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1) MONACO had an adult literacy rate of 99% in the year 2023. The relatively tiny but wealthy principality is east of Nice — a city in which country?
A — GERMANY
B — FRANCE
C — SPAIN
2) Lake Mattamuskeet is only five miles away from the Atlantic Ocean. It is completely contained within Hyde County in which state in the UNITED STATES?
A — North Carolina
B — Pennsylvania
C — Vermont
D — Arkansas
3) Jaco is a tiny, circular island east of Timor Island and Cape Cutcha. It is the easternmost point of TIMOR-LESTE (East Timor) and is about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) in length. Overnight stays on are not allowed the uninhabited island. What is the official reason why visitors are banned from staying overnight on Jaco?
A — vicious nocturnal crocodiles
B — the island is sacred
C — to let birds sleep peacefully
D — sneaky leopards like to prowl at night and scare visitors
4) True or false: there are no time zones in the Arctic Circle.
ANSWERS
Question 1:
B . . . . . France
Question 2:
A . . . . . North Carolina
Question 3:
B . . . . . the island is sacred
Question 4:
True
Have you ever wondered about the name of a particular island on a map but there isn't a label? As an avid map peruser, I dealt with this problem countless times. There were a couple of islands off the coast of mainland GUINEA-BISSAU that did not a label on multiple interactive maps. However, I turned to a trusty website that is typically useful for planning travel itineraries but also provides a meticulous level of detail. This post is not sponsored or an advertisement, but ViaMichelin (viamichelin.com) provided me the answers I was looking for! Etuntute and Mochkutuch are the islands not typically labeled. ViaMichelin comes from the same company as that big, poofy mascot known as the Michelin Man (or Bibendum, or Bib for short). If you ever looked at a map and wondered the name of an unlabeled island, give ViaMichelin a try and see if they have the island labeled.
Interestingly shaped like an orange slice (or semicircle if you prefer), Akimiski is a geographic feature in the east-central area of CANADA. It is east of the First Nation community known as Attawapiskat. The Akimiski Strait is wedged between the island and Attawapiskat. Which of the following sentences about Akimiski is false?
A — The name Akimiski means “land across the water” in Swampy Cree’s language.
B — Akimiski is a coral reef.
C — Akimiski is part of Nunavut even though it is geographically closer to Ontario.
D — Akimiski is the largest island located in James Bay.
Answer:
B — Akimiski is a coral reef.
(Akimiski is an island as referenced in answer choice D.)
Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!
1) Which of the following is not a city in NORWAY?
A — Stockholm
B — Oslo
C — Bergen
D — Trondheim
2) In late summer 2024, over 20 silver Roman denarii coins were discovered inside a wall hole at an acropolis on the Mediterranean island of Pantelleria. The Italian island is located between ITALY and which country in Africa?
A — CAMEROON
B — TUNISIA
C — ETHIOPIA
3) Which two states in the UNITED STATES have more than 80 counties each?
A — Arizona and Nevada
B — Michigan and Minnesota
C — Connecticut and Rhode Island
D — North Dakota and South Dakota
ANSWERS
Question 1:
A . . . . . Stockholm which is the capital of Sweden (↗)
Question 2:
B . . . . . Tunisia
Question 3:
B . . . . . Michigan and Minnesota
1) The Congo Pedicle is a foot-like panhandle region in the southeastern corner of the DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO and situated near ZAMBIA. The pedicle area features a national park known as Demalisques de Leshwe, possibly named after the genus (damaliscus) of which animal?
A — sloth
B — aardvark
C — antelope
D — penguin
2) True or false: There is an island named Komodo in INDONESIA.
3) The third highest mountain the world is Kangchenjunga, a Himalayan peak standing over 8,500 meters and 28,000 feet tall. Kangchenjunga is situated on the border between INDIA and what mountainous country flying a double pennant shaped flag?
A — ARGENTINA
B — BANGLADESH
C — SWITZERLAND
D — NEPAL
ANSWERS
Question 1:
C . . . . . antelope
Question 2:
True . . . . . it is home to the world-renown Komodo dragon!
Question 3:
D . . . . . Nepal
The world's first “piggy banks” — made of terracotta — date back to the 12th century and were discovered at the Trowulan archaeological site on the world’s most populated island. Which island in Southeast Asia is home to this discovery? The answer is listed below!
A — Tioman, MALAYSIA
B — Java, INDONESIA
C — Marinduque, THE PHILIPPINES
Answer:
B — Java, Indonesia
As of December 2022, Trowulan is featured on UNESCO's Tentative Lists (↗), meaning the historic place is eligible for designation as a World Heritage Site if UNESCO approves.
“Gently Down the Stream” Episode Description: Teams continue racing through Corsica, France, where each team member must try a piece of casu martzu.
