Go to the map page to see the 27 states and the 13 states and what I claim is a thorough, expert proof why each is correct. Also, learn a little about how we humans measure the Earth and stuff.

(If you use Google Earth to check out any of my claims, note that when you zoom in far enough from the initial point above the United States, without changing anything else, you used to end UP in an apartment complex called Meadowbrook in Lawrence, Kansas, where I lived during the summer of 1977. Now I'm famous.)

*According to the ever-changing Wikipedia ARTICLE about Middle Island, the 13 states marked with an asterisk are entirely north of the southernmost part of Canada. I know my list is correct.

If you do, the answer is that more than half of the fifty U.S. states, a total of 27 to be exact, are located wholly or in part north of the southernmost part of Canada, including such surprises as Iowa, Indiana, and Nevada, not to mention Rome, Italy. Below is the list, and a map is here , which you should go to.

If you have no idea how you got here, back up to here .

Update of December 2001: What do Al and Elizabeth have in common in reverse? I declare that there are more names for the nickname Al than for any other nickname, and I declare that the name with the most nicknames is Elizabeth. Here are some names for the nickname Al. The count right now is 96. ALAIN ALESANDRA ALFONSO ALLIE ALAINA ALESANDRO ALFRED ALLISON ALAN ALESHA ALFREDO ALLY ALANA ALESSANDRA ALGAR ALLYSON ALANIS ALESSANDRO ALGER ALMA ALANNA ALESSIA ALGERNON ALOIS ALANNAH ALESSIO ALI ALONDRA ALANNIS ALETA ALIA ALONSO ALARIC ALETHA ALIAH ALOYSIUS ALBAN ALETHEA ALICE ALPHONSE ALBERT ALEX ALICIA ALPHONSUS ALBERTA ALEXA ALIDA ALPHONZO ALBERTO ALEXANDER ALINE ALPHRED ALDO ALEXANDRA ALISA ALTA ALDRICK ALEXANDRE ALISHA ALTHEA ALEASE ALEXANDREA ALISON ALTON ALCEE ALEXANDRIA ALISTAIR ALVIN ALEC ALEXIA ALIYAH ALWYN ALEIT ALEXIS ALLAN ALYA ALEJANDRO ALEXIUS ALLANA ALYSON ALEJO ALEXUS ALLANAH ALYSSA ALEKSANDER ALFERD ALLANNAH - ALEKSANDR ALFONS ALLEGRA ALEKSANDRA ALFONSE ALLEGRIA ALEKSEI ALFONSINA ALLEN Can you add any more full names for the nickname Al? Update of January 2002: Thanks go to someone whose identity I have lost track of for contributing Alcee (Hastings), Alfonse (Giardello), Alger (Hiss) and Algernon (Blackwood). Update of November 2002: Thanks go to me for accidentally finding an Alphred. Oddly, his wife was named Elizabeth. Update of January 2003: Thanks go to Paul Tuhus for reminding us all of Alferd G. Packer. Now as to Elizabeth, she has the most nicknames. The current count is 79. ALZBETA3 BETSEY3 EBETH10 ILEESA3 LILIBET1 LYSETTE3 BETSY3 EL ILYSA3 LILIBETH BESS BETTA2 ELEE8 ISABEL7 LILLY SISI 9 BESSIE BETTE3 ELI ISABELLA3 LISA SISSI 9 BESSY3 BETTIE12 ELIS3 ISABELLE3 LISE3 BET BETTINA3 ELISA LISETTE3 TIB BETH BETTY3 ELISE LIBBIE LISSY TIBBY6 BETHIA3 BIT ELISSA LIBBY LIZ TIBS6 BETHIE BITSY3 ELIZA LIDDIE LIZA TESS3 BETHY BIZ4 ELLA3 LIDDY LIZARD7 BETS5 BIZZY ELLE LIDDYBET LIZBETH ZAB5 ELLIE LIEBE13 LIZBET ZABS5 ELLY LILABETH LIZETTE3 ZIBBY ELSEBETH 14 LILABET3 LIZZIE3 ELSIE LILABETH LIZZIE-TISH11 ELSPETH3 LIZZY ETTA5 ETTIE5 Can you add any more nicknames for Elizabeth? 1Update of June 2002: Thanks go to Bill Burns for contributing Lilibet, which, as it turns out, was the childhood nickname of England's Queen Elizabeth. Speaking of which, have you ever seen photos of her as a young lady? She was hot. (Needless to say, I'm referring here to Queen Elizabeth, not Bill Burns.) 2Update of July 2002: Thanks also go to Coral Amende's BOOK Famous Name Finder for the addition of Betta. 3Update of November 2002: It was the very helpful Annie who told me about every single one of the nicknames above with a footnote number of 3. A controversy still remains, to wit, is Ziz or Zizzy a nickname for Elizabeth Bennet in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice? Please . Also, I'm not sure Isabella is a nickname for Elizabeth. Update of May 2005: According to Hannah, who says she's read P&P about 14 times, "at no point is Elizabeth Bennett [sic] called 'Ziz' or 'Zizzy.'" 4Update of January 2003: Thank you, Paul Tuhus, for contributing Biz. He says, "Friends of mine have a daughter named Elizabeth, whose nickname since birth has been Biz." 5Update of May 2003: Thanks go to Chris for contributing Bets, Etta, Ettie, Zab and Zabs. He or she says, "I haven't read much Jane Austen but I do know a woman who goes by Zizzy (or maybe Zizzi or Zizi?) whose given name is Elizabeth. And, of course, it barely bears mention that you have omitted the all-too-common 'Zab' and 'Zabs.' (Maybe those are just Canadianisms?)" 6Update of March 2006: "You have Tib, but I'm called Tibby or Tibs." 7Update of April 5, 2006: A correspondent added Isabel and wrote later to say, ". . . I'm shocked that Lizard is not on your list. I was frequently called Lizard by the little boys in my neighborhood when I was a kid!" Oddly, I received her mail at just the right moment after two minutes past one o'clock. and the time stamp on that mail reads as follows: 01:02:03 04/05/06. 8Update of April 29, 2006: Today a caller from Indianapolis to the "Car Talk" radio show said her name is Elee ("EEL-ee"), which she also helpfully spelled. She said her given name is Elizabeth, which happens to be the Magloizzis' mother's name, and it turns out that during one period in her 40's Mrs. Magliozzi denied her name was Elizabeth and insisted it was Alissa. 9Update of May 2, 2006: The Empress Elisabeth von Wittelsbach of Austria (see HERE for a Wikipedia article) is referred to as both Sisi and Sissi. Note that, strictly speaking, she was not an Elizabeth with a z, but thanks go to LH for bringing these nicknames to my attention. 10Update of December 24, 2007: According to an e-mail received today, the writer "had a girlfriend who called herself Ebeth." 11Update of August 21, 2009: A crossword puzzle constructor, the world-renowned ELIZABETH C. GORSKI, tells me she was referred to as Lizzie-Tish by her uncles. 12Update of September 23, 2010: A reader named Richard (and see footnote 1 immediately below) points out that I left out Bettie, and he notes the interesting person name Bettie Page referred to HERE and HERE. 13Update of October 27, 2011: Liebe was the nickname of Elizabeth Winship, according to HERE. Winship, the popular "Ask Beth" advice columnist for The Boston Globe for 35 years, died four days ago. Thanks to Sandy M for this catch. 14Update of April 6, 2017: Today I received an unsolicited email from a person named Elsebeth. I don't know for sure that Elsebeth is a nickname for Elizabeth, but I am happy to assume so. Do you agree Al and Elizabeth win?

