the buzz log

Literary terms, Cliff Notes, and science fair project ideas. Oh, yeah, it's on now.

Searches on Yahoo! are smartening up, now that students are back in session. One notable spike has been on "state capitals," which is a good trend considering geography has always been a sore subject among Americans. The National Geographic's last survey reported young adults 18-24 "demonstrate a limited understanding of the world."

That includes our own backyard. So, people have been going online for imaginative ways to memorize where each state's seat of power lies, including games, quizzes, maps, puzzles, raps, and songs (like the Animaniacs ditty sung in a pseudo-Brit accent).

Of course, this whole memorization would have gone a lot easier if founding fathers and civic planners made sure the capitals remained the most populous city (27 are not) or at least contained the state name (only Indianapolis and Oklahoma City extend that courtesy).

As it is, some poor capitals don't get any respect, from America's itty bittiest state capital (and no, it's not in the smallest state) to where Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger hangs out. Roundups like The Nifty Fifty States and 50states do their best to make this kind of learning fun, but there are just some capitals that will always draw blank stares. On the upside, that makes for some good betting games. (Kids, no betting unless mom says ok.)

Here are the 10 hardest state capitals to remember, based on searches on Yahoo! in the past week (and the answers).  

Ten Hardest State Capitals to Remember

1. Capital of North Carolina
2. Capital of California
3. Capital of Alaska
4. Capital of Maryland
5. Capital of Georgia
6. Capital of Florida
7. Capital of Montana
8. Capital of New Mexico
9. Capital of New York
10. Capital of Washington

Answers: Raleigh, Sacramento, Juneau, Annapolis, Atlanta, Tallahassee, Helena, Santa Fe, Albany, Olympia.