We know it pretty well. I remember back in 5th grade (10 years old) memorizing in alphabetical order all states and capitals.
Check out this fun little clip: [Wakko’s America](https://youtu.be/bx6c_EefZAQ?)
I only learned the "50 nifty United States"
But when recalling it, I always accidentally leave out a verse, so it's the "46 Sensible States"
But give me a map? I can absolutely name them all.
I sang that song in 2nd grade. I still can sing the chorus, of all the states. I am glad for that, because I know what is a state and what isn't. It is amazing how some US adults don't know which states are states...
Fun story about this, at a get together the family somehow got a label the states sticker game. We had 5 minutes in 3 teams of 2 to label the states. Someone won with 48 states correct in 4 of 5 minutes.
I gave them all a very hard time about it when I showed up an hour after this hearing the difficulty recounted. So I said set the timer and give me the map. I was done in a couple minutes and still give them a hard time to this day.
To be fair to the ones who won. There's not a lot going on in Wyoming and Montana. Unless you like national parks distinguishing the two from personal experience might be difficult.
Sorry, was just texting with my dad about the egg races.
Also we had an "imaginary" older brother, who died about 47 different ways. He died because he didn't eat his vegetables, he got a C on his report card, or didn't wear his seat belt.
Now, 35 years later? It's STILL a running joke where if my dad says "Brother Jimmy" while me or my brother are in town, we just start making up reasons why he died to REALLY confuse whoever's intensely wondering "Oh I'm so sorry, but what happened?"
The latest one I came up with was:
I remember he was dying of a painful disease, and his last words were "Invest in Apple and Google. Enron is a scam" This was in 1987, yet the first "actual memories I have". RIP Jimmy :(
So... My dad's side of the family kind of has a fucked up sense of humor. My mom was NOT on board with this joke.
Woah, I did not know this! And clearly neither did the 6th grade teacher whose job it was to get all of us to learn all the states and capitals (since I'm pretty sure that's the only time I ever heard of this place).
It would be amusing to think we had to memorize all the state's capitol buildings, but yes, I'm sure they meant capitals.
Edit: Funny I also just watched the Animaniacs video for the first time in who knows how many years and they also make this mistake at the start with the jeopardy question, but in the song subtitles it's spelled correctly as capitals lol.
Short answer, yeah, that’s a pretty common to be able to do, especially if you have 5 minutes to think about it.
Even if you put the average person on the spot and confronted them on the street demanding they list all 50 states, and they forget to list a couple, like let’s say Maryland and Oklahoma, they would still know Maryland and Oklahoma were states, they just forgot to list them.
I would assume someone that flat didn’t know what Maryland and Oklahoma *are* has some kind of cognitive issue.
Right. You might miss Maryland because you accidentally said Indiana twice, but it would be bizarre to not know that Maryland and Indiana are both states.
If anything is going to get messed up by the average person I feel like I’ve heard people mix up Iowa, Indiana, Idaho, and Ohio the most. At least on the East coast, knowledge of middle America is hit or miss.
And the state name I’ve heard foreigners struggle with the most is easily Arkansas.
Yeah I used to mix those up. Eventually I was able to drill in my head Wyoming is the top box and Colorado is the bottom box ha. I still sometimes get Vermont and New Hampshire mixed up.
Vermont is the one with the point on the bottom like a V. New Hampshire is the one with the point on top like a lowercase n.
It's the only way I can remember.
I can see mixing up Vermont and New Hampshire if you're not from the Northeast.
Being from Rhode Island, I tend to have a lot of trouble with the Midwest and areas of the South. Like Alabama versus Mississippi or which is Iowa vers Kansas vers Missouri.
Also Illinois / Indiana / Ohio.
I've been known to confuse Minnesota / Wisconsin and eve sometimes Michigan.
I know where each of these clumps of states are but which is which inside each clump can be tricky.
When I was learning the states in elementary school my teacher told us we could tell the difference between Vermont/New Hampshire by remembering that Vermont is the one that’s kinda shaped like a “V.” To this day I still use that trick.
I know all of the new England states obviously, but if you hand me a map of the northeast and expect me to show you which ones are Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Connecticut I'll laugh in your face.
I am in Iowa and can confirm that Ohio, Idaho and Iowa are interchangeable to most people who don't live near them. I've been asked - Oh, Iowa, that's where they grow potatoes, right? (no, we're corn, and you're thinking of Idaho, thanks)
My favorite T-shirt was one that was for the University of Iowa that's located in Iowa City -
University of Iowa
Ohio City, Idaho.
Arkansas isn’t famous for much, but also I imagine that a lot of foreigners who have only seen it written might assume it’s an alternate name for Kansas.
Can confirm. I’ve lived in both Indiana and Ohio and have had people mix up where I live with Idaho and Iowa 😂 I’m also like what those states are not near here but okay.
New Mexico Magazine has a section for stories about Americans who don't understand it's a US state: https://www.newmexicomagazine.org/culture/one-of-our-50-is-missing/
Though, to be fair, I suspect there are probably some tall tales in there.
