Informative geography facts about our wonderful planet, detailed and easy-to-read maps, and various topics about each country! I am pleased to update my blog as a passion project and do not generate content with AI.
Welcome to GeoFact of the Day, where you can find fantastic facts about places, countries, cultures, languages, and other wonders of our world. I hope you enjoy!
Episode 2 Description: Racers travel to Madrid, Spain where a new alliance emerges, and one team’s Express Pass strategy comes with instant regret.
Episode Airdate: Thursday, October 1st, 2026 on CBS
The twelve teams flew from Vancouver, CANADA for a stopover in Paris, FRANCE before arriving in Madrid, SPAIN. In the “Who’s Feeling Saucy?” Roadblock, one member on each team participated in a throwback challenge that was previously encountered in season 10. Teams visited the Plaza de Toros El Batán bullfighting ring — in the community of Batán west of Madrid — and encountered a large pile of tomatoes in the center. Locals greeted the Amazing Race teams by pelting them with many tomatoes! Just like in season 10, some competitors were pelted so hard that they felt the ouchy impact. This task pays homage to the very popular, annual La Tomatina spectacle in the eastern Spanish town of Buñol in VALENCIA where over 40,000 people throw hundreds of thousands of tomatoes! Teams searched the pile for a small capsule clue containing an image of Madrid’s Puerta del Sol (Gate of the Sun) public square, their next destination. Daisha and Dalton used their Express Pass since they (and other teams) struggled with finding a clue among the thousands of tomatoes.
To access the Puerta del Sol in Madrid, teams rode the Metro train. Sisters Charlotte and Katie were the last team to arrive and boarded the wrong train; they made a spelling mishap when they went to the Puerta del Sur (not Sol) train stop! Erin and Javi also made this mistake initially but Erin noticed the discrepancy; the team therefore boarded the correct train in first place. Teams arrived in the beautiful and vibrant public square and chose between the “Slice of Ham” or “Slice of History” Detour.
In the “Slice of Ham” detour option, teams carried a giant pork leg known as a jamón ibérico (Iberian ham) and had it sliced by a chef at a restaurant. Teams arranged this ham along with grapes, kiwi, peapods, a dipping sauce, several cheeses, and more on a charcuterie board to the chef’s liking. This task definitely included attention to detail; for example, they had to slice a cheese in thin triangle shapes and arrange it in a radial circle. Cody and Jaime used their Express Pass.
Teams choosing “Slice of History” detour option met twelve local Spaniards dressed as famous people in Spain’s history and modern times. Each Spaniard mentioned a fact about the famous person he or she is representing, and teams matched the impersonator’s portraits with the famous people’s names based on the facts. The famous Spaniards are authors/writers (Rosalía de Castro and Don Quixote author Miguel de Cervantes), artists (Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso, and Diego Velázquez), a teacher (María Elena Maseras Ribera), explorers (Hernán Cortés and Juan Ponce de León), queens (Queen Isabel I of Castile and Queen Letizia), and politicians (Clara Campoamor and Dolores Ibárruri). Jenn and Jody used their Express Pass even though Jody is actually a history teacher!
After completing the detour task of their choice, teams travelled nearby to the Plaza de España Pit Stop in Madrid. Ali and Joanna worked their way up from their 10th place finish in the previous episode and arrived first at the mat, where Phil and a Spanish matador greeted them. Phil asked Ali and Joanna if they know where Tasmania is continentally located. They enthusiastically exclaimed “AFRICA!!!” but Phil replied that the island belongs to the continent (and country) of AUSTRALIA.
Season 39, Episode 2 Results
1st — Ali and Joanna
1st place prize — vacation to Tasmania, AUSTRALIA
2nd — Matt and Michelle
3rd — Cody and Jaime
4th — Ann-Marie and Riley
5th — Jenn and Jody
6th — Daisha and Dalton
7th — Erin and Javi
8th — Andrea and Anuar
9th — Conner and Garrett
10th — Doug and Dylan
11th — Dafina and Saran
12th — Charlotte and Katie
Eliminated from the competition
Episode 1 Description: In Vancouver, host Phil Keoghan surprises racers with the first twist of the season — for the first time in the show’s history there are 13 Express Passes in play.
