[Peter Ansoff]

I think that we should appoint Robin to process the spam moderation for this thread!!

Seriously, though, the forum does get a lot of traffic. The thread on half-staffing the flag for McNamara has only been up for a few days, and it's received over 1500 hits. An optimistic interpretation is that people are turning to us as a source of information, which is a good thing.

Peter Ansoff

[Robin Hickman]

.
Silly ME !

TRIX are for kids !


It also helps when you add a "trackback" using a search website and the word "flag". Well, at least I think it does. I don't know for sure.

I added a "trackback" to "Bing.com" with this entry.

http://www.bing.com/search?q=Flag&go=&form=QBRE

You can see how many and "what" trackbacks have already been added to this thread when you click "reply", then scroll down below the "message" entry box. There's already a couple to Google.com.


I'd been considering doing a "TEST" by starting two (2) identical threads and adding search site "trackbacks" to one, but not the other. Just curious about it, that's all.

Robin Hickman
.

[JHubb]

Such an interesting read ! I googled 52 states because my husband and I can both remember at some point in school being taught that there were 52 states. Though they were not on the flag. We are both Americans and went to school here in America. We are both in our 40's. I'm not sure when we realized there were only 50. Obviously there was some confusion on our part, but we both remember being taught about 52 states. (we lived in different towns and went to different schools) I know it isn't taught that way now. We were just curious if anyone else remembered learning it that way. Interesting.

[Peter Ansoff]

Hi, JHubb, welcome to the forum!

It's quite baffling how this 52-state thing keeps turning up. My hypothesis is that it relates to the admission of Alaska and Hawaii in 1959. People remember that the number of states increased by two, and (without thinking about it) apply the "plus two" idea to 50 instead of 48.

Others here have suggested that it might have to do with the District of Columbia and/or one of the 5 US Territories, but I think most people know that they are not states.

We've also heard stories from other nations about the 52-state business -- it's turned up in Iceland, New Zealand and Pakistan, for example.

Peter Ansoff

[Robin Hickman]

.

It seems like a "reasonable" hypothesis to me.


Unless, of course, they were all confused by decks of playing cards (52 cards - NOT counting "Jokers"!) or Calendars (52 weeks in a year) !!!


Or maybe it was all stared years ago as some kind of cockamamie conspiracy theory concocted by an ultra-secret "golden fringe" group "out there"...




Or maybe . . . . .




ROBIN
.

[american_flag_uk]

or maybe they were counting the 2 underwater states :P

[Robin Hickman]

.

D'Oh !!!


How on Earth could I have forgotten the two UNDERWATER States ???


D'Oh !!!



Robin

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[NAVA1974]

Robin, how could you have possibly forgotten TennesSEA and WET Virginia??

Nick

[bronny49]

Robin:

Your latest posting on this is funny.

Some additional facts: There are 5 "delegates" in Congress who have offices, staff and committee assignments but they cannot vote when Congress is is formal session. The piece of Maryland that has been the District of Columbia has one. The Territories are: Puerto Rico (the largest and oldest in status), Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of Northern Marianas (whose Delegate joined the current Congress for the first time).

All person born in those 4 territories are citizens of USA. Those persons who were permanent residents of CNMI became citizens when those islands became a Territory.

Ron Bowers
Timonium, Maryland

[bronny49]

Folks:

Like the President, I can't count right. I was thinking of the 4 Territories before this current Congress - there are now 5 Territories besides DC with Delegates to Congress.

Ron B