Is it Time to Rethink US State Names?

[motai]

I'm tired of looking at the U.S. map and seeing all of the illogical naming inconsistencies that result from history.

First of all, take all North/South (state) names like North Dakota and South Dakota, and turn them into a single state of Dakota. Same with North and South Carolina into just Carolina.

Having two states that have the word "Virginia" in it is also redundant. Recombine West Virginia and Virginia into one state like it used to be in the good old days.

The U.S. should also cede New Mexico back to Mexico... sure that'll create a really funny looking U.S. map but at least the naming will be consistent. I mean, you don't see Mexico with a "Nuevo Estados Unidos."

And my strangest suggestion... there are two Washingtons, Washington State and Washington D.C. I propose that both of them combine into a single state (and yes I know that Washington D.C. isn't really a state, but a federal district). That'll certainly cause some confusion.

That and states should be restructed to be more box-like, following the role of Wyoming and Colorado.

:uhh:

This is why I shouldn't become a politician...

 

[klusener]

like it used to be in the good old days.

Go tell Rosa Parks that.

 

[motai]

Go tell Rosa Parks that.

I was just stating that it was like that from a geographical perspective. Just using the grandfather "climb uphill in the snow both ways" nostalgia.

 

[Moonbear]

:rofl: But if you do that, how will the South Dakotans tell you how great their state is if they can't claim, "At least it isn't North Dakota?" :rofl:

 

[klusener]

I didn't mean to imply that white ethnocentrism was the basis of my statement... merely I was just stating that it was like that from a geographical perspective. Just using the grandfather "climb uphill in the snow both ways" nostalgia.
I was not implying that I am in favor of racial persecution.

lol, I understood that. I was playing around, maybe it came off as too serious.

 

[motai]

lol, I understood that. I was playing around, maybe it came off as too serious.

Ah.. okay. Sorry about that then. Usually to lighten the mood I use some clarifying smilies :tongue2: :rofl: :tongue: .

 

[mattmns]

MB's Theory strikes again!

 

[Moonbear]

MB's Theory strikes again!

:rofl: Yep, got to use smilies. I'm wondering what those smilies are getting up to lately. Every time I look, they seem to be moved around again.

 

[Janus]

The U.S. should also cede New Mexico back to Mexico... sure that'll create a really funny looking U.S. map but at least the naming will be consistent.

Does this mean we need to cede New York, New Jersey and New Hampshire back to England? Or do we bite the bullet and cede all the New England region?

 

[Ivan Seeking]

...and like Hawaii is really a state... How about calling it...West Los Angeles?

 

[motai]

Does this mean we need to cede New York, New Jersey and New Hampshire back to England? Or do we bite the bullet and cede all the New England region?

Might as well. I was thinking for New York, turning it back over to Dutch control, since it was originally called "New Amsterdam".

But yes, if it is called "New England" then logically it should be a territory of England. Canada will probably join the bandwagon as well.

So our total map of the U.S. so far is...

Just one Carolina, just one Dakota, just one Washington, just one Virginia, New Mexico is now Mexican territory, Most of New England is now under the British crown, and Hawaii is now renamed to "West Los Angeles".

Hmm... there is a slight problem with Alaska. It just doesn't fit in with the new logical map scheme... it should be ceded to Canada.

 

[Anttech]

Why not just name them like you streets? 1st state 2nd state 3rd state, stating in the top left and working right, then down to the next level and continue.

 

[motai]

Why not just name them like you streets? 1st state 2nd state 3rd state, stating in the top left and working right, then down to the next level and continue.

Most Americans have a difficult time even remembering the chronological sequence of U.S. Presidents, and many don't even know who Fillmore, Arthur, or Garfield was (most associate with the cat who has the same name).

That and I have a suspicion that if implemented, residents of lower numbered states will discriminate against higher numbered states in an elementary school jocular manner: "I'm from State no. 1, I'm better than you!"

 

[Entropy]

Why won't we just call the whole country America?

 

[motai]

Why won't we just call the whole country America?

That creates yet another problem... then it wouldn't just be the "United States of America" but rather just "America." If we were to call it just America, then we'd have to include Latin America and South America as well. That, and Canada will have to join as well... something that some people in the US actually want to happen (manifests in the phrase "Canada is just an extension of the US") .

That and we'd have to create memorials and statues for Amerigo Vespucci, just to have it make sense .

 

[mattmns]

Yeah we should just take over the entire side of the world, and call that America. We have our half the rest of the world has theirs

 

[Janus]

Our Map so far

http://home.earthlink.net/~parvey/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/newus.gif

I also took the liberty of ceding that little bit of Minnesota that jutted up at the top. Most of it was just taken up by the Lake of the Woods. The rest being Oak island and a small chunk that you can't even get to by land from the U.S. without passing through Canada. This way the new border just follows the south edge of the Lake.

 

[mattmns]

Hahahaha, :rofl: that is awesome Janus!

 

[motai]

http://home.earthlink.net/~parvey/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/newus.gif
I also took the liberty of ceding that little bit of Minnesota that jutted up at the top. Most of it was just taken up by the Lake of the Woods. The rest being Oak island and a small chunk that you can't even get to by land from the U.S. without passing through Canada. This way the new border just follows the south edge of the Lake.

Excellent . A new PF Map of the United States is being made.

I thought that it just didn't make sense that the small portion of Michigan above one of the Great Lakes wasn't part of Wisconsin, so I added it to Wisconsin instead of Michigan.

http://img365.imageshack.us/img365/2995/newus27jm.gif

Does anyone else have suggestions?

