Sunday Morning

It was 24' when I got up this morning, just about the coldest morning this winter. Hanging out laundry in below freezing temps is no fun. My fingers are froze, my toes are froze, and I got the ol' coat out of the closet for the first time this year.

I've been involved in an interesting debate over on one of my reptile forums. This guy from Great Britian made the following comment:

I am in Europe depending upon your point of view, because I am in the United Kingdom or Great Britain which is theoretically still in Europe last time I looked. Though I am begining to suspect we are the 52nd state of the United States of America.

My response:

Huh? Did I miss something? Did we get a new state while I wasn’t looking? The US has 50 states--that would make Great Britain the 51st in your metaphor.

So he so kindly informed me:

Trust me when I tell you that you did indeed miss something. The 51st State already exists it has done for the past 53 odd years. So Britain would indeed be the 52nd state!

Fancy that! All this time our flag has been wrong, the senate has two too few members, and the state quarter issues are one short! Not to mention all we've been incorrectly taught about geography and history in school. Again, I responded:

Uh, no. There are only 50 states. The last state admitted to the US was Hawaii, which became a state August 21, 1959. It is the 50th state. There are no more.

Even a couple of people from Canada and Sweden jump into the mix with the following comments:

I got curious about this 51 vs 50 state debate. I live in Canada, but I am sure that I have read and/or heard that there are 51 states. So I googled it, and for those who are wondering, it is 50 states AND the District of Columbia. That doesn’t count as a State.

I’m not American, but I was tought in school about the 50 states of the U.S.

The original poster has not been back. It'll be interesting to see how this one plays out. Will he still insist that there are 51 states?

It surprises me when I realize how many people actually do think there are 51 states. This conversation came up at work several years back. One lady insisted that there were 51 states, because she'd seen a map which had the U.S. Virgin Islands on it, and thought they were a state. So I did an informal poll, and asked several coworkers how many states the U.S. has. No one knew the answer. Some did indeed say there are 51 states, but when I asked them what is the 51st state, I got varying answers. Some said D.C., others said Puerto Rico, and the one lady said the Virgin Islands. It's no surprise to me, though, how many people are ignorant of their country's history when you consider that in the town in which I live, 75% of adults cannot read or write beyond and 8th grade level, and 50% cannot read or write beyond a 3rd grade level. Speaks volumes about our public school system, doesn't it?

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A few little known facts about Chuck Norris:

When the Boogeyman goes to sleep every night he checks his closet for Chuck Norris.

Chuck Norris sleeps with a night light. Not because Chuck Norris is afraid of the dark, but the dark is afraid of Chuck Norris.

Chuck Norris died ten years ago, but the Grim Reaper can't get up the courage to tell him.

Superman owns a pair of Chuck Norris pajamas.

Chuck Norris can touch MC Hammer.

Achilles was supposedly the greatest warrior of all time, but he died because of his weak spot, the Achilles tendon. There is no Chuck Norris tendon.

And my favorite:

When an episode of Walker Texas Ranger was aired in France, the French surrendered to Chuck Norris just to be on the safe side.