Episode Airdate: Wednesday, September 30th, 2026 on CBS
The Amazing Race is back, and team will visit nine countries around the world throughout Season 39! Teams arrived in Vancouver, British Columbia, CANADA to picturesque views in the sky and on the water thanks to Harbour Air Seaplanes. The thirteen teams were welcomed to Canada by Squamish Nation people singing and playing drums. For the first time in Amazing Race history, each team was treated to an Express Pass that they can use within one of six legs (episodes). With an Express Pass, they can skip a challenge if they are spending too much time on a task or want to move on and save time before starting a task. We were introduced to this season’s teams:
● Ali and Joanna, pro soccer teammate moms (both formerly on the U.S. women's national soccer team)
● Andrea (daughter) and Anuar (dad)
● Ann-Marie (mom) and Riley (daughter)
● Charlotte and Katie, sisters
● Cody and Jaime, siblings
● Conner and Garrett, childhood friends
● Dafina and Saran, sisters
● Daisha and Dalton, dating
● Doug (grandpa) and Dylan (grandson)
● Erin and Javi, couple
● Jenn and Jody, moms
● Matt and Michelle, parents
● Nate and Zach, brothers
Teams were instructed to go to BC Place, a stadium where one member of each team bungee jumped 300 feet from a top balcony while wearing big bear claws to catch a big polyester salmon. Erin and Javi chose to use their Express Pass before beginning this challenge. Erin mentioned how it took some time for teams to get geared up, while Javi added that teams had to wait since the challenge could only be completed one team at a time. This wasn't the first time Ali visited BC Place. She and her teammates on the UNITED STATES national soccer team won the 2015 Women's World Cup on July 5th in which they defeated JAPAN 5 to 2. Joanna was on the soccer team in earlier years and not in 2015.
Next up on the itinerary was a visit to the Plaza of Nations; teams then hopped on an aquabus travelling to the Vancouver Maritime Museum. Here they encountered the “Run It Up” or “Paddle It Out” Detour. In “Run It Up,” teams memorized various maritime flags and their meanings. They then listened to a captain who called out some of these flags in a particular order, so teams hoisted the flags accordingly and were handed the Pit Stop clue if correct. Dafin and Saran used their Express Pass at the “Run It Up” detour. In “Paddle It Out,” teams arrived at Teetotaler Beach and paddled in an outrigger canoe to reach a yellow tetrahedron-shaped buoy for the Pit Stop clue. Doug and Dylan used their Express Pass at the “Paddle It Out” detour.
Teams finalized their first episode Amazing Race journey with a Pit Stop at the beautiful VanDusen Botanical Garden which features a serene waterfall as depicted in this wonderful photo by Richard Wong (↗). Erin and Javi using their Express Pass in the beginning worked out well for them — they stepped on the Pit Stop mat in first place!
Season 39, Episode 1 Results
1st — Erin and Javi
1st place prize — vacation to TÜRKIYE
Istanbul
cave and underground cities of Cappadocia exploration
hot air balloon rides over the mesmerizing Fairy Chimneys
2nd — Conner and Garrett
3rd — Matt and Michelle
4th — Doug and Dylan
5th — Charlotte and Katie
6th — Anuar and Andrea
7th — Ann-Marie and Riley
8th — Jenn and Jody
9th — Dafina and Saran
10th — Ali and Joanna
11th — Cody and Jaime
12th — Daisha and Dalton
13th — Nate and Zach
Eliminated from the competition
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.
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.
Season 38 Episode 7 (Wednesday, November 5th, 2025) Info: “Teams skydive through the clouds of Romania and one team is forced to play catch up after struggling during a sheep herding challenge.”
In this seventh episode of The Amazing Race Season 38 (U.S. Edition), teams travelled eastward from the southern Croatian city of Split — the second most populated city (after Zagreb) in CROATIA 🇭🇷 — to the southern Romanian city of Bucharest, the capital and the most populated city of ROMANIA 🇷🇴. Natalie and Stephanie — known as the “Yin Yang Sissies” according to Natalie — were the last team to depart from Croatia since they finished second to last in the previous episode. Teams arrived in Romania and slept overnight in bunk beds to do a thrilling and height-defying “Who’s Ready to Jump in the Race?” Roadblock. They achieved the highest skydive in Amazing Race history at 13,000 feet!
Teams flew from Croatia and arrived in Bucharest.
After landing in a grassy field and relishing the amazing experience they just had, teams went to a sheep farm to meet shepherds known locally as ciobhani. Teams were tasked with moving five sheep from one pen to another. This was occasionally difficult because the sheep had a herd mentality; teams tried to move one or two sheep without the whole herd following. Eric and Tucker successfully completed this task in relatively little time. Teams later built a floating pontoon raft by attaching empty blue water jugs to the bottom. They navigated the craft south of Bucharest through Delta Neajlovului and arrived at the Detour challenge.
