I was just in a grocery store and this (loud) employee was talking to another employee about how stupid he thought the USA was. Whatever. Not my business. But then he said "Well, there are 52 different states and then the Federal government..." Since I was standing one foot away from him I said, "Actually, there are 50 states."
(Yes, I know that I was butting into a conversation and for that I WBVU.)
He looked at me with disdain (probably because I butted in, so understandable). Then he said very snarkily, "No, there are FIFTY TWO states!" He said it in a tone that implied that I was very stupid. Perhaps he assumed that someone with an American accent should know better.
I said, "Well, Alaskans talk about 'the lower 48' and then you add Hawaii that's fifty." and he just snapped, "You are mistaken!"
I figured arguing with strangers in a supermarket would only compound my idiocy for having butted in. What was I going to do, whip out my phone and Google it or something?
But I got home and Googled "how many states are there" because I wondered how commonly people thought this... and it turns out there are a LOT. Hundreds of people insisting they were taught that there were 52, and dozens more saying they thought it was 51. Mostly from people outside the US, but some from within. This may be down to confusion over Puerto Rico and Washington DC.
I have lived here ten years and I honestly have no idea how many MPs there are. I also don't know how many states are in Mexico or provinces in Canada. I wouldn't expect foreigners to know, but I'm curious - if you have ever been told how many states there are, what number was it?