ListNook

DirkBabypunch Apr 21, 2026 +183

Oh yeah, there are still people alive who probably remember the US not having 50 states.

183

PaperOptimist Apr 21, 2026 +59

I mean, if they recall their childhoods, that's people who are in their 60s.

59

Conscious-Tutor3861 Apr 21, 2026 +32

Hawaii became a state in 1959, so ~70s to be a child before Hawaii became a state, ~80s to be a teenager, and ~90s to be an adult. There just aren't that many people around who remember a time before we had 50 states.

32

PaperOptimist Apr 21, 2026 +6

Derp, I missed a decade when doing the numbers. But the point stands. If we go by the 4.5% figure for Americans over 75, that's still over 15 million people. Not a *huge* number by any means, but that's comfortably more than the population of Pennsylvania.

6

malthar76 Apr 21, 2026 +4

We all miss a decade here and there. That’s why the 90s was only like 15 years ago, right?

4

PaperOptimist Apr 21, 2026 +3

Ugh, don't get me started. This past weekend, I nearly tried to correct someone when they referred to 2008 as "almost 20 years ago".

3

CoralBooty Apr 21, 2026 +3

Yeah I just recently worked with a guy born in 1940, so he got his high school diploma before the last two were added

3

hoguensteintoo Apr 21, 2026 +10

And they’re hell bent on sending us back there

10

BookLuvr7 Apr 21, 2026 +4

There are people who have watched the rise and fall of women's rights over their own bodies/to not be treated like property, that's for sure. Sadly, some states still give rapists paternity rights.

4

lordaddament Apr 21, 2026 +1

The television was invented before 50 states too. Not really that long ago

1

Coffee_And_Bikes Apr 22, 2026 +1

My MIL was born in Hawaii before it was a state. It really wasn’t that long ago.

1

Cynical_Classicist Apr 21, 2026

I think that it only happened about 1960, Eisenhower signed this in.

0

No_Direction6688 Apr 21, 2026 +88

He was a trailblazer when he became the first U.S. governor of Asian American descent.

88

Desperate_Tea_6297 Apr 21, 2026 +40

Trailblazer and literal centenarian, which is wild given how stressful politics is. Would be cool if local schools used his story to teach both Asian American history and Hawaii’s statehood era.

40

BeIgnored Apr 21, 2026 +10

Hawaii actually has the longest lifespan of all states!

10

sunflowerastronaut Apr 21, 2026 +5

> and literal centenarian, which is wild given how stressful politics is. Politicians in Congress seem to live extremely long lives

5

Cynical_Classicist Apr 21, 2026 +5

Yes... and not retire when they should. Look at Strom Thurmond and Chuck Grassley!

5

certciv Apr 21, 2026 +2

Having lots of money, and access to the best healthcare will tend to do that.

2

ranassil Apr 21, 2026 +14

A true trailblazer who paved the way for so many

14

Guernic Apr 21, 2026 +2

Why couldn’t it be Chuck Grassley???

2

kobeyoboy Apr 21, 2026 +4

An American man who became the first American Governor with Asian descent passes away at 100 he was the governor of Hawaii.

4

swagonflyyyy Apr 21, 2026 +2

Looks like a Yakuza boss. Respect.

2

Decent-Ganache7647 Apr 21, 2026 +2

Going to school on the U.S. mainland, Ariyoshi didn't feel a sense of being treated differently. "On the contrary, I enjoyed the fact that Hawaii had a reputation even then for people of different backgrounds coming together and living harmoniously," he wrote in his book.

2

regeust Apr 21, 2026 -27

He's not of Asian American descent. He's Asian American or an American of Asian descent. Asian American descent is nonsensical.

-27

Former Hawaii Gov. George Ariyoshi, first U.S. governor of Asian American descent, dies at 100

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