The Amazing Race 38, Episode 1

Season 38 Episode 1 (Thursday, September 25th, 2025) Info: “The racers kick off the season in Amsterdam, where they face classic game pieces and unexpected twists right off the bat.”

Season 38 of The Amazing Race (U.S. Edition) rolled off to a good start; teams enjoyed playing a NETHERLANDS version of bowling! One teammate was positioned on a sled, and the other teammate pushed him/her into the ten bowling pins. Some teams earned a strike right away, while others took many attempts before knocking all the pins down. Kyland and Taylor earned an Express Pass for completing the task first. They were also given a pass to give to another team, so they chose Jag and Jas. Other teams were puzzled given that Jag and Jas were known as strong competitors on CBS’ Big Brother show and therefore wouldn’t necessarily need help in this competition — indeed, they finished first in this leg of The Amazing Race!

I found it interesting that teams completed the first task before meeting with show host Phil Keoghan. Usually teams would meet Phil first, then after “ready, set, go” they would run (or drive, or fly, etc.) to the first challenge. Enzo and Jack were the last team to accomplish a strike, so Phil gave them a Hazard card. This rarely seen feature was last used in Season 19 (2011) and gives the team a penalty, sort of like a Speed Bump. Enzo and Jack had to complete two penalties: eat a herring (some folks wouldn’t mind it but it is an acquired taste, after all) and ride an interesting clog bike that was hard to steer. I was very intrigued by the clog bike… part of it is a big yellow wooden clog shoe. What’s more Holland than that 😃? Jack was seated in the clog, while Enzo struggled to steer the clunky bike.

Teams drove to the Port of Volendam; some teams easily found it, while others took practically hours before arriving at the correct place. They rode a tandem bike to the canal-facing Edam Cheese Market where they had to stack Beemster cheese spheres on a platform that both teammates carried. As he often does, Phil gives us a factoid. However, this one might not be totally surprising if you know anything about Holland or Amsterdam: people of the Netherlands are #1 in the world when it comes to bike riding. I sometimes wonder how globally ranked facts are figured out — “how would you know for sure?” — but this one makes total sense. After cheese-stacking, teams visited Van der Wilt Gerberas, a massive greenhouse with possibly hundreds of thousands of gerbera daisies! Out of 42 different varieties, teams had to choose the correct nine colors and arranged 36 flowers (four per color) in a pattern. Finding the correct color out of many subtle color variations would be difficult enough, but the greenhouse facility actually turned on huge shades that blocked the sun. Teams literally had to wear a head lamp — as if they were searching for gold instead of flowers! Jag and Jas completed this challenge relatively quickly and arrived first at the Pit Stop: Museum Square. They earned $2,500 each and proved once again they are winning competitors like they were as Big Brother contestants. Jack and Enzo were the last to arrive out of 13 teams and could not proceed to the next episode.

The next episode will be Wednesday, October 1st at 9:30 p.m. Eastern Time on CBS and soon streaming on Paramount+.

Indiana West Nile Virus 2025 Update

The Indiana Department of Health has a new Mosquito-Borne Illness Dashboard (↗) featuring two statewide maps. These maps show counties with mosquitoes and people infected by the West Nile Virus. The right-side map shows human infections. So far in 2025 as of September 5th, there were 10 people infected in the counties of Bartholomew (1), Hamilton (1), Madison (1), Marion (4), Vanderburgh (6), and Wells (1).

Almost all counties have at least one infected mosquito (based on test results) except the following ones mostly in Southern Indiana: Crawford, Dubois, Jefferson, Lawrence, Martin, Orange, Owen, Perry, Pike, Vermillion, and Washington. Union County has not tested for mosquitoes so far this year, or the test results have not been updated on the map. At first, the left map shows Hamilton County (Carmel, Fishers, Noblesville, Westfield, etc.) with the most mosquito infections at 128. However, the Collection tab and corresponding mosquito collection map shows this county tested a tremendous amount of mosquitoes (28,112) for the virus resulting in the inflated infection number. By comparison, Marion County (Indianapolis area) has 48 mosquito infections based on 9,847 tests.

Which Countries Have 100% Adult Literacy Rates?

According to UNESCO's Institute for Statistics as well as the World Bank, dozens of countries and territories have adult literacy rates at approximately 100%. Central Asia is a notable region with proper educational instruction — allowing for adults to have high levels of education and reading capabilities. Parts of Europe, North America, and Oceania are also known for high literacy rates.