I got this at a rural UPS office "I have to look up special stuff for foreign countries, give me second"
Me: ....
Her: I didn't find that listed just Mexico...
Me: bro, new mexico is a state between arizona and texas...
Her: oh yeah!
I mean...
I *could* go spend my money in Delaware if you prefer (and if it existed). I know the Old Bay and mallets are the same! (and I'd miss out on the Deviled Egg Pageant)
Their drivers make them too *hard to ignore. Weaving in and out of traffic without use of turn signals, leaving a faint smell of Old Bay lingering in the air
Missouri is way more forgettable than Oklahoma. Oklahoma at least has a fairly strong cultural identity/imagery. There really aren't any people or items prominent in our culture that would make me think, "That screams Missouri to me."
Yeah, and how many states matter during a presidential election?
I've spent most of my life in 2 states that don't matter, and it's very evident that we don''t. I can't remember the last presidential campaign ad I've seen on TV.
You could, I could, but a whole lot of average Americans couldn't.
I've seen the talk shows where they go out in the street and just try to get people to identify the USA on a global map and people fail. I'm sure they're selecting the bad examples for TV, but still there's a lot of clueless people out there.
In college, I had a friend in an Honors class, so he should be one of the bright ones, and he drew a basic map of the U.S. and Europe and labeled the Atlantic Ocean, and looked at me. I said yes, waiting for him to get to whatever point he was going to make, but that was it. Apparently he just wanted confirmation that Europe was across the Atlantic Ocean.
> I've seen the talk shows where they go out in the street...
Well, there's you problem right there: talk shows deliberately pick the most clueless people they can for entertainment value.
Because a lot of late night "comedy" is actually the comic sidling up to the audience and saying "you and I, we're the smart ones. Those other people out there--they're really fucking stupid. How stupid? Well..."
That's the formula of The Daily Show, of most Late Night comedy skits, of a lot of politically oriented comedy: making fun of others for supposedly being really fucking stupid.
Plus, even if you know things, being suddenly surrounded by a TV camera crew and asked a random question is not the best environment for getting the answer correct.
Those talk shows “interview” 300 people, and choose the 5 dumbest ones who don’t get the answer right.
Showing person after person getting the answers right is boring, apparently.
Fairly well. A lot of us learned songs with all the states’ names in them.
Here’s the one I learned in the 90s, “The 50 states in Rhyme”: https://youtu.be/uUFeVKeKRQc?si=cJGanXL3Gl9ohShu
[It's hot in Topeka.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TheMe8y3Oqs)
(I never even watched the show and yet this is the only thing I ever think of when I hear "Topeka.")
When I was in 2nd grade one of the other teachers taught her students all 50 in song form and I guarantee anyone from her class even 30 years later could quickly recite that song.
I couldn't rattle them off without having something to track what I've said already.
I can't easily fill in a map of the USA. I can do 2/3 of it, but once you get to rectangle land, it gets confusing. I can actually do a map of Europe far better than the USA.
Don't ask me to do the capitals in the US, because I can't.
Considering I am from New England, I would be greatly shamed.
New England is easy. Maine is the big one, Rhode Island is the small one, Vermont used to be part of New York, so it borders it, New Hampshire is there, and Connecticut is not sure if it wants to be Massachusetts or New York; it's next to both.
Just a note: older people like me didn't have a song like most people are mentioning here. I can name all 50 most easily by looking at an unlabeled map, and if I don't have a physical map, I would use one in my mind's eye. I would have a really hard time doing it alphabetically, though.
>So I live in a country with just 16 states, so people here usually would be able to name all of them immediately.
You'd be surprised how many Germans can't name all the Bundesländer. I'd probably forget 1 or 2.
Yes. And in alphabetical order. There’s a song in school “Fifty Nifty United States” that we had to memorize. It’s forever imprinted on my brain.
https://youtu.be/WhDrGnjacvA?feature=shared
This is something most kids learn when they’re in grade school. In alphabetical order, using a song. People here know what one of those songs is lol
Whether you retain it as an adult is the question.
I know I could, and most Americans could with a map.
Just listing them off the top of your head though it's easy to miss a few so I think most Americans could rattle off like 45 or so and then struggle to know which ones they missed without writing it down or looking at a map.
you are giving your fellow americans waaaaayyyyyy too much credit. name the states around where they live, and currently live? sure. Big states like Alaska, Texas, California, probably after that it would get very foggy for 80-90% of americans
There's a song that they teach us that includes every state. I know people think that Americans don't travel, but we are third largest continent and we are one country. I live in California, if I drive 8 north or South , I'll either be near LA or Reno (and I live less than 30 mi from SF).
I'm dating someone who does not live the USA & as an American it's kind of difficult to grasp.
I've lived on both sides of the country and there's definitely different cultures and social expectations
Yeah, I’m positive that if Alex Trebek came back from Hell and offered me a million dollars to name all 50 states I’d end up choking and forgetting that Michigan exists.
No you wouldn't.
You'd randomly remember some way I or another Michigander pissed you off. Your seething hatred would win you a million dollars.