For the Detour task, teams chose either “Brick Builder” or “Mask Maker” — both located northeast of the delta near the Debarcader Lebǎda canoe and kayak rental service. In “Brick Builder”, teams formed ten bricks using a mixture of water, straw, and mud manure! Teams were definitely grossed out by having to shovel manure then forming said manure into sloppy, gooey bricks. Some of the manure conveniently landed on their shirts! Taylor joked about being “Miss Congeniality” to later becoming a “manure shoveler”. In the relatively tidy “Mask Maker” challenge, teams tried to replicate a winter mask purportedly said to ward off evil. This task required precision, craftiness, and sewing abilities, but at least did not require poop!
Teams crafted a floating pontoon raft and navigated it through Delta Neajlovului located about 9 miles (14.5 kilometers) south of Bucharest and closer to the border with BULGARIA 🇧🇬.
With mixed success, teams accomplished the Detour and then arrived at the King Carol I Park (Parcul Carol) Pit Stop. The expansive 89-acre park is situated in the south side of Bucharest; use the top map above to locate Parcul Carol below the Sectorul 4 label. Amusingly, two locals were dressed in brown bear costumes and danced in homage of bears — which are rare in some European countries. For the fourth time in a row, Eric and Tucker arrived first at the Pit Stop! They won $5,000 each. Jag and Jas (with unused Express Pass) arrived second, followed by Adam and Joseph in third, Kyland and Taylor (also with unused Express Pass) in fourth, Chelsie and Jack in fifth, Izzy and Paige in sixth, and Natalie and Stephanie in last. The “Yin Yang Sissies” were eliminated from the The Amazing Race.
Season 38 Episode 6 (Wednesday, October 29th, 2025) Info: “The race intensifies in Croatia where one team reconsiders their alliance and another team’s Roadblock strategy falls apart.” 🌍
First of all, I want to express my thoughts and well wishes for everyone in JAMAICA 🇯🇲, HAITI 🇭🇹, CUBA 🇨🇺, and other places in the Caribbean dealing with Hurricane Melissa and its destructive aftermath.
In the sixth episode of The Amazing Race Season 38 (U.S. Edition), teams drove a manual stick-shift vehicle northwest from Dubrovnik, CROATIA 🇭🇷 (HRVATSKA) to the town of Trsteno. Here, they visited the Trsteno Arboretum featuring trees that are over 500 years old. 🌳 Teams found a clue near the arboretum’s Neptune statue then drove further northwest along the Adriatic Sea coastline to the partially walled town of Ston. They encountered the “Bag It Up” versus “Pull It Up” Detour challenge. In “Bag It Up”, teams filled ten bags of local raw salt — each bag weighing slightly over 20 pounds each. In “Pull It Up”, teams visited a major oyster harvesting area known as Mali Ston Bay. They rowed a boat to find buoys with oysters attached; the teams then gave those oysters to a local restaurant known as Bota Sare. 🦪
Overview map of Trsteno — a town northwest of Dubrovnik and known for its arboretum
Remaining in the town of Ston, teams visited Park Komarda for the “Who Knows Their Way Around Croatia?” Roadblock. 🚧 With the navigational help of a 3D relief map of Ston, a member of each team visited several locations throughout the town to find and remember Croatian (Hrvatskan) facts. These facts involve multiple topics: letters not featured in the Croatian alphabet (Q, W, X, and Y), one of the several mottoes of Croatia (“As long as there is heart, there is Croatia”), highest mountain in Croatia at 6,007 feet* (Dinara), famous poet in Croatia (Ivan Gundulić), original length of the Walls of Ston (22,965 feet*), the date when Parliament proclaimed independence from Yugoslavia (June 25th, 1991), first king of Croatia (King Tomislav) 👑, and Croatia’s coastline length (3,625 miles*). Amazing Race contestants arrived back at the map and were tested with three questions asked by a Croatian. Contestants who did not answer the questions correctly had to answer a different set of questions for their next attempt, so some of them went back to the locations to memorize all facts.
Overview map of Ston — the second town featured in this episode
Prapratno Cove was the Pit Stop for this episode. 🏁 Eric and Tucker arrived in first place and both won another trip — this time to various locations in EGYPT 🇪🇬 including Cairo, Alexandria, and the famous pyramids. Tucker excitedly mentioned that Egypt was always on his bucket list, so it is awesome that he can check that one off! ☑ Kristine and Rubina were the eighth and last team to arrive, so they were eliminated from The Amazing Race.
