31. Kentucky. This state has bluegrass, Jim Beam, and—most American of all—William Shatner’s horse ranch. Live long and prosper…somewhere else.

32. Kansas. There’s not a hell of a lot going on in this state, but without it, where will Dorothy go home to? Meh. She should have stayed in Oz anyway, ruling it over everyone and getting pedicures from Munchkins.

33. Montana. I spent a few days in Montana in 2005, so I can make an informed judgement about this state’s pros and cons. Pros: (1) yes, it really does look like that and (2) you can get a fancy downtown loft in Helena for not a hell of a lot of money. Cons: (1) the Butte visitors’ center has the single nastiest bathroom I’ve ever used, and (2) Helena was so dead that when my friends and I went to the intersection where the Starbucks barista said things were “really happening,” we were able to lie flat in the middle of the street with no fear of being touched by car, bike, or foot. Get a life, Montana.

34. West Virginia. This is the heart of Appalachia, and it’s good for Americans to learn how to spell “Appalachia.” But now we’re all supposed to pronounce it “App-a-LATCH-ee-a”? Sort of annoying.

35. Washington. I’d have given this state the heave-ho much earlier just for confusingly sharing a name with the nation’s capital, but Seattle is great—lots of top-notch coffee shops, and the gloriously lowbrow Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame (the Rocketeer’s backpack! RoboCop’s armor!). But their sculpture park is just kind of meh.

36. Oklahoma. I’ve already taken crap for not getting rid of this state earlier—but come on. Okies! Dust bowl! Woody Guthrie! Oklahoma is a key locale in our self-aggrandizing story about how this country has come through some hard times, and prevailed…but now that we’re not prevailing so well, I guess we can cut the Sooners loose.

37. South Carolina. This is a quintessential southern state—and it’s where the Civil War started. Fort Sumter was a defining moment in American history, Ken Burns tells me. Well, I guess even without the Civil War, we would have figured that all out somehow…probably.

38. Ohio. The Heart of It All. Ohio is a frickin’ huge state, and there’s a lot going on there—from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland to the world’s first Wendy’s in Columbus. I’m sure Cincinnati has something to offer too, but we’re closing in on the top ten least disposable states, so, sorry, Ohio—at this point you’ve got to bring a little more to the table.

39. Virginia. In Colonial days, Virginia was hot shit. It’s produced more presidents (eight) than any other state. But once I was turned away from a restaurant in Richmond—a restaurant located in the stable of Robert E. Lee’s horses, for God’s sake, and even named after a horse—just because I was wearing sneakers. I even had a tie! I was 13 years old! You snobby MFs can go find yourselves another country.

40. Michigan. I was ready to dump Michigan long ago, but then I remembered: Motown. But on the bright side, without Michigan, we won’t have to deal with any more U.P. jokes.

Monday: Ten states it was easy to chuck, 1-10. Tuesday: Ten states that have some redeeming qualities, 11-20. Wednesday: Ten states that could be worse, 21-30. Tomorrow: The ten winners, 41-50.

– Jay Gabler