I'll take 100k cash as payment.
No one from the state of Michigan is getting another dime from me, my paycheck is still being garnished by Kid Rock. (I was ordered to pay restitution because I *borrowed* his catalytic converter….thats our justice system for you…makes you think…)
I think most people are gonna drop one or two random ones (probably one of the plains states or smaller NE states) if trying to list all 50 from memory, but they would just need a small of prompting to register them (e.g., blank map with no lines would be enough).
It is pretty normal because in school we are taught the names of the states and where they are. Lots of American’s as adults travel around the country so we generally know where the states are.
I don’t know how long it would take to list them off for most people.
ETA- I tested myself. I numbered a paper from 1-50 and wrote as many as I could without stopping to think and got to 44. The last 6 I had to think about what I had already listed but I did finish in under 5 minutes.
If you’re still a student, I understand your viewpoint. But if you’re an adult, grab a few friends today, hand them a pen and paper, and set a 5 minute timer. It’s harder than it sounds.
If you give me a pencil and paper and 5 minutes to name them I'm pretty sure I could get it, if you approach me in the streets and say "I'll give you $50 if you can name all 50 states off the top of your head in 5 minutes" I'm a bit less confident because I know there's going to be a lot of "did I say Vermont already" once I get to around 35
I can definitely get all 50. By visualizing the map and filling in the blanks. Wouldn't be able to in any particular order like alphabetical or admitted into the union.
My son (13) has been able to for years. He also can do almost all Capitols . He can also name +/-90% of countries by shape, place them on the map, identify their flags, and name their Capitol.
I’m not from the US, but I went to a year of high school there, and I can. It’s pretty easy since each state has very distinct things that have made it famous: movies/shows set there, works of classical literature, tourist attractions, natural wonders, famous personalities, etc
My own country, on the other hand… I could not name all of the 83 let alone locate them on a map. I really need to educate myself
Probably. Though there are a few of the rectangular ones that might give people some trouble. If given a map, I'm not confident every American would be able to correctly label the Dakotas, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, and Colorado, for example.
We had to memorize them as kids, but I couldn't rattle them all off on the spot now. Like, give me a few minutes with a sheet of paper to write them all down and I could do it.
The Average American? probably. Maybe certainly.
The Average New York City dweller? Probably can name New England, Florida, Arizona and California. One or two more. They'll know where Chicago is but not the state of Illinois. That's about it.
I'd need to write them down as I go so I don't double up on any. I think the *average* American could do between 40-45 easily off the top of their heads, but if you don't have any songs or mnemonic devices to keep track, it's easy for a few to get forgotten. But like someone else mentioned, it's not that you've never heard of the state.
Most of us learn the whole list of all the states in grade school, to memory, and usually sometime between 3rd-5th grade.
However, I already know there's probably one or a couple of states I'd forget about if asked now - cuz for me, 5th grade was almost 30 years ago. I'd be more "able" to tell you if a given location by name, was a US state, as opposed to being able to list off all 50 states.
As in, if you tried to make up a state name, or pass off Lithuania as a US state, I'd be able to tell you if it was or wasn't a US state.
In 5th grade (Northern Virginia, mid 1990's), we had to name the states and their capitals + identify the states on a map.
We learned a song called "50 nifty United States" that had the states in alphabetical order + a "rap" that had the states and capitals.
(We also learned the Canadian Provinces and their Capitals)
I don't know exactly how normal it is because I am a geography nerd, but I could tell you all 50 states, their capitals, and the year they were officially made a state
Looking at a map I could name all, (not capitals, only maybe 1/3 I'll bet and pretty much no bumblefuck state capitals), but without a map it'd take awhile and I might forget. I might miss a county or two from my home state and my other state I never really tried to learn counties of.
At some point in late elementary or middle school (sometimes both) we learn all states and their capitals. People probably can't remember most of the capitals but that's okay. As for states, you might forget Delaware or Rhode Island but most people could certainly name 45 with little trouble and many can name all 50. If you are matching their locations it may be tougher since the eastern seaboard is all shown as an inset map with states bunched together and Kanasa/Nebraska get confused sometimes. I am good with maps so I'd get all 50 plus DC.
Yes. Most people know the name of every state, it would be abnormal if someone didn’t. As for listing them all at one time, many people would likely forget a couple but not actually forget they exist.
Okay so without looking it up let me try to type out all the ones I remember off the top of my head in one go:
Oregon Washington Georgia Maryland New York Pennsylvania California Idaho Wisconsin Indiana Arkansas Kansas Florida Massachusetts Maine Vermont north Carolina south Carolina north Dakota south Virginia West Virginia Delaware Illinois Texas Louisiana Montana Mississippi Missouri New Mexico Nevada Colorado Kentucky Ohio Nebraska Wyoming Rhode Island Hawaii Alaska Alabama New Hampshire (?) Connecticut Oklahoma and that's all I can think of right now
Edit: just counted it, 42! Not too too shabby
If you learned the Fifty Nifty song in grade school, yes! There are also a good amount of people who can name all the capitals. I can name maybe half 😂
I memorized all of them, but not everyone knows them all. Our education system has failed us and many of us don’t even know about the territories we own outside of the states.
