Introduction : GEOGRAPHY : 1. Identity crisis: What even is North America? --
2. Hawaii is a really long state: Comparing it to the West Coast puts it in perspective --
3. Global scale: If your state or province were a country, what size by area would it be? --
4. Alas, Alaska: Big, weird, and wonderful --
5. Counties that count: Giving a few across the US their due --
6. Drawing outside the lines: Baffling North American borders --
7. Doing a double take: City pairs to leave you second-guessing --
8. Just keep swimming: The first country you'll reach, coast to coast --
9. The inner banks: Canada's great island lakes and lake islands --
10. On dry land: States and provinces not touching an ocean, gulf, or bay --
11. The 8 greatest lakes in North America: Plus 7 pretty good ones --
12. The United States of Washington: Every place named after the first president --
13. Rhode nation: If every state were the size of Rhode Island, there would be 2,457 states --
14. Name dropping: City names, then and now --
15. A river runs beside it: US natural borders --
POLITICS AND POWER : 16. Madam Governor: Number of women governors by state or province --
17. Belles of the ballot: When women gained the right to vote --
18. Engendering equality: The ongoing struggle to pass the Equal Rights Amendment --
19. Red California and blue Texas?: Presidential election results since 1856 --
20. Worth the visit?: States the candidates made time for during the 2020 general election campaign --
21. "Did Not Vote" ends winning streak: A historic turnout finally beats the lack of turnout --
22. States that picked the greats: Predicting the pantheon of best presidents --
23. The price of leadership: Salaries of North American heads of state --
24. Land of equality?: If every state's population had Wyoming's representation in the Senate --
25. Coaching all the way to the bank: The highest-paid public employee by state --
26. Monroe's lament: The dependencies of North America --
27. Bang for the buck: Who pays the most for their military? --
28. Living on the edge: 2 out of 3 Americans live within 100 miles of the border --
29. Where service comes first: Proportion of veterans by state --
NATURE : 30. Missing the forest for the trees: The can't-miss trees of North America --
31. Dog days: When does the hottest day of the year fall? --
32. Spring hasn't sprung: Punxsutawney Phil predicts late blooms --
33. Land before time: The greatest dinosaur finds in North America? --
34. Our biggest hits: North America's largest impact craters? --
35. Above the fruited plain: The highest elevation in each state? --
36. And now, the weather: North American weather extremes? --
37. Caving the day: Cavernous wonders across North America? --
38. Supervolcano: When Yellowstone blanketed the US and Canada in ash? --
39. Perma-lost: The Last Glacial Maximum compared to today? --
40. Where darkness reigns: The dark skies still left for pristine stargazing? --
41. Singled out: Endangered or threatened species that live entirely within one state? --
42. A second act: North American species that have staged comebacks? --
43. Let there be light: Local time of sunset on the summer solstice? --
44. 44 Don't let the sun go down on me: Local time of sunset on the winter solstice? --
45. Too much time on my hands: Hours of daylight on the summer solstice? --
46. Not enough time in the day: Hours of daylight on the winter solstice? --
CULTURE AND SPORTS? : 47. Tallest, fastest, steepest: Record-setting amusement parks and rides of North America? --
48. Ones for the books: Iconic moments in North American sports? --
49. Take me out to the crowd: The 20 largest North American stadiums by seating capacity? --
50. Topping the charts: The place names that appear in Billboard No. I song titles? --
51. Black American firsts: The places where they made their names? --
52. Don't drop the ball: The less-famous things that drop (or rise) on New Year's Eve? --
53. How the stacks stack up: The 20 largest physical public library collections in the US? --
54. Magnificent museums: The 20 most popular museums in North America by attendance? --
55. Hometown heroes: Hall-of-famer birthplaces in the 4 major sports leagues? --
56. The Midas brush: The most expensive paintings of North America? --
57. Go see a Frank Lloyd Wright building: Every one of his publicly accessible works Bees expertise: Winning Scripps National --
58. Spelling Bee words by winner's home state --
59. All together now: The all-time largest gatherings these cities have ever seen --
60. Where the stars are born: Where every Best Actor and Actress Oscar winner hails from --
61. What are you looking at?: The highest-rated programs on US TV --
62. Ladies and gentlemen, the Beatles!: Every show they played in North America --
PEOPLE AND POPULATIONS --
63. His name is my name, too: Most common surnames by state or province --
64. Native lands in native hands: Indigenous population by state or province --
65. Where we're coming from: Most common countries of origin outside the US by state --
66. American pie charts: Origin of residents by state --
67. Birds of a feather: Most common cross-state migrations --
68. Brightest lights, biggest cities: The top 10 most populous US cities over time --
69. Balancing act: America's population centers of gravity --
70. Homes away from homes: Where people have second homes --
71. Homes all around, but not a place to stay: Number of second homes per unhoused person --
72. The extremely Big Apple: 38 states have smaller populations than NYC --
73. The language barrier: Percentage of households speaking only English by county --
74. Turtle Island: Indigenous homelands in 1491 --
75. Strangers in their own land: Indigenous homelands today --
LIFESTYLE AND HEALTH : --
76. Wafflography: Number of Waffle Houses by latitude --
77. Fast food diet: Which states are a drive-through lover's paradise? --
78. Getting the runaround: How fast recreational runners finish a marathon by state --
79. One for the ages: Median age by state --
80. Looking up to her: Female height in North America --
81. He's the tops: Male height in North America --
82. Men are from Alaska, women are from Puerto Rico: Gender ratio by state --
83. Running from the chapel: Unmarried population by state --
84. Finding my happy place: Quality of life, happiness, and well-being in North America --
85. I'm coming out: LGBTQ acceptance in North America --
86. American tragedies: Accident mortality by state --
87. America, the next generation: Birth rates by state --
88. Down and out: COVID-19 anxiety and depression --
INDUSTRY AND TRANSPORT : 89. Expansive spans: The 10 longest bridges in North America --
90. Lost at sea: Famous shipwrecks in North American waters --
91. Who's got the goods?: The 50 largest ports in the US --
92. Get out of town!: How far one day of travel took you from NYC, since 1800 --
93. Moving on up: The 50 tallest buildings in North America --
94. Bumper to bumper, coast to coast: How long it takes to get to work by county --
95. In the driver's seat: How America gets to work --
96. Don't bank on it: The unbanked people of North America --
97. Road hogs: The longest roads in the US, Canada, and Mexico --
98. Cattle call: In which states are you likelier to run into a cow than a person? --
99. T-minus 15 spaceports: Launchpads across the US --
100. America offline: Who doesn't have Internet