* 6,007 feet equals 1,831 meters, 22,965 feet equals 7,000 meters, and 3,625 miles equals 5,834 kilometers.
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+.
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+.
December’s GeoFact of the Day Blog quiz centers on the mighty and wonderful continent of Africa. After testing your African trivia prowess, you can further test your geographic knowledge (↗) with other geography quizzes from GeoFact of the Day. The answers to this quiz are listed below; enjoy and good luck!
1) Fill in the blank: the Tsodilo Hills in northwestern Botswana are nicknamed the “_________ of the Desert” for having more than 4,500 ancient rock paintings in the area!
A — Louvre
B — Lascaux
C — Paint Palette
2) True or false: the “official car” of the SEYCHELLES is the mini-moke, a Tonka Truck-style Jeep powered by the engine of a Mini brand car.
3) Fill in the blank: at the civilization’s societal peak, the kingdom of Meroe in present-day ___________ geographically stretched all the way to LEBANON and SYRIA.
A — BENIN
B — SUDAN
C — TANZANIA
4) In 2002, Swaziland’s parliament voted against a government request to buy a $50 million USD luxury jet for which of the following kings (two of the names below are fictional)?
A — King Mbabane XII
B — King Mswati III
C — King Mhlambanyatsinhlangano
5) During its heyday, the renowned university at Timbuktu gave approximately 25,000 scholars of all ages opportunities to study and learn. Where is Timbuktu?
A — MALI
B — LIBYA
C — EGYPT
D — MAURITANIA
6) Which of the following is not a typical ingredient in a slow-cooked stew known as calulu, the national dish of SÃO TOMÉ AND PRÍNCIPE?
A — eggplants
B — prawns and smoked fish
C — turnips
D — spices
7) The DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO (DR Congo) is Africa’s second largest country, containing a geographic area that is 36,330 square kilometers lower than ALGERIA’s area. DR Congo is also 80 times larger than neighboring BURUNDI and which other relatively small country?
A — CAMEROON
B — CHAD
C — NAMIBIA
D — RWANDA
ANSWERS
Question 1:
A . . . . . Louvre, named after the famous Paris art museum established in 1793
Episode Info: Teams gather in Switzerland to restart the race nearly 20 months after production was suspended for the COVID-19 pandemic.
Episode Airdate on CBS: Wednesday, January 19th, 2022 at 9 PM
After such a long hiatus, teams competing in The Amazing Race Season 33 were clearly enthusiastic to restart the competition despite the omnipresent threat of the coronavirus pandemic. However, not everyone returned due to various reasons; some of them might have been understandingly leery of travelling and decided not to continue the pursuit of $1 million. As an illustrative (and claustrophobic) example, airline travel in the present situation seems to be a spectacle of unruly passengers being duct-taped to their small seats. My Public Service Announcement to airline companies and CEOs would be something like this: providing spacious seats/aisles/legroom (which means fewer seats with more space all around) would likely encourage your customers to be more relaxed and less confrontational — and less likely to appear on Inside Edition! For whatever the reason(s), four teams did not return to the competition in episode 3: Anthony and Spencer, Caro and Ray, Connie and Sam, and Isaiah and Taylor. Thankfully, though, this brought an opportunity for the two previously eliminated teams to return: Arun and Natalia as well as Michael and Moe.
Throughout this fourth episode, teams travelled across picturesque mountain terrain and through tremendous towns in northeastern SWITZERLAND. Teams began at the Saint Gallen Cathedral in the town of Saint Gallen. In a cameo interview scene within this episode, twin sisters Lala and Lulu told us that their grandmother unfortunately passed away in the months-long interim between episodes 3 and 4. They are dedicating the rest of their Amazing Race journey to her in loving memory.
● From the cathedral in Saint Gallen, teams went to Museumstrasse (Museum Street) and hopped on one of three classic green and yellow buses waiting to take them to Säntis, the highest mountain in Appenzell Innerrhoden canton. As a sidenote, this canton prominently features a black bear on the flag and coat of arms. A fun fact is that someone located atop or near the peak of Säntis can see six countries from that viewpoint: Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, and of course Switzerland.
● Roadblock (“Who Wants to Take in the View?”): Teams rode a cable car about 8,200 feet and 2,500 meters up to the area of Säntis’ peak. In this Roadblock, one member on each team familiarized himself or herself with the ferrata, a method of walking, jogging, etc. along the mountain ridge while harnessed onto a safety rope along the way.
● The clue from the ridge top brought them to Gasthaus Sonne (Sun Inn) in the town of Urnäsch. The clue box at this location contained Detour clues.
