Your STATES! KNOW YOUR STATES!!

[MystyGlyttyr]

Okay, I changed the name of the city I'm in to pretend like I'm hiding where I work. So assume I'm currently sitting in "Springfield", Texas.

I was on the phone with this lady, who was a bit confused as to what she wanted...one minute she wanted some court case number, the next some bizarre person's phone number, etc. I asked around and no one in the newsroom had a clue what she was talking about with the court case, so I told her that. Several times. Rudely, after about the fifth time of her asking me the exact same thing. (And I don't think it was Alzheimer's...she sounded to be in her thirties, maybe. Just...confused.)

Eventually, she asked me the question that earned her an entry here.

"Is Little Rock in 'Springfield'?"

...*my head a splode*

[PuckishOne]

Drugs. I'm thinking drugs.

At least I hope it's drugs.

[thegiraffe]

Well, Little Rock IS in Arkansas. We all know who [what] came out of Arkansas...

[MystyGlyttyr]

Well, Little Rock IS in Arkansas. We all know who [what] came out of Arkansas...

Hey, I came out of Arkansas, bub.

Heh heh, kidding. Trust me, if I had a choice, I'd be living...anywhere else.

[Brighid45]

You've gotta be kidding, Mysty. Americans know their states? I lived in Kansas City and Wichita for close to five years and people here in Pennsylvania still have no idea where the heck I was all that time. If it's farther away than Lancaster, it's the freakin' ends of the earth and there be monsters. That's probably true for most people when it comes to anyplace farther than maybe 20 miles from where they live.

"Oh, you lived in Wichita! Did you need a passport? Isn't that in Texas?" (Yes, someone actually said that to me. I'm not makin' this stuff up, folks.)

[Becks]

Don't feel TOO bad...people here in NJ think that Milwaukee is either in Michigan, Illinois and/or Minnesota. Losers.

When I tell them that Chicago was originally supposed to be part of Wisconsin, they look at me like. , and then I explain that the powers that be decided to move the Illinois border north, so they could also have a part of Lake Michigan.

[dragonflygrrl]

I am originally from a tiny little town in Missouri which has the same name as a somewhat large and well known city in Michigan. I went to college at the University of Florida, and for some reason, even though they had the right zip code, they would somehow end up sending all the "orientation" crap and everything to Hometown, MI instead of Hometown, MO, with the MI zipcode and everything. It's like they looked at my address and said, "that can't be right, I've never heard of Hometown, MO. Obviously this person who is smart enough to be admitted to our school has no idea what her address is. We'll just change that."

These were people that worked at an institution of higher learning. Surely it's too much to expect customers to know these things!

[Brighid45]

Becky, I come from a small town in Michigan near the Ohio border. We had to learn in history class about the Bean Creek War--the epic fight over the small strip of land ceded to Ohio (which includes Toledo), for which Michigan was given the Upper Peninsula as compensation. Both sides waged furious battle all day long, then went home to eat supper.

Anyway--yes, most East Coast people's knowledge of American geography reminds me of that famous New Yorker cartoon, where Manhattan and New Jersey take up the whole East Coast, there's some undefined land to the west, and then voila! California! Everything inbetween is just sort of . . . there. Somewhere.

[Dreamstalker]

When i was living in New Mexico, I'd occasionally get "We only ship to the continental United States" when ordering something (er, I gave you a US zip code and I can name three states that border us). Some people's brains stop listening at "Mexico"...yes, we share a border, but we're one of the 50 states!

[Cia]

You mean you don't need a passport to enter New Mexico? Do you have people asking you where 'old' Mexico is?

According to some geographically unsure people, South Dakota is somewhere in the Deep South. It floats between South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama.

[Jester]

People are stupid!

Yep, we get that stuff down here in Key West, FLORIDA, all the time!

Some prime examples of brilliant Americans while visiting Key West, FLORIDA:

"Do you take American money?"

"Do I need my passport while I am here?"

"Do you speak English here?"

"Where can I change my money?"

And these are just the stupid geographically-related questions. You should hear some of the other stupid tourist questions we get. Unfreakinbelievable!

[protege]

According to some geographically unsure people, South Dakota is somewhere in the Deep South. It floats between South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama.

I bet these same people also think that West Virginia is out by California somewhere

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Guy came into Kinko's once needing some films to print screened t-shirts. Slogan was "Proud to be African" or some such thing.

He had it over a map of the Middle East.

[Cia]

Reco, did you let him know of his mistake or did you giggle like a fiend and keep a copy for yourself?

[Dreamstalker]

I would have run the order, then sat back and watched the fun...but then he probably would have accused you of changing it