my $states = q~AL|Alabama
AK|Alaska
AZ|Arizona
AR|Arkansas
CA|California
CO|Colorado
CT|Connecticut
DE|Delaware
DC|District of Columbia
FL|Florida
GA|Georgia
HI|Hawaii
ID|Idaho
IL|Illinois
IN|Indiana
IA|Iowa
KS|Kansas
KY|Kentucky
LA|Louisiana
ME|Maine
MD|Maryland
MA|Massachusetts
MI|Michigan
MN|Minnesota
MS|Mississippi
MO|Missouri
MT|Montana
NE|Nebraska
NV|Nevada
NH|New Hampshire
NJ|New Jersey
NM|New Mexico
NY|New York
NC|North Carolina
ND|North Dakota
OH|Ohio
OK|Oklahoma
OR|Oregon
PA|Pennsylvania
RI|Rhode Island
SC|South Carolina
SD|South Dakota
TN|Tennessee
TX|Texas
UT|Utah
VT|Vermont
VA|Virginia
WA|Washington
WV|West Virginia
WI|Wisconsin
WY|Wyoming
AB|Alberta
BC|British Columbia
MB|Manitoba
NB|New Brunswick
NF|Newfoundland
NT|Northwest Territory
NS|Nova Scotia
ON|Ontario
PE|Prince Edward Island
PQ|Quebec
SP|St. Pierre & Miguelon
SK|Saskatchewan
YU|Yukon Territory
AC|Australian Capital
NW|New South Wales
NO|Northern Territory
QL|Queensland
SA|South Australia
TS|Tasmania
VC|Victoria
WT|Western Australia
QC|Quebec City
CI|Chiapas
GU|Guanajuanto
PB|Puebla
QR|Quintana Roo~;

my @sliced = split /\|/, $states;