Czech Republic Castles

Like multiple countries throughout Europe, the CZECH REPUBLIC is home to many stoically spectacular castles! Over twenty notable examples include Bezděz, Bouzov, Český Krumlov, Český Šternberk, Děčín, Hluboká nad Vltavou, Jindřichův Hradec, Karlštejn, Kokořín, Konopiště, Kost, Křivoklát, Kunětická Hora (Kunetice Mountain), Ledeč nad Sázavou, Lednice, Loket, Orlík, Pernštejn, Rabí, Raduň, Sovinec, and Trosky. Lovely pictures, an interactive Google map showing castle locations sprinkled throughout the Czech Republic, and many details about twenty of these castles are found in this Road Affair post (↗). There is a particularly picturesque photo of a castle at sunset with over a dozen hot air balloons floating in the sky! The Czech words that translate from castle include hrad and zámek. At least three UNESCO World Heritage Sites feature majestic Czech castles. Including the Lednice and Valtice castles, the Lednice-Valtice Cultural Landscape (↗) was inscribed to the Heritage List in 1996 and underwent a recent boundary update in 2025. The Kroměříž Gardens and Castle (↗) site was inscribed in 1998 and Litomyšl Castle (↗) was inscribed in 1999.

April 2026 Geography Bee Quiz

Learn more about the Earth with the help of a GeoFact of the Day Geography Bee Quiz (↗) like this one! Whether you are preparing for a geography bee, wanting to impress folks at a trivia contest, or just want to learn, I hope you enjoy these morsels about the world. The answers to this quiz are listed below — enjoy and good luck!

1)      True or false: according to 2018 data from UNESCO's Institute for Statistics, LESOTHO's youth literacy rate is 95.2%.

There is a town named Bratsberg near the center of ____________________.
A — NORWAY
B — GERMANY
C — LATVIA

3)      Which of the following is not a city in Lebanon?
A — Beirut
B — Tyre
C — Riyadh
D — Tripoli

4)      Being home to an interesting red-and-white 1800s lighthouse (↗) and having a namesake current, Cape Agulhas is located southeast of Cape Town, SOUTH AFRICA. The southernmost point of Africa, this cape is known as a separation point between the Atlantic Ocean and __________ Ocean.























ANSWERS

Question 1:
True

Question 2:
A . . . . . Norway

Question 3:
C . . . . . Riyadh which is in Saudi Arabia (↗); Tripoli (D) is a city in Lebanon and also in Libya (↗)

Question 4:
Indian

The Amazing Race Season 38 Finale

Season 38 Episode 12 (Wednesday, December 10th, 2025) “One Million Cookies” Finale Info: “The final three teams race through New York City where they rappel down the Empire State Building, and host Phil Keoghan crowns one team the winners.”

In this twelfth and grand finale episode of The Amazing Race Season 38 (U.S. Edition), we found out whether Izzy and Paige or Adam and Joseph arrived to the 🇫🇷 Paris, FRANCE Pit Stop 🗼 in third place. As mentioned as a spoiler alert at the bottom of the eleventh episode post, Adam and Joseph arrived third and continued in the competition; Izzy and Paige arrived in fourth and therefore could not compete for a million dollars. The three teams competing for moolah — Kyland and Taylor, Jag and Jas, and Adam and Joseph — flew ✈️ westward across the Atlantic Ocean from Paris to 🗽 New York City, USA 🇺🇸 and arrived at the magnificent Empire State Building. In a thrilling task, they went all the way to the top and rappelled down the spire!

Each team was given $550 💵 to spend in this episode, presumably for taxi rides, food, and maybe some souvenirs. Teams met and chatted with the Cookie Monster 🍪 and Oscar the Grouch — two wonderful personalities from one of the most popular PBS shows of all time, Sesame Street! Later at a gigantic fabric store known as Spandex Fabrics Inc., teams found sixteen specific bolts of fabric to match swatch samples. They gave the fabrics to a student waiting outside in front of the Feldman Center (Fashion Institute of Technology).

For the last challenge of Season 38, teams visited Seret Studios which provides an assortment of filming locations 🎥 throughout New York City. Teams completed a giant crossword puzzle recapping places and moments throughout this season. Finally, they unscrambled letters from the puzzle to determine the 🏁 Pit Stop location: Yankees Stadium ⚾. To cheer on the final three teams, most teams from Season 38 were present at the Pit Stop mat including Eric/Tucker, Izzy/Paige, Chelsie/Jack, Matt/Megan, Enzo/Jack, etc. 🥇 Jag and Jas arrived first and won the $1 million! 🏆 This was likely not a surprise to Amazing Race viewers due to their remarkable performance throughout the competition. In basically every episode, Jag and Jas arrived at the Pit Stop in first place or in the top three. Congratulations to them! The second-place team (Kyland and Taylor) 🥈, the third-place team (Adam and Joseph) 🥉, Izzy and Paige 🏅, and pretty much every other team are also to be commended for excelling at Season 38 of the The Amazing Race!

New Year 2026 Geography Bee Quiz

New year, new geography quiz! Learn more about the Earth with the help of a GeoFact of the Day Geography Bee Quiz (↗) like this one! Whether you are preparing for a geography bee, wanting to impress folks at a trivia contest, or just want to learn, I hope you enjoy these morsels about the world. The answers to this quiz are listed below — enjoy and good luck!

1)      Which of the following is not a city in PORTUGAL?
A — Lisbon
B — Porto
C — Madrid
D — Coimbra

2)      Highclere Castle is the grand main setting of the episodes and movies of Downton Abbey. This impressive building is located in which southern ceremonial county of the UNITED KINGDOM?
A — Cornwall County
B — Devon County
C — Hampshire County

3)      True or false: BAHRAIN is an island country.

