Dale Barr, age 10 of Omaha, Neb., for the question:

What are the panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma?

The two panhandle states are named for their shapes.  Find an Atlas or Map of the United States. First find Oklahoma, in which the panhandle shape is most noticeable. The bulk of the state is like a saucepan. From the northwest corner there extends a narrow ship of land which looks for rill the world like the handle of a saucepan ‑ a panhandle.

You would need a lot of imagination to see a saucepan in the shape of Texas. Nevertheless, the bulk of the state does have a distinct handle. The western side of the Texas panhandle borders the State of New Mexico and the northern side borders the panhandle of Oklahoma.