What is the dullest/least interesting state in the union?

[terraplnr]

I'm fine with people thinking my state (New Mexico) is boring. Its not, but the more people that stay away, the better. IMHO...

I agree, people think NM is boring because of what they see cruising along on the freeway, but it’s totally not boring. The stretch of interstate from Columbus to Indianapolis is very, very boring, but there are not boring things in each state. I had voted for Kansas, but it’s probably not fair to judge it just from what I saw cruising along on the freeway. Plus it was actually pretty neat how far you could see sometimes because of how flat the land was. Although I would probably go crazy living somewhere with no mountains or hills.

[mgk920]

I cannot offhand think of much of anything that is truly exciting in - Iowa.

It's there. Some major highways and railroads transit it, including some impressive bridges along their ways, some interesting geological features are in it, and of course the corn. But not a lot else.

James Kirk will be born there in a few centuries.

Oh well....

Mike

[TerraSapient]

Ohio is ranked 25th in the country for spelling words with their arms, according to the National Word Spelling With Arms Association. Mississippi and West Virginia are usually tied for last place.

Where did you come up with this data?

I want to speak with the manager!

[WSU MUP Student]

Most of the country east of the Mississippi is just empty and doesn't make for an entertaining drive.

That's how I feel about the area west of the Mississippi and east of the Rockies.

[Blide]

That's how I feel about the area west of the Mississippi and east of the Rockies.

Hah, definitely a directional fail on my part.

But anyway, even the Rockies may be scenic but there's still a lot of lonely road out there.

[Maister]

North Dakota is breaking away from the pack!

On a different note, did you know that in the category of households having surnames with two or more syllables Ohio is ranked 25th?

Oh they're also ranked 25th in number of left handed pipe smokers too!

[Blide]

The American accent of the English language originates in Ohio as well.

[WSU MUP Student]

There are 3x more egg-laying chickens in South Dakota than there are people. Statistics are not available for North Dakota, but I imagine that the figure is just as uninteresting.


There are about 2.5x more turkeys in ND than people and 6.5 more in SD! That's a lot of turkeys!

[mendelman]

North Dakota for me as well. Flat northern plains and cold, cold, cold.

Though, if central Indiana was it's own state, it would certainly be a good contender.

[TerraSapient]

Man... Ohio is average in so many categories. I think that makes Ohio pretty interesting.

ahihihi

[Maister]

Time to throw in some serious science to back up claims....I have selected four entirely random street views from central Indiana. Here they are:
http://goo.gl/maps/CrSQw

http://goo.gl/maps/veEff

http://goo.gl/maps/K4AQk

http://goo.gl/maps/ZRl0A

Now let us contrast those with four typical scenes in Michigan that were chosen more or less at random as well:

http://goo.gl/maps/3bdtl

http://goo.gl/maps/BKolB

http://goo.gl/maps/1ZObX

http://goo.gl/maps/XRbp1

Just in terms of visual interest found in the built and natural environment there is a notable difference, wouldn't you say?

[ofos]

Time to throw in some serious science to back up claims....I have selected four entirely random street views from central Indiana. Here they are:
http://goo.gl/maps/CrSQw

http://goo.gl/maps/veEff

http://goo.gl/maps/K4AQk

http://goo.gl/maps/ZRl0A

Now let us contrast those with four typical scenes in Michigan that were chosen more or less at random as well:

http://goo.gl/maps/3bdtl

http://goo.gl/maps/BKolB

http://goo.gl/maps/1ZObX

http://goo.gl/maps/XRbp1

Just in terms of visual interest found in the built and natural environment there is a notable difference, wouldn't you say?

That's amazing. I didn't realize that Indiana had so much variety in their landscape.

[Linda_D]

Nebraska is dull. So is Idahoooooooo.

Having lived in Nebraska for 2 years, I'll second this. I even voted for it twice since it was on the poll twice!

[Maister]

Having lived in Nebraska for 2 years, I'll second this. I even voted for it twice since it was on the poll twice!

That'll teach me to post polls after having two Bell's Old Ales (10.2% ABV)

[ofos]

That'll teach me to post polls after having two Bell's Old Ales (10.2% ABV)

Also

I doubt it.