4)      Nicknamed the Green Mountain State, which of the following choices gained statehood to the UNITED STATES as the 14th state?
A — Maine
B — Vermont
C — Minnesota
D — Washington






















ANSWERS

Question 1:
C . . . . . Madrid — capital of Spain (↗)

Question 2:
C . . . . . Hampshire County

Question 3:
True

Question 4:
B . . . . . Vermont (↗)

Happy New Year 2026!

The Amazing Race 38, Episode 11

Season 38 Episode 11 (Wednesday, December 3rd, 2025) Info: “The final four teams race through Moulin Rouge, the Eiffel Tower, and other iconic Paris locations.”

In this penultimate eleventh episode of The Amazing Race Season 38 (U.S. Edition), the four teams flew on the same flight from Milan, ITALY 🇮🇹 to Paris, FRANCE 🇫🇷. They visited the famous Moulin Rouge (“Red Mill”) and performed a fast-paced choreography to the tune of Orphée aux enfers with the Moulin Rouge ladies. Teams then visited the world-renown Notre Dame Cathedral ✝️ which suffered an unfortunate fire in 2019. The twelfth century French Gothic architectural masterpiece dedicated to Virgin Mary was majestically restored in December 2024. The next stop 🛑 on teams’ itinerary was the National Institute for Blind Youth (Institut National des Jeunes Aveugles) — the first school for the blind in France and among all Western countries.

Teams encountered a Roadblock 🚧 challenge known as “Who Thinks They Know Their Type?”. Teams used a Braille typewriter to decode and type out a famous phrase from the Statue of Liberty 🗽 which includes “give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free”. Most teams typed away for quite a while because they would be so close to getting the paper correct but sometimes had just one spelling mistake — and had to type the whole poem again. The next task of the day sent teams on a scavenger hunt throughout Paris to look for three Statue of Liberty replicas. At each of the three locations, teams received a plastic 3D “puzzle piece” 🧩 of the French tricolor flag; they put the three pieces together to reveal an engraving and name of the Pit Stop. For this challenge, teams went near the Pont de Grenelle bridge 🌉, to the Jardin du Luxembourg garden ⛲ (colloquial name: le Luco), and to the Musée des Arts et Métiers (Museum of Arts and Crafts) 🖼️.

The particularly picturesque Pit Stop of this episode occurred at the Place du Trocadéro which is an ideal vantage point to view the Eiffel Tower 🗼. Teams encountered host Phil Keoghan as always but were also met with silence… a mime was there! Jag and Jas arrived first at the Pit Stop as usual; they won an exciting trip to FIJI 🇫🇯. Kyland and Taylor arrived second, but the show did not reveal whether Adam and Joseph or Izzy and Paige arrived next and who therefore stayed in the competition. However, I will do that now. There is definitely a spoiler alert below! If (at this time) you don’t want to know who made it to the finale episode, please skip the bottom of this post.
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Adam and Joseph arrived to the Pit Stop in third place and therefore made it to the finale episode! Izzy and Paige arrived in fourth and were therefore eliminated from the The Amazing Race. They expressed gratitude for having a wonderful journey to the various places they visited and the memories they made.

The Amazing Race 38, Episode 10

Season 38 Episode 10 (Wednesday, November 26th, 2025) Info: “Racers visit Milan, Italy where one team faces a major setback when they're forced to travel an hour behind the pack; heat exhaustion threatens to end the race for another team.”

In this tenth episode of The Amazing Race Season 38 (U.S. Edition), teams traveled from Athens, GREECE 🇬🇷 to the world-class fashion city of Milan, ITALY 🇮🇹. This majestic city of about 1.4 million residents in northern Italy is home to the world’s oldest shopping mall dating to 1877. The episode info above mentions that a team was “forced to travel an hour behind the pack”; the duo Kyland and Taylor had to book a slightly later flight from Athens to Milan due to previous teams reaching the first plane’s maximum capacity. This episode did not have a Detour task like most previous episodes in Season 38.

A Roadblock was the first task of the day; teams recreated a floral designer dress to meet a fashionista’s approval. Multiple team members struggled with this detail-oriented task since they had to have the correct number of flowers (five or so varieties) and arrange them in specific spots. The second part of the episode info above took place at this Roadblock; Adam suffered from heat exhaustion and took a well-needed break. When he resumed the task, teams encouraged him by cheering, especially Izzy and Paige. Teams encountered the “Who’s Got Italian Game?” Roadblock in the town of Vigevano — geographically located 40 kilometers (24.8 miles) west-southwest of Milan. Fun Fact: Leonardo da Vinci was involved in planning the town’s layout! First, a team member had to complete a replica of Vigevano’s Bramante Tower. To accomplish the second Roadblock task, the same team member was pushed on a rolling horse by two Italians and had to poke a lance (essentially a pole used for pole jumping) through four rings.

Before arriving at the Pit Stop, teams built a self-supporting bridge with notched logs. This task was inspired by da Vinci’s clever bridge invention. When teams were putting these together, I was reminded of being a kid constructing small buildings with Lincoln Logs! Anyways, Kyland/Taylor and Chelsie/Jack were building their bridges as fast as possible to avoid last place. Chelsie and Jack almost completed the bridge when all of a sudden it collapsed, giving Kyland and Taylor a much-needed advantage. They quickly rebuilt it but were not able to avoid last place. Jag and Jas won $7,500 each for arriving in first place at the Villa Borri-Manzoli Pit Stop in Corbetta — a town located north of Vigevano and west of Milan. Izzy and Paige arrived second (their best finish so far), Adam and Joseph in third, Kyland and Taylor in fourth, and Chelsie and Jack in fifth/last place. Chelsie and Jack completed their Amazing Race journey — which was occasionally chaotic with navigational difficulties but positively filled with memories nonetheless.

The Amazing Race 38, Episode 8

Season 38 Episode 8 (Wednesday, November 12th, 2025) Info: “In Bucharest, two teams strategically use their Express Pass, eager to gain an advantage; navigational frustration reaches a boiling point for another team.”

