438) [you](https://gypsyguide.com/tour/yellowstone-grand-teton/) [kidding](https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-river-rafting-shoshone-river-red-rock-canyon-cody-wyoming-usa-23314830.html) [me](https://www.outsideonline.com/2329411/why-its-time-rethink-climbing-ban-devils-tower)? > > My vote is Kansas. Never been there, but some geographers published an IgNobel study that compared the topological profile of Kansas and a breakfast pastry, and proved that Kansas is, indeed, flatter than a pancake. My dad’s favorite basic training story was about his fellow recruit from Kansas. The Kansan was taking a lot of ribbing about Kansas being so flat. He finally blurted out: “Kansas has mountains! Kansas has mountains as tall as these barracks!” I’ve been through Kansas twice as a kid, and it was seriously boring. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2019, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-boring-u-s-state/845262/93 "2019-12-24T02:07:44Z")
You ain’t seen flat ‘til you’ve seen Florida. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2019, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-boring-u-s-state/845262/94 "2019-12-24T02:35:24Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > The problem for North Dakota is that North Dakota and South Dakota should really just be one state. I mean, who do they think they’re fooling? You love them like a rock, don’t you. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2019, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-boring-u-s-state/845262/95 "2019-12-24T02:51:20Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > Was it as Boring as it purports to be? ([I think it’s kind of pretty there](https://www.alltherooms.com/blog/boring-oregon/)!) > > That spot is bad, for sure, but at least the traffic keeps you from getting _too_ bored. (!!!) > > I maintain that the bit between Redding and Woodland enters a time/space wormhole that expands the 140-ish miles to about 1,000. Honestly, I can drive the rest of the way from Sacto to LA in less time than that stretch. :dubious: There’s a similar wormhole on I-85 between Charlotte, NC and the Virginia state line. Takes about fifteen hours to drive through the state. And I _like_ North Carolina. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2019, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-boring-u-s-state/845262/96 "2019-12-24T02:51:51Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > You ain’t seen flat ‘til you’ve seen Florida. I’ve been in Florida a lot, all over the state. It is far less boring then Kansas or Nebraska. Also so much coast and swamps. Kansas had stretches of highway so long and straight that a curve was surprising and trees were rare. ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2019, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-boring-u-s-state/845262/97 "2019-12-24T02:51:56Z")
I always liked going through Kansas on my way to Colorado. It was kind of like the transition to “the west”. By the time you get to the border you’re at around 4000 feet and headed into Colorado. Coming the other way, not so exciting. I remember parts of Iowa that were rather pretty and idyllic so not totally boring IMO. The states I have no real memory of are Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio despite being through them several times. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2019, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-boring-u-s-state/845262/98 "2019-12-24T05:31:51Z")
I’d say Nevada, based on a drive I took on 80 through the place long ago. Wow, desolate and not that scenic. OTOH, half of Lake Tahoe is in the state, so there’s that. And there’s Las Vegas, but I loathe Las Vegas. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2019, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-boring-u-s-state/845262/99 "2019-12-24T05:40:23Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > and a big blue bug watches over the highway for us. And his name is Nibbles Woodaway!! 🙂 Funny, I used to live in RI and I was thinking about good ol’ Nibbles just the other day, don’t remember why. Earworm alert! “New Eng-land Pest Control, Home of the big blue bug!” Also, I’m not sure I agree with what appears to be the general consensus of the thread that “boring” is defined as “seems boring based on what you can see from the interstate driving straight through it”. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2019, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-boring-u-s-state/845262/100 "2019-12-24T05:48:23Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Also, I’m not sure I agree with what appears to be the general consensus of the thread that “boring” is defined as “seems boring based on what you can see from the interstate driving straight through it”. Ha! That’s fair. And yeah, I’m not sure what other criteria to use, since everything thinks their _own_ state is interesting as hell (as also seen in this thread), and you pretty much see the other states by driving through them or flying to some hub city and not seeing the state. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-boring-u-s-state/845262.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-boring-u-s-state/845262.md?page=6)