OK lets test your knowledge of Geography

Don I thought this was going to be a real geography test.

Like how many countrys are there in Africa.

I have had so many people say to me " Awe you from Africa .......I reply "Yes, South Africa" then the next comment goes something, "Well i have a (substistute) "family member" in the Peace Corps in Africa. Do you know him?:huh: His name is (whatever name you can think of). He wrote to us the other day and told us how he was" Well a let me see now there was Luigi, and Michael and Paul and mmmmhhhh not sure i knew your (substitute family member and name):rofl::rofl:

But then i have also been down in Atlanta Georgia and asked at hotel check in whether Canada is in Europe or Asia when the system has asked the operator to put the country in alongside your name.:dunno::D

On a business trip to New York being stuck at the airport we ended up at one of the local eating establishments. For a little fun, we asked the server if they knew what the name of the largest neighboring country to the North was. I can tell you we never got the answer correctly repeated even when we suggested might it be Canada.:(

So i guess my suggestion is before we start with cities why not lets get a perspective of the globe. After all its a Global Village today and it might help if the young uns (since this is a family friendly forum) knew that the world is not flat anymore and there are other countries out there and that Stu is on the other side of the world and that Toni is not in outer space. And whilst it might seem like it some days China is not the 51st state of the union. :rofl::rofl::rofl:

Just funning you.:wave::D
 
... " Awe you from Africa .......I reply "Yes, South Africa" ...
An acquaintance in Florida was born and raised in South Africa. He immigrated to the US when he was still a young man and has lived here for a few decades. He rightfully refers to himself as an African-American and is as Caucasian as anyone can be. :)
 
An acquaintance in Florida was born and raised in South Africa. He immigrated to the US when he was still a young man and has lived here for a few decades. He rightfully refers to himself as an African-American and is as Caucasian as anyone can be. :)

That's funny -- a year ago I met a minister from Ohio who has the same background. He gets a kick out of telling that story.

Don I thought this was going to be a real geography test.

Like how many countrys are there in Africa.

I have had so many people say to me " Awe you from Africa .......I reply "Yes, South Africa" then the next comment goes something, "Well i have a (substistute) "family member" in the Peace Corps in Africa. Do you know him?:huh:
....
For a little fun, we asked the server if they knew what the name of the largest neighboring country to the North was. I can tell you we never got the answer correctly repeated even when we suggested might it be Canada.:(
...
Just funning you.:wave::D


Here, you want to learn something cool about Geography? I found this like the other day: Just how big is Antarctica.

As for the Canada thing... I remember back in the early 80s meeting a girl from Minnesota. She had no idea what Manitoba was... :doh: Umm, it's the province directly north of your border! (and yes, I know Ontario is also north of the eastern half of Minnesota)

Of course even Canadians have been known to get this trivia question wrong: "What is the nearest country located directly south of Detroit?
(and no, it isn't Mexico ;))

And to be fair, it isn't just folks in the US. Years ago when I lived in Hamilton I knew a lady who was having friends visit from Europe who wanted to be sure and visit Algonquin park... not quite grasping the fact that Algonquin park is a 4hr drive North... But then lots of folks in Europe don't quite grasp the distances involved in getting around Canada and the US.

ttfn
...art
(who at 43 degrees north, lives basically just as far south as Rennie does...)
 
An acquaintance in Florida was born and raised in South Africa. He immigrated to the US when he was still a young man and has lived here for a few decades. He rightfully refers to himself as an African-American and is as Caucasian as anyone can be. :)

At the risk of getting dinged for being political... I hate the term African-American or Mexican-American or Latin-American (Unless they actually live in Latin America) or any other-American label.

You friend is an American of South African descent (and if he's caucasian very likely of Dutch descent-but not necessarily).

Using this premise of labeling people - I would have to be a Heinz-American since I'm descendant of the Irish, German, Scott, English, Cherokee, Choctaw, and who knows what else.... parts of my family landed in the Carolinas/Virginia area around 1628 ...

Rob,
You are right... it's getting very scary when you realize that either they are not being taught or they are not learning about our world. Even my son who is a genius on the computer and can find any information he wants, is not knowledgeable in geography.

While I can't name every capital in the US, I probably do know most of them (a few I might mix up with major cities by most I know) and same with capitals of the countries around the world... I know most of them or at least the major shipping ports of the countries. I've begun to lose them now, but I could even tell you the airport codes for about 75% of the major airports around the world from memory...

We are failing our students by not teaching them simple geography and history.
 
Like how many countrys are there in Africa.
Not fair, it changes every few weeks.:rofl::rofl:
But then i have also been down in Atlanta Georgia and asked at hotel check in whether Canada is in Europe or Asia when the system has asked the operator to put the country in alongside your name.:dunno::D
Can't tell you how many times I've been asked if Idaho was where all the corn comes from.:eek:
 
Got them all... including Carson City. Had to think a minute about Sacramento.

I count myself Extremely fortunate to have been to 46 of the contiguous 48 states, nearly all of that by driving (flew into a couple on separate trips, but I'd already driven to them long before). My two oldest sons are both of driving age now, and my christmas gift to each of them is going to be a Rand Mcnally Atlas. One has his own car, but really needs a GPS if he hasn't been to a place more than half a dozen times, the other will be using our car, but the map is more symbolic than required for at least a couple of years.

I'm hoping that in a year or two Lori and I will be able to pack up and take a trip every now and again with Patrick, our youngest. He's 10 now and I want him to know the country like I do. We'll start out in the southeast, but I'm planning on at least one coast to coast trip with them each year til he's 18. Lori's only been to TN and out to Chicago, plus a few trips to the Carolinas with her ex, and VA with me.
 
In general terms, I think Canadians have a better grasp of US geography than most US citizens do. At least the Canucks I've met sure seemed to.

Growing up in New Mexico I got to see or hear about a number of examples of geographical ignorance. My mom used to work in the Budget Office at Los Alamos National Labs. One day she got a call from someone in Washington DC who was trying to work out the logistics of shipping a large part to Los Alamos. It apparently took multiple tried before my mom was able to convince the caller that no, they could NOT ship it by barge up the Rio Grande. Yes, the blue line on the map looks just like the Mississippi River, but there are no barges on the Rio Grande. In another example, an acquaintance of my sister moved out to New Mexico from the East Coast as a young school teacher in the mid-1960s. Her dad presented her with a handgun as a going-away gift, in case she needed to fight off the Indians "out West".

Even here in California in the last decade, I've had to explain to people that New Mexico is indeed one of the 50 states, and no, I didn't need a Green Card or passport to move from there to here. :doh:
 
I used to live in Rhode Island. You would be surprised how many people would ask me if it was part of New York.
It was also amazing that some people had never heard of it.:huh:

My electrician that wired the connection to my shop for me was from Rhode Island by way of Florida.... he's what we call a half-back... from the north to Florida then half way back. :D
 
30 years ago when I was a manager for a large corporation I was living and working in Chicago. One of the engineers working for me was from Finland. He and his twin brother attended and graduated from the University of Illinois at Champaign/Urbana. While there he met and married a local girl and they relocated to Chicago. His parents called one day from Finland and announced the son of one of their friends had recently moved to Pittsburgh and if he wasn't doing anything on Sunday afternoon, he ought to drive over for a short visit.

He readily admitted his parents didn't realize how big the US is.

He also thought that the gas pedal in his car was a digital device rather than an analog device. It was either "On" or "Off"! :huh:
 
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