In this eighth episode of The Amazing Race Season 38 (U.S. Edition), teams searched for an Easter egg, visited the world’s heaviest building, learned and performed a folk dance routine, played a handmade flute, and made street food in Bucharest, ROMANIA 🇷🇴! The first task of the day involved searching for an Easter egg in a meadow and forest area to match one of the giant decorated eggs. Someone in a chicken costume accepted the eggs found by the teams and gave them their next clues. Jag and Jas used their Express Pass to skip the egg hunt and proceed to the Detour challenge near the People’s Palace (Casa Poporului) at Union Square (Piața Unirii). The People’s Palace of Romania is the world’s heaviest building weighing in at 4.1 million metric tons (tonnes) which equals over 9 billion pounds!

Adam and Joseph arrived to the Detour last because Adam struggled to find a hidden Easter egg. Teams who chose the “Find the Beat” task learned and performed a Romanian folk dance routine. Deciding that learning and performing this dance would be time-consuming, Kyland and Taylor was the second team to use the Express Pass in this episode. Teams who chose the “Hit the Note” task assembled two Romanian pan flutes (nai) and played a particular tune to a flute player’s liking. Teams completed their Detour challenge and visited the Green Hours jazz café. Here, teams learned about mici (mititei) street food which tends to involve a mixture of meat, herbs, and spices. Teams formed, grilled, and culinarily plated 20 sausages made with black pepper, thyme, garlic, paprika, and a mixture of beef, pork, and lamb. Team members were encouraged to try one, and most of them were impressed by the deliciousness.

The “navigational frustration” mentioned in the episode info above especially occurred to Chelsie and Jack. The father-daughter duo struggled to find almost every location in this episode, but they have had similar moments in previous episodes, too. They managed to surpass Adam and Joseph in arriving at the Royal Palace ( Mogoșoaia) Pit Stop location. Built in circa 1700, the palace is in the village of Mogoșoaia across the Colentina river northwest of Bucharest. Jag and Jas arrived at the Pit Stop in 1st place and won a trip to BERMUDA 🇧🇲 with an itinerary including an aquarium visit, crystal cave exploration, catamaran sailing, and an eatery and culinary tour in the town of Hamilton. Eric and Tucker arrived at the Pit Stop in 2nd, Kyland and Taylor in 3rd, Izzy and Paige in 4th, Chelsie and Jack in 5th, and Adam and Joseph in last place. Thankfully, Phil gave Adam and Joseph a non-elimination chance, so the brotherly team stayed in the competition!

I am thankful as always that you visited the GeoFact of the Day Blog today. I hope you and yours have a wonderful, happy, and blessed Thanksgiving!

The Amazing Race 38, Episode 5

Season 38 Episode 5 (Wednesday, October 22nd, 2025) Info 🚧: “Teams travel to Croatia; a frustrating Roadblock brings some teams to tears.” 💧

In this fifth episode of The Amazing Race Season 38 (U.S. Edition), teams left Budapest and arrived together in Dubrovnik, a seafaring city near the very southern tip of CROATIA 🇭🇷. I looked on an interactive map of Dubrovnik and noticed an island 🏖️ with a pinpoint saying “Qarth – Game of Thrones”. I am familiar with the Game of Thrones but have never watched the HBO series. I had no idea what Qarth is, but I found out it is a fictional setting that is partly inspired by Dubrovnik. Some scenes were filmed in and around Dubrovnik. Please let me know with a comment if you wish to see more GeoFact of the Day posts that are focused on cinema and TV filming locations around the world. If you don't mind, maybe share about your travel experiences 📷 if you ever visited a place featured in the The Amazing Race.

Anyways, teams arrived at a classy statue of a famed Croatian poet, Ivan Gundulić. Teams found the Detour and chose between 1) lugging a heavy fishing net 🐟 and chum bucket for a ½ mile to the Old Port or 2) preparing and filleting one slimy monkfish (grdóbína) each. Whoever named this fish likely noticed the pointy shape — the monkfish somewhat looks like it is wearing a monk’s hood. It is possible that whoever named it did not think very highly of monks since the monkfish is quite ugly and ghastly! 😱 Next, teams made their way through a hard-to-see stone walkway and arrived at the proverbial “light at the end of the tunnel”: the scenic seaside sojourn known as the Buža Bar watering hole. Here is where teams found the infamous ↪️ Double U-Turn ↩️ board. Eric and Tucker did not use the U-Turn to ensure that teams would not be upset with them. Jag and Jas did not have that thinking when they U-Turned Izzy and Paige. I don’t usually mention middle fingers right here on the GeoFact of the Day Blog, but I will mention that Izzy used both middle fingers to flip off the Jag and Jas photo at the Double U-Turn board. Adam and Joseph used the second U-Turn against Kristine and Rubina.

Teams arrived at the Ploče Gate to take on the frustrating Roadblock challenge mentioned above in the episode info. One member of each team had to assemble a not-so-sturdy scooter board by hand with many types of screws and wooden pieces. Natalie and Simone had the most struggles in assembling the handmade kart. The same team member who assembled the rectangular board with wheels then sat on and raced it with the help of their hands and/or feet for propelling. Chelsie, Izzy, Kristine, and Simone struggled to race the scooter in under 36 seconds. While Natalie took relatively long to create the kart, she steered it quite well — clocking in at about 38 seconds for the first attempt then crossing the finish line in about 35.7 seconds for the second race.

Finally, teams arrived at the Pit Stop known as Fort Bokar, a cylindrical bastion fortification overlooking the Adriatic Sea. Just like the previous episode, Eric and Tucker arrived 1st but each won $2,500 this time. Kyland and Taylor arrived 2nd, followed by Jag and Jas 3rd, Adam and Joseph 4th, Natalie and Stephanie 5th, Chelsie and Jack 6th, Izzy and Paige 7th, Kristine and Rubina 8th, and Hannah and Simone 9th. Host Phil Keoghan told Hannah and Simone that they were eliminated from this season of the The Amazing Race. I am wondering if there will be a non-elimination leg in this season since it hasn’t happened yet. The next episode will be Wednesday, October 29th at 9:30 p.m. Eastern Time on CBS and soon streaming on Paramount+.