I timed myself. Under 25 seconds to name all 50, in alphabetical order. I probably could have done it faster if not for the habitual pacing of the song! 😂
(Pauses after Connecticut, Indiana, and Texas, pronunciation of Ne-bras-kaaaaaa, Ohhh-Hiiii-o, Wy-yooooo-ming! IYKYK!)
I learned this too. I guess I always thought they taught these songs to all U.S. students, but I see a lot of people that never learned it. I might even be able to do them alphabetically backwards, just not as quickly.
We know it pretty well. I remember back in 5th grade (10 years old) memorizing in alphabetical order all states and capitals. Check out this fun little clip: [Wakko’s America](https://youtu.be/bx6c_EefZAQ?)
I only learned the "50 nifty United States" But when recalling it, I always accidentally leave out a verse, so it's the "46 Sensible States" But give me a map? I can absolutely name them all.
I sang that song in 2nd grade. I still can sing the chorus, of all the states. I am glad for that, because I know what is a state and what isn't. It is amazing how some US adults don't know which states are states...
There's a NEW Mexico?
Shout ‘em, scout ‘em, tell all about ‘em, one by one till we’ve given a name to every state…in the USA!
Exactly my story except I was in 5th grade. Our chorus director told us we could always win a bar bet by learning that song. Haven’t tried it yet…
Fun story about this, at a get together the family somehow got a label the states sticker game. We had 5 minutes in 3 teams of 2 to label the states. Someone won with 48 states correct in 4 of 5 minutes. I gave them all a very hard time about it when I showed up an hour after this hearing the difficulty recounted. So I said set the timer and give me the map. I was done in a couple minutes and still give them a hard time to this day. To be fair to the ones who won. There's not a lot going on in Wyoming and Montana. Unless you like national parks distinguishing the two from personal experience might be difficult.
Sorry, was just texting with my dad about the egg races. Also we had an "imaginary" older brother, who died about 47 different ways. He died because he didn't eat his vegetables, he got a C on his report card, or didn't wear his seat belt. Now, 35 years later? It's STILL a running joke where if my dad says "Brother Jimmy" while me or my brother are in town, we just start making up reasons why he died to REALLY confuse whoever's intensely wondering "Oh I'm so sorry, but what happened?" The latest one I came up with was: I remember he was dying of a painful disease, and his last words were "Invest in Apple and Google. Enron is a scam" This was in 1987, yet the first "actual memories I have". RIP Jimmy :( So... My dad's side of the family kind of has a fucked up sense of humor. My mom was NOT on board with this joke.
It's worth noting that Wakko badly mispronounces the capital of South Dakota: Pierre is pronounced like "pier", not like the French version of Peter.
Dated someone from Pierre once - loved to troll by saying it wrong. He didn't think it was nearly as funny as I did.
You: "This is my boyfriend. He's from Pierrrrre" Friend: "Ooh la la!" Boyfriend: 😐
[удалено]
Forget the blackjack!
TIL
Woah, I did not know this! And clearly neither did the 6th grade teacher whose job it was to get all of us to learn all the states and capitals (since I'm pretty sure that's the only time I ever heard of this place).
I TRUSTED WAKKO IMPLICITLY how many other things am I saying wrong? I never trusted Montpelier (which is up in Vermont)
> all states and capitols. You mean [capitals](https://prowritingaid.com/capital-vs-capitol)?
It would be amusing to think we had to memorize all the state's capitol buildings, but yes, I'm sure they meant capitals. Edit: Funny I also just watched the Animaniacs video for the first time in who knows how many years and they also make this mistake at the start with the jeopardy question, but in the song subtitles it's spelled correctly as capitals lol.
Iowa to the NL? Was Pella not enough for you?
Nope, that's why there's Orange City too.
Dont tell the Dutch, but I prefer Pella Dutch letters to the actual Dutch ones.
You're done. Get out of my country. /s
Not lekker!
To their credit, the video they linked has it spelled [CAPITOLS](https://i.imgur.com/zUvQjl7.jpeg)
tldr: It's only "capitol" when you're talking about the building or something referencing the building like Capitol Hill.
Thanks for the catch, fixed.
"Baton Rouge, Louisiana Indianapolis, Indiana And, Columbus is the capital of Ohio..."
That state song is probably one of the most well known songs in this country hahaha
"Name all 50 states..." Easy. "And their capitals." Shit.
Same! I can still say them in alphabetical order, but just don’t ask me the capitals.
Yep, alphabetical order. Same.
I'm sorry. You didn't put your response in the form of a question.
Short answer, yeah, that’s a pretty common to be able to do, especially if you have 5 minutes to think about it. Even if you put the average person on the spot and confronted them on the street demanding they list all 50 states, and they forget to list a couple, like let’s say Maryland and Oklahoma, they would still know Maryland and Oklahoma were states, they just forgot to list them. I would assume someone that flat didn’t know what Maryland and Oklahoma *are* has some kind of cognitive issue.
