Seven Wonders of the U.S. Revisited
Friday May 30, 2008
My previous post about the seven wonders of the United States generated quite a bit of discussion. One reader, Robert Cerello, devised his own lists of man-made and natural ... Read More
Development of the NYC Subway Map
Friday May 30, 2008
Men's Vogue provides an interesting slide show that traces the development of New York City's subway map, is one of the only subway maps that strives to show a geographically ... Read More
Best Spots to See the Northern Lights
Friday May 30, 2008
The folks over at the ProTraveller blog alerted me to an interesting recent post of theirs, 13 Of The Best Observation Points For The Northern Lights, which includes such places ... Read More
Cornish Makes a Comeback
Friday May 30, 2008
Cornish, the language of Cornwall in far southwest England, which began its decline in the sixteenth century, is making a comeback. Scholars have recently developed a standard written version ... Read More
South American Union is Formed
Thursday May 29, 2008
A South American Union, modeled along the European Union, was formed when the Union of South American Nations Treaty was signed last Friday, May 23, 2008. All twelve South ... Read More
Chinese Who Lost Only Child May Apply for New Child
Thursday May 29, 2008
The New York Times reports that Chinese couples who lost their only child in the May 12 earthquake may apply to local authorities to receive permission to have a new ... Read More
48 States in 106 Hours and 43 Minutes
Tuesday May 27, 2008
Three young men set out to break a record by visiting all of the 48 U.S. states on a incredibly fast road trip. They used maps to meticulously plot ... Read More
Zimbabwe Issues Half-Billion Dollar Bill
Monday May 26, 2008
Back in January, Zimbabwe made news when they issued a $10 million bill. Unfortunately inflation in that country is so rampant that they have now issued a $500 million ... Read More
U.S. Housing Map Shows Declines
Friday May 23, 2008
A new map from the U.S. Federal Reserve shows a county-by-county index of house prices from 2006 and 2007. While many states showed increases, the map brilliantly shows stable ... Read More
Sherpa Makes 18th Trip to Everest Summit
Friday May 23, 2008
A