Razib Khan of Gene Expression has a list [States which do well educationally, blame Canada!]. Living in a state that's close to Canada confers a number of advantages on American citizens. They are smarter, wealthier, healthier, and more likely to have voted Democrat.
Oh yeah, one other thing, being close to Canada helps prevent murder.
Alaska is an exception.
Also colder, which I have appreciated this summer but may change my mind about in January.
ReplyDeleteOh wow. That article really made me laugh out loud. Seriously, why are some US citizens so anti-Canada? I mean, it really is nasty to say something like 'yeah, living close to Canada is good because we seem smart'.
ReplyDeleteJay
RE: except Alaska
ReplyDeleteCould it be that you can see Russia from there and the people are torn between two extremes?
How well does being in Canada prevent cyclists from getting into drunken altercations with former attorney generals and being scrapped into lampposts and eventually run over?
ReplyDeleteOr protection from rape and burglary? (Yep, higher rates of these crimes in Canada - check NationMaster statistics.)
Or preventing a Canadian-American dual citizen who murdered her ex-boyfriend from walking free and then killing herself and her infant son?
Or stop a Canadian citizen from pretty much inventing the modern campus mass shooting two decades ago?
It is clear that cold has something to do with it ... perhaps refrigerating the brain helps to preserve it. However, given global warming, this effect may be on its way out. Get ready for red neck Canadian crackers and very polite KKK members.
ReplyDelete@Zed Mountie who said "Or stop a Canadian citizen from pretty much inventing the modern campus mass shooting two decades ago?"
ReplyDeleteWhat about two decades before that at the University of Texas? Who invented what, exactly?
And you seem to have missed this line from NationMaster statistics: "Crime statistics are often better indicators of prevalence of law enforcement and willingness to report crime, than actual prevalence."
John Pieret:
ReplyDeleteThat would hardly explain a country like say New Zealand, though, which is relatively warm comared to Canada, but seems just as sane.
Razib, tongue in cheek, refers to the famous quote from Daniel Patrick Moynihan that "if you would improve your state's math scores, move your state closer to the Canadian border".
ReplyDeleteMoynihan's academic history and the fact that he was frequently called a racist should leave no doubt what he meant.