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When you're driving up the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, on the way to Baltimore-Washington International (Thurgood Marshall) Airport, the answer will be on your right when you pass Laurel: 193 countries are members of the United Nations. 2 countries are observers of the United Nations (Vatican City and Palestine). 1 country, Taiwan, is recognized by 21 UN members and 1 UN observer. 1 country, Kosovo, is recognized by 108 UN members and Taiwan. And that equals 197. In reality, there is no exact answer to this question, but this is a good approximate number - you could even say "around 200" and you'd be pretty close to being accurate, which is about as good as your answer can possibly be.
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Which three countries cross the 180th Parallel (i.e., the "antimeridian")? Exclaves (e.g., if France has some obscure island in the South Pacific) don't count - this question is about the "meat" of the countries. Mouse over for the first two: USA and Russia (the Aleutian Islands (an archipelago, but part of Alaska-proper) cross the 180th Parallel). Russia is the only country to cross it with "real" land mass (i.e., not an archipelago, which is a hint for the third country...) Those were the easy ones: There's one other country in both hemispheres - think, then mouse over... Fiji (granted, an archipelago, but everything is clustered together). If it weren't for these three countries, the 180th Parallel would extend from the North Pole to the South Pole without hitting any land. --- Firefly (DonRocks) -
You're on the Carribbean island of Barbados. All of a sudden, the entire island starts floating due North. What, specifically, will you hit first (I'm looking for the smallest named unit of land possible, and how you got there). If anyone - *anyone* - gets this question right without first doing some research, you're either Sinbad the Sailor, or you've got too much time on your hands. I'm going to open this up to guests just because it's so terribly difficult. This is not a trick question (there's no tiny, unmapped islet out in the middle of the sea that's claimed by some obscure country); it's just a very difficult question. If anyone gets this correct without first doing some research, I'll keel over and die.
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What is the largest landlocked country in the western hemisphere and the southern hemisphere? Mouse over for a hint: It's the same country. Mouse over for another hint: It's obviously in South America, you dodo. Mouse over for the answer: Bolivia (followed closely by Paraguay)
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Utqiaġvik (UUT kee AH vik) is the northernmost city in Alaska, and 1,300 miles south of the North Pole. The locals took a referendum on changing the name back from Barrow in 2016, because they were sick of feeling colonized. Dec 1, 2016 - "Barrow, Alaska, Changes Its Name Back to Its Original 'Utqiaġvik'" by Rebecca Hersher on npr.org Being 320-miles north of the Arctic Circle, it sees the midnight sun from the middle of May until the end of July.
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Some people may not know what a centoid is; others will not know where the centroid is in Texas: The centroid is when you take a, e.g., cardboard representation of a state, or other irregularly shaped surface area, and balance it on the tip of a pencil. A circle, for example, has its centroid as "the center," which is obvious enough. With Texas, it isn't quite so easy, but it's easy enough. The centroid of Texas is about 15 miles NE of Brady. Here's Brady on a map: For our purposes, the centroid doesn't take into account things such as elevation; for other purposes, it does - it's merely the "centroid" of a theoretical two-dimensional object. So in case you're wondering how far you are from the center of the state. If there are any islands, those would be included as well.
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This is a geographical (read: non-political) thread, looking at the border between the USA and Mexico: Personally, all I know of the border is Tijuana and Juarez. "Borderline" by Laris Karklis et al on washingtonpost.com
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Believe it or not, there are two communities of Markham, Virginia - Heartland Orchard is in Fauquier County, and the other is in Pittsylvania County. Fauquier County was founded in 1759, and named after Francis Fauquier, Lieutenant-Governor of Virginia Colony. Pittsylvania County was founded in 1767, and named after William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham.
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Don't forget, Central America is part of North America (you'd be surprised how many people don't know this). I actually just wanted to use the word, "isthmus."
