Sandy Wood
Brain Game: Three of a Perfect Pair
by Sandy Wood - February 16, 2009 - 7:30 AM

bloghead_braingames.jpg

Kara and I plan to offer a “state” puzzle book one of these days… I’ve got tons of state-related puzzles put away for future use; maybe we’ll even make it a mental_floss exclusive. Would you enjoy such a book? Most importantly, would you buy such a book? (Yes, I know, brass tacks.) Are there other types of puzzles (or themes surrounding them) that you’d like to see available in a “Brain Games” book? Please drop us a comment below. But before you do…

Alabama & Arkansas are near one another,
but do not share a common border.

In fact, there are only THREE pairs of U.S. states
that both begin with the same letter of the alphabet
AND border one another physically on the map.

Can you name all three pairs?

Here is the SOLUTION.

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Comments (10)

  1. Illinois, Indiana
    Illinois, Iowa
    New York, New Jersey

    posted by Josh on 2-16-2009 at 7:59 am

  2. Do Maine and Massachusetts count or does New Hampshire completely seperate them? How about Manitoba and Minnesota? Granted, Manitoba is not a US state but humor me anyway.

    posted by Scott-O on 2-16-2009 at 11:06 am

  3. Si, yo puedo.

    If I counted right, there 24 pairs of states that border each other who share the same last letter in the name (such as Colorado and New Mexico).

    posted by DenverGregg on 2-16-2009 at 11:16 am

  4. I am pretty sure that Michigan and Minnesota share a border in northwestern Lake Superior.

    posted by Dogman on 2-16-2009 at 12:16 pm

  5. Cool! I got all 3 before looking at the answers!

    DenverGregg: If you’re right and there are 24 pairs of states, the best way to phrase the question is, “How many pairs of US states can you name that share a border, but NOT their last letter?”

    Dogman: Perhaps Sandy should have specified land borders. Michigan and Minnesota do legally border each other, but not on land.

    Sandy Wood: I’d buy such a book!

    posted by gmsc on 2-16-2009 at 12:35 pm

  6. I missed Iowa/Illinois, but also thought of Minnesota/Michigan. I thought Maine and Mass might border. Alas, I was totally wrong about Nevada and New Mexico.

    posted by Hodge on 2-16-2009 at 3:51 pm

  7. Iowa and Illinois share a water border only. The Mississippi River.

    posted by Evil Twin on 2-16-2009 at 10:09 pm

  8. The mississippi river doesn’t count. I’m from Iowa so I get to make that determination. yay :)

    posted by Good Twin on 2-21-2009 at 3:07 pm

  9. I got:
    Illinois & Iowa,
    Illinois & Indiana

    I thought New Hampshire and New York for the last. I completely blanked on NJ. =/

    posted by Erica on 6-29-2009 at 9:27 pm

  10. There is actually a fourth pair:

    Michigan & Minnesota. They share a ~50 mile border in Lake Superior.

    posted by Chad on 1-12-2012 at 1:08 pm

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