● Detour, choice between “Punch It” or “Toss It”: teams choosing the Punch It option learned about the importance of Swiss belts to the local farming community. Swiss belts are sort of a status symbol. More silver ornaments — which look like decorative belt buckles — are traditionally thought of to indicate more financial wealth. These belts also have cultural and storytelling significance in that the ornaments tell a story in a one-side-to-another order, sort of like a comic strip in the newspaper. Teams utilized various hand tools to attach ornaments in the shape of a calf, farmer with cow, goat, sun, etc. in the correct order based on the example belt.
Teams choosing the Toss It option learned about Fahnenschwingen, a Swiss discipline involving choreographic maneuvers to fling, flip, toss, turn, and twist the national flag. This reminds me of talented color guard groups that do all sorts of tricks with flags of thematic designs and therefore complement high school and university marching band performances all across the United States. Amazing Race teams performed a Fahnenschwingen routine to the satisfaction of a judge to receive their next clue. Completing either the Toss It or Punch It Detour task brought teams with clues in hand to the…
● Pit Stop: Alstätten, a market town
Season 33, Episode 4 Results
1st — Dusty and Ryan
1st place prize — $2,500 each
2nd — Kim and Penn
3rd — Cayla and Raquel
4th — Lala and Lulu
5th — Akbar and Sheri
6th — Arun and Natalia
7th — Michael and Moe
Eliminated from the competition
Episode Info: While racing through Scotland in February 2020, teams receive shocking and unprecedented news — for the first time in the show’s history, “The Amazing Race” suspends production due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Episode Airdate on CBS: Wednesday, January 12th, 2022 at 9 PM
The Amazing Race’s episode 3 brought teams to Glasgow, a west-central Scottish city. You likely know that Scotland is considered a country within the larger UNITED KINGDOM. Before arriving in Glasgow, teams departed from the Easton Station near London and travelled by train for about 400 miles; the journey was long enough that they took advantage of resting on the train’s bunk beds!
● Once they arrived in Glasgow, teams continued onto the NCP Car Park in search for a clue on a Renault car’s windshield. Several driving team members had difficulty with the car’s stick shift, considering they are more familiar with driving a vehicle with an automatic shift. They drove to the West End and found the Òran Mór building, an entertainment venue and former church named after the Gaelic phrase translating in English to “great melody of life” (“big song”).
● Roadblock (“Who Thinks They Have This One in the Bag?”): At Òran Mór, one member on each team was tasked with joining a Scottish pipe band, but first he or she had to assemble the iconic bagpipe with the help of a “bagpipe anatomy” illustration. A correctly assembled bagpipe is then approved, so the team member then tried to blow out a song (sometimes discordantly) with the bagpipe band to receive the next clue.
● This clue brought them to the black-and-bronze Walter MacFarlane Saracen Fountain in Alexandra Park. Expertly sculpted by David Watson Stevenson in 1901, the ornate fountain initially appeared in Kelingrove Park for the 1901 International Fair and was relocated to Alexandra Park in 1914. The clue box at this location contained Detour clues.
● Detour, choice between “Kilt” or “Rebuilt”: teams choosing the Kilt option visited the Panopticon Music Hall to rehearse and recite “Donald, Where’s Your Troosers?” — while wearing a kilt, of course! Teams choosing the Rebuilt option visited Fishers’ Cooperage to hone their potential craftsmanship skills as a cooper. They had to fix the head/top of two whiskey barrels, a process involving lots of hammering and prying to loosen and properly reposition the barrel rings. Arun and Natalia’s whiskey barrels were giving them prolonged trouble, so they decided to switch Detours. Since no other team switched Detours in this episode, the father and daughter duo’s switch likely cost them precious time — and the chance at $1 million dollars in The Amazing Race Season 33 competition. Completing the Detour task(s) brought teams with clues in hand to the…
● Pit Stop: under The Cloisters (The Undercroft) archways at the University of Glasgow
Season 33, Episode 3 Results
1st — Kim and Penn
1st place prize — vacation for two to Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA
— lodging, spa day, and golfing
2nd — Dusty and Ryan
3rd — Anthony and Spencer
4th — Connie and Sam
5th — Caro and Ray
6th — Cayla and Raquel
7th — Lala and Lulu
8th — Isaiah and Taylor
9th — Akbar and Sheri
10th — Arun and Natalia
Eliminated from the competition
● Episode info: Eleven teams begin their journey and travel to London.
