the fifty first state?

I have a subscription to US News and World Report – by far my favorite news magazine. As I read through this week’s issue, I was kind of shocked to learn that there is a plan working through the US House of Representatives to grant Puerto Rico statehood. I knew Puerto Rico was a territory, but it’s hard to imagine another state. The United States has had fifty states since I was born. It’s hard to imagine fifty one states. It just doesn’t have the same ring to it!