Sandy Wood
Brain Game: I Lettered at State
by Sandy Wood - September 26, 2008 - 6:30 AM

bloghead_braingames.jpg

Okay, I didn’t really earn a letter at State. I lettered in high school, but only in journalism. The coaches wouldn’t let me play football after the eighth grade, when I broke my arm in two places and sprained my wrist while bulldogging. (If you don’t know what that is, well, suffice to say that it’s a great way to break an arm.) Anyhoo…

“Ohio” is spelled using three different letters of the alphabet (H, I, and O)
while “Indiana” uses four (A, D, I, and N).

The name of which U.S. state is spelled
using ELEVEN different letters of the alphabet?

HERE is the answer.

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Comments (25)
  1. South Carolina

  2. New Hampshire

  3. Doesn’t “New Hampshire” qualify, or am I miscounting?

  4. What about the official name of Rhode Island: “State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations” ?

  5. New Hampshire is close, Dixon — but uses only 10 different letters.

  6. N(1)e(2)w(3) H(4)a(5)m(6)p(7)s(8)h(9)i(10)r(11)e

    I think it uses 11.

  7. Yea, I also came up with New Hampshire…but Sandy is right…that second H slipped passed me and I counted it.

  8. oooh….I’m stupid.

  9. I need someone to explain how New Hampshire has only 10 different letters. My count shows eleven.

  10. @sarah k – The question was asking what state uses eleven different letters, not the greatest amount of different letters.

  11. The New Hampshire reminds of the test when you are suppose to count vowels in a sentence and everybody invariable misses the “a”s. Two H’s are in there… (H)amps(H)ire.

  12. New Hampshire uses only 10 letters of the alphabet:

    A, E, H, I, M, N, P, R, S, and W.

    The “E” and “H” are repeated, which is probably why some of you may be coming up with 11.

  13. It’s North Carolina or South Carolina.

  14. I thought it was Washington DC. … 12. Sorry, not American!

  15. I, too, counted New Hampshire as 11 by double-counting the H. That’s an easy one to fall for!!

    @ OM:
    North Carolina doesn’t count – it’s only 10 letters.

  16. I know I’m belaboring the point, but… well, it’s Friday.

    Cherylita? North Carolina is an easy one to fall for too, because it’s actually only NINE letters.

    “North” repeats the “N” and “R” from “Carolina” (whereas “South” doesn’t).

    No matter, since NC isn’t the correct answer anyway. But someone was gonna say so sooner or later, so… :)

  17. South Carolina.

    Rhode Island & West Virginia are also close at 10.

    How many others only use 4?
    I can think of: Hawaii, Alaska, Iowa, Alabama, Mississippi.
    But there are probably others.

  18. Tennessee

  19. Rhode Island and the Providence Plantations is the official name with 15!

  20. D i s t r c o f l u m b a are all used in the District of Columbia. That’s 13

  21. District Of Columbia isn’t a state, and I’m stupid too, I kept missing the second H in new HampsHire.

  22. Rhode island has 11 letters none off them repeats, not ten. Are you trying to drive me insane?

  23. nevermind, i just saw it: 2 (d)s

  24. What about the longest state that can be spelled with only four letters? Somebody HAS to know this!

  25. sorry i didn’t see the post with all the 4 letter states above.

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