• Prime Mover (unregistered)

    Yes, that's a point, maybe it would be a good idea to include a map whenever we are referring to locations outside the US.

    Dunno whether that would actually help much, though ...

  • (nodebb) in reply to Prime Mover

    I can imagine what's happened there. They have spreadsheets with leads and they want to do a mail blast. Instead of filtering on the state column, they filtered on the full address column. Then they sent the result to the mailing company - who was glad to take their money and mail junk anywhere in USA. I mean, it's kind of forgivable? Or am I too nice....

  • (nodebb) in reply to Mr. TA

    You might be onto something. I feel bad for the folks who live in Springfield, <pick 1 of 34 states> or Riverside <pick 1 of 46 states>!

  • ooOOooGa (unregistered)

    Also for those not in the U.S., being on opposite sides of the U.S. means about a 5-day road trip at 8 hours per day.

  • Brian Boorman (unregistered) in reply to ooOOooGa
    a 5-day road trip at 8 hours per day

    Obligatory Old New Thing link: https://devblogs.microsoft.com/oldnewthing/20140320-01/?p=1443

  • Bill T (unregistered)

    A long time ago, I was part of a youth tour from Washington (State) to NYC, Philadelphia, and Washington (D.C.). While in New York, one of the group members had this exchange with a New Yorker:

    New Yorker: So where are you [the group] from? Member: Washington. N: Ah, D.C. M: No, the state. N: <<blank look>> M: You know, West Coast? N: Oh, you mean California!

    (facepalm)

  • (nodebb)

    I live in that dark green area on top; we're even bigger! One Washington shares my longitude and the other shared my latitude. Neither shares my attitude, but the one on the far west comes close.

  • Sou Eu (unregistered) in reply to Bananafish

    Riverside is worse than you imagined; there are 186 places named "Riverside" in 46 states (the states without Riverside are Alaska, Hawaii, Louisiana, and Oklahoma).

  • Bruce W (unregistered) in reply to Bill T

    New Yorker: So where are you [the group] from? Member: Washington. N: Ah, D.C. M: No, the state. N: <<blank look>> M: You know, West Coast? N: Oh, you mean California!

    I grew up in Connecticut and moved to the West Coast when I was 16. I would tell people that Northeasterns view anything past western Pennsylvania as "unknown" and then "California".

  • Worf (unregistered)

    I don't get the last image... "Seattle" I get, as well as "Not Seattle" pointing to Washington DC. But I don't see the WTF in the map?

    Now, the Seattle and DC thing is good. I'm guessing they sorted by full state name, thus "Washington" and "Washington DC" go together? It's certainly not by the more common state code, since WA and DC are nowhere close. But I can see someone with a spreadsheet sorted by full state names and seeing "Washing...", being too lazy to expand the field, and confusing "Washington" and "Washington DC" together.

  • (author) in reply to Worf

    There is no WTF in the map; it's simply there to explain the magnitude of the WTF in the mailing. "Washington DC" is not a state name. The city is named Washington, and it's located in the political District (technically not a state) of Columbia. So I wonder if this mailing also went out to residents of Washington PA, Washington KS, and Washington UK.

  • (nodebb)

    When you live in Washington (state) and have initials D.C., that's just asking for trouble!

  • (nodebb)

    It's Opera Beta! She's gone to plaid!

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