Name The U.S. State(s) That Are Furthest North, East, South, and West

[DonRocks]

Name the U.S. state(s) that are furthest:

1) North

2) East

3) South

4) West

Before you look at the answer, sit for a moment, and really try and *think* of what it is. The vast majority of people get this wrong, so think hard before you assume you're correct.

If you highlight the (invisible) text that follows, you'll have the answer. Once again, I urge you to think carefully about this - I wouldn't be asking this question if it had an easy answer. No cheating!

1) North - Alaska

2) East - Alaska

3) South - Hawaii

4) West - Alaska

The answer lies in the space between the previous line of text, and this one. Take your time ...

[jasonc]

North: Michigan

East: Florida

South: California

West: Washington

[jasonc]

...well at least you know i didn't cheat.  shit. 

[DonRocks]

...well at least you know i didn't cheat.  shit. 

Don't feel bad - nobody gets this right, including me (I first heard it in college, and I'm not sure I've ever heard anyone guess it who didn't already know it).

Here's the explanation (which also contains the answer). <--- Hopefully people will enjoy this website, too.

I have another, similar geographical trivia question that drives people immediately to the Atlas when they hear the answer (after first saying "NFW!"). The cool thing about these is that once you know, you never forget, and it helps you to keep things in (geographical) perspective. Of course, I realized about fifteen minutes ago that I already forgot this because I couldn't remember what the trick was!

[The Hersch]

I haven't looked at your answer, but if I recall correctly [he got it right]

ETA: Ah, I see I remembered correctly.