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I found a really nice map of the 101 Departments of France. Departments fall within Regions (there are 18 Regions of France), and are the geographical unit where the French self-identify as "being from." Each department has it's own "Prefecture," which is the equivalent of "Capital" in English - these are shown on the map as well. Here's another good resource: "Departments of France" by france-pub.com which lists the departments by number. While driving in France, you can tell where the person in front of you is from, because the first two numbers of each license plate is the department number in which it's registered. And here's the map of all 101 departments along with their 2718 mainland regions, in which you can clearly see which departments fall within which regions. It may be 200 miles as the crow flies between Alpes-Maritimes (in the far southeast) and Pyrenées-Orientales (in the far southeast of the Spanish border), but unless you take the Autoroute, it will be the longest 200 miles you will ever drive. Before Jan 1, 2016: After Jan 1, 2016: The good news for students of geography and cartography is that the regions merely "merged" as of Jan 1, 2016 - they didn't grow, other than by being conglomerated with other regions (if you toggle back-and-forth between the two maps, you can see they fit together like pieces in a puzzle). For example, Aquitaine, Poitou-Charentes, and Limousin merged to become Nouvelle-Aquitaine (scroll down and see the third post below).
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A single drop of rain, falling onto the roof of the Baseball Hall of Fame just above the bust of Mickey Mantle, will end up in the Chesapeake Bay. That's how vast the Chesapeake Bay Watershed is. For those who don't know the precise definition, a "watershed" can be visualized as the trough where a single drop of rain will travel (in theory). A tourist discarding a cigarette butt on the grounds of the Hall of Fame is harming the Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab.
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Following in the spirit of our "The 101 Departments and 18 Regions of France" Thread, I'm beginning one for their southeastern neighbor, Italy. There are almost identical numbers of Provinces/Regions in Italy as there are Departments/Regions in France (note the almost-identical usage of the word "Region" for the two countries). Furthermore, each Province in Italy is broken down into Comunes, and there are - hold your breath - 8,100 comunes in Italy. Knowing all 8,100 Comunes in Italy would be like memorizing all the Counties or Cities in the U.S. (there are 3,143 U.S. Counties and around 19,354 U.S. Cities), and is of little value for the average person, even for the average student of local geography. Practically speaking, the smallest levels of political division citizens (not tourists, but citizens of both nations) need to know are the 101 "Departments" in France, and the 110 "Provinces" in Italy (both of which are like learning the 50 "States" in the U.S., only even more precise, since the U.S. is a *much* larger country (France is the size of Texas), and has only about half the states that France/Italy do Departments/Provinces. My criteria for finding a good Region map were twofold: 1) Have the names in Italian (e.g., "Valle d'Aosta" instead of "Aosta Valley"), and 2) Show their capitals: As you can probably guess, it's difficult to cram in 110 Provinces into such a small area, so this is about the best I could find:
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There's a place called Onancock, Virginia? How did this name come about? It's like naming the place Jackoff. "11 Charming Small Towns You Need to Explore on Your Next Chesapeake Bay Vacation" by Joe Sugarman on washingtonian.com
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You're lying on Miami Beach, and you're instantly transported 1,500 miles due south. Where are you? Mouse-over for the answer, which will have you crying "BS!" and send you running to a map: The Pacific Ocean.
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This is a great question that I just happened to think of, and despite my pride in knowing geography, cartography, and national capitals, I was wrong. Keep reading, and if you understand the answer, you will have learned a great deal in a very short amount of time. I was talking with the lady cutting my hair yesterday, who happened to be from one of these countries. I said, "It's landlocked, isn't it?" She said yes, somewhat impressed. This evening, I looked at a map of South America, and slam-dunked the countries in the Western Hemisphere that were landlocked. That is, until I checked my answer, which was only partially correct. Can you name the countries? This is by no means a trick question involving things such as "islands" (which wouldn't be landlocked anyway) or anything "weird" such as that. It's a straightforward question that is damnably difficult to guess. Take a moment to think, and then I'll give you a series of progressive hints, starting with this one, which you'll need to run your cursor over in order to see: Think of the gigantic oil company, BP (British Petroleum). Use the letters "B" and "P" as the first letters of the countries in South America. Okay, you have the first letters - do you have the countries? Obviously, you can rule out North America (with Canada, the United States, and Mexico), and I'll just flat-out tell you that there isn't a single country in Central America that's landlocked. So, that leaves the two