1. Indiana
   Washington
2. Minnesota
   Kentucky

Kentucky doesn't get its nickname from a style of old-timey music. The Bluegrass State name comes from a variety of grass that grows outside the northern part of the state. It's not blue, but its pods sometimes add a blue hue from a distance.

1. Texas
   Kansas
2. West Virginia
   Nebraska

Immediately after being transported to Oz, Dorothy was already missing Kansas. A state since 1861, The Sunflower State is home to nearly 3 million people who love calling the region known as "the breadbasket" home.

1. Kentucky
   Illinois
2. Ohio
   Indiana

Founded in 1803, Ohio has produced more U.S. presidents than any other state! Former Presidents Madison, Harrison, Grant, Hayes, Garfield, McKinley, Taft and Harding were all born near the towns of Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati.

1. Alabama
   Michigan
2. Utah
   Florida

Long before Alabama became a state, Mardi Gras was first celebrated by French settlers near Mobile. The festival went dormant for a number of years, but a man named Joe Cain brought it back after the Civil War.

1. Oregon
   Arizona
2. Alaska
   Texas

Although not part of the continental United States, Alaska has a lot to offer. Oil and natural gas are the state's biggest export, but Alaska is desperate for dentists and physicians.

1. Montana
   Wyoming
2. Idaho
   Colorado

There's a reason they call Wyoming "The Equality State." Long before Congress passed the 19th Amendment granting women the right to vote, Wyoming had already allowed it. Wyoming is also home to the first female governor to serve one of the states.

1. Maryland
   Delaware
2. West Virginia
   North Carolina

West Virginia had been trying to separate itself from the eastern part of Virginia since 1769. It wasn't until political disagreements over the Civil War led the state to secede in 1863.

1. Nevada
   Oklahoma
2. New Mexico
   Arizona

When you think of Nevada, you might think of the twinkling lights of Las Vegas or the capital city of Reno. There's something else that sparkles in Nevada, though. Nevada is one of the world's biggest exporters of gold.

1. California
   Massachusettes
2. Nebraska
   South Dakota

"Oh yeah!" After you finish watching a game at the NebraskaCornhuskers' Memorial Stadium, point your car toward the Kool-Aid Museum in Hastings. In 1927, Edwin Perkins invented a concentrated drink called Fruit Smack. Once it was reduced to powder, Kool-Aid was born!

1. New York
   Rhode Island
2. Louisiana
   New Hampshire

Louisiana's history is quite different from the original 13 colonies. Louisiana became a state in 1812 after being purchased by the United States in 1803's aptly named Louisiana Purchase.

1. Massachusetts
   Pennsylvania
2. Virginia
   Maine

If you wanted to see the Liberty Bell or have one of the country's best cheesesteaks, you would head to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The state is also home to Forbes Field, the first baseball field in the United States. It was built in Pittsburgh in 1909.

1. New Hampshire
   Vermont
2. Rhode Island
   Connecticut

They've lived by their state motto for a long time in New Hampshire! Six months before the Declaration of Independence was signed, New Hampshire independently declared freedom from England.

1. Mississippi
   Nebraska
2. North Carolina
   Texas

You can find The Alamo in San Antonio, Texas, and the Live Music Capital of the World in Austin. And you can travel fast between the two cities. The speed limit on the highway running between them is 85 miles per hour!

1. Connecticut
   Wisconsin
2. Mississippi
   Arkansas

You can thank Mississippi for the invention of the phrase "teddy bear." President Theodore Roosevelt once refused to kill a bear there, and a political cartoon led to the name. You can also use the state's name to count time by saying, "One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi ..."

1. Arkansas
   Oregon
2. Michigan
   Kentucky

In 1924, a man who was diamond mining near Crater of Diamonds in Arkansas stumbled across a 40.23-carat diamond worth $880,000 in today's money. You can head to the park and see it for yourself! It's called Uncle Sam, and it's still on display there.

1. Hawaii
   Minnesota
2. New Jersey
   Vermont

Minnesota calls itself the "Land of 10,000 Lakes," but there are closer to 15,000 throughout the state. It's also home to the most Fortune 500 companies. Companies like Target, Best Buy and General Mills call the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul home.

1. Vermont
   Maine
2. New Hampshire
   Maryland

For such a small state, Vermont has a huge appeal. The capital city of Montpelier has fewer than 9,000 people, and you won't find a McDonald's there. It's perfect for those who want to get away and enjoy life's finer things.