 

[mattmns]

How about making Maryland and Delaware part of Pennsylvania, or doing something with them? Those states are way too small.

 

[motai]

How about making Maryland and Delaware part of Pennsylvania, or doing something with them? Those states are way too small.

They seem like they would go better with Virginia.. editing it right now.

 

[Gale]

you got rid of all the other small states! get rid of delaware and maryland too! those aren't even cool small states, so they have to go. even combined they're too small... so i say just get rid of them. sell them on ebay to the highest bidder!

also, is it just me, but i always get illinios and indiana confused. they practically look the same and sound similar. so they should be one state. actually, iowa is right there too! all those "I" states right in a row! bah! do something with those!

 

[motai]

An updated map of the U.S.

http://img347.imageshack.us/img347/1350/newus33cs.gif

Changes:

Small slice of northwest Oregon transferred to Washington.
Small chunk of Missouri transferred to Arkansas.
The horizontal strip from Oklahoma has been given to Texas.
A small chunk of northeastern Florida given to Georgia.
Maryland and Delaware given to Virginia.

Total number of U.S. States: 35

 

[Gale]

i'm telling you, get rid of maryland and delaware. they look silly over there. They're bringing the whole country down.

 

[motai]

you got rid of all the other small states! get rid of delaware and maryland too! those aren't even cool small states, so they have to go. even combined they're too small... so i say just get rid of them. sell them on ebay to the highest bidder!

also, is it just me, but i always get illinios and indiana confused. they practically look the same and sound similar. so they should be one state. actually, iowa is right there too! all those "I" states right in a row! bah! do something with those!

Perhaps a combination of those three states into one? We'd need a new name. Illinoindianowa? Some variant thereof?

 

[mattmns]

Yeah something like that.

What about renaming "Florida" to "America's Wang" ?

I do like Gale's idea about getting rid of that extra Part of Virginia.

 

[JamesU]

there was an old threasd like this...

 

[Janus]

Okay, I was making my altered map with a few suggestions while other were posting so here it is:

http://home.earthlink.net/~parvey/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/newus2.gif

I also thought the Wisconsin/ Michigan border needed adjusting, along with some others
I expanded the Oklahoma panhandle to take in part of Texas.
I adjusted some borders along Colorado, Utah , Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, Kansas , Nebraska and Dakota to allow border lines that run straight North and South.
I gave the Florida pan handle to Alabama
Baton Rouge and New Orleans are now a part of Mississippi
The Border between Virgina and Tennessee was moved to remove an unsightly jog.

I left the Northern jut of Oregon alone because it is defined by a major natural border; the Columbia River.

 

[Moonbear]

An updated map of the U.S.

http://img347.imageshack.us/img347/1350/newus33cs.gif

Changes:

Small slice of northwest Oregon transferred to Washington.
Small chunk of Missouri transferred to Arkansas.
The horizontal strip from Oklahoma has been given to Texas.
A small chunk of northeastern Florida given to Georgia.
Maryland and Delaware given to Virginia.

Total number of U.S. States: 35

:rofl:
Well, if we're going to redraw maps, clearly KY and TN are just too strangely shaped. They should be squared up with OH, IN, VA and Carolina.

Oh, and let's do something about that part of ID sticking up between WA and MT (a little of the bottom of MT can be given to ID to make up for taking away some of the top of ID).

If we give MD and DE away to the highest bidder, let's just keep that little bit of MD that's between WV (oops, VA now) and PA...it always looked so funny and is such a pain crossing back and forth in and out of MD as you drive through there. Let's just make it all part of VA.

 

[Evo]

Okay, I was making my altered map with a few suggestions while other were posting so here it is:
http://home.earthlink.net/~parvey/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/newus2.gif
I also thought the Wisconsin/ Michigan border needed adjusting, along with some others
I expanded the Oklahoma panhandle to take in part of Texas.
I adjusted some borders along Colorado, Utah , Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, Kansas , Nebraska and Dakota to allow border lines that run straight North and South.
I gave the Florida pan handle to Alabama
Baton Rouge and New Orleans are now a part of Mississippi
The Border between Virgina and Tennessee was moved to remove an unsightly jog.
I left the Northern jut of Oregon alone because it is defined by a major natural border; the Columbia River.

Oh good, that Louisiana/Mississippi border was bothering me. I agree with the change to Fl. But you can't do that to Texas.

 

[motai]

I combined Janus' map and mine together, and made a few changes...

http://img158.imageshack.us/img158/1010/newus47rq.gif

Kentucky and Tennessee are fixed, made a slight adjustment to Louisiana so that it isn't so raggedly shaped, recentered some of the state names, and made a straight line boundary for Oregon and Idaho.

Northern Kentucky is still a problem. That river is making the United States awfully unaesthetic...

 

[mattmns]

We can always change the river right?

 

[Janus]

Of course if you really want to organise the US more logically(and ignore all natural borders), you need to redraw all the borders likes thus:
http://home.earthlink.net/~parvey/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/newus3.gif

 

[Janus]

But you can't do that to Texas.

Why not, What has Texas ever done for me?

 

[Evo]

Of course if you really want to organise the US more logically(and ignore all natural borders), you need to redraw all the borders likes thus:
http://home.earthlink.net/~parvey/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/newus3.gif

:rofl:[/URL] Oh dear, I just sprayed my computer.

Now that is a neatly ordered U S of A. I say we start a petition.