Thrillist Names What Maine Is Worst at the Most, but It Feels Like a Joke

Thrillist wrote an article back in 2014 about what every US state is the worst at with answers ranging from worst for speeding tickets to worst roads to lowest-paid teachers.

Those all sound like not great things to have on your state resume.

As for Maine? Its "worst" thing was having the fewest heliports.

That's the thing that Maine sucks the most at? I was prepared to be up in arms over the travel website calling out the Pine Tree State, but it almost feels like a joke answer to the question.

Maybe they really couldn't find anything worse than that to mention about Maine because Maine is such a great place.

After all, the state has restaurants named among the best in the nation, one of the best hiking trails in the US, best vacation spots in the US, and even three of the best places to get fried clams in the world.

There's a lot that makes Maine great, and the list could go on.

And look, we all know no place is perfect. There's always something that could use an improvement.

But heliports?

Seems like such an odd thing to call out.

Curious how many heliports there are in the US? According to Statista data for 2020, there are nearly 6,000 with only 59 available for public use. The rest are private. That already feels like a small number compared to the 12,000 airports Statista says are in the country.

And then in Maine, Airnav.com says there are 59 heliports.

Yes, a small number, but thankfully not zero, phew, and a good chunk of that number involves hospitals, which likely need quick helicopter transportation. So if anyone might be upset about the "fewest helicopters" title and want the immediate turnaround, it would likely be people who have their own helicopter.

Right? Or maybe I'm just not as informed when it comes to the heliport conversation?  Or maybe me calling them out for calling Maine out years ago is just the old man yelling at clouds meme?

Yup, Thrillist put together that article about the worst things over 10 years ago, so maybe Maine's "worst" would be totally different now. Or maybe not.

(And maybe it's just silly to even complain about a list from so long ago, but it still surprised me reading it today. Heliports?)

Honestly, if the worst thing you can say about Maine is it doesn't have enough places to take your helicopter, it seems like the state is doing just fine.

What do you think? Are you surprised by "fewest heliports" being what Maine was named as worst at in 2014?