1. Tennessee
   Nevada
2. Iowa
   Massachusetts

Taking a trip to Massachusetts is visiting a gateway to America's past. Boston — the largest city in New England — is the birthplace of the American Revolution. You can travel a trail through the city that marks Paul Revere's midnight ride.

1. Georgia
   Maryland
2. Florida
   California

Maryland is famous for its fresh blue crabs, but the state's nickname best reflects it. Called "Little America," Maryland is home to nearly all types of terrains found in the United States.

1. Hawaii
   Washington
2. Alaska
   Oregon

In 1959, Hawaii became the 50th state. From jungles to volcanoes, there's plenty to love about it. If you want to live there, you'll have to learn to love SPAM. Every year, over 7 million cans of it are eaten in Hawaii. That's nearly six cans for each of its residents!

1. Maryland
   Utah
2. Maine
   Louisiana

There are two things that visitors love about Maine — the lobster and the moose hunting. Every year, the Pine Tree State exports over 1 million lobsters, and it is home to more than 70,000 moose.

1. Kansas
   Oklahoma
2. Missouri
   Iowa

Although Missouri was part of 1803's Louisiana Purchase, it didn't become a state until 1821. Known as the Show Me State, Missouri is home to the country's only restaurant in a cave and the tallest man-made arch in the world — the Gateway Arch.

1. Illinois
   Iowa
2. Montana
   Rhode Island

Iowa might be one of the biggest crop producers in the United States, and that might conjure up images of endless fields. However, Iowa is the only state in the U.S. to be surrounded by rivers on both its eastern and western borders.

1. Rhode Island
   Connecticut
2. Hawaii
   Utah

The American Revolution might have started in Massachusetts, but Rhode Island was the first one to strike. They sunk one of England's ships off the coast of Narragansett Bay before the "shot heard round the world" was ever fired.

1. North Carolina
   North Dakota
2. Idaho
   Virginia

It's true! There are a lot of potatoes in Idaho. The state exports more spuds than any other, but there's also a lot of gemstones there. You can mine 70 different varieties within the state's borders.

1. West Virginia
   Colorado
2. New Mexico
   Oregon

Oregon has beautiful cities, like Portland, but you can also find nearly any sort of outdoor adventure in the state. True thrill-seekers love scaling Hells Canyon. At 7,993 feet down, it's America's deepest river gorge.

1. New Mexico
   Nevada
2. Washington
   New Jersey

You probably won't see any aliens in New Mexico, but you can see the oldest capital city in the United States. Santa Fe was founded in 1610 by European settlers staking their claim.

1. Michigan
   Minnesota
2. South Dakota
   Montana

If you were trying to find Michigan on a map, you would look for the state that's shaped like a mitten.

1. Arkansas
   South Dakota
2. Texas
   Utah

South Dakota is a beautiful state, and you can visit these famous monuments in the Black Hills region. Make sure to check the weather before you go, though. At 38 inches of snowfall every year, the state gets 10 more inches per year than the national average.

1. Idaho
   South Carolina
2. Tennessee
   Maine

It's hard to pass through the Volunteer State without driving on Music Highway. In 1997, the Tennessee legislature voted to give the name to the section of Interstate 40 that runs between these two towns.

1. New Jersey
   California
2. Georgia
   New York

When you need a break from Atlantic City's casinos and swimming in the ocean, you can replenish yourself in one of the state's 525 diners. New Jersey is known as the "Diner Capital of the World."

1. Oregon
   California
2. Washington
   Alaska

Approximately one in eight Americans are from the great state of California. They will have a thing or two to tell you about the 500,000 recordable instances of seismic activity that occur in the Grizzly Bear State every year!

1. North Carolina
   Massachusetts
2. Rhode Island
   Connecticut

North Carolina has a long history related to aviation. On the Outer Banks, you'll find a town named Kill Devil Hills. It's where Orrville and Wilbur Wright became the first men to take flight.

1. California
   Colorado
2. Florida
   Iowa

You can spend time on any of Florida's sprawling beaches, or you can find the fountain of youth. No, really! Nestled within the city of St. Augustine, you can visit Ponce de Leon's Fountain of Youth Archeological Park. It's a nod to the explorer who discovered Florida while looking for eternal life.

1. Florida
   New York
2. Maryland
   South Carolina

Until the 1930s, South Carolina was called the Iodine State. Although the palmetto tree was added to the state flag in 1861, the current nickname wasn't adopted until much later.