[identity profile] yes-justice.livejournal.com 2013-02-14 06:41 pm (UTC)(link)
http://fakeisthenewreal.org/reform/

Yep. Very cool. Thanks!

The capitals of the states are existing states capitals where possible, otherwise large or central cities have been chosen. The suggested names of the new states are taken mainly from geographical features:

mountain ranges or peaks, or caves – Adirondack, Allegheny, Blue Ridge, Chinati, Mammoth, Mesabi, Ozark, Pocono, Rainier, Shasta, Shenandoah and Shiprock
rivers – Atchafalaya, Menominee, Maumee, Nodaway, Sangamon, Scioto, Susquehanna, Trinity and Willimantic
historical or ecological regions – Big Thicket, Firelands and Tidewater
bays, capes, lakes and aquifers – Casco, Tampa Bay, Canaveral, Mendocino, Ogalalla, and Throgs Neck
songs – Gary, Muskogee and Temecula
cities – Atlanta, Chicago, Columbia, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Newark, Philadelphia, Phoenix and Washington
plants – Tule and Yerba Buena
people – King and Orange

[identity profile] telemann.livejournal.com 2013-02-15 02:59 am (UTC)(link)
Don't know if you ever caught the History Channel series "How the states got their shapes" but it's soOOo good. And it shows how the states nearly were formed or outright denied when they petitioned Congress. Cool story [livejournal.com profile] dwer may know, but Illinois' northern most boundary was pulled north a few miles to allow what would be Chicago to be in the state versus what became Wisconsin; and more important to Northern states, keep Illinois' commercial interests with the North, and not the South.

http://www.history.com/shows/how-the-states-got-their-shapes/videos/how-illinois-got-its-shape#how-illinois-got-its-shape