Just for fun, a poll for Americans (and, what the heck, for interested non-Americans, too)

[Vort]

Curious if people generally know US political geography.

[LDSGator]

I could probably name all state capitals without a map or Google. 
 

very cool question. 

[person0]

I think the question has a flaw.  I could easily name all states without a map, but if I was asked to fill in a map with state names, I would have to fill in all the states I know first and get the ones I don't know perfectly by elimination.  That said, I may know them better than I think, haha. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[person0]

Also, you failed to include the 5 U.S. territories.  I think I could name some of them, and some of them I could place on a map, lol.

Edited July 23, 2022 by person0

[MrShorty]

Having served a Canadian mission, I wonder what it would look like if you also included the 10 provinces (and 2 major territories) of Canada.

[LDSGator]

5 minutes ago, MrShorty said:

Having served a Canadian mission, I wonder what it would look like if you also included the 10 provinces (and 2 major territories) of Canada.

I’ll be honest, I would struggle greatly with Canada outside of Quebec. And even with Quebec I’d be really shaky. 

[Vort]

23 minutes ago, MrShorty said:

Having served a Canadian mission, I wonder what it would look like if you also included the 10 provinces (and 2 major territories) of Canada.

I just tried it and got about half, including the territories. Not impressive.

[NeuroTypical]

You're talkin' to the guy who won Mr. Nelson's 6th grade homeroom semesterlong flash-card-state-capitals contest, pal.  That said, I'm probably down to about 15 state capitals, and maybe 20 states when given a map with borders.

[LDSGator]

1 hour ago, Vort said:

I just tried it and got about half, including the territories. Not impressive.

Better than me. I got two. 

[Vort]

19 minutes ago, LDSGator said:

Better than me. I got two. 

I forgot Ontario. I mean, I knew that Toronto was in a province, but I couldn't remember the name. That's like forgetting California or New York.

[LDSGator]

7 minutes ago, Vort said:

I forgot Ontario. I mean, I knew that Toronto was in a province, but I couldn't remember the name. That's like forgetting California or New York.

The only reason I know where Toronto is is because it’s near a US landmark, Niagara Falls. 

[mirkwood]

21 hours ago, LDSGator said:

The only reason I know where Toronto is is because it’s near a US landmark, Niagara Falls. 

Heh, I got Toronto cause...

 

 

 

 

Edited July 24, 2022 by mirkwood

[mirkwood]

I could get all the states and probably a third of the capitals.

[LDSGator]

2 hours ago, mirkwood said:

Heh, I got Toronto cause...

 

 

 

 

Nothing wrong with that.

[Carborendum]

On 7/23/2022 at 8:26 PM, NeuroTypical said:

You're talkin' to the guy who won Mr. Nelson's 6th grade homeroom semesterlong flash-card-state-capitals contest, pal.  That said, I'm probably down to about 15 state capitals, and maybe 20 states when given a map with borders.

6th grade as well.  It was not a speed contest.  It was just an exam.

Mrs. Walls gave us the states, and we had to name the capital.  There were only three of us who got 100%... come to think of it, I'm not sure if #3 got 100%, but he was close. 

Edited July 25, 2022 by Carborendum

[LDSGator]

@Vort-how would do with a map of Europe? Outside of Spain, Italy, the UK, and France, I’d stumble through it. I’d be cooked on Eastern Europe completely. 

[Vort]

11 minutes ago, LDSGator said:

@Vort-how would do with a map of Europe? Outside of Spain, Italy, the UK, and France, I’d stumble through it. I’d be cooked on Eastern Europe completely. 

Great question. Sitting here, I could probably do all or at least most of western Europe even without a map. Eastern Europe would be much harder for me. Same with SE Asia; I could name the  major places, but even with a map I might not be able to tell Myanmar from Burma*.

*(The answer to your question is "Yes".)

Africa is where I would fall flat. I'd do okay with northern Africa, but subSaharan Africa is another story. Not sure I'd get half of them right, even with a map outlining the countries.

[MrShorty]

I, too, would struggle mightily with Eastern Europe and Africa. In part because some of the political borders have changed (some dramatically) from when I was young.

[LDSGator]

2 minutes ago, Vort said:

Same with SE Asia; I could name the  major places, but even with a map I might not be able to tell Myanmar from Burma*

I could do SE Asia fairly well too, but only because of exchange students we’ve hosted. Like you, it’s the major places. 
 

I could easily so the Middle East-from Egypt to Iran and all around. I might be able to stumble blindly through Africa with a puncher’s chance of getting a few right. 

[LDSGator]

5 minutes ago, MrShorty said:

I, too, would struggle mightily with Eastern Europe and Africa. In part because some of the political borders have changed (some dramatically) from when I was young.

Yup, same. I remember a globe my aunt gave me as birthday gift when I was very little. It was still when the Soviet Union was around!