The original data is incomplete, not showing data for various places with high literacy — rates of which are likely at or near 100% — such as Andorra, Australia, Austria, the Bahamas, Belgium, Bermuda, Canada, Denmark, Fiji, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Micronesia, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, Turks and Caicos, Tuvalu, United Kingdom, United States, etc. Places having 100% literacy rate data are listed and include the most recent year of data:

— Armenia, 2020
— Azerbaijan, 2023
— Barbados, 2016
— Belarus, 2019
— Cuba, 2012
— Estonia, 2011
— Georgia, 2022
— Guam, 2000
— Kazakhstan, 2009
— Kyrgyzstan, 2022
— Latvia, 2021
— Lithuania, 2021
— Moldova, 2021
— Poland, 2021
— Russia, 2021
— San Marino, 2022
— Slovenia, 2001
— Tajikistan, 2010
— Ukraine, 2021

— Honorable mentions: China, Japan, and South Korea have 100% youth literacy rates, while adult literacy is very close behind at 97% to 99%.

What is the World's Literacy Rate?

The worldwide literacy rate of adults is approximately 87%, while the youth literacy rate is about 93% (2023 estimates).

GeoFact of the Day Statement Regarding Gerrymandering

GeoFact of the Day is concerned about the politicization of election maps in the United States. Gerrymandering has been an issue for many years but hasn't been properly resolved in most states. Ideally, elections should be competitive to where either party could theoretically win in a district, but fewer and fewer districts are like this as the years go on. 10 of the 11 most gerrymandered states are Republican. I feel obliged to note that Republican Party has been notorious, in my opinion, for gerrymandering (they've done this for many years and in dozens of states). Gerrymandering results in districts that look elongated and ugly on a map. Ideal districts should be relatively squarish or circular and keep together neighboring counties and communities. Some districts have a length of more than 100 miles, connecting areas that are not exactly connected culturally and socially. GeoFact of the Day encourages lawmakers to hand redistricting duties over to cartographers, demographers, and other social scientist-minded individuals who will draw districts that will help revitalize United States elections and bring forth high-quality candidates and public servants — who will try to serve the interests of all constituents in their district, not just big-moneyed special interests.

Request for Your Feedback!

Hello there! I hope you are enjoying the GeoFact of the Day Blog. I have a question for you: what would you like to see to make this geography website better? What kinds of topics should I focus on in upcoming posts? What kind of maps should I make, and about which places? I really enjoy reading your comments. I occasionally come across a nice and very helpful comment with constructive criticism. Your feedback is greatly appreciated!

7/28/2025 Nebraska Tornado Warning

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BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
Tornado Warning
National Weather Service North Platte NE
617 PM CDT Mon Jul 28 2025

The National Weather Service in North Platte has issued a

* Tornado Warning for... Eastern Boyd County in north central Nebraska...

7/28/2025 South Dakota Tornado Warning 3

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National Weather Service Sioux Falls SD
625 PM CDT Mon Jul 28 2025

Charles Mix SD-Gregory SD
625 PM CDT Mon Jul 28 2025

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 700 PM CDT FOR CENTRAL CHARLES MIX AND SOUTHEASTERN GREGORY COUNTIES...

7/28/2025 South Dakota Tornado Warning 2

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7/28/2025 South Dakota Tornado Warning 1

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National Weather Service Sioux Falls SD
519 PM CDT Mon Jul 28 2025

The National Weather Service in Sioux Falls has issued a

* Tornado Warning for... South central Gregory County in south central South Dakota...

7/11/2025 Wisconsin Tornado Warning 2

Tornado Warning
National Weather Service Milwaukee/Sullivan WI
547 PM CDT Fri Jul 11 2025

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The National Weather Service in Milwaukee/Sullivan has issued a

* Tornado Warning for... Southeastern Lafayette County in south central Wisconsin... Southwestern Green County in south central Wisconsin...

7/11/2025 Wisconsin Tornado Warning 1

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National Weather Service Milwaukee/Sullivan WI
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The National Weather Service in Milwaukee/Sullivan has issued a

* Tornado Warning for... Eastern Lafayette County in south central Wisconsin...

7/11/2025 Iowa Tornado Warning

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National Weather Service Quad Cities IA/IL
509 PM CDT Fri Jul 11 2025

Rock Island IL, Henry IL, Scott IA
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...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 545 PM CDT FOR EAST CENTRAL ROCK ISLAND...NORTHWESTERN HENRY AND SOUTHEASTERN SCOTT COUNTIES...

Cambodia Post is Updated

GeoFact of the Day's Cambodia post (↗) is updated with more information. Thanks for visiting GeoFact of the Day today!

6/19/2025 Delaware, Pennsylvania Tornado Warning

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Tornado Warning DEC003-PAC029-045-192130- /O.NEW.KPHI.TO.W.0019.250619T2102Z-250619T2130Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED Tornado Warning National Weather Service Mount Holly NJ 502 PM EDT Thu Jun 19 2025

The National Weather Service in Mount Holly NJ has issued a

* Tornado Warning for... Northern New Castle County in northern Delaware... Southeastern Chester County in southeastern Pennsylvania... Southwestern Delaware County in southeastern Pennsylvania...