note tilly I think it is the principle of the thing that counts. How about: <code> AK AL AR AZ CA CO CT DC DE FL GA HI IA ID IL IN KS KT KY LA MA MD ME MI MN MO MS MT NC ND NE NH NJ NM NV NY OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VA VT WA WI WV WY </code> And the obvious answer is, of course, <code> sub state { grep$_[0]eq$_,'AKALARAZCACOCTDCDEFLGAHIIAIDILINKSKTKYLAMAMDMEMIMNMOMSMTNCNDNENHNJNMNVNYOHOKORPARISCSDTNTXUTVAVTWAWIWVWY'=~/../g } </code> at 127 characters. I don't see an obviously better approach... 86047 86055