If you ask Americans what they think are the best and worst states in the union, you’ll get 50 different answers. Some U.S. states are arguably more beautiful, varied, interesting, or exciting than others, but each has its pros and cons.

But what if you had to start eliminating states one-by-one, like a geographical version of Survivor? In March of 2026, a Reddit user on the Geography Memes subreddit shared a map of the U.S. with the prompt, “Top comment removes one state.” Users then posted which state they’d remove, and the comment with the most likes resulted in that state’s expulsion.

49 states eliminated one by one

It was a silly little game. Florida went first. Then Idaho. But instead of just being removed, as states were eliminated they were absorbed on the map by surrounding states.

Top comment Removes a US State #2 byu/Jfullr92 ingeographymemes

For 49 days, users voted for one state to remove per day, and people became invested. Arguments for and against different states ensued. Memes were made. Creative coalitions formed. An all-out civil war broke out in the nerdiest way possible.

As more states became absorbed, the remaining states changed boundaries until they no longer resembled their original shapes. Some bodies........

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