The age-old bear puzzle

One morning I went for a walk. Starting at point x, I walked 1 mile due south to point A. Then I walked one mile due west to point B. Then I walked one mile due north and I found I had returned to where I started. Then I saw a bear walk by. What color was the bear?
There is only one place on earth where you can do this AND potentially see a bear. This really confused me as a 6th grader... it's a fun geography puzzle for the middle school crowd. Answer after the break.

Guess the State

Here is a portion of perhaps the most-famous statehood-day photo of all time. Which state is it? The paperboy holding the newspaper in this iconic shot passed away just a couple days ago—which narrows down the choices considerably. Figured it out yet? There are only five U.S. states that have any residents living who can remember the first day of statehood. If the paperboy in the photo is from Oklahoma (1907), Arizona (1912) or New Mexico (1912), he would have to be at least 110 years old today. In theory, he could be from Alaska, but Alaskan statehood came on January 3rd of 1959—and no one wears short sleeves in Alaska in January! For the full photo and the answer, read on.  Story continues...

What is the only state capital without a McDonalds?

I don't know if this is good or bad, but there is only one U.S. state capital city that doesn't have a McDonalds. Can you name it? Hint: it's also the smallest state capital. Hint 2: It is pictured above. For the answer, click through....

Map Puzzler #2

While we are on the topic of strange map facts, here's an unexpected tidbit. Let's say you get in a plane in St Louis, Missouri and fly due north 540 miles--and then land. What state are you in? The answer may surprise you.... it's Michigan. Really. Follow the purple line northward to see for yourself....

Car Talk makes a big goof!

View St. George FL in a larger map
Here's proof that "Lost States" readers are a bit more detail-oriented (read "smarter") than Car Talk listeners. Sorry Tom and Ray, but our geo-smart readers have clear proof that your puzzler answer was no better than your advice on to cook fish on the radiator of a 65 Plymouth Belvedere. The puzzler question was:
(From Car Talk) There is only one city in the United States whereby traveling along the four compass points, the first state you reach is the same--no matter which direction you choose. The answer: Stamford, CT.
Sorry boys, but that's not exactly right. Sure Stamford is a correct answer, but it's not the only city. Lost States reader Frank Gerratana notes that St. George, Georgia also fits the description (See map above). Mike Provine and Peter Hartikka added that the northern parts of Washington DC also work (I figured that one out too!) Then there's Carter Lake, Iowa--a clear winner (thanks Peter Hartikka). Plus, while they may not be cities, there are plenty of non-city places that work. Charlie Kaupp noted there is a section of land just west of Weiser, Idaho that fits the bill. And I noticed that there is land across the river from New Madrid, Missouri that also meets the criteria.  Plus there are other spots in states that have windy-river boundaries. Sorry Car Talk guys... we love your show, but you got this one, well, wrong.

Geographic Puzzler

Kudos to NPR's Car Talk guys for this interesting puzzler:
"There is only one city in the United States whereby traveling along the four compass points, the first state you reach is the same--no matter which direction you choose. Name the city and the state."
While there may be only one "city" that fits this description (answer Friday), I found at least one additional location in America that fits this description. There may be more.... do you know of any? (Thanks to Al Cyclone for pointing out this great riddle!)

5-state point winner

View Larger Map Hats off to Vic Fieger who will go down in history as the first person to identify the 5-State Point; the place in America where one is the closest to being in 5 states at once (See earlier Simpsons entry). The point is in Virginia (Vic gives the coordinates as 36.959851, -81.972828) and it's 30 miles or less from Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and North Carolina . The nearest city is Rosedale, which is about a mile away from the point. I thought I'd look for a bit of info on Rosedale, but a Google search turned up very little. I mean very little. All I could find was the health code violations of the Rosedale Pizza Plus. Turns out they've been holding their corn dogs at the improper temperature.  All the details here. Anyway, if I have any say, this little landmark will be called the "Feiger Point." Perhaps the town council of Rosedale will make such a declaration.

Simpsons Map Mystery

On last night's episode of the Simpsons, Sideshow Bob took Bart to "5 Corners" the only place in America where 5 states meet--so that Bob could commit the "perfect crime" in multiple states (his theory was that no individual state would have enough evidence to prosecute him). OK, so we know America has a "4 Corners" where Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah meet, but is there any place 5 states meet? The answer is no... so I pose the question... is there any place you can get close? That is, what place in America gets you the closest to being in 5 states at once? I offer 3 candidates: Standing in Boise City, Oklahoma puts you 40 miles or less from Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, and Kansas. Another candidate is Rutland, MA which puts you about 40 miles or less from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Connecticut. A third option is New Madrid, Missouri, which gets you about the same distance from Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Illinois. But I haven't yet taken the time to do the actual calculations. What a great project for a social studies class... solve the 5-state mystery! I'll post your answer here! So here is the formal challenge: Bob wants to stand in the place that gets him as close as possible to 5 U.S. states. Where does he stand? And what is the distance to each of the 5 states? ANSWER HERE.
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