The Amazing Race 38, Episode 4

Season 38 Episode 4 (Wednesday, October 15th, 2025) Info: “Racers travel to illusionist Harry Houdini's birthplace, Budapest, Hungary, where a puzzling Fast Forward puts one team to the test; a horse drawn carriage has teams racing against the clock.”

In this fourth episode of The Amazing Race Season 38 (U.S. Edition), teams left Prague and boarded one of two train routes that either went through eastern AUSTRIA 🇦🇹 or western SLOVAKIA 🇸🇰 in order to reach Budapest, the national capital of HUNGARY 🇭🇺. Teams arrived at the Széchenyi Thermal Baths to search for a king chess piece. Teams then gave it to locals who were swimming and playing chess on a floating platform in a large pool. After completing this task first, Eric and Tucker encountered a Fast Forward. They decided to complete the Fast Forward and both solved a Rubik’s Cube in less than 7½ seconds after much practice. Kudos to them because I don’t remember if I ever solved a Rubik’s Cube — or maybe I completed it in several days! Due to the Fast Forward, they quickly surpassed the competition and arrived at the Pit Stop: Várkert Bazár (Castle Garden Bazaar), a neo-Renaissance style promenade near the Royal Palace and Danube riverfront in Buda. The historic site was closed in the 1980s and sat neglected until a beautiful restoration in 2014.

For arriving in first place at this Pit Stop, Eric and Tucker won a trip to BOLIVIA 🇧🇴 including stops at the city of La Paz, the largest salt flat in the world (↗) (Uyuni, also known as Tunupa), and Charquini Mountain. Meanwhile, teams carefully steered a carriage with two horses along a figure eight course in less than 45 seconds. Next, teams arrived at the House of Houdini to unlock a chained wooden container — reminiscent of Harry Houdini’s escapist stunts but without the danger. Finally, teams chose either the “Juggling Act” or “Balancing Act” Detour task. For Juggling Act, teams juggled five rings and had to keep them dangling in midair for ten seconds. For Balancing Act, teams practiced and performed a folk dancing routine. One team member balanced a bottle on his or her head, while the other teammate maneuvered a large stick. Kat had trouble completing her routine but nevertheless persisted even though she was the last performer at the Detour. Therefore, Alex and Kat arrived last at the Pit Stop and ended their Amazing Race journey.

The next episode was on Wednesday, October 22nd at 9:30 p.m. Eastern Time on CBS. The episode 5 recap will be posted in several days.

The Amazing Race 38, Episode 2

Season 38 Episode 2 (Wednesday, October 1st, 2025) Info: “Teams depart for Prague, Czech Republic, where they must walk across a narrow plank hundreds of feet above the Zizkov Television Tower to retrieve their next clue.”

In the second episode of The Amazing Race (U.S.) Season 38, teams train-travelled from the NETHERLANDS 🇳🇱 through GERMANY 🇩🇪 and into the CZECH REPUBLIC 🇨🇿. Several teams got off at the wrong train stop in Berlin. They exited the train at Spandau instead of the Gesundbrunnen stop that they needed. After arriving in Prague, teams quickly proceeded to the Žižkov TV Tower to tackle the height-defying “Who Wants a Breath of Fresh Air?” Roadblock challenge. One member of each team had to carefully walk on a scary, narrow plank over 100 feet above the city below and grab a clue at the plank’s end. They were harnessed for safety, but of course it is still scary to be at that height and having to walk a narrow surface.

Amazing Race did not mention this, though: completed in 1992, the tower was unfortunately and haphazardly placed in a part of a historic Jewish cemetery in Prague. One competitor said something like “oh no, not above the cemetery” because his plank was high above the cemetery directly below. The Žižkov Tower has been ridiculed by residents of Prague for being so modern in a historic section of the grand city. Fun Fact: David Ćerný sculpted multiple crawling baby statues that were attached to the tower. Strangely though, these metal babies have a barcode punched on their faces instead of the usual eyes, mouth, and nose!

The next challenge was the Detour task. In one of the two detours, teams gathered four dozen (48) colorful Bohemian glass goblets — then moved the goblets carefully and gave them to three different vendors. In the other detour, teams found Czech city crests on restaurant chairs and learned the pronunciations of each crest’s respective city. Teams then marveled at a statue of renowned painter Josef Mánes and found their Pit Stop clue. They arrived at Žofín Palace and found host Phil Keoghan waiting for them at the Pit Stop. Jag and Jas arrived first again and therefore received a trip to SRI LANKA 🇱🇰. Angela and Lexi arrived last and were eliminated from the competition. The next episode will be Wednesday, October 8th at 9:30 p.m. Eastern Time on CBS and soon streaming on Paramount+.

The Amazing Race 33 Finale Recap

“No Room For Error” / “In The Hands Of The Amazing Race Gods” Episode Description: After traveling to seven countries and 17 cities, one team will be crowned the winner.

Episode Airdate: Wednesday, March 2nd, 2022 on CBS

This concise yet still enjoyable season of The Amazing Race has come to a close. In Episode 10, teams journeyed from GREECE to PORTUGAL and then to the UNITED STATES in hopes of arriving first at the finale Pit Stop to win $1 million. Teams travelled westward about 1700 miles (over 2730 kilometers) from Thessaloníki, Greece to Lisbon, the national capital of Portugal. Rio de Janeiro’s iconic Christ the Redeemer statue has a “little brother” replica in Lisbon named Cristo Rei, the location of this episode’s first clue box.