Episode Airdate: Wednesday, February 9th, 2022 on CBS
On this episode of the The Amazing Race, teams remained on the island of Corsica — located southeast of mainland FRANCE but geographically closer to ITALY and Italy’s Sardinia island. After teams slept overnight in tents near the banks of the Tavignano river…
● They left Cardiccia and drove T-Roc convertibles south to the Tour de Fautea watchtower overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. The previous episode and this episode both involve a dairy-related challenge. As the episode description indicates, every remaining contender in this season had to partake in eating casu martzu — let’s just say this cheese is not the most appetizing option available in the world! Lala, Lulu, and others were understandably gagging while trying to chow down the casu martzu. After entirely eating the mortifying morsel, teams encountered a…
● Detour, choice between “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” or “Gently Down the Stream”: teams choosing the Row, Row option sailed in a transparent kayak and sought to unhook and gather ten fish decoys from the water. Teams then exchanged the fish for a clue. After catching eight of ten fish, Dusty and Ryan capsized when the kayak sunk and filled with water; they recovered the kayak and their fish and subsequently found the other two. The second Detour option includes the same style of colorful fish decoys, which are likely made of metal or plastic (or something else). Teams choosing the Gently Down the Stream option boarded an Aquavision tour boat, which resembles a submarine since passengers can look underwater at the landscape and aquatic life surrounding them. Teams memorized which fish decoys they saw in chronological order then chose the pictorial card containing the correct order of fish. Teams noted some of the fish by their resemblance to national flags: France (vertical blue/white/red stripes), Jamaica (green/gold/black), and Japan (white fish with red spot).
● After completing the fishy Detour, teams visited the marina (port de plaisance) in Bonifacio. Bonifacio is a community of more than 3,000 residents in the southernmost area of Corsica, although several places such as the Pertusato Lighthouse and the islands of Cavello, Lavezzu, and Piana (not to be confused with a Piana island off the northwest coast of Sardinia) are more southerly and southeasterly. In Bonifacio, teams encountered this episode’s…
● Roadblock (“Who’s Feeling Knotted Up?”): alongside the harbor on a wide sidewalk, one member on each team fixed the large gaping hole in a fishing net with the help of string and a knotting technique. Completing this Roadblock yielded a clue directing teams to spot the man dressed as emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, and he would then lead teams to the apex of the chalky and picturesque…
● Pit Stop: Bonifacio Cliffs — 200 feet above the Mediterranean Sea
Season 33, Episode 7 Results
1st — Kim and Penn [same as previous episode]
1st place prize — vacation to TURKEY
2nd — Cayla and Raquel [same as previous episode]
3rd — Dusty and Ryan [same as previous episode]
4th — Lala and Lulu
5th — Arun and Natalia
Eliminated from the competition? No; non-elimination leg
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
What in the world is the island territory between IRELAND and the UNITED KINGDOM that features a three-legged triskeles (triskelion) symbol on its coat of arms, flag, coins, and banknotes? The answer is listed below!
Answer:
Isle of Man
What in the World is the Indian Ocean country with several nature reserves — most notably Aldabra Atoll and Moyenne island — that serve as protective environments for giant tortoises? Choose an option and find out below!
A — SEYCHELLES
B — MADAGASCAR
C — MALDIVES
Answer:
A . . . . . Seychelles
The Amazing Race’s penultimate eleventh episode of Season 32 aired on Wednesday, December 9th and was set in the capital city of Manila, located on Luzon island in the PHILIPPINES. Filmed about a year or so before the coronavirus’ worldwide wrath, this episode featured a sprint and an exploration of the city through multiple clues but also lacked a Detour and Roadblock.
● Episode 11 info on CBS — In the first city sprint, the final four teams race through Manila, the capital of the Philippines.
● Once arriving in Manila, teams rode a colorful jeepney to Rizal Park and met Phil Keoghan there.
● Phil informed the four remaining teams that, instead of typical Amazing Race events such as Detours and Roadblocks, they will compete in a City Sprint. Outside a large mall near the Manila Bay in Bay City, Philippines, team members had to trot in high heels for 500 meters (0.31 miles)! At first, the guys understandably struggled to walk while wearing the unfamiliar footwear, but they eventually figured out how to do it with poise!
● After searching for and finding the Binondo Arch of Goodwill in Manila’s Chinatown, teams looked for a clue in the mouth of a colorfully costumed lion dancing in the pedestrian walkways. This clue told teams to arrive by foot to the Central Post Office for another clue.
● “Hay Day”: in a plaza outside the Central Post Office, teams found a kalesa (horse-drawn carriage) and searched the area for necessary ingredients to mix up a bucketful of horse food. Dried grass and the bucket’s mixture were fed to a team’s respective horse, and a clue to Mehan Garden was subsequently given to the team.
