A recap of my summer in Teton Valley.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Sunday, August 12, 2012
US Capitals
I recently dusted off my old memorization of the US state capitals.
When I was growing up, I had a placemat of the United States, which was my only placemat and with me at every meal. I remember being quite upset when that placemat was being washed and I had to have a regular flower-print placemat that everyone else had. I have no idea where this placemat came from, as I did not have any other educational placemats, and no other member of the family had any eccentric placemats. But the result of my beloved USA placemat was that I endeavored to memorize all 50 state capitals. I never learned that alphabetical-state song, which might have been helpful, but instead just bulldozed through it using sheer force of mind.
This memorization occurred when I was in elementary school. I remember my second-grade teacher calling out capitals to me on the playground and I went and stood on the corresponding state on our large playground map. In retrospect, two things strike me: 1) I don't know if the teacher even knew the capitals, and 2) I was quite a precocious kid.
In the years after elementary school, my knowledge lapsed. I didn't keep up with my memorization, and as memories do, they faded. But my brother recently introduced me to an interactive online learning site called Memrise. There, I quickly planted a garden of memories associated with the US states. Other gardens I am harvesting include the countries of the world with their capitals, and the flags of the world. (The flags have already come in handy in the Olympics, with the satisfaction of knowing the athlete's country by sight, a split second before they announce it).
As I was recalling the 50 capitals, I began to count how many I had been to. It is a sparsely populated list, compared to my slept-in states (34) and visited states (42):
I have lived in:
I have slept in:
I have been to for the day:
6. Cheyenne, WY
7. Juneau, AK
8. Richmond, VA
9. Annapolis, MD
10. Denver, CO
11. Nashville, TN
12. Little Rock, AR
I have driven through:
13. Harrisburg, PA
14. Concord, NH
15. Hartford, CT
16. Salt Lake City, UT
17. Lansing, MI
18. Columbus, OH
19. Jefferson City, MO
20. Madison, WI
21. Saint Paul, MN
22. Trenton, NJ
I've visited the airport (does that even count?):
23. Phoenix, AZ
24. Atlanta, GA
Which leaves 26:
California
Oregon
Washington
Nevada
Idaho
Montana
New Mexico
North Dakota
South Dakota
Nebraska
Kansas
Oklahoma
Louisiana
Iowa
Illinois
Indiana
Kentucky
Mississippi
Alabama
Florida
South Carolina
North Carolina
West Virginia
New York
Vermont
Maine
When I was growing up, I had a placemat of the United States, which was my only placemat and with me at every meal. I remember being quite upset when that placemat was being washed and I had to have a regular flower-print placemat that everyone else had. I have no idea where this placemat came from, as I did not have any other educational placemats, and no other member of the family had any eccentric placemats. But the result of my beloved USA placemat was that I endeavored to memorize all 50 state capitals. I never learned that alphabetical-state song, which might have been helpful, but instead just bulldozed through it using sheer force of mind.
This memorization occurred when I was in elementary school. I remember my second-grade teacher calling out capitals to me on the playground and I went and stood on the corresponding state on our large playground map. In retrospect, two things strike me: 1) I don't know if the teacher even knew the capitals, and 2) I was quite a precocious kid.
In the years after elementary school, my knowledge lapsed. I didn't keep up with my memorization, and as memories do, they faded. But my brother recently introduced me to an interactive online learning site called Memrise. There, I quickly planted a garden of memories associated with the US states. Other gardens I am harvesting include the countries of the world with their capitals, and the flags of the world. (The flags have already come in handy in the Olympics, with the satisfaction of knowing the athlete's country by sight, a split second before they announce it).
As I was recalling the 50 capitals, I began to count how many I had been to. It is a sparsely populated list, compared to my slept-in states (34) and visited states (42):
I have lived in:
1. Dover, DE
I have slept in:
2. Honolulu, HI
3. Providence, RI
4. Austin, TX
5. Boston, MA
(Washington, DC)
3. Providence, RI
4. Austin, TX
5. Boston, MA
(Washington, DC)
I have been to for the day:
6. Cheyenne, WY
7. Juneau, AK
8. Richmond, VA
9. Annapolis, MD
10. Denver, CO
11. Nashville, TN
12. Little Rock, AR
I have driven through:
13. Harrisburg, PA
14. Concord, NH
15. Hartford, CT
16. Salt Lake City, UT
17. Lansing, MI
18. Columbus, OH
19. Jefferson City, MO
20. Madison, WI
21. Saint Paul, MN
22. Trenton, NJ
I've visited the airport (does that even count?):
23. Phoenix, AZ
24. Atlanta, GA
Which leaves 26:
California
Oregon
Washington
Nevada
Idaho
Montana
New Mexico
North Dakota
South Dakota
Nebraska
Kansas
Oklahoma
Louisiana
Iowa
Illinois
Indiana
Kentucky
Mississippi
Alabama
Florida
South Carolina
North Carolina
West Virginia
New York
Vermont
Maine
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