Cheyenne Has Low Recall in Online State Capitals Game

By K.L. McQuaid

Special to the Wyoming Truth

Quick – what’s the state capital?

If you said Cheyenne, you’re among just seven out of 10 folks nationwide who seem to know it, according to a new analysis.

Results compiled from an online quiz on the gaming website Sporcle found just 69.6% of some six million participants in a “U.S. Capitals” game since 2020 have correctly named Cheyenne as the seat of Wyoming’s government. (Obviously a bunch of folks not from Wyoming).

That low recall makes Wyoming’s capital the 11^th “most forgotten” among the states, according to USBettingReport.com. The website culled the data in a nod to national “I Forgot Day,” which happens to be today — July 2 — in case you forgot.

Cheyenne isn’t the only state capital with a bit of an identity crisis, though. Just 61.5% of players seeking to name all 50 state capitals in 10 minutes or less in the game could come up with Jefferson City, Missouri.

And a paltry 62.1% could name New Hampshire’s capital, Concord.

Conversely, a whopping 86.3% of players correctly listed Austin as the capital of Texas, and a like percentage came up with correct answers for California, Hawaii and Massachusetts (that’s Sacramento, Honolulu and Boston, for those of you playing at home).

A lot of mistaken identity appears to stem from confusion with better known, oftentimes bigger, cities.

Albany, for instance, is commonly confused with New York City as the capital of New York. Detroit typically gets the nod when people are asked the capital of Michigan. Baltimore wins out over much smaller Annapolis in Maryland, while many bet on Seattle instead of Olympia when recalling the capital of Washington.

Poor Springfield loses out to Chicago in Illinois; no one seems to remember that it’s Harrisburg, and not Philadelphia, that’s still the place where state government convenes in Pennsylvania; and many consider Charlotte to be the capital in North Carolina – not Raleigh.

Cheyenne does score a nice consolation prize, however.

In a similar online game also on the Sporcle site, this one aimed at naming Wyoming’s 10 most populous cities in three minutes or less, 99.1% of gamers correctly listed the state’s capital – more than any other Wyoming city.

Over 87% recalled that Casper also is among the top 10, followed by Laramie with 84.6%; Gillette at 62.3%; and Cody at 61.5%.

A scant 39.1% of players remembered that Riverton ranks among the state’s 10 most populous – hardly any way to treat the Rendezvous City.

However, Evanston, Green River, Sheridan and Rock Springs didn’t fare much better in the online game.

Maybe what Sporcle needs is more Cowboy State participation.

That is, if you can remember to play. It is national “I Forgot Day,” after all.