This post recaps the second hour of The Amazing Race season 33’s two-hour premiere episode on January 5th. Teams continued their journey in London, England, UNITED KINGDOM. After the episode 1 Pit Stop at the National Museum of History, teams then visited the Royal Mail Center (Mail Rail) in Clerkenwell. That facility has sorted and delivered mail by train for over 75 years. The current mail transporting vehicle resembles a modern, domelike version of a small train that an amusement park might have. At Mail Rail, teams encountered a…
● Roadblock (“Who Still Gets Mail?”), in which a team member searched among hundreds of letters and other mail to find the The Amazing Race clue. While the clue cards’ coloration was not as vibrant as usual, the clues were relatively straightforward to discover compared to most tasks in the shows’ extensive history of clue-finding tasks. An example of a task on the other extreme of the clue-finding scale would be the season 31, episode 9 (CROATIA) Detour in which Bret and Chris took hours to find a goblet and three rusty medallions underwater; they gave up the task after struggling to spot the two remaining medallions! Therefore, finding the season 33 clue among several large bins of mail was a relative cake walk compared to the season 31 clue. With relatively few motions of rustling through the mail, Penn and Ray found their clues right away but did not redeem their clues right away; they second-guessed themselves due to how easy the task was! Penn and Ray searched some more to see if there is something else to find, but this allowed other teams to catch up. Let’s just say that the other teams did not second-guess themselves upon finding the clue, so a couple teams found an opportunity to surpass Penn and Ray.
● Teams redeemed their “snail mail” clues and subsequently travelled to Leicester Square (Theater City) to find the episode’s Detour.
● Detour, choice between “Bull’s-Eye Mate” or “Decorate”: teams choosing the Bull’s-Eye Mate option visited the Flight Club Victoria pub and had to throw three darts per team member in each round. Within a round of three throws, each member has to throw one dart that hits the bull’s-eye to advance to the Pit Stop. Teams choosing the Decorate option visited a bakery that displayed fruit-topped cakes resembling the flags of about a dozen or so countries. Before advancing to the Pit Stop, teams were tasked to figure out the flags of two European Union member nations then decorate their cakes — to the best of their artistic ability — to resemble those flags. Flag possibilities included Chile, France (correct), Germany (correct), Hungary (correct), Italy (correct), Jamaica, Lithuania (correct), Norway, South Africa, Thailand, and the United Kingdom. Some teams initially decorated their cakes based on the flags of Norway and/or the United Kingdom, but all Decorate Detour teams eventually chose France and Germany. France’s flag cake was topped with blueberries and raspberries, while the top of Germany’s flag cake featured blackberries, peach slices, and raspberries.
● Pit Stop: Russell Square Metro Station area
● At the sort-of “Pit Stop,” contestants arrived on a double-decker bus parked near the Russell Square Metro Station and enjoyed a cup of tea. Since Phil Keoghan told them to continue their Amazing Race journey right away with a trip to Glasgow, Scotland, no prize was awarded to Dusty and Ryan who arrived in first place. Continue watching The Amazing Race on CBS and/or stay up to date with these recap posts! The next episode is coming very soon: Wednesday, January 12th.
Season 33, Episode 2 Results
1st — Dusty and Ryan
1st place prize — nothing
2nd — Connie and Sam
3rd — Arun and Natalia
4th — Cayla and Raquel
5th — Kim and Penn
6th — Caro and Ray
7th — Anthony and Spencer
8th — Akbar and Sheri
9th — Isaiah and Taylor
10th — Lala and Lulu
Eliminated from the competition? No; non-elimination leg
In the exciting finale episode of The Amazing Race season 31 on CBS (April-June 2019), teams hopped from Amsterdam in the NETHERLANDS to several places in the UNITED KINGDOM (especially London, England), and later to Detroit, Michigan in the UNITED STATES. Competition legs 11 and 12 were combined together in the 2-hour 11th episode of season 31, with leg 11/part 1 (this post) concentrating on the United Kingdom and leg 12/part 2 (next post) featuring the United States.
This Season Finale episode is suitably named “This One is for One Million Dollars” as a direct quote from contestant Christie Woods, whose fellow team member is Colin Guinn. The three other teams competing in this episode are Nicole Franzel with Victor Arroyo, Korey Kuhl with Tyler Oakley, and Jamal Zadran with Leo Temory. Sorted by chronological order, here were the challenges and happenings encountered by the four remaining teams during the competition’s 11th leg in this June 26th, 2019 episode of The Amazing Race, UNITED STATES series:
● Departures: Since teammates Christie & Colin arrived to the Bovenwijde Lake island Pit Stop first in episode 10, they were allowed to begin this leg of the race before other teams at 10:13 PM Central European Time (CET) at night. In chronological order, the following teams were able to depart after Christie & Colin: Korey & Tyler at 11:35 PM, Jamal & Leo after midnight at 1:20 AM, and Nicole & Victor at 1:55 AM.
