Picture it … American History. 8th Grade. We’re discussing, oh, I don’t know, maybe World War I. Out of the blue, a girl raises her hand and asks our teacher (who, in turn, simply stared at her like she had lobsters crawling out of her ears), “Are there 49 states in America, or 51?” Amid the general disbelief in the room, she explained her reason for asking: “Because if Puerto Rico is a state, then there’s 51, right? But if it’s not, then I guess there are only 49. Right?”