● Guided by the clue found near the Cristo Rei statue, teams knew to visit a fortress known as the Fortaleza de São Filipe in the city of Setúbal, a small to medium sized city with a residential population of over 120,000. The clue mentioned that there are two Roadblocks in Part 1 of this episode and that teams should “choose wisely” regarding which teammate will complete which roadblock. The clue also said to “take in the view; look for your next destination.” From the top of the Fortaleza, teams peered out to the seaside to find a vertical-striped flag flying near the port. The tricolor flag features yellow outer stripes and a red center stripe — somewhat resembling the appearance of an archetypal clue envelope of this show. Teams hustled down to the flag and found their first…

● Roadblock (“Who Wants to Go Exploring?”): one team member was tasked with finding a rowboat emblazoned on the back with the name of a Portuguese explorer. If the boat finder chose a correct example and rowed the boat to the marina’s other side, he or she received a clue. Incorrect boats had the names of national celebrities, so the Roadblock participant had row back until he or she found an explorer boat. Kim correctly completed this Roadblock first.

● Teams then made their way to Mercearia Confiança de Troino, a grocery store established in 1926. In this “Paint the Town” Route Info task, teams chose a colorful sardine can and brought out their inner artistic abilities (or lack thereof) to enlarge the can-label design into a colorfully painted outdoor mural. Teams then drove to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Cape Espichel (Santuário de Nossa Senhora do Cabo Espichel) where they encountered the second…

● Roadblock (“Who’s Down for the Count?”): in Season 33’s final Roadblock, one team member counted the columns on both sides of the church’s courtyard and had to recite the correct number of columns (106). Cayla was the first in this Roadblock to figure it out, which benefited her and teammate Raquel since they arrived first at a Pit Stop for the first time in this season of The Amazing Race. While the Part 1 Pit Stop at the Farol do Cabo Espichel lighthouse did not award Cayla and Raquel with $1 million, they won a likely enjoyable and invaluable vacation to SAINT LUCIA. Kim and Penn arrived second, followed by Dusty and Ryan in third. Since Arun and Natalia was the last team to arrive, they were eliminated from the competition and did not score a spot in the top three.

● In Part 2 of the finale episode, teams left Portugal and flew to Los Angeles. The City of Angels is the largest metropolis by population in California, the United States’ second most populated city, and will welcome athletes from around the world to the 2028 Summer Olympics — the 44th anniversary of the city’s 1984 Olympics. You might know that the LA Rams won the Super Bowl last month. Anyways, the two Roadblocks in Part 1 gave way to the Route Infos (no Detours or Roadblocks) in Part 2.

● Once arriving in Los Angeles, teams found their way to the Westin Bonaventure Hotel which has four towers with a locked clue box atop each tower. While going up and down the outdoor elevator, teams had to look out the window to spot the wall with a number, hinting of the lock combination that unlocked the clue box.

● Teams visited the historical monument known as El Pueblo de Los Ángeles, “the birthplace of Los Angeles.” They found three portions of the next clue by smashing an assortment of piñatas. One team member was blindfolded and of course did the piñata hitting, while the other teammate directed him or her on where to hit. In addition to the colorfully wrapped pieces of candy falling from the piñatas, teams were treated with three pieces of the Route Info clue and combined them to reveal the next assignment.

● The “Become a Foley Artist” Route Info brought teams to S.I.R. Hollywood where they learned how to perfect their Foley-style sound effect abilities by recreating classic scenes from The Amazing Race. Teams used a variety of materials to recreate audible sounds from the following scenes:
● The squeakiness of running bull inflatables.
● The shuffling of hay in search of a literal needle in a haystack.
● The catapulting “whoosh” of a watermelon slingshot.
● The throwing of a pie in the face.
● The sloshing in the mud of the infamous “My ox is broken” moment.

● In the final Route Info and challenge of Season 33, teams visited the 8,000-seat tennis stadium of Dignity Health Sports Park, a multi-sports complex prominently known as the home of the LA Galaxy soccer team. As with most of the final tasks in previous seasons, this task involves memorization of happenings throughout the season. The task involved tennis rackets with imagery from previous legs in the competition in addition to tennis balls labeled with corresponding riddles. Teams matched a scene/racket with the applicable quote/ball and were able to proceed to the finish line once every combo was correct. As an example, a tennis ball notes that “He joined you throughout the leg” while the corresponding racket depicted a “selfie” of the Travelocity Roaming Gnome. While Cayla and Raquel arrived first at the Part 1 Pit Stop, that was not the case with the final Pit Stop. Instead, the team (Kim and Penn) who won four previous legs reclaimed their spot and won 1 million dollars!

● Pit Stop: LA Galaxy’s 27,000-seat soccer stadium

  Season 33, Episode 10 Finale Results

  1st — Kim and Penn, winners
       1st place prize — $1 million!

  2nd — Cayla and Raquel

  3rd — Dusty and Ryan

  4th — Arun and Natalia

The Amazing Race 33, Episode 6 Recap

Episode Info and Summary: Racers travel by private jet to Corsica, France, where they go canyoneering through the beautiful landscape of national rockslides, waterfalls, and rivers.

Episode Airdate: Wednesday, February 2nd, 2022 on CBS

On this episode of the The Amazing Race, teams flew about 400 kilometers (250 miles) southward from Lugano, SWITZERLAND to an island sparkling with stretches of sandy coastline and 200 beaches: Corsica in southeastern FRANCE. Once the contenders arrived in Corsica…

● They visited the Pont d’Altiani (Altiani Bridge), a 14th century bridge built in the Genovese architectural style inspired by the Italian city of Genoa. Speaking of Genoa, teams flew past the city and the rest of northwest ITALY in their journey from Switzerland to Corsica. Outside the city of Corte (Corti) in Corsica, teams encountered a…

● Detour, choice between “Say Cheese” or “Mule, Please”: teams choosing the Say Cheese option cooked up three baskets worth of fromage (cheese) by heating/curdling goat milk then delivering the finished product to a storage cellar. Dusty and Ryan had difficulty with this cheese challenge since the milk was not heating and curdling in a timely manner. They likely realized that “patience is a virtue” and decided to wait out the hours-long task to successful completion. Teams choosing the Mule, Please option strapped a harness with several milk transport cans onto their mule. The relatively cooperative mules then helped deliver the milk along a rugged trail to a fromagerie.

