May 15th, 2013 at 12:00PM:
Where does this look like to you? I guessed central Mexico based on the Spanish signs and the mixture of dry soil and lush plants. Actually it's Brazil. The next view I looked at showed the characteristic onion domes of a Russian Orthodox Church. I guessed Russia and was correct.
This is an addictive new online game called Geoguessr. It gives you random Google Street View images and you have ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
geography posts
Geoguessr: The Internet's Newest Educational Time Waster
May 15th, 2013 at 12:00PM:
Where does this look like to you? I guessed central Mexico based on the Spanish signs and the mixture of dry soil and lush plants. Actually it's Brazil. The next view I looked at showed the characteristic onion domes of a Russian Orthodox Church. I guessed Russia and was correct.
This is an addictive new online game called Geoguessr. It gives you random Google Street View images and you have ...The Pacific Ocean: Is It Really True That One-Third Of Young Americans Can't Find It?
Apr 22nd, 2013 at 1:00PM: While reading fellow Gadling blogger Chris Owen's post about a Twitter mix-up between Chechnya and the Czech Republic, I was horrified to read that one-third of young Americans can't find the Pacific Ocean.
I was horrified, but not surprised. I taught for several years in a community college and no amount of public ignorance surprises me anymore – not after a student handed in a paper ...Ethnic Element Of Boston Bombing Complicated By Geography Skills
Apr 21st, 2013 at 12:00PM: Killed and captured, Boston marathon suspects Tamerlan Tsarnaev and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev are understandably a trending topic across social media platforms. That's no surprise. Perhaps now some reasons behind the bombing will surface and we can begin to categorize the event, learn from it, vow to never forget and move along, albeit with a bit less of a secure feeling.
Also no surprise is that most ...Teaching Geography With Google Maps
Jan 27th, 2013 at 12:00PM:
Travelers aren't born, they're raised.
Last week we talked about how to connect with your kids while you're away traveling. There are plenty of ways to get them interested in this great big world of ours while you're both at home too. One of the best and easiest ways to fire their imagination is with Google Maps.
Like many good ideas in our family, my seven-year-old son thought of it ...Dull And Boring: Two Weird Town Names That Go Great Together
Jun 5th, 2012 at 1:00PM:
What's life like in a boring town? What's life like in a dull one? Now a proposed trans-Atlantic collaboration aims to answer this important question.
Boring, Oregon, and Dull, Scotland, want to become sister communities. Local promoters say their towns are neither dull nor boring, and they should play on their weird town names to get more tourism.
One Boring website says the Oregon town ...What Is The Highest European Capital?
Jun 4th, 2012 at 11:00AM:
I've lived in Spain part time for eight years now and I've been under the impression that Madrid is the highest European capital at 667 meters (2,188 feet) above sea level. You see the "highest capital in Europe" claim everywhere, including city tours, travel websites and even the second edition of "City Guide Madrid" by Blue Guides.
A friend who just came back from hiking in Andorra, ...A Challenge: Learn All Of The Countries In The World
May 24th, 2012 at 9:00AM:
While in DC a couple of weeks ago with fellow Gadling writers, a few of us hopped into a taxi on our way to dinner. Our driver was an African man from a country he kept under wraps. He told us that if we wanted to find out which country he was from, we'd have to earn our way to the answer through his impromptu trivia. And so we tried to answer his questions.
"You have to exercise your ...Time-Lapse Video Shows Europe's Changing Borders, 1000 AD to 2003
May 16th, 2012 at 3:00PM:
This quirky time lapse shows how Europe's borders have expanded, contracted, and expanded again. We're pretty sure the original intent was to help those studying for a World Geography test or the like, but it's a fun tool for travelers too – is the area you're visiting this summer a part of the original Hapsburg empire? Has the hotel you're staying in always been in France? Watch it. ...
Visiting The Royal Geographical Society, London
Apr 8th, 2012 at 10:00AM: While London isn't exactly known as an adventure travel destination, unless you're crossing Elephant and Castle late at night, it is a place where adventure travelers gather. The British are some of the best explorers in the world and their Royal Geographical Society is a meeting place and resource for those who want more out of travel than a cruise to the Bahamas.
The society was founded in ...My kid is more up-to-date on geography than Google Maps
Sep 23rd, 2011 at 5:00PM: "Where's South Sudan?" my five-year-old asked me.