● For this episode’s last task, teams arrived at Mehan Garden where a band produced some melodies and rockin’ good tunes for the residents of Manila. The band continuously played four musical compositions featured in previous Amazing Race episodes. A bunch of cases for guitars and other instruments were strewn about, and each case displayed a country’s flag. Teams were tasked to find cases with four flags corresponding to the songs’ national origin; teams organized these cases in chronological order based on when the songs were played in Season 32.
While most of the flags represented countries the teams visited — including Colombia, France, Germany, India, Kazakhstan, Paraguay, and Trinidad and Tobago — I also spotted an “extra” flag of a country that teams did not step foot in: Mozambique. If you noticed any other flags in this episode, please feel free to comment below! In any case (pun intended), these are the correct flags on the instrument cases in earlier to later order: Trinidad and Tobago, Colombia, Paraguay, and France. Maddison and Riley completed this task first, so they quickly proceeded to the nearby Pit Stop.
● Pit Stop: Lapu Lapu Monument (Statue of the Sentinel of Freedom) — Rizal Park, Ermita District in Manila
● Season 32’s finale (episode 12) will take place in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. A glimpse of the millionaire-making Pit Stop reveals that teams will end their Amazing Race journeys at the New Orleans Saints’ home turf: Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
Season 32, Episode 11 Pit Stop Results
The 1st through 4th place results are the same as episode 10.
1st — Maddison and Riley
1st place prize — no prize given in this episode
2nd — James and Will
3rd — Chee and Hung
4th — DeAngelo and Gary
Eliminated from the competition? Yes
Season 32 of The Amazing Race on CBS premiered on Wednesday, October 14th — starting out in Los Angeles just like in previous seasons. The next place on the show’s itinerary was a Caribbean country that aims to please in the beach department: TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO!
● Teams went to the town of Saint Augustine on Trinidad island, where they rolled empty oil drums quite a distance. Trinidad and Tobago is a producer, refiner, and exporter of various petroleum products while also pursuing clean, renewable energy options such as solar power.
● Teams then visited Swallow’s Beach on Tobago island, where they attempted to match their specific example of a painted fish decoration with another one having the same design and four-digit code — out of dozens of possibilities floating in shallow water.
● Roadblock: Tobago’s Pigeon Point set the scene for a musical task. Teams played a segment of “Day-O” on a steelpan, which is the national musical instrument of Trinidad and Tobago. They had to replicate the song’s musical notes and (tried to) match the rhythm.
● Pit Stop: Buccoo sports arena: home to goat racing! Team members sprinted with their assigned goat on a leash to reach the large rectangular Pit Stop mat.
● Episode 2 will begin in Bogotá, the national capital of COLOMBIA.
Season 32, Episode 1 Pit Stop Results
1st — Chee Lee and Hung Nguyen (married parents)
1st place prize — nothing, unfortunately!
2nd — Michelle and Victoria “Vic” Newland (sisters)
3rd — Maddison and Riley McKibbin (brothers)
4th — James Wallington and Will Jardell (dating)
5th — Frank and Jerry Eaves (father and son)
6th — Alana Folsom and Leo Brown (dating)
7th — Aparna and Eswar Dhinakaran (siblings)
8th — Haley and Kaylynn Williams (sisters)
9th — Kellie Wells-Brinkley and LaVonne Idlette (former Olympic hurdlers)
10th — DeAngelo Williams and Gary Barnidge (former NFL stars)
11th — Cody Worthington and Nathan Buell (best friends)
Eliminated from the competition? Yes
You may know about Tasmania, a sharktooth shaped island encompassing an area of 68,401 sq. kilometers and 26,410 sq. miles in southeastern AUSTRALIA. However, are you familiar with the over 300 smaller islands surrounding Tasmania? If not, here are some of those islands: Badger, Bruny, Cape Barren, Clarke, Curtis, De Witt, Deal, Flinders, Hogan, Hunter, King, Maatsuyker, Maria, Robbins, Schouten, Three Hummock, Walker, and Waterhouse. Much smaller than Tasmania, the largest island of the minor islands is Flinders with an area of 1,367 sq. kilometers and 527.8 sq. miles. A majority of the islands surrounding Tasmania are not inhabited by people, including Hogan, Hunter, Maria, and Waterhouse. Some but not all of the larger inhabited islands contain communities and towns. These include Adventure Bay, Alonnah, Dennes Point, Great Bay, Lunawanna, North Bruny, and South Bruny on Bruny island; Emita, Lady Barron, Loccota, Whitemark, and Wingaroo on Flinders island; and Currie, Egg Harbor, Grassy, Loorana, and Naracoopa on King island.