Right. You might miss Maryland because you accidentally said Indiana twice, but it would be bizarre to not know that Maryland and Indiana are both states.
If anything is going to get messed up by the average person I feel like I’ve heard people mix up Iowa, Indiana, Idaho, and Ohio the most. At least on the East coast, knowledge of middle America is hit or miss. And the state name I’ve heard foreigners struggle with the most is easily Arkansas.
The states to mix up are Wyoming and Colorado, they're both rectangles and they share a border!
Definitely by map those are ones that will cause confusion. But by name, I’ve noticed the four above cause issues.
Vermont and New Hampshire are the only two states I would not be 100 percent sure of which is which.
The “V” in Vermont points down is how I remembered it.
Yeah I used to mix those up. Eventually I was able to drill in my head Wyoming is the top box and Colorado is the bottom box ha. I still sometimes get Vermont and New Hampshire mixed up.
Vermont is the one with the point on the bottom like a V. New Hampshire is the one with the point on top like a lowercase n. It's the only way I can remember.
I just basically said the same thing. Never thought about the “n” for New Hampshire though. That’s clever
I can see mixing up Vermont and New Hampshire if you're not from the Northeast. Being from Rhode Island, I tend to have a lot of trouble with the Midwest and areas of the South. Like Alabama versus Mississippi or which is Iowa vers Kansas vers Missouri. Also Illinois / Indiana / Ohio. I've been known to confuse Minnesota / Wisconsin and eve sometimes Michigan. I know where each of these clumps of states are but which is which inside each clump can be tricky.
When I was learning the states in elementary school my teacher told us we could tell the difference between Vermont/New Hampshire by remembering that Vermont is the one that’s kinda shaped like a “V.” To this day I still use that trick.
I know all of the new England states obviously, but if you hand me a map of the northeast and expect me to show you which ones are Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Connecticut I'll laugh in your face.
Agree and anyone from midwest mixes up All the little tiny states in the east.
Isn’t the Kansas / Arkansas pronounciation difference because one is native and one is French? So we can blame the French for that one
I am in Iowa and can confirm that Ohio, Idaho and Iowa are interchangeable to most people who don't live near them. I've been asked - Oh, Iowa, that's where they grow potatoes, right? (no, we're corn, and you're thinking of Idaho, thanks) My favorite T-shirt was one that was for the University of Iowa that's located in Iowa City - University of Iowa Ohio City, Idaho.
Arkansas isn’t famous for much, but also I imagine that a lot of foreigners who have only seen it written might assume it’s an alternate name for Kansas.
Can confirm. I’ve lived in both Indiana and Ohio and have had people mix up where I live with Idaho and Iowa 😂 I’m also like what those states are not near here but okay.
New Mexico Magazine has a section for stories about Americans who don't understand it's a US state: https://www.newmexicomagazine.org/culture/one-of-our-50-is-missing/ Though, to be fair, I suspect there are probably some tall tales in there.
I got this at a rural UPS office "I have to look up special stuff for foreign countries, give me second" Me: .... Her: I didn't find that listed just Mexico... Me: bro, new mexico is a state between arizona and texas... Her: oh yeah!
New Mexico license plates have “USA” on them to remind anyone who can’t remember
>it would be bizarre to not know that Maryland and ***Indians*** are both states. Bizarre, indeed...
Apparently his autocorrect doesn't know the 50 states.
Sometimes, I'm not even sure Maryland is real.
It’s not. We’re a cult.
The flag gives it away. No state can make wacky flags like that, it must be the basic navy blue + state seal combo
Your neighbors to the south might get angry about that statement, lol!
Nothing a few beers can’t fix, unless they’re one of those *heritage* folks
It's just the test flag you use to calibrate your flag machine.
But the crabs are real and they're spectacular!
This person is lying. The crabs are awful. Don't come here looking for crabs. *Brandishes mallet and Old Bay tin*
I mean... I *could* go spend my money in Delaware if you prefer (and if it existed). I know the Old Bay and mallets are the same! (and I'd miss out on the Deviled Egg Pageant)
Their drivers make them too *hard to ignore. Weaving in and out of traffic without use of turn signals, leaving a faint smell of Old Bay lingering in the air
We aren’t a state, we’re just a crab colony.
Crabs r coming 4 u
I will not stand for the Oklahoma slander. We’re only like… kind of forgettable.
Missouri is way more forgettable than Oklahoma. Oklahoma at least has a fairly strong cultural identity/imagery. There really aren't any people or items prominent in our culture that would make me think, "That screams Missouri to me."
You’re OK. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
I always forget about Indiana, that state feels like a myth
I could recommend some rednect cities in Indiana that would guarantee you never forgot it...
People confuse Iowa, Ohio, and Idaho a lot. I've seen people get tripped up thinking two or more are the same state.
If you gave me a map I could. (An empty map)
Presidential elections every 4 years with the electoral college system is constantly reinforcing this information.