● After completing the cheesy Detour, teams visited Altipiani, an ecotourism agency at the Verghellu Canyon. Altipiani almost translates from Italian to English as “highlands” or plateaus.” Altipiani was the location of this episode’s…

● Roadblock (“Who Wants to Make a Splash?”): at Altipiani, one member on each team had to hike and travel via Tyrolean traverse (“slow zip-lining”) to a waterfall, find a waterproof clue, slide down what is basically a natural waterslide, and hike back to his or her teammate. During this Roadblock, several teams — including Dusty and Ryan who had difficulties with the cheesemaking Detour — surpassed Akbar who participated in this Roadblock. Sheri took a breather after completing several consecutive Roadblocks in previous episodes. Worried when other teams’ teammates arrived before Akbar, she yelled out “Booby, let’s go!” with a sense of urgency to a faraway Akbar who was practically miles away.

● The clue discovered at the Roadblock instructed teams to head to the 88.5-kilometer (55-mile) Tavignano river. Teams were tasked to inflate a plastic kayak and paddle up a portion of the river to the…

● Pit Stop: Cardiccia Dam

  Season 33, Episode 6 Results

  1st — Kim and Penn
       1st place prize — $5,000 each

  2nd — Cayla and Raquel

  3rd — Dusty and Ryan

  4th — Arun and Natalia

  5th — Lala and Lulu

  6th — Akbar and Sheri
       Eliminated from the competition

The Amazing Race 33, Episode 5 Recap

Episode Info: Teams race through Switzerland, where racers bungee jump over 700 feet off the Verzasca Dam.

Episode Airdate: Wednesday, January 26th, 2022

The Amazing Race episode 5 brought teams to the canton of Ticino in southeastern SWITZERLAND. The area may be familiar to longtime viewers as it was the majestically mountainous setting for an episode in season 14 (2009). The six remaining teams of this season 33 quickly encountered a…

● Roadblock (“Who Wants to Get Down with the Travelocity Roaming Gnome?”): one member on each team took on a death-defying task indeed. Holding the iconic garden gnome figure, he or she had to bungee jump 722 feet from the top of Verzasca Dam. In several flashback scenes, teams from season 14 were shown completing the same task despite being terrified. The dam is Europe’s highest bungee jump drop-off. In regards to the team of Akbar and Sheri, Sheri unfortunately was compelled to complete the frightening quest despite her fear of heights (acrophobia); this was due to Akbar being deemed by medical staff as too overweight to safely bungee jump at the insane height. While understandably frightened, Sheri found enough courage to face her fears and do something thrilling. Cayla, Dusty, Kim, Lala, and Natalia also completed the harnessed jump.

● Teams received a small satchel for their gnome and then drove to Lugano, an Italian-speaking city very close to Italy. They proceeded to Piazza Carlo Battaglini in hopes of finding and completing a…

● Detour, choice between “Bartender Race” or “Sausage Encase”: teams choosing the Bartender Race option — Akbar/Sheri, Dusty/Ryan, and Kim/Penn — found twelve wine bottles and twelve cone-shaped containers of chestnuts and delivered them to a cocktail party. The Bartender Race was good exercise for teams because they had to climb up and down dozens of stair steps to deliver all the items. Teams choosing the Sausage Encase option — Arun/Natalia, Cayla/Raquel, and Lala/Lulu — made a type of Italian sausage (Luganega) by encasing ground sausage into a tubular lining. They coiled the sausage links into separate spirals and pinned them with long “toothpicks.”

● Upon Detour completion, clues instructed teams to bring out the photograph from their gnome’s satchel and investigate where the depicted but unidentified building is located. Villa Ciani is an 1800s mansion, conference center, and picturesque wedding venue situated steps away from the Pit Stop for this episode: Parco Ciani, a 15-acre park near Lake Lugano. Speaking of lakes, Switzerland is home to over 1,500 lakes.

● Pit Stop: Parco Ciani in the city of Lugano

● In the next episode, teams continue their European adventures in Corsica, FRANCE.

  Season 33, Episode 5 Results

  1st — Dusty and Ryan
       1st place prize — five-night resort vacation in DOMINICA

  2nd — Lala and Lulu

  3rd — Kim and Penn

  4th — Cayla and Raquel

  5th — Akbar and Sheri

  6th — Arun and Natalia
       Eliminated from the competition? No; non-elimination leg

What in the World? Riverside Temples

There is a city in Southeast Asia featuring multiple Buddhist temples along or not straying very far from the Chao Phraya river. These temples include Wat Arun (the Temple of Dawn, which contains over one million colorful ceramic tiles), Wat Khrua Wan Worawihan, Wat Molilokkayaram Ratchaworawihan, Wat Nak Klang, Wat Phitchaya Yatikaram Worawihan, Wat Phra Chetuphon, Wat Phraya Tham, and Wat Prayurawongsawat Worawihan. What in the World is the city containing these magnificent sites? Choose an option and find out below!

A — Yangon, MYANMAR
B — Bangkok, THAILAND
C — Kolkata, INDIA





















Answer:
B . . . . . Bangkok, Thailand

The Amazing Race 32 Season Finale

The Amazing Race’s finale episode of Season 32 aired on Wednesday, December 16th at 8 PM Eastern Time. Teams embarked to New Orleans, the most-populated city in the Pelican State: Louisiana (southern UNITED STATES). If you have not yet watched this thrilling episode and want to do so: spoiler alert! This post reveals the team that won $1 million!