Fans of superheroes, comic books, independent comic book stores, and comic strips everywhere owe it to Pop Art (1950s and 1960s) for the popular, colorful style seen in comic media today. Thanks to the Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. (ESRI), the artwork of artists such as Roy Lichtenstein and fellow contemporaries jumps from comic books into an interactive map! See for yourself with embedded version below or with the full-page version on ArcGIS Online (↗).
Belgrade, SERBIA
N'Djamena, CHAD
Paris, FRANCE
ʻUvea Island, WALLIS AND FUTUNA (belongs to France)
One of the world’s highest concentrations of primates can be found in a relatively remote area — isolated on an island in the middle of a SIERRA LEONE river, to be exact. This pristine place situated in the Moa River is Tiwai Island, known as “Big Island” in the Mende language. 11 identified species of primates — including chimpanzees and diana monkeys — live on the heavily forested island. Villages and towns near Tiwai Island include Baoma, Bogboabu, Giema, Gobioma, Jene, Mapumanobuma, Naiahun, and Segbwema.
Several ferry services are available to connect the islands. The area's most extensive ferry line connects the town of Sālelologa with the Mulifanua Wharf Ferry Terminal, down the road from the Faleolo International Airport. Another ferry route connects Cape Fatuosofia's oceanfront Le Vasa Resort to a small village on Apolima island. Manono island has several transportation possibilities: ferries connecting the towns of Apai and Faleu and sometimes Salua as well as a road circling along the coastline. A couple of Apolima Strait's reefs are named Cathedral and Manono.
Location of Madeira: an archipelago and autonomous region situated in the North Atlantic Ocean. The islands of Madeira administratively belong to PORTUGAL.
Population: approximately 300,000 (GeoFact of the Day estimate, 2018)
Click on the map image above to enlarge it in a pop-up lightbox window.
With about 200 kilometers of seawater separating it from Cuba and Haiti, JAMAICA is an emerald-green island country in the northwest Caribbean Sea. Regarding administrative divisions of its land, Jamaica is comprised of fourteen (14) parishes: Clarendon, Hanover, Kingston, Manchester, Portland, Saint Andrew, Saint Ann, Saint Catherine, Saint Elizabeth, Saint James, Saint Mary, Saint Thomas, Trelawny, and Westmoreland. Below are the parishes' first-order administrative capital cities:
Clarendon — May Pen
Hanover — Lucea
Kingston — Kingston (national capital)
Manchester — Mandeville
Portland — Port Antonio
Saint Andrew — Half-Way-Tree
Saint Ann — Saint Ann's Bay
Saint Catherine — Spanish Town
Saint Elizabeth — Black River
Saint James — Montego Bay
Saint Mary — Port Maria
Saint Thomas — Morant Bay
Trelawny — Falmouth
Westmoreland — Savanna-la-Mar
Part of the Haa Alif administrative atoll, Ihavandhippolhu Atoll is the MALDIVES' northernmost atoll — boasting white-sand beaches, crystal-clear blue water, and oceanic biodiversity as seen in other areas of the South Asian country. Ihavandhippolhu essentially connects the Arabian Sea (west) with the Indian Ocean (east). Coral reefs built a proverbial necklace, stringing together the "pearls" of islands and small islets. Some "pearls" include Hathifushi, Huvarafushi, Ihavandhoo, Mulhadhoo, Thuraakunu, and Uligamu. GeoFact of the Day estimates Ihavandhippolhu Atoll's 2017 population to be approximately 7,075. Did You Know? The S.S. Vicissitude sailed in 1836 from Mauritius in hopes of arriving on Ceylon island (present-day Sri Lanka), but did not reach its destination as it became shipwrecked at Ihavandhippolhu Atoll. Not many historic records were kept in regards to S.S. Vicissitude, but it is believed that everyone on-board survived.
One island located in the middle of the atoll "necklace" is Manafaru — once "Under Construction" then later completed in the 2000s. The artificial island features a couple of luxury resort hotels, and it may soon be one of many man-made Maldivian islands rather than one of several. In order to combat against land loss caused by rising sea levels, the Maldives government is partnering with land-reclamation firms in hopes of constructing more artificial land — including floating islands. Manafaru serves an example of how more new islands might provide further economic benefits — all while allowing the Maldives to remain on the map. Over a dozen additional detailed maps of the Maldives can be found on the Maps of Maldives Blog (↗).
Some islands in the Mergui Archipelago — a pearl-fishing area off the southern coast of MYANMAR (Burma) in the Andaman Sea (section of the Indian Ocean) — include Daung, Domel (Letsôk-aw), Elphinstone (Thayawthadangyi), Kadan, Kanmaw (Kisseraing), Kau-ye, Lanbi, Mali, and Zadetkyi (Saint Matthew's).
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