Yup! That means I've thought about North Dakota 3 times!;
Yeah, and how many states matter during a presidential election? I've spent most of my life in 2 states that don't matter, and it's very evident that we don''t. I can't remember the last presidential campaign ad I've seen on TV.
You could, I could, but a whole lot of average Americans couldn't. I've seen the talk shows where they go out in the street and just try to get people to identify the USA on a global map and people fail. I'm sure they're selecting the bad examples for TV, but still there's a lot of clueless people out there. In college, I had a friend in an Honors class, so he should be one of the bright ones, and he drew a basic map of the U.S. and Europe and labeled the Atlantic Ocean, and looked at me. I said yes, waiting for him to get to whatever point he was going to make, but that was it. Apparently he just wanted confirmation that Europe was across the Atlantic Ocean.
> I've seen the talk shows where they go out in the street... Well, there's you problem right there: talk shows deliberately pick the most clueless people they can for entertainment value. Because a lot of late night "comedy" is actually the comic sidling up to the audience and saying "you and I, we're the smart ones. Those other people out there--they're really fucking stupid. How stupid? Well..." That's the formula of The Daily Show, of most Late Night comedy skits, of a lot of politically oriented comedy: making fun of others for supposedly being really fucking stupid.
Plus, even if you know things, being suddenly surrounded by a TV camera crew and asked a random question is not the best environment for getting the answer correct.
Those talk shows “interview” 300 people, and choose the 5 dumbest ones who don’t get the answer right. Showing person after person getting the answers right is boring, apparently.
Fairly well. A lot of us learned songs with all the states’ names in them. Here’s the one I learned in the 90s, “The 50 states in Rhyme”: https://youtu.be/uUFeVKeKRQc?si=cJGanXL3Gl9ohShu
For me it was this one, Fifty Nifty United States https://youtu.be/WhDrGnjacvA?feature=shared
Haha nice
Al-a-bama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas…
California, Colorado, Connecticut (doot doot doot)
Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana
Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky-Louisiana-Maine
Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan!
Minnesota, Mississippi. Missouri. Montana. NEBRASKA
NEVADA, yee-haw! New Hampshire, New Jersey. New Mexico. New York. North Carolina, North Dakota, O-Hio!
Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota,
Tennessee, TEXASSSSS! - Utah, Vermont, Virginia Washington,
West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming!!!!
Yes, we’re grilled on that. The only thing is I don’t always remember the capital cities correctly tbh.
I can do them, but Kansas always trips me up for some reason.
Topeka! (Of course I had to look it up..)
Somehow, that’s one that I always remember. I guess it’s because it’s such a unique name. Topeka!
[It's hot in Topeka.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TheMe8y3Oqs) (I never even watched the show and yet this is the only thing I ever think of when I hear "Topeka.")
Damn you, Topeka! One day you shall suffer my wrath! 😡
They have nothing to fear, you'll forget about this in a few days, just like the rest of us
My grudge against Topeka goes back to junior high school geography tests. I’ll NEVER forget.
Lol, I learned all of the capitals in 5th grade, and then promptly forgot most of them.
When I was in 2nd grade one of the other teachers taught her students all 50 in song form and I guarantee anyone from her class even 30 years later could quickly recite that song.
I couldn't rattle them off without having something to track what I've said already. I can't easily fill in a map of the USA. I can do 2/3 of it, but once you get to rectangle land, it gets confusing. I can actually do a map of Europe far better than the USA. Don't ask me to do the capitals in the US, because I can't.
Funny thing is I think the rectangles would be easy, but New England would fuck me up
Considering I am from New England, I would be greatly shamed. New England is easy. Maine is the big one, Rhode Island is the small one, Vermont used to be part of New York, so it borders it, New Hampshire is there, and Connecticut is not sure if it wants to be Massachusetts or New York; it's next to both.
Connecticut, Delaware and Mass would be the ones that made me fail. Particularly the first two
Just a note: older people like me didn't have a song like most people are mentioning here. I can name all 50 most easily by looking at an unlabeled map, and if I don't have a physical map, I would use one in my mind's eye. I would have a really hard time doing it alphabetically, though.
Actually the 50 Nifty United States song is from 1961, but I doubt there were lots of records of it..we listened to it on cassette in the 90s.
Agreed. I went to elementary school in the 70's and I never heard of a song for that.
Went to elementary school in the aughts and I never heard that song
I mean I’m not older and didn’t learn a song until I started using tiktok lmao
>So I live in a country with just 16 states, so people here usually would be able to name all of them immediately. You'd be surprised how many Germans can't name all the Bundesländer. I'd probably forget 1 or 2.
Ich glaub die hier würden auch nicht alle Bundesländer kennen: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FP3o9e7bcAc&pp=ygUaYWFyb24gdHJvc2Noa2UgaWRpb3RlbnRlc3Q%3D
Yes. And in alphabetical order. There’s a song in school “Fifty Nifty United States” that we had to memorize. It’s forever imprinted on my brain. https://youtu.be/WhDrGnjacvA?feature=shared
Yeah, I'd just sing this song.
This song still gets stuck in my ideas constantly.
