Puerto Rico Votes for statehood.

The 51st state just got closer to reality than any time in the last 100 years. In yesterday's election, Puerto Ricans voted--for the fir...

Chicago the 51st state?

Two rural Illinois legislators want to expel Chicago from Illinois. Their idea is to force Chicago to become the 51st state, so the rest of ...

The town in two states

The fine folks of Price Place, Arkansas seem to live in two states simultaneously. They pay taxes to Arkansas, but their kids go to Missouri...

All 50 states mentioned in movies

I'm not sure how anyone could have enough free time to create this, but I'm glad they did. If you are studying state capitals in sch...

Hiatus

Real life is ramping up—so I'm going to have less time for this blog in the coming months. It's a bit of a bummer, because creating ...

Weekly World News - flag "fail"

I put "fail" in quotes, because, of course, everything in Weekly World News  is a silly joke. After all, this is the paper that on...

Young state riddle

Just four US states are less than 100 years old. Can you name them? Two are so easy, I included them on the map above: Alaska and Hawaii. Bu...

County named after killer

So an outsider comes to town and shoots one of the locals dead in cold blood. The shooter is then hailed as a hero, and the townfolk decide ...

Sitcom quiz - Packerland version

You expect TV sitcoms to be set in Los Angeles or New York. But Wisconsin? Sure enough, at least five major sitcoms have been set in the Dai...

Why is this street sign illegal?

Can you guess why the top sign is illegal and the bottom one is not? It's because he Federal government just doesn't like all caps—a...

Our government's geography test: full of bias and errors

The National Association of Educational Progress is a government organization that tells us how our kids are doing in many subjects, includi...

One letter wrong

Yesterday I was driving through Tichigan. Yes, you read that right. There is a small town on Wisconsin named Tichigan. Passing through, I ...

Forgotten secession: when the original 13 tried to split.

In 1812-13 there was a movement in the original thirteen states to secede from the rest of the nation—an idea first championed by a guy na...

Italian guy creates his own nation

Italy has always been a land of micronations, city-states, and enclaves. Even today, San Marino and Vatican City are tiny independent nati...

Worst geography blunder in a movie?

What movie has the worst geography error? Steven Seagal's Submerged is is classic—portraying Uruguay as mountainous (it's actually...

The Rodney Dangerfield nation

"I don't get no respect" ...that was the catchphrase of comedian Rodney Dangerfield. And it might as well be the slogan of t...

Obama's secession secret?

There's been a lot of criticism of Rick Perry's talk of Texas secession, but at least he's not giving his vacation dollars to ...

Criminal Corner - Another spot for the perfect crime?

Yesterday we laid out the case made by legal scholar Brian Kalt that major crimes committed in the Idaho portion of Yellowstone National ...

Loophole land—where crimes can't be prosecuted. Really.

According to a law professor from Michigan, there is small section if Idaho where major crimes can not be prosecuted—thanks to a giant blu...

When Hawaii was Russian

Hawaii became a U.S. state 52 years ago yesterday. One long-forgotten chapter in Hawaii's history is when the Russians tried to take c...