in South America. If you haven't gotten them yet, I'll give you another hint here: The capitals of these countries are Sucre and Ascunsií³n. So, by this time, you've probably gotten them, although that second capital isn't all that easy, so go ahead and Google it, and then the first hint will become clear. That's it, right? And you'll remember this for the rest of your life. At least, that's what *I* thought when I made my guess, and I was so proud of myself for getting it right, even though I only got it half-right. Ponder this for a few minutes, and then look at my next clue: The "Western Hemisphere" is defined as anything west of 0-degrees longitude, i.e., the Prime Meridian, which runs through Greenwich, England. It's an entirely arbitrary, geologically meaningless point that was only established because England was such an enormous political power when all this was sorted out. Things just got a little bit tougher, but the fact that I was "half-right" is also a clue. Now, you have to *really* put your thinking caps on. Go ahead and take a moment, and then I'll give you my penultimate clue, which won't give it away, but it will put you right on top of everything: The two remaining countries are in Africa! Yeah, right? I was as shocked as you are. Think for a few minutes about where things are, and then I'll give you my final clue, which still won't give you the answer, but Google will allow you to finish: One of the countries has a capital which hosts the largest film festival in Africa, and the other has a famous, almost-mythical city which has had temperatures over 130 degrees Fahrenheit. Okay, that's it! Now, all I ask, in return for me presenting you the question and the answer, is to *always remember* what the answer is. You have just taken a giant leap in knowledge. And here's one final trick to help you remember the answer: Get a picture in your mind of a BP (British Petroleum) employee going to the bathroom (BM). BP-BM: Bolivia, Paraguay, Burkina Faso, Mali. Both of the African countries straddle the Prime Meridian, but both of their capitals lie in the Western Hemisphere, so you can decide for yourselves if you wish to include them.
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I just asked myself this question, and came up with a very logical, reasonable way to find the answer (don't worry, I'm not giving it away): "Landlocked and long," were my two alliterative criteria. I was just in Louisville, coming down from the southern tip of Indiana, and thought to myself, "Sure, why not Kentucky?" And I also knew that states east of the Mississippi River tend to be smaller (which can be both a blessing and a curse for having the most bordering states). It was really good reasoning, and it was wrong. If you'd like a hint before seeing the answer, mouse over the following line, holding your cursor down: There's a two-state tie, and both states border Kentucky. <--- This is the line with the hint. If you want the answer, just mouse over the next line, holding your cursor down (and you can click on it for more information): Tennessee and Missouri, both tied with 8. <--- This is the line with the answer. So you can see my general thought process was pretty solid, but ... as so often happens ... close, but no cigar.
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Here is a quick, easy way to memorize the 10 states bordering the Mississippi River, from North to South, in less than one minute. You will be *shocked* at how useful this seemingly innocuous bit of knowledge is. Bear in mind: This is 20% of all of the states in the USA, and you're about to have them memorized, North to South, in what is essentially the geographical midpoint of our country. Ready? Here goes: Mr. Wilson Is Inside Miss Kathkart's Twat All Morning Long That's it! That's all there is! If you were a Dennis The Menace fan, you will never forget this for the rest of your life. And I don't know if I should be proud, or ashamed, to say that I made this up from scratch. , PS - Okay, so it's spelled "Cathcart." I didn't know that until after I thought up the acronym (actually, I didn't know that until just this moment), so you'll just have to incorporate this into your psyche from this point forward - it's a minor adjustment well-worth the effort. PPS - Note also that Kentucky (which is the "problem state" in this acronym) is the one that also prevents things from being a perfect west-east-west-east-west-east flow going all the way from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico (either Kentucky or Tennessee, take your pick, but I figure since Kentucky has the spelling problem, it might be easier just to remember that one; it's probably more "correct" to deem it Tennessee since that's the state that makes two consecutive states be east-east). Just remember the KT-Boundary and you're good to go. AREN'T YOU *GLAD* YOU KNOW THIS?!
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Name the U.S. state(s) that are furthest: 1) North 2) East 3) South 4) West Before you look at the answer, sit for a moment, and really try and *think* of what it is. The vast majority of people get this wrong, so think hard before you assume you're correct. If you highlight the (invisible) text that follows, you'll have the answer. Once again, I urge you to think carefully about this - I wouldn't be asking this question if it had an easy answer. No cheating! 1) North - Alaska 2) East - Alaska 3) South - Hawaii 4) West - Alaska The answer lies in the space between the previous line of text, and this one. Take your time ...
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