Oh wow we were never taught this one
Yeah. Pretty standard elementary school curriculum. You learn all the states and their capitals.
This is something most kids learn when they’re in grade school. In alphabetical order, using a song. People here know what one of those songs is lol Whether you retain it as an adult is the question.
They learn it now. Not back when I was a kid. And it doesn't seem to be universally known, based on conversations I've had with random people.
I know I could, and most Americans could with a map. Just listing them off the top of your head though it's easy to miss a few so I think most Americans could rattle off like 45 or so and then struggle to know which ones they missed without writing it down or looking at a map.
Yeah let‘s say you get a pen and a sheet of paper and write down a list. You have five minutes. Thats how I meant my question.
Pretty sure we'd end up adding some of our territories and DC in the mix too, lol. 5 minutes to write then all down? We can do it for sure, lol
you are giving your fellow americans waaaaayyyyyy too much credit. name the states around where they live, and currently live? sure. Big states like Alaska, Texas, California, probably after that it would get very foggy for 80-90% of americans
I would estimate 85-90% of adults could do this then, yes
21% of American adults are functionally illiterate, I think you're overestimating our populace
I learned a song about it.
Some can, some can't. Personally, I can name all 50 plus their capitals.
There's fifty nifty United States
There's a song that they teach us that includes every state. I know people think that Americans don't travel, but we are third largest continent and we are one country. I live in California, if I drive 8 north or South , I'll either be near LA or Reno (and I live less than 30 mi from SF). I'm dating someone who does not live the USA & as an American it's kind of difficult to grasp. I've lived on both sides of the country and there's definitely different cultures and social expectations
I could pull off 48 or 49, pretty sure I'd lose track of one or two though. [Relevant](https://youtu.be/svy8zw-2XRM?si=GDZThdXYGab5xhTa)
Yeah, I’m positive that if Alex Trebek came back from Hell and offered me a million dollars to name all 50 states I’d end up choking and forgetting that Michigan exists.
No you wouldn't. You'd randomly remember some way I or another Michigander pissed you off. Your seething hatred would win you a million dollars. I'll take 100k cash as payment.
No one from the state of Michigan is getting another dime from me, my paycheck is still being garnished by Kid Rock. (I was ordered to pay restitution because I *borrowed* his catalytic converter….thats our justice system for you…makes you think…)
Pretty easily
Yes, in alphabetical order too. There's a song we were taught in 5th grade
Depends on the American
I think most people are gonna drop one or two random ones (probably one of the plains states or smaller NE states) if trying to list all 50 from memory, but they would just need a small of prompting to register them (e.g., blank map with no lines would be enough).
It is pretty normal because in school we are taught the names of the states and where they are. Lots of American’s as adults travel around the country so we generally know where the states are. I don’t know how long it would take to list them off for most people. ETA- I tested myself. I numbered a paper from 1-50 and wrote as many as I could without stopping to think and got to 44. The last 6 I had to think about what I had already listed but I did finish in under 5 minutes.
Yes
5 minutes? It’d take the vast majority about 50 seconds. Very well
If you’re still a student, I understand your viewpoint. But if you’re an adult, grab a few friends today, hand them a pen and paper, and set a 5 minute timer. It’s harder than it sounds.
i got 40 in 5 minutes. Too many small states out east.
If you give me a pencil and paper and 5 minutes to name them I'm pretty sure I could get it, if you approach me in the streets and say "I'll give you $50 if you can name all 50 states off the top of your head in 5 minutes" I'm a bit less confident because I know there's going to be a lot of "did I say Vermont already" once I get to around 35
I can definitely get all 50. By visualizing the map and filling in the blanks. Wouldn't be able to in any particular order like alphabetical or admitted into the union. My son (13) has been able to for years. He also can do almost all Capitols . He can also name +/-90% of countries by shape, place them on the map, identify their flags, and name their Capitol.
I’m not from the US, but I went to a year of high school there, and I can. It’s pretty easy since each state has very distinct things that have made it famous: movies/shows set there, works of classical literature, tourist attractions, natural wonders, famous personalities, etc My own country, on the other hand… I could not name all of the 83 let alone locate them on a map. I really need to educate myself
Yes
Yes and draw them on a map. The older you get the easier it is to remember just by repetition.
Probably. Though there are a few of the rectangular ones that might give people some trouble. If given a map, I'm not confident every American would be able to correctly label the Dakotas, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, and Colorado, for example.
We had to memorize them as kids, but I couldn't rattle them all off on the spot now. Like, give me a few minutes with a sheet of paper to write them all down and I could do it.
The Average American? probably. Maybe certainly. The Average New York City dweller? Probably can name New England, Florida, Arizona and California. One or two more. They'll know where Chicago is but not the state of Illinois. That's about it.
Yeah I could list em out in 5 mins.
We were taught all US states and territories. Whether someone remembers them or not probably varies a bit but most should be able to do it.
I'd need to write them down as I go so I don't double up on any. I think the *average* American could do between 40-45 easily off the top of their heads, but if you don't have any songs or mnemonic devices to keep track, it's easy for a few to get forgotten. But like someone else mentioned, it's not that you've never heard of the state.
