1. Louisiana
   Alaska
2. Hawaii

Alaska was called Seward's Folly after the Secretary of State signed an agreement to purchase the territory for two cents an acre from Russia in 1867 (a total of about $7.2 million). This was prior to the discovery of gold and oil in the region.

1. Hawaii
   New Mexico
2. California

Hawaii was overtaken by fruit companies in the 1880s. A new republic put Sanford B. Dole as president before the land was annexed by the United States in 1898.

1. North Carolina
   Texas
2. Florida

Florida is the site of the mythical Fountain of Youth.

1. Arizona
   North Dakota
2. Oklahoma

Oklahoma was the ultimate destination for the Trail of Tears.

1. Tennessee
   Virginia
2. Mississippi

Tennessee was the site of the Scopes Monkey Trial in 1925.

1. Vermont
   North Dakota
2. West Virginia

Vermont was home to the Green Mountain Boys.

1. California
   Utah
2. Wyoming

Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks are both located in Wyoming.

1. Colorado
   Missouri
2. Utah

Utah was settled by members of the Mormon faith in 1847.

1. Rhode Island
   Washington
2. South Carolina

Washington was the first state to elect a Chinese-American governor, Gary Locke, who was elected in 1996.

1. Alabama
   Florida
2. Texas

The George C. Marshall Flight Center calls Alabama home.

1. Connecticut and New York
   North Carolina and Ohio
2. Connecticut and Iowa

While Connecticut joined the fray in 2013 with a claim of flight predating the Wright Brothers, the long-standing rift is between Ohio (the brothers' birthplace) and North Carolina (where they made their first powered flight).

1. North Carolina
   Massachusetts
2. Virginia

While she was christened Virginia just to confuse us, the first English child was born in Roanoke, North Carolina, in 1587.

1. Delaware
   South Carolina
2. Georgia

Forget Georgia and South Carolina ... Delaware used to be a huge producer of peaches until a 19th century blight destroyed the industry there.

1. Montana
   Florida
2. Texas

Although it's far from the Mexican border, Montana's state motto is Spanish: "Oro y Plata," or "Gold and Silver."

1. Virginia
   Colorado
2. Minnesota

Minnesota has failed to make the square dance the state dance despite two proposal, making it the only state without an official way to boogie.

1. North Dakota
   West Virginia
2. Nevada

The Grave Creek Mound -- built from 250-150 BC by the native Adena people -- is outside Moundsville, West Virginia.

1. Texas
   California
2. North Dakota

North Dakota is a thirsty state: Each adult drank 43.6 gallons of beer in 2013, according to a study from Beer Marketer's Insight.

1. New Jersey
   New York
2. Nebraska

While we certainly associate the Reuben with New York -- and many claim it originated from a deli there -- Nebraskans argue their native son invented the sandwich in the 1930s.

1. Ohio
   Massachusetts
2. Connecticut

Ruth Wakefield of Whitman, Massachusetts sprinkled some chocolate chips into cookie dough at her Toll House Restaurant in 1938 and snack time has never been the same.

1. Massachusetts
   New York
2. New Jersey

While the New York Knickerbockers were the first baseball "team," they traveled to Hoboken in 1845 to play the first game.

1. New Jersey
   Oregon
2. Utah

Don't reach for the gas handle in New Jersey or Oregon; both states have laws prohibiting pumping your own gas.

1. Wisconsin
   North Dakota
2. Minnesota

Laura Ingalls Wilder's little house was in the big Wisconsin woods.

1. Wyoming
   Arkansas
2. Nevada

120,000 people of Japanese ancestry were interred in 10 camps throughout the United States for up to four years.

1. New York
   Washington
2. Massachusetts

In 2003, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court rules that gay and lesbians have equal marriage rights.

1. Maryland
   New York
2. Delaware

While the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves that had seceded from the Union, Maryland -- a border state -- didn't abolish slavery until 1864.

1. North Carolina
   West Virginia
2. Rhode Island

In 1863, West Virginia was formally accepted as a Union state after breaking off from Virginia.

1. Maine
   New Hampshire
2. Vermont

Maine was part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts until it seceded from the commonwealth in 1820.

1. New Jersey
   Rhode Island
2. Vermont

New York wanted to keep Vermont to itself, but agreed to let the northerners become independent -- for a (not so small) fee.

1. Illinois
   Ohio
2. New Mexico

Bet you didn't know that every state has an official soil, and Illinois' is Drummer.

1. Illinois
   Virginia
2. Ohio

It's a tricky question: While Virginia claims the most presidents by birthplace, six presidents were calling Ohio home when they were voted into office.