If You Get This, You’re Probably a Dork
Posted on January 3, 2008 Posted by John Scalzi 49 Comments
Note the following set:
(For those of you hard of seeing, they are magnet versions of the following US States, in order: Louisiana, Indiana, Ohio, Alabama, Montana, Colorado, Idaho.)
What is the next state that would be added to this set?
And for extra credit, what would be the last state in the complete set?
Yes, there’s an actual answer to both.
Update, 5:05pm: It got done figured out! And pretty quickly too. Because we’re dorks.
Here’s the answer:
Next State: California.
Last State: Alaska.
Guess I am not a complete dork. I am however enough of a dork to have seven browsers open to wikipedia. One for each state while I try to figure it out. So far I have ruled out population and when they became states. Should take Daniel’s answers as correct and thus possible clues? That’s a rhetorical question. Man I need a life.
Hmm, I see Texas and Nevada.
Justin got it.
Now someone tell me why.
(Justin included a link with the answer, but I snipped it out.)
Sweet! Do I win the ability to go back to doing actual writing on my (hopefully) last day of not-actual-work instead of scalzi-surfing? Cause that’d rock.
This blog doesn’t just cost you productivity, you know…it’s a two way street.
No Justin, you don’t get to claim your prize of getting back to actual work until you explain your answer.
No, no, someone else needs to explain it.
Off subject but “Evidence of a rabbit’s bad day” is an excellent image.
It’s the order of the states in the song sung by Wacko on Animaniacs where he sings all the state capitals in the USA
Well crap, back to wiki. But I have the answer for a clue. Two more browsers.
Hmm. Is it percentage of population loss, in descending order? It’s the only thing I can think of that would include both Louisiana and California in relative proximity in a rank ordering.
I second Scalzi…you guys are dorks.
Chad Kiser got it!
I have to say people got this much faster that I expected.
Dorks.
Except, I guess that makes me a dork as well because I just watched the whole video on youtube. I especially enjoyed how wacko states that he’d like to “blow the whole wad” on his daily double. Didn’t catch that one when i was 8.
Oh man, that is dorkalicious. Bwahahaha!! Hmm, should I have the noodles or the pasta?
Justin, Chad you are probably dorks. Mr Scalzi you are a dork. I am too old and childless to be a dork.
Well thank the gods I’m not a dork!
(I looked it up, and LA had an increase in population from 7/1/06 to 7/1/07, as did CA. So I was way off.)
Dorkcore is the new Nerdcore.
I know that song….
But I was sitting there doing vowel-consonant ratios and looking for anagrams and possible palindromes and invoking the ghost of Encyclopedia Brown. (Anybody remember the “onion” “eraser” “legible” story?)
I fear I am merely a nerd, but not a dork.
Gaaaawwwwwwd! Dorks!
If loving the Animaniacs means I’m a dork, then I’m…not learning anything new about myself, am I. Carry on, then.
No love for Puerto Rico? (Capitol: San Juan).
It’s a state?
Ha! I love that show, and that was an excellent episode, although I didn’t get the answer.
But hey, Ohio gets ALL of Lake Erie. Suck on that Erie, PA and Buffalo, NY!
I was going to be all “I’m not using the internet” prideful and guess it was “States that have executions scheduled this month.” Then I thought capital punishment is probably not a particularly “dorky” subject. Now I’m thinking, “How about a question for people who watch good cartoons?”
Okay, prove your dork credentials with this one:
Albany, Atlanta, Tallahassee, Okahoma City, Trenton, Nashville, Concord
Same rules: Next in list, last in the list.
Bonus question: What’s missing?
Jeff, are you trying to say Animaniacs isn’t a good cartoon? Seriously?
then Dover, ends w/ Montgomery…I’ll leave the forgotten one for someone else.
Scalzi said, “Its a state?”
Washington D.C. made it into the song.
Yeah, but it’s capital of the whole country.
There are few things more dork-tragic than knowing an obscure reference and sleeping through the opportunity to identify it. I can also sing Yakko’s World!
Which is not the same thing as being a state. I shall not back down from this courageous stand. (Now who’s a dork?)
All that work to make an educational cartoon, and they used misspelled “captial” in the opening frame. (“Capitol” for buildings, “capital” for cities.)
My god, it has been eons since I saw the actual video (although the song enjoys heavy play on the iTunes). I would like to point out that Tallahassee, Florida, is NOT where that map says it is. It’s about two hours’ worth of driving EAST of there. I guess Spielberg’s spotty on geography as a general rule, hence all the geography-related songs?
Ha! I get it!
Texas has Austin, then we move north, to Massachusetts’ Boston and Albany, New York; Tallahassee, Florida and Washington DC, Santa Fe, New Mexico and Nashville, Tennessee (Elvis used to hang out there you know)
I couldn’t resist. I used to watch that all the time (I used to have it memorized).
Yep. I’m a dork.
Yes, I typoed “capital” in one of the uses in my correction. Thus shall it ever be.
My school life would’ve been so much easier if this existed 30 years ago. As it was, I had to write a song in HS to memorize all the phyla in Animalia for a biology class.
I prefer the names of the countries song. “And Ghanaaaaaaa…” Awesome. I heard him on a radio show or something a long time ago, and he can actually do it on demand. Scary, though impressive.
I just love Animaniacs… I didn’t know that meant I am a dork. Hmmmm… that must mean I am an even BIGGER dork. Sheesh.
be well,
Dawn
My kids learned the Presidents from Animaniacs. Does that make us all dorks? We wear the title with honor.
the 90’s were quite a time for cartoons, so many of them end up on the internet, the 90’s had to go somewhere.
I looked at the year each state entered the Union, then went from one to the next. LA 1812 to IN 1816 = +4. Using that, I noted +4, -13, +7, +70, -13 again, +14. The 7/14/70 thing started to look promising. It reminded me of an aptitude test I took at the National Security Agency, where there’d be a string of numbers, and you were supposed to find the formula and guess the next number in the string. Then I realized that it was about time to break out my tinfoil hat, and that I was probably overthinking the problem, and decided to just come back this morning and find out. I’m chagrined that I missed the real answer, as I loved that piece on Animaniacs.
Damn, I am a dork. But I’m a lame dork because I got it confused with this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2Ml-tJuQ3o and couldn’t figure it out.
Hey Miles, I started watching that link and they forgot Azerbaijan…I feel really stupid for catching that to
we may be dorx-but *we* have better snorting-out-loud,pissing-our-pants,real laughs-and everyone else who thinks they’re not a dork=they’re really jealous!
When the Anamaniacs first appeared on television, I saw a review that said, ‘Finally, a cartoon Bugs Bunny would love.” I certainly did.
That song was the only reason I passed my third grade state capitals test.
Oh, and I work with the guy who was a producer on the Animaniacs AND Pinky and the Brain. He’s one of the only people who actually owns a cel from the “Yakko sings the Countries” short. And I got to see it. And I’ve seen him draw Pinky. I am both a dork and have an awesome job.
Too bad it got cut off before the zinger.
Zinger?
Wacko forgot to pose his reply in the form of a question.