● After leaving Manila in the PHILIPPINES by air to New Orleans, teams arrived in the Crescent City and proceeded to Louis Armstrong Park to find their next clue.

● “Let’s Party”: after arriving at the famous Bourbon Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, teams joined a parade and were tasked with collecting a total of 50 red beaded necklaces and 50 gold ones. These necklaces were thrown out by partygoers in the spirit of Mardi Gras. The necklaces — some of which had quite giant “beads” — were similar to the ones worn by the parade’s Grand Marshal.

● “Who will be left holding the baby?” Roadblock: teams searched for a small baby figurine inside one of many king cakes. They were then treated with the delicious duty of eating six powdered beignets.

● The next item on the teams’ itinerary was not for the faint of heart. One member of each team was harnessed to the Crescent City Connection Bridge, and the three competitors bungee jumped 180 feet off the bridge to grab a clue suspended over the Mississippi River! All six finalists then slowly rappelled down to a lower level near the bridge.

● “Let Good Times Roll”: with the help of arrow signs, teams rolled a large ball to an enormous warehouse containing plenty of Mardi Gras decorations and accessories. Teams rummaged through the warehouse for a crate containing 32 large “puzzle” pieces. Teams positioned the pieces atop the large ball to create a globe of the world.

● After visiting 10 different countries (or 11, if you include the USA) and 17 cities all while traveling a total of 33,000 miles, teams arrived to the last Pit Stop of the season: Mercedes-Benz Superdome, “where the [New Orleans] Saints go marching in!”

● After winning $1 million as a team, James and Will experienced another amazing moment. Will offered a marriage proposal to James! Winning $1 million in an exciting city on a fantastic TV show is sure to make one of the best engagements ever!

In the extended YouTube clip below, Will noted that about six months ago before the win, James picked a fortune cookie enclosed with a spot-on prediction: “You’re going to embark on a great adventure.” Additionally, the number of this season of The Amazing Race (32) was one of the lucky numbers listed on the fortune cookie paper!



● This post concludes GeoFact of the Day’s coverage of The Amazing Race Season 32. I hoped you enjoyed my recap posts — and one of my favorite shows on TV!

  Season 32, Episode 12 Pit Stop Results

  1st — James and Will
       1st place prize — $1 million as a team!

  2nd — Chee and Hung

  3rd — Maddison and Riley

The Amazing Race 31, Episode 11, Part 2 Recap

The exhilarating finale episode of The Amazing Race season 31 on CBS (April-June 2019) continued in Part 2. Teams travelled from Camden Market in the UNITED KINGDOM to Detroit, Michigan in the UNITED STATES. Three teams competed in this episode: couple Christie Woods and Colin Guinn, cousins Jamal Zadran and Leo Temory, and best friends Korey Kuhl and Tyler Oakley. Which one won the one million dollars? (Say that three times fast!) Find out at the end of this GeoFact of the Day post! Sorted by chronological order, here were the challenges and happenings encountered by the three remaining teams during this episode’s 12th and final leg:

● Departures: Since teammates Jamal & Leo arrived at the Camden Market Pit Stop first in part 1 (GeoFact of the Day’s previous post) of episode 11, they were allowed to begin this leg of the race before the two other finale teams at 3:53 AM Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) in the night — or morning if you are an early bird! Korey & Tyler departed from the United Kingdom at 4:13 AM, followed by Christie & Colin at 4:29 AM.

● After flying to the most-populated city in Michigan, teams found clues at the Spirit of Detroit — a brilliant bronze statue with marble and gold-plated accents — and soon at the Guardian Building.

● Roadblock: Once the three teams arrived at the Guardian Building, one member of each team rappelled about 500 feet down the building’s glassy outer wall. This fear-of-heights challenge is formidable as it is, but the Roadblock participants (Colin, Leo, and Tyler) had to rappel downward facing toward the ground, so it was difficult for them to avoid how high up in the sky they were! On several spots of the wall during the descent were combination-lock numbers to be used to unlock a bank vault. These numbers and instructions regarding how to properly turn the vaults’ wheel back and forth allowed the teams to find and take their clue from the modern treasure chest.

● Teams played fowling — an outdoors/indoors sport combining American football and bowling — at the Fowling Warehouse in nearby Hamtramck, about four miles from Downtown Detroit. Teams attempted to throw a football at all of the bowling pins to achieve a strike score and proceed in the competition.

● Teams participated in another fun activity, this time at Third Man Records. Here at this vinyl records manufacturing center, teams pressed a total of five colorful records containing red and yellow vinyl as an homage to The Amazing Race’s iconic clue cards.

● The next task (Route Info 5) was not aired on CBS, likely being cut for time in the show’s episode editing procedure. Teams visited an outdoor art installation known as the Heidelberg Project. Among the myriad of boxes scattered on the premises, teams looked for a box with a clue contained inside.

● Officially opened in 1975, the Philip Aloysius Hart Plaza (or simply Hart Plaza) served as the setting for the season finale’s final challenge. Teams looked on top of a drum for a clue, which required them to perfectly cobble together a drum set matching a fully assembled example. Nearby, musicians loudly played Seven Nation Army (2003) by The White Stripes, a distraction that provided anguish to team members as they tried to give guidance to each other in properly assembling their drum kit. Once teams finished the set according to guidelines, they received the final clue that led them to the Pit Stop and Finish Line…

● Pit Stop and Season 31’s Finish Line: Detroit’s Fort Wayne historical site — not to be confused with the fort in Fort Wayne, Indiana

● After over 25 seasons since competing on season 5 of The Amazing Race, Christie Woods and Colin Guinn crossed the Finish Line first and won $1 million!

