What a huge shock I got while I was doing this quiz. About 20+ photos, states, into the quiz a picture appeared that I knew well. The Idaho photo was a livestock auction photo taken at the Idaho Falls auction. My dad, along with two other men, owned the Idaho Falls Stockyards and the Auction company. My siblings and I would go sit with our dad while he purchased and sold livestock. The auctioneer clipped right along with the quick bidding of the buyers. We were pleased that we knew our dad's secret method of bidding, a touch of his Stetson cowboy hat. This photo took me back to a place I had not seen since my dad died in the 1960's. Thank you NYT for selecting that photo for Idaho.
Hawaii didn't become a state. It was stolen.
1
I tried to take the quiz but was unable to get it to notice my mouse clicks (using Firefox ESR 60.8.0 on Debian GNU/Linux 9 (Stretch), with all updates applied as of a minute ago.
Good idea, but WAY too easy -- the hints gave the answers away.
Next time have Will Shortz do the edit. THAT will make it an interesting Sunday project.
1
A wonderful idea, but it didn't work on my "smart" phone.
One of your best ever graphics focused features. And, for us type A's who rushed through the quiz to see how well we could do, you gave us a way to go back through the photos and descriptions to linger and look. Fabulous. Thanks and congratulations to Hawaii!
2
Some of the questions were ambiguous, they could apply to several places - even after the hint. Some used obscure but interesting pictures. Colorado had a desert canyon scene (with ancient dwellings). Right, much of Colorado is that.
Why did Minnesota have a skyway picture? A mountain range would be better. Yes there is rugged mountain country there.
@H Smith -- I'm heading to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area next month. Please tell me which mountain ranges I should visit on my way there.
Great job on your picture selection and accompanying facts. My dad was a career AF pilot and consequently was transferred from base to base all across the US from the mid-1940s to the mid-1960s. I learned what our county looked like from the backseat windows of a couple different Ford station wagons as we traveled across (and lived in) Alaska, Minnesota, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Hampshire, Colorado, Washington and California. The hours gazing at our country at 50 mph at ground level as a kid helped me hit 50 for 50 on your quiz. Great memories of a gentler time of travel, except for the numerous blowouts of the front tires that made missing oncoming cars pretty exciting or an over heated engine boiling over when climbing a mountain pass in the Rockies, canvas water bag slung around the rear view mirror. Those were the days!
1
This was a fun and engaging way to learn a little bit about each of our 50 states. Yes, some of the clues made the answers obvious, but that didn't detract from the experience. I really enjoyed going through the photos without being quizzed at the end, and you're right in thinking I probably wouldn't have made it all the way to Wyoming if not for the quiz. For the record, we have an almost identical photo of the bears visiting cars along the road in Yellowstone. It terrified me as a child to see a bear suddenly appear at the car window.
1
I very much liked the way a number of photographs could be "turned over" once the question was answered. Viewing the back of the photograph with its annotations and processing stamps reminds me of the old index cards used in pre-digital library card catalogs. There are stories in these marginalia as well! Well done all -- Thanks! :)
1
Alerted about the quiz by Lauren Reddy's parents I loved the clever magical mystery tour of the 50 states! A Times subscriber, I wish the archives were easier for me to seek old photos and articles. The search engine should be a topic in the "white -walled room" to help readers better navigate the wonderful NYT collection!
It was fun to view all the vintage photos. I was disappointed that the write up about Maryland spoke of Saint Elizabeth Seton being the first American Saint. The first American to be canonized a Saint was Frances Xavier Cabrini, a naturalized citizen and emblematic of our country.
1
I took the test this morning and I got 47 out of 50 correct. I really enjoyed it and I have to commend the team that put this whole thing together. I love some of these photos from years gone by. These pictures give you an insight into just how much things have changed with the passage of time. Again I thank you...
I enjoyed taking the quiz. Another example of why paying for a NYT subscription is money well spent.
2