● After flying to London, teams visited the Gatwick Aviation Museum and then found out the location for helicopter rides. Once in a helicopter, teams took a scenic journey over the prominent English Channel chalk cliffs known as the Seven Sisters and flew to Dover Castle.
● Roadblock: Upon arriving at Dover Castle, one member of each Amazing Race team — Christie, Korey, Leo, and Victor — deciphered an alphanumeric code by listening to a Neville Chamberlain speech and detecting the fourth, fifteenth, and thirtieth (4th, 15th, and 30th) words he spoke. The letters from these words are then decrypted into specific numbers, and these numbers correspond to three-letter groupings. Teams had to rearrange these final letters to form a sentence: “The Dunkirk evacuation has begun. We will never surrender.” This wartime message was then printed on a typewriter, and teams handed the message over to a military official outside the Dover Castle.
● Teams flew back to London via helicopter and walked (or ran) to the Masthouse Terrace Pier, located on the Isle of Dogs in the Thames river.
● Teams sailed on the Thames in a speedboat to Savoy Pier then found their way to the Piccadilly Circus, a road junction and public space in the borough/city of Westminster. A “queen” clad in gold attire gave the teams their clue to arrive at the Detour.
● Detour, choice between “Know” and “Row”: Jamal & Leo, Korey & Tyler, and Nicole & Victor chose the Know Detour. They took a taxi and, according to the taxi driver’s instructions, memorized fifteen streets and seven landmarks. They found the Master of carriage drivers along Kensington Road and had to correctly recite these locations to him. Christie & Colin chose the Row Detour, in which they rowed a double scull boat for 200 meters. They had to complete this exercise within one minute to receive a clue.
● Pit Stop: Teams visited the Camden Market in search for the Pit Stop, but they had to recreate a window display using items they bought from market stores. When their displays are determined to be accurately copied, teams were able to check in to the nearby Pit Stop. Engaged (and soon to be married) couple Nicole & Victor were eliminated from The Amazing Race competition due to arriving last at the Pit Stop.
● Interesting trivia notes: Jamal & Leo were celebrated for becoming The Amazing Race’s first team ever to achieve a final four placement and complete the penultimate race leg three times; this is their third season of competition. Both men also passed Rachel Reilly-Villegas’ record of playing the most legs (episodes) of The Amazing Race. After Brendon & Rachel and Cody & Jessica from previous seasons, Nicole & Victor became the third CBS Big Brother team to reach the season-finale episode.
Season 31, Episode 11, Leg #11/12
First, Second, Third, and Last Places at the Pit Stop
1st — Jamal Zadran and Leo Temory
1st place prize — nothing, unfortunately
2nd — Korey Kuhl and Tyler Oakley
3rd — Christie Woods and Colin Guinn
Last (4th) — Nicole Franzel and Victor Arroyo
Eliminated from the competition? Yes
I am a roundabout (or traffic circle) designed similarly to a flower, with ten streets radiating from my center. An assortment of buildings are sitting on my "petals." Situated in the southwest portion of a sprawling national capital, I am located about a kilometer away from the northern part of another country, CAMEROON. What capital city and country am I located in?
Answer is listed below!
After fact-checking and compiling a list based on various sources of data, the following is a list of countries that do not currently have railroad service for transportation and passengers as of January 21st, 2019:
Andorra, Belize, Bhutan (possible Golden Jubilee Railway project coming soon), Burundi (projects are being planned), Cabo Verde, Central African Republic, Chad (projects are being planned), Cyprus, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Iceland, Kuwait, Libya, Malta, Mauritius, Niger, Oman, Papua New Guinea, Qatar (projects are being planned), Rwanda, San Marino, Somalia, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Yemen
Did I forget to mention a country in this list? Please consider posting a comment ... thanks!
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 (↗).
While the band Coldplay did not recently receive a Grammy award for Best Music Video (Beyoncé's Formation won the gold mini gramophone), the Up&Up music video is definitely "up there" in my list of favorite visual productions. We are encouraged to think big, dream big, and join together to achieve great things for this world.
