Season 1
10 episodes
43 min. per episode
Where to watch
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A curious host uncovers surprising histories behind America’s bizarre borders, revealing the untold stories that shaped our nation.
Episodes
How water has literally shaped the States. The surprising history hidden in the blue, squiggly lines on the map: How the founding fathers might have made a mistake along the Georgia Tennessee border; how that boundary could actually change because of water; why Maine has so much -- and why Nevada was left high and dry. All told the unique shapes of these states.
The history of transportation hidden in the lines of the map. From canals to trains and cars, how getting around helped draw the American map. Why Chicago could have been in Wisconsin; why states out West or so big and boxy; and why we almost had a state called Forgottonia.
How massive geological events helped create the American map. Long before the Founding Fathers drew the map, mother nature shape some states: how an asteroid created the border for three states and changed history; how glaciers plowed the great plains and how natural disasters continue to alter the map.
How did the most rebellious states took shape? How did they earn their outsized features and outspoken reputations. For instance, why does Montana looks like it took a bite out of Idaho? Why wasn't Texas broken up into five states? And why exactly do we have not one but two Carolinas?
What secrets are hiding in our map? What's behind the "blank spots" like Area 51? What possessed the citizens of Key West to throw down their margaritas and secede from Florida? And even in the heartland, there are those living on the edge -- in Kansas, old missile bunkers are now five bedroom dream homes. And what about the county in Georgia that was left off the state's quarter?
Host Brian Unger travels the United States explaining the weird shapes on the map.