Now as to men's names with the most nicknames, the pickin's are slimmer. I think Richard wins with 13. If you know of a man's name with 13 or more nicknames, or if you can legitimately add a 14th to this list, please . Richard DICK RICARDO 1 RIC DICKIE RICH RICK DICKY RICHIE RICKIE DIK2 RICHY RICKY RITCHIE 1 1Update of September 23, 2010: A reader named Richard (see footnote 12 above) adds the name Ritchie. He also successfully makes the case for Ricardo. Despite the fact it's a Spanish name, it's also a legitimate nickname for Richard. I know because he, the reader Richard, a born-and-raised American, tells me that he is sometimes called Ricardo. 2Update of September 24, 2010: See HERE for a reference to the cartoonist Richard Arthur Allan Browne.

Among the second-place finishers are Robert and William with six each. Both of these common mens' names are abbreviable. Robert becomes Rob't., and William becomes Wm. And abbreviating William makes sense to me. You shorten the name by four characters, or 57%, plus which if you're writing it you don't have to dot two "i's" you otherwise would have to. But Rob't. for Robert is the same number of characters, a savings of 0%, plus which you still have a "t" to cross. In what way is Rob't. better than Robert?

A few other men's names can be abbreviated. There's George (Geo.), Thomas (Thos.), Charles (Chas.) and Theodore (Theo.). If you know of any others, please . (Also, can you think of even one woman's name that is commonly abbreviated?) Rob't. E. Lee was the most famous Southern general of the U.S. Civil War. Another famous U.S. general (whose first name is Go, if that helps you identify him) and his cohort also had odd ways of signing their names. Here are some of the 39 names signed at the bottom of the original U.S. Constitution.

As signed Explanation Go WASHINGTON George Washington He signed "Go" with no period, and he capitalized his entire last name, as shown. Further, he added "Presdt and deputy from Virginia." What was going on back then that made it desirable to capitalize one's last name but not one's first, and to abbreviate President to Presdt? Geo. Clymer George Clymer This is now the more normal abbreviation of George. Gouv Morris Gouverneur Morris Mr. Morris signed it Gouv Morris, as though his first name, with or without the period, were so common everyone back then knew how to spell it. I myself had to look it up just now. Wil: Livingston William Livingston A colon instead of a period. Hu Williamson Hubert? Humphrey? Huckleberry? It turns out it's Hugh. Who knew? And why not Wmson? Or even Wilson? Jona: Dayton Jonathan Dayton B Franklin Benjamin Franklin No period. Geo: Read Another colon instead of a period. Jaco: Broom Jacob Broom This is another one where abbreviating saves not one character. How much more time and ink would it have taken to write "b" instead of a colon? Gunning Bedford jun Gunning Bedford, Jr. Wm. Saml Johnson William Samuel Johnson Why one period and not the other? Richd Dobbs Spaight. Richard Dobbs Spaight Note the lack of an apostrophe and a period where one should be plus the period at the end where one shouldnt be Danl Carroll Daniel Carroll No period, no apostrophe. Dan of St Tho. Jenifer Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer The weirdest name of all.