mental_floss magazine
SUBSCRIBE >
GIFT SUBSCRIPTIONS >
DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTIONS >
subscriber services >

Here’s a good way to kill ten minutes.
How well do you know your state capitals? Can you name all 50? When you’re done, come back and let us know which ones escaped you.
Take the quiz: Name All 50 State Capitals
And remember, spelling counts. So here’s a hint: Montpelier. If you’d like a cheat sheet, continue reading for a list of all 50 states.
* Alabama
* Alaska
* Arizona
* Arkansas
* California
* Colorado
* Connecticut
* Delaware
* Florida
* Georgia
* Hawaii
* Idaho
* Illinois
* Indiana
* Iowa
* Kansas
* Kentucky
* Louisiana
* Maine
* Maryland
* Massachusetts
* Michigan
* Minnesota
* Mississippi
* Missouri
* Montana
* Nebraska
* Nevada
* New Hampshire
* New Jersey
* New Mexico
* New York
* North Carolina
* North Dakota
* Ohio
* Oklahoma
* Oregon
* Pennsylvania
* Rhode Island
* South Carolina
* South Dakota
* Tennessee
* Texas
* Utah
* Vermont
* Virginia
* Washington
* West Virginia
* Wisconsin
* Wyoming
I got 49 out of 50 in about 5 minutes. Unfortunately I could think of the last one and time ran out.
I tried going from the East Coast to the West Coast, but I could not think of the last one.
posted by MikeTrig on 3-31-2008 at 10:44 am
Without the hints, I’m not sure I would have scored 80%. With the hints, I only missed Missouri.
posted by Tom on 3-31-2008 at 11:20 am
Woo hoo! I got all 50 in 4:24!
All those years listening to Wakko Warner sing the capitals were finally put to good use.
posted by gmsc on 3-31-2008 at 11:33 am
Yay! It only took me 3:54!
Of course, that was thanks to the Rap of the States that we had to learn in elementary school!
posted by Jack da Bomb on 3-31-2008 at 12:10 pm
All 50 3:06… Frankfort drove me nuts because I kept trying to make it Frankfurt.
posted by Tom on 3-31-2008 at 1:56 pm
too many to confess… I’ve gotten way rusty in that dept. It’s embarrassing, actually
posted by ann on 3-31-2008 at 3:07 pm
all 50 in 2:29 - no looking at the states
posted by dan on 3-31-2008 at 3:32 pm
Yeah… I knew like, 5 of them, and that was when I was looking at the states.
posted by Sarah on 3-31-2008 at 3:52 pm
Yeah! Got ‘em all without peeking at the list of states, in 4:01.
posted by Jess on 3-31-2008 at 3:56 pm
45 of 50.
I had a typo for Atlanta, and when it didn’t work decided I was wrong.
The others I missed were Frankfort, Annapolis, Lansing, Charleston I have no excuse for not knowing nay of them.
posted by mungley on 3-31-2008 at 4:34 pm
Wow, this is going back waaaaaay too many years. I did pretty well considering the brain cells containing that information were jettisoned long ago. The one I definitely would have gotten - Montpelier - you gave at the start. :-)
posted by Rich on 3-31-2008 at 8:55 pm
Missed six. One of those six was Montpelier, because I can’t spell, AND I also can’t read instructions!
I would’ve nailed all these 30 years ago. Great quiz,
posted by TomH on 3-31-2008 at 10:45 pm
Check out www.rightbrainedlearner.com for a deck of flash cards that use funny cartoon picture codes to help you remember the 50 states and capitals.
posted by RightBrainedLearner.com on 4-2-2008 at 3:45 pm
Tough quiz! We never learned the capitals, so… I remembered all the states, but couldn’t think of Maryland (couldn’t remember a single city besides Baltimore), Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, and New Mexico (kept trying to spell Albequerque.)
posted by kate on 4-3-2008 at 12:52 pm
that was a tough quiz for 50 capitals as only been out of school for 20 yrs.-yikes!
posted by Melanie on 5-30-2008 at 12:26 am