While filling out some paperwork, one of the department secretaries asked me to confirm that MN is the correct abbreviation for Minnesota. As I thought I about the other possibilities, it occurred to me that every other choice (where the choices are defined as the first letter of the state followed by a second letter occurring somewhere in the state’s name) is the abbreviation for another state. (MI = Michigan, ME = Maine, MS = Mississippi, MO = Missouri, MT = Montana, MA = Massachusetts) This is equally true of Maine and Montana, and no other states.
Of course, this bit of knowledge is completely useless. That’s why it’s called trivia.
Sep12
Colossus of Rhode 
I remember realizing some time back that the M states give an implied ordering/grouping, depending on how you look at it:
Tier 1 (second letter): MA, MI
Tier 2 (third letter): MN, MS
Tier 3 (fourth letter): MT
Tier 4 (fifth letter): MO, ME
Tier 5 (eighth letter): MD
Actually, I suppose you could also group on the reason that the letter seems to have been chosen:
First vowel: MA, MI
End of first syllable: MN, MS
Beginning of second syllable: MO, MT
End of word: MD, ME
Either way, Minnesota is a second-tier state behind Massachusetts and Michigan. Way to make both your school choices in first-class M states!
And another grouping could be:
beginning of first syllable –
all
end of first syllable –
MN, MS, ME
middle of first syllable –
MA, MI
beginning of second syllable –
MT
middle of second/last syllable –
MO
end of second/last syllable –
MD
which means E has chosen second tier states to go to school. Schools including MIT which apparently don’t deal with syllables as Missouri would be Mis·sou·ri.