I start off my March 15 column by asking, which states are smaller in territory and which states have fewer people than Fresno County?

Then I say you might win a bar bet by knowing the answers. To win that bet you're going to need the numbers. Here they are:

Fresno County covers 5,962 square miles and, according to the 2005 U.S. Census Bureau estimate, has a population of 877,584.

Smaller in area than Fresno County are Rhode Island (1,545 square miles), Delaware (1,954) and Connecticut (5,554).

Smaller in population are Wyoming (509,294 people), Vermont (623,050), North Dakota (636,677), Alaska (663,661), South Dakota (775,933) and Delaware (843,524).

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