Dumb, dumber, dumbest

Do stupid people pride themselves on being dumb by wearing their cluelessness as a badge of honor? Or does stupidity, by definition, prevent the truly brainless from realizing that they are, in fact, empty-headed?

Recently, the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism, which has a Facebook page called “Visit Massachusetts,” posted a photo of a beautiful covered bridge (see below) with this text: “Massachusetts Photo Trivia! Who knows where this lovely winter scene was captured?”

Now, keep a few things in mind here. It was state tourism officials in Massachusetts who posted this. They did so on a Facebook page designed to promote tourism in Massachusetts. And they described their trivia question as Massachusetts trivia. So it’s safe to assume from the get-go that the bridge is located in . . . Massachusetts! Otherwise, what's the point?

As it happens, the bridge is in Colrain, Mass., and most people posting comments mentioned small towns in the Bay State by way of guesses. Some even had the right answer. But the responses from readers also included the following seven suggestions, some of which were posted by more than one person:

• New Hampshire;
• Jackson, New Hampshire;
• Franconia Notch (which is in New Hampshire);
• Henniker (also in New Hampshire);
• Vermont;
• Brattleboro, Vermont;
• Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine or New York (posted by a guy who's obviously serious about hedging his bets).

As goofy as those answers were, another one was even worse, considering who posted the photo and why. Guessing various and sundry states in the Northeast was bad enough, but at least those poor saps had the right part of the country in mind. Not so the person who offered this response: Madison County. There is no Madison County anywhere in New England. As for The Bridges of Madison County, it's set in . . . Iowa.