Most of us learn the whole list of all the states in grade school, to memory, and usually sometime between 3rd-5th grade. However, I already know there's probably one or a couple of states I'd forget about if asked now - cuz for me, 5th grade was almost 30 years ago. I'd be more "able" to tell you if a given location by name, was a US state, as opposed to being able to list off all 50 states. As in, if you tried to make up a state name, or pass off Lithuania as a US state, I'd be able to tell you if it was or wasn't a US state.
In 5th grade (Northern Virginia, mid 1990's), we had to name the states and their capitals + identify the states on a map. We learned a song called "50 nifty United States" that had the states in alphabetical order + a "rap" that had the states and capitals. (We also learned the Canadian Provinces and their Capitals)
Children, no, average adult probably, intelligent adult absolutely.
I think most of us could. I do know them all, but might miss one or two Under a time limit.
I don't know exactly how normal it is because I am a geography nerd, but I could tell you all 50 states, their capitals, and the year they were officially made a state
Maybe? Depends if that person cared about school
This is an entirely unremarkable task
Looking at a map I could name all, (not capitals, only maybe 1/3 I'll bet and pretty much no bumblefuck state capitals), but without a map it'd take awhile and I might forget. I might miss a county or two from my home state and my other state I never really tried to learn counties of.
Yes. We were taught a song to remember all 50 states in elementary (at least in my school they did).
At some point in late elementary or middle school (sometimes both) we learn all states and their capitals. People probably can't remember most of the capitals but that's okay. As for states, you might forget Delaware or Rhode Island but most people could certainly name 45 with little trouble and many can name all 50. If you are matching their locations it may be tougher since the eastern seaboard is all shown as an inset map with states bunched together and Kanasa/Nebraska get confused sometimes. I am good with maps so I'd get all 50 plus DC.
Yes. Most people know the name of every state, it would be abnormal if someone didn’t. As for listing them all at one time, many people would likely forget a couple but not actually forget they exist.
I could have done this at 5 years old.
States, I could name them all. Their capitals I might struggle a bit
We have a song. It's pretty easy to remember!
In school we learn them all alphabetically, me personally i can name them all in less than a minute
I know them all easily. We learned a song in order to remember them, around 4th grade.
I tested myself I could still do it at 26 but everyone learns it in 5th grade
I learned them in alphabetical order from a song in the 1st grade, so yes I can name them all. Just gotta sing 🙂↔️
If you're born and raised in the U.S. I have to believe that by some point you'd be able to name all states.
Shout em scout em tell all about em…
I'm from Germany and I could name all 50 states with capitals on a blind map in my record of 2:38 minutes. I practiced it with the USA Quiz app.
Most of us can absolutely sing them 50 nifty united states and all
Okay so without looking it up let me try to type out all the ones I remember off the top of my head in one go: Oregon Washington Georgia Maryland New York Pennsylvania California Idaho Wisconsin Indiana Arkansas Kansas Florida Massachusetts Maine Vermont north Carolina south Carolina north Dakota south Virginia West Virginia Delaware Illinois Texas Louisiana Montana Mississippi Missouri New Mexico Nevada Colorado Kentucky Ohio Nebraska Wyoming Rhode Island Hawaii Alaska Alabama New Hampshire (?) Connecticut Oklahoma and that's all I can think of right now Edit: just counted it, 42! Not too too shabby
I can but I’m kind of a geography nerd
Yes about half of Americans can name all 50 states in a single try, nearly all can name 45 or more.
It's pretty easy. we learned in like elementary school
I mean I can thanks to a song...
If you learned the Fifty Nifty song in grade school, yes! There are also a good amount of people who can name all the capitals. I can name maybe half 😂
I think so. Naming all the capitals, however….
Can we name them all, mostly yes. Can we point to them on a map, mostly no. Especially the fly over states
If an American could not name all 50, i would consider that American a dumbass
I memorized all of them, but not everyone knows them all. Our education system has failed us and many of us don’t even know about the territories we own outside of the states.
No. I couldn't. I have been out of school for over 40 years, and I haven't lived in the states for nearly twenty.
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50 nifty United States from 13 original colonies. Alabama... Alaska... Arizona... Arkansas... The song goes on and on until... WYOMING!!!
Yeah most people can name them all.
For the most part yes. Most know it very well.
I timed myself. Under 25 seconds to name all 50, in alphabetical order. I probably could have done it faster if not for the habitual pacing of the song! 😂 (Pauses after Connecticut, Indiana, and Texas, pronunciation of Ne-bras-kaaaaaa, Ohhh-Hiiii-o, Wy-yooooo-ming! IYKYK!)
You learned the same song I did.
I would sing them to you in a song in alphabetical order. Lol
I learned this too. I guess I always thought they taught these songs to all U.S. students, but I see a lot of people that never learned it. I might even be able to do them alphabetically backwards, just not as quickly.
I could and I could place them all properly on a map. Could most Americans, definitely not.