October 21, 2022
Dear editor;
In addition to my enjoying the spirited political bantering that often goes on in this fine publication, I appreciate the opportunity to test my recall of a few facts in each week’s Trivia Test. I take pride in being usually able to come up with at least half of the answers, but the answer to the first question of the October 13 test left me scratching my head. As I pondered the answer given to the question “How many states border the Great Lakes?”, I was immediately forced to be puzzled over my own ability to count on my fingers, or to suspect that I had nodded off during grade school geography class, or to alarmingly learn that Lake Ontario had suffered a fate not unlike that of poor Pluto, having been relegated to a class of dwarf lake without my having heard about it!
After consulting Google, our current authority on everything, I confirmed that my ability to count, my mind image of a U.S. map, and the status of Lake Ontario were all intact. Indeed there are eight states that border the Great Lakes (Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York), rather than the six indicated as the published answer. I would add that I was especially offended by the overlooking of the great state of New York where I happened to be born!
As I write this letter, one other thought has occurred to me regarding this particular Trivia Test. Now you know for certain that each is read and appreciated. I look forward to next week’s trivia.
Vince Smith, Big Rock