June 2026 Geography Bee Quiz

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

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 are not allowed on 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

Proud of Kamala (and Tim)

I first want to mention my gratitude for veterans this Veterans Days and always. This election was quite a roller coaster, the likes of which I never experienced before. I believed Kamala Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz, had a decent chance of winning — but I knew the election results would be almost 50/50 and that the winner would not win by much. Unfortunately, the result turned out to be disappointing for me (I was confident they could win) but yet not all that surprising since Donald Trump has a strange stranglehold over much of the American people. I know Trump might have done some good things for the economy, but I and many fellow Americans wanted to give Kamala a chance; she might have given us an even better economy for all we know!

While Harris-Walz did not win the so-called “swing states,” Trump-Vance did not win those states by a landslide. All of the swing states in this election — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin — gave Harris-Walz almost or at least 48% of the vote. To summarize, Harris-Walz and other Democrats put forth a valiant and optimistic effort that helped to bring out the best in us, in contrast to the hatred, fearmongering, and falsehoods coming from the “other side.” Harris and Walz (and other Democrats) should be very proud of their campaign. It is worthwhile to note how Harris-Walz had relatively little time to prepare (since late July 2024) compared to Trump's team. They also conceded the election with grace, class, and wisdom, whereas Trump and his people disputed the 2020 election even in 2024. I immensely believe future generations will look back at this moment in history and will appreciate the historic candidacy of Kamala Harris — and how she inspired us to be better.

2020 Presidential Election Results — New Jersey to North Dakota

Here are the 2020 Presidential Results from the states of New Jersey to North Dakota in alphabetical order:

North Carolina 2020 Democrat Primary Results

Below are the results of the North Carolina, UNITED STATES Democrat Presidential Primary that took place on Super Tuesday: March 3rd, 2020.

American Towns: China Grove

When singer, guitar-player, and songwriter Tom Johnston of Doobie Brothers fame devised the title of China Grove in 1973, he originally thought the name came from the story he told in the easygoing song.

The “sheriff and his buddies” in the fictional “sleepy little town” of China Grove hoisted “samurai swords … and though [the town is] a part of the Lone Star State, people don’t seem to care, they just keep on lookin’ to the East.”

However, a couple years later (1975) Johnston was notified by a cab driver that China Grove is a real town east of San Antonio, Texas. Johnston was astounded because he claims to have no knowledge about a real China Grove community when he wrote the lyrics — and “When the sun comes up on a sleepy little town / Down around San Antone” is a practically prescient lyric included in the song. Johnston recollected that The Doobie Brothers must have passed the town when travelling to San Antonio back in 1972, so maybe his mind subtly picked up the message that later transpired into the China Grove song.

While China Grove is a real town in Bexar County, Texas, there are more China Groves throughout the United States — particularly in the Southeast and in other Texas counties. According to the community of China Grove (↗) in North Carolina, the town’s name is based on a “grove of chinaberry trees that was located next to the old train depot.” Unfortunately, the original trees in the namesake grove no longer exist. Not every China Grove town has toponymy information — in other words, no information about how and why these towns were named — but I believe that the other China Groves were also named for their chinaberry trees. Did you know? A toponymist is a person who studies the names of places.

China Grove, Alabama (Pike County)


China Grove, Mississippi (Walthall County)


China Grove, North Carolina (Rowan County)
Population: 3,563 (2010 U.S. Census)


China Grove, Tennessee (Gibson County)


China Grove, south Texas (Bexar County)
Population: 1,179 (2010 U.S. Census)


China Grove, southeast Texas (Brazoria County)


China Grove, west Texas (Midland County)
A 20th century gathering spot where people from the city of Midland hosted picnics, get-togethers, and community events in a restful/relaxing setting.


China Grove, northwest Texas (Scurry County)


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