  Season 31, Episode 11, Leg #12/12
  First, Second, and Last Places at the Pit Stop

  1st (Season 31 WINNERS!) — Christie Woods and Colin Guinn
       1st place prize — $1 million

  2nd — Korey Kuhl and Tyler Oakley

  Last (3rd) — Jamal Zadran and Leo Temory

Uganda's Kasubi Tomb Ruins

Surrounded by the urban sprawl of west-side Kampala, UGANDA, the forested Kasubi Royal Tombs site experienced a mysterious fire on March 16th, 2010. Dedicated to the kings (kabakas) ruling over the Buganda Kingdom's Baganda people, the Kasubi Tombs were housed underground in a hilltop mausoleum since the 13th century. The latest mausoleum building was originally constructed in 1882 by Kabaka Mutesa I to be a palace and then was converted as a burial location two years later. This Muzibu Azaala Mpanga mausoleum was once the world's largest grass-thatched hut and was considered the site's main building. While the mausoleum was completely destroyed by flames, the cultural traditions and construction techniques of the Buganda Kingdom people persevered through time.



Utilizing information based on historic precedent, a replica building project was spearheaded in 2013 by UNESCO, a world-heritage organization which donated 2 billion Ugandan Shillings ($554,800 USD today) for the initiative. According to the Daily Monitor (Kampala) newspaper, however, the reconstruction process was recently halted. The "Tombs of Buganda Kings at Kasubi" was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site (↗) in 2001 and listed on the List of World Heritage in Danger (↗) in 2010. More information and photos pertaining to this site of destruction and rebirth — about the thatching technique, royal drums, mausoleum's floor plan, mausoleum's interior, etc. — can be found at the Kabaka Foundation's Kasubi Tombs website (↗).

Floating School Provides a Sustainable Setting for Learning

Overlooking the Lagos Lagoon near Makoko (part of Lagos), NIGERIA, the triangular Makoko Floating School complements the waterfront community's aquatic-based heritage with a solution for overcrowding and environmental protection. As easily shown in aerial photography, most buildings in high-population-density Makoko are built right beside or in the water on stilts. Therefore, it was only natural to have a functional building that floats! Recycled blue barrels form the buoyant base of the school, which was built in 2014. Photographs and more details can be found on Atlas Obscura (↗).

Airplane House in Nigeria

A longstanding home construction trend involves the use of an airplane fuselage — the main cylindrical part of an aircraft — to build a sturdy and relatively inexpensive house. Therefore, there are possibly thousands of "airplane houses" around the world. One example, however, took a multi-story mansion in Abuja, NIGERIA to the next level. Starting in 2002, contractor Jammal Said designed and help built the Abuja Airplane House, which incorporates the whole plane — not just the fuselage. The empennage (plane's tail), four engines, cockpit windows, and passenger windows are all visible — sitting on top of the house and surrounded by the uppermost balcony. There is even a plane-topped guest house in the backyard! Photographs and more details can be found on Atlas Obscura (↗).

UNESCO Heritage Sites in Sudan

Since 2003, three properties in northeastern Africa's SUDAN were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List (↗). Before that, Sudan ratified the 1970 UNESCO Convention on June 6th, 1974. Meanwhile, five sites are on the Tentative List and have not yet been nominated for the coveted World Heritage Site designation — the port city of Suakin, Kerma the former capital city, Old Dongola the former capital city (of the Makouria Kingdom), Dinder National Park, and Wadi Howar National Park. Below are details pertaining to Sudan's three UNESCO Heritage Sites.

Gebel Barkal and Napatan Region (↗), 2003
UNESCO description: "These five archaeological sites, stretching over more than 60 kilometers in the Nile valley, are testimony to the Napatan (900 to 270 BC) and Meroitic (270 BC to 350 AD) cultures of the second kingdom of Kush. Tombs — with and without pyramids, temples, living complexes and palaces — are to be found on the site. Since Antiquity, the hill of Gebel Barkal has been strongly associated with religious traditions and folklore. The largest temples are still considered by the local people as sacred places." Present-day Gebel Barkal is located near the Nile River's western bank in the city of Karima.



Island of Meroë Archaeological Sites (↗), 2011
Located east of the Nile River in the River Nile state (wilayat) in northeastern Sudan, Meroë is particularly known for its smooth pyramids, animal sculptures (particularly of sheep), and petroglyphs. Did You Know? The general Meroë and Nubian Desert region in Sudan touts a larger number of pyramids compared to Egypt! Egypt has about 138 discovered pyramids, while Sudan has more than 220. Many of Egypt's versions are more famous due to their immense sizes.



Here is UNESCO's description of the Meroë site: "The Archaeological Sites of the Island of Meroë, a semi-desert landscape between the Nile and Atbara rivers, was the heartland of the Kingdom of Kush, a major power from the 8th century B.C. to the 4th century A.D. The property consists of the royal city of the Kushite kings at Meroë, near the River Nile, the nearby religious site of Naqa and Musawwarat es Sufra. It was the seat of the rulers who occupied Egypt for close to a century and features, among other vestiges, pyramids, temples and domestic buildings as well as major installations connected to water management. Their vast empire extended from the Mediterranean to the heart of Africa, and the property testifies to the exchange between the art, architectures, religions, and languages of both regions."

Dungonab Bay, Sanganeb Reef, and Mukkawar Island (↗), 2016
UNESCO's official title for this bisected property is rather lengthy: "Sanganeb Marine National Park and Dungonab Bay - Mukkawar Island Marine National Park." Whatever you want to call it, these protected marine areas became officially designated — by the World Heritage Committee in Istanbul, Turkey — as one UNESCO site in July of 2016. Sanganeb is an isolated coral reef area in the Red Sea. Mukkawar (Mukawwar) Island and Dungonab Bay are both located approximately 125 kilometers north of Port Sudan. The whole property is known for its biodiverse beaches, coral reefs, islets, mangroves, and seagrass patches providing habitat for seabirds and various aquatic organisms (including dugongs).