Nestled in the northwest corner of Vermont state (part of the UNITED STATES), Grand Isle (South Hero Island) is the largest island in Lake Champlain and is about 1 mile east of New York's Cumberland Head peninsula. Despite having a relatively small population of 4,000 (2016 estimate), Grand Isle and surrounding areas boast plenty of amenities for visitors and residents to enjoy. Communities include Adams Landing, Gordon Landing, Grand Isle (most-populated town), Keeler Bay (intersection of Vermont St. Route 314 and US 2), Pearl, and South Hero. These places are connected to farmland, forests, and general rural areas throughout the island via major routes such as SR 214, US 2, and South Street. Other roads are not shown on the map above, and the number of these routes is arguably enough to connect all parts of Grand Isle while preserving natural areas. Sites of interest below...
Visitors have several pleasant choices for lodging: Apple Island Resort (south), Cozy Cottages (north), and Grand Isle Lake Resort (north). Natural, historic, and shopping attractions on Grand Isle — some of which are nearby and far away from the Lake Champlain Scenic Byway road — include Allenholm Farm, Allen Point Access Area, Arnold Zlotoff Tool Museum, Ed Weed Fishing Access Area, Grand Isle Art Works (café and gallery), Grand Isle State Park, Health Hero Farm, Pomykala Farm, Round Pond State Park & Natural Area (southeast), South Hero Marsh Wildlife Area (south), and Vallee's Den of Antiquity. Offering free admission, the Arnold Zlotoff Tool Museum is situated near Apple Island Resort and features over 3,000 colonial tools. Added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on March 11th, 1971, the Hyde (Pioneer) Log Cabin was built by Jedediah Hyde, Jr. in 1783 and is believed to be one of America's oldest log cabins! Generations of the Hyde family lived here for over 150 years. In addition to the vehicle-carrying ferry connecting Gordon Landing to Cumberland Head, NY, Grand Isle offers the Local Motion Bike Ferry and Island Line Trail to connect cyclists in the southern part of Grand Isle to Burlington and beyond. For the most part, Island Line Trail is basically a thin isthmus for cyclists, pedestrians, skateboarders, etc. only (no cars).
Above: An interesting camera effect appears to warp the Grand Isle Lake Resort, a popular facility for weddings and lodging.
Known as the Ruta Transchaco or Transchaco Route, Route 9 in PARAGUAY is a 760-kilometer highway connecting the heavily forested, semi-arid Gran Chaco region in the northwest to the heavily populated national capital, Asunción, in southern Paraguay. Connecting with the Ruta Chuquisaca-Chaco in southeastern Bolivia, Route 9 is a two-lane highway in rural areas and has at least two lanes going both ways in the northern section of Asunción. This Paraguayan highway features large swaths of untouched rainforests on both sides, but deforestation is eventually visible. The general area surrounding the village of Villa Choferes del Chaco has experienced rapid deforestation, although some freestanding forest patches remain and environment protection activities are underway. Near Fortín Toledo village, the Centro Chaqueño para la Conservación e Investigación (CCCI) — Chaqueño Center for Conservation and Research in English — is primarily dedicated to protecting and knowing more about the Chacoan Peccary (Taguá), a hoofed mammal thought to be once extinct (before the 1970s) by scientists.
Especially in the northwestern part of Paraguay, drivers would pass by tiny villages and towns, including General Eugenio Alejandrino Garay, Nueva Asunción, Fortín Teniente Agripino Enciso, Fortín Teniente Primero Emilio Ochoa, Mariscal José Félix Estigarribia, Fortín Toledo, Filadelfia (population greater than 9,700), Pozo Colorado, and Estancia La Concepción. As you can tell, many Paraguayan towns are named after notable Paraguayan people. Nueva (New) Asunción is a rather small community in size and population; it definitely does not resemble Paraguay's main Asunción! Within 50 kilometers of Asunción, drivers on Route 9 begin to travel through cities with higher populations and more amenities, including Benjamín Aceval (population >16,200), Villa Hayes (named in honor of U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes; >57,000), Remansito (>7,500), and Mariano Roque Alonso (>85,000).
Various urban sites of interest can be enjoyed between Mariano Roque Alonso and Asunción — these include Shopping Mariano mall, Paraguay International Trade Fair, Plaza El Portal (Portal Square), Asuncion Golf Club, and Jardín Botánico y Zoológico de Asuncion (Asuncion Botanical Garden and Zoo). A driver wishing to travel the whole route would likely want to bring food, water, a first aid kit, etc. since much of this cross-country road is sparsely populated with few businesses and services. Luckily, the ending (or beginning) stretch travels through urban areas with plenty of amenities. Route 9 is the perfect route for a traveler wanting both tranquility in an isolated area and some urban adventure.
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