Being my kid, he's big into maps. He has a map of Africa with all the flags on it hanging above his bed. Using it, he's been able to trace dad's adventures in Ethiopia and Somaliland. It's been marked up a bit since I got it for him more than a year ago. I had to draw the boundary of the unrecognized state of Somaliland on it, and we had to add ...657 new islands discovered across the globe
Apr 21st, 2011 at 8:00AM: A new geographic survey, conducted by researchers from Duke University and Meredith College, located in Raleigh, N.C., has discovered more than 650 new barrier islands, spread out across the globe. The team used a collection of satellite images, navigational charts, and topographical maps, all of which are available to the general public, as part of their research. They counted 2149 barrier ...BBC mapping tool Dimensions creates unique mashups
Oct 30th, 2010 at 3:30PM: Ever wondered about the size of Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome? Or the how long the infamous Running of the Bulls route is in Spain? The BBC has a great new mapping tool, called Dimensions, to help give visitors and interesting perspective on these unique sights, historical marvels and famous events. Dimensions drops the outline of famous cities, tourist hot-spots and historical points of interest ...National Geographic awards prestigious medal for first time in 30 years
Jul 14th, 2010 at 8:00AM: Earlier this week the National Geographic Society honored Dr. Roger Tomlinson and Jack Dangermond with the Alexander Graham Bell Medal, an award that hasn't been given to anyone in 30 years. The two men are visionary pioneers in the area of geographic information systems (GIS) who have had a massive influence on the way we think about geography and the use of geographical data to analyze problems. ...Grab a book of matches before leaving the room - Hotel tip
Feb 13th, 2010 at 12:52PM: When visiting a foreign country, especially one with an unfamiliar language, grab a book of matches from the hotel where you're staying as soon as you arrive.
If you get lost in town during your stay, and you know just a little of the language, the book of matches will be a great way to show locals where you need to go, and have them direct you to the right place. ...Geography lessons: Can you draw a map of the U.S. as well as Al Franken?
Sep 18th, 2009 at 11:00AM: Watching Minnesota senator Al Franken draw a map of the United States reminded me of 7th grade. Back then at Olympia Jr. High in Columbia, South Carolina, I had one of those social studies teachers who handed out blank pieces of paper and had us draw a map with every new unit. Perhaps you, Gadling reader, learned geography in a similar fashion.
For example, if we were going to study Europe, we ...The most accurate world map available as a free download
Jul 17th, 2009 at 11:30AM: Finally, our tax dollars going to something cool.
The folks at Caltech's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, along with NASA and the Japanese government, have come together to make the world's most accurate topo map. And it's available for free!
The ASTER project, which stands for Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (say that ten times fast) is a minutely detailed look at the ...Africa: How big is huge ?
Jun 2nd, 2008 at 1:30PM: A few years ago, I was asked to be a guest speaker at a conference geared towards teachers. Each session had to do with either Japan, Germany and Africa. So, there you have it. A vast, diverse, complicated continent with the same billing as two countries. I narrowed my topic down to comparing Nigeria and The Gambia.
To really see Africa's impact all one needs to do is see which of the world's ...The best place for Santa to live is Kyrgyzstan
Dec 22nd, 2007 at 9:00AM: Last night was Tuttle Park's annual holiday party. Every year this small recreation center of Columbus Parks and Recreation treats kids from surrounding neighborhoods to craft projects, food treats, games and Santa. Our Bolivian friends and Japanese friends were there, as were assorted other folks who I recognized from other years.
When Santa arrived about an hour into the party with not the ...Beauty queen in Belgium gets a royal booing by the audience for not knowing Dutch
Dec 20th, 2007 at 1:30PM: Neil wrote a post about Miss South Carolina who hopelessly and sadly botched a geography related question in a beauty contest. Just imagine what this would have been like if she would have had to say her answer in another language spoken in the U.S.--say Spanish. That's what happened in a beauty contest in Belgium. It wasn't geography that created a problem, it was not knowing how to speak Dutch. ...Kellie Pickler and some insight into America's geographic ignorance
Dec 2nd, 2007 at 3:00PM: I had a good laugh this morning when I saw that World Hum had created a category on their weblog entitled "Hot Americans on Television Botching Geography Questions", thanks to Miss South Carolina and more recently American Idol Kellie Pickler. She appeared on US television game show "Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader" and was asked what country Budapest was the capital of. She had never even heard ...
