A Change.org petition to merge our neighbors North and South Dakota into one "MegaKota" has gone viral.

"i think itd be pretty cool to have a state called MegaKota so yeah," Dillan Stewart states as his only reason for the online petition. "oh yeah and then maybe Puerto Rico can be a state and we wont have to change our flag."

Despite (hopefully) being a big joke, the petition has garnered at time of writing over 17,000 signatures, though reactions have been divided:

So what would it mean if our neighbors to the west merged?

1. The Vikings would still have a shot at winning the Super Bowl

Neither state currently has its own NFL team, so unless they took the opportunity to merge their resources and form one, the Vikings might still have a chance at winning the Super Bowl one day...one day.

2. We could tease former-South Dakotans that their state stinks of beets

I don't know if they grow beets in South Dakota, but once they're part of MegaKota it won't matter -- "You're state stinks!" would be true.

3. We'd get court-side seats to watch them fight over the state capital (again)

As you may recall, the reason the Dakota Territory separated in 1889 was because they couldn't agree on the location of a state capital. Break out the hotdish and Surly Furious, this will be fun to watch!

4. We'll all be flying to Puerto Rico for the winter

Per the petition, if North and South Dakota merge into MegaKota, Puerto Rico steps in to fill the role of 50th state. If direct flights from MSP to Puerto Rico don't happen, then what's the point of it all?!

5. We'd have nine more reasons to visit the former-North Dakota:

Mount Rushmore
Badlands
Custer State Park
Crazy Horse Memorial
Mammoth Site
Wild Bill Days
National Music Museum
Mitchel Corn Palace
Sturgis Motorcycle Rally
Laura Ingalls Wilder's Living Prairie Homestead

Yes, those are all currently in South Dakota. Like I said, if the two states merged we'd finally have a reason to visit former-North Dakota.

6. I-94 and I-90 would both take us through the same state

Nothing major here, just an observation. Wanna roadtrip to Billings, Montana? Take I-94 to see northern MegaKota on the way there and I-90 on the way back to see south MegaKota!