Thank you, come again

Denver is crazy with the thank you notes! Here are the businesses from which I've received hand-written thank you notes since moving here:

Hairdresser
Bank
Waxer
Dry cleaner

Seriously, the last one almost killed me. It specifically mentioned the article I'd brought in and sounded genuinely enthusiastic about having the pleasure of cleaning it. A hairdresser and waxer I sort of understand, because they are individuals who are trying to keep clients. A bank I sort of get, though all I did was start an IRA to roll some 401k money into for 6 months until I can start a 401k at my new job. But a dry cleaner? It's a major national chain, too, not some mom and pop operation. And who's assigned to write these notes? The cashier? The actual cleaner? The store manager? Baffling.

I like to flip to "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader" during commercials for other, greater, shows to see what the questions are. They like to draw out the answering portion of the game A LOT, so I rarely get to see the answers. Which doesn't matter, since last night the entire entertainment was in watching these grown adults have zero concept of their location in relation to the rest of the world. I'm no geography buff, but I am aware of some basic things. Like, oh I don't know, that Canada exists.

The first question I caught was: What is the most western US state: Nevada, California, or Alaska? And the guy...thought about it. Then PEEKED at the kid's answer. Then hemmed and hawed because he thought it was Alaska, but wasn't sure. I am dying to see the map of North America he has in his head where Alaska is farther east than California. It must be amazing.

The second question was for a different contestant and asked simply: What country borders the US on the north? And then I almost killed myself because the lady did the SAME routine: thought out loud, peeked at the child's answer, and then thought some more. She eventually went with Canada because she "remember[ed] a song [she] learned in grade school and remember[ed] the lyrics saying something about Canada being our neighbor to the north." WELL THANK GOD FOR GRADE SCHOOL SONGS.