[Dan]

Just for kicks, let me try Ontario.

http://goo.gl/maps/jqMiB
http://goo.gl/maps/up5Om
http://goo.gl/maps/lrvsl
http://goo.gl/maps/iLHn4
http://goo.gl/maps/W9ON1
http://goo.gl/maps/JTHDR
http://goo.gl/maps/oOUq5

Conclusion: it's really flat.

[otterpop]

Nebraska is dull. So is Idahoooooooo.

As far as Idaho, depends where you are passing through. I like the panhandle of Idaho and Boise. One afternoon I went over Thompson Pass into Murray, Idaho, which is mostly a ghost town. There in the middle of "town" was a guy working his mining claim and periodically blasting. Then I went to the cemetary where a friend of Mark Twain is buried. And, of course, before they cleaned it up, Wallace was known for its red light district.

[jsk1983]

Just for kicks, let me try Ontario.

http://goo.gl/maps/jqMiB
http://goo.gl/maps/up5Om
http://goo.gl/maps/lrvsl
http://goo.gl/maps/iLHn4
http://goo.gl/maps/W9ON1
http://goo.gl/maps/JTHDR
http://goo.gl/maps/oOUq5

Conclusion: it's really flat.

But at least your always in sight of a Tim Horton's.

[Whose Yur Planner]

Time to throw in some serious science to back up claims....I have selected four entirely random street views from central Indiana. Here they are:
http://goo.gl/maps/CrSQw

http://goo.gl/maps/veEff

http://goo.gl/maps/K4AQk

http://goo.gl/maps/ZRl0A

Now let us contrast those with four typical scenes in Michigan that were chosen more or less at random as well:

http://goo.gl/maps/3bdtl

http://goo.gl/maps/BKolB

http://goo.gl/maps/1ZObX

http://goo.gl/maps/XRbp1

Just in terms of visual interest found in the built and natural environment there is a notable difference, wouldn't you say?

Did you notice the excellent conditions of the roads in the Indiana pictures. FWIW, I've been in some pretty BFE parts of Michigan. Notice he didn't post any pix of the thumb region?

[Jazzman]

I vote Delaware. I know I've never been to North Dakota before, but I also know that it's in a part of the country where at least they have interesting weather - they get everything from tornadoes to blistering summer heat to snowstorms and frigid cold temperatures to spring floods. So at least it's not boring in that sense.

Delaware is in the mid-Atlantic region, so yes they have 4 seasons but none of them are particularly extreme. The state isn't big enough to be interesting. It only has 3 counties. Wilmington's a decent size, kind of industrial city and it's close to Philadelphia. When I think of North Dakota and the culture, I imagine it to be typical Upper Midwestern, Fargo-kind of culture (and before anyone brings it up, yes I know that most of Fargo takes place in Minnesota. But you get my point). But at least that's some sort of easily identifiable American sub-culture.

How do people in Delaware talk or what kind of foods they eat? Don't worry, I'll wait.

That being said, I do like that big rest stop Delaware has on I-95 that's practically a mini-shopping mall.

Also, I don't think any of the western states should qualify. Even if the people in Idaho are a bunch of fuddy-duddies (which they are, I know because I've been there), the scenery is absolutely breathtaking. I think what we're looking for here is the worst combination of dull scenery and natural beauty, dull climate, and dull people.

[TerraSapient]

How did Nebraska only get 4 votes so far?

[Maister]

How did Nebraska only get 4 votes so far?

Nebraska actually has ten when you combine the two times it appears on the poll.

[Hink]

Nebraska actually has ten when you combine the two times it appears on the poll.

It is so dull that it gets two nominations? Wow.... I think we have a winner.

[TerraSapient]

Nebraska actually has ten when you combine the two times it appears on the poll.

That is hilarious!

[Maister]

It is so dull that it gets two nominations? Wow.... I think we have a winner.

I didn't want to overload the servers, which might have happened if everyone rushed at the same time to respond to just the one 'Nebraska' choice.

On a different note, I have found that randomly selecting street views from pretty much every state returns uniformly dull (and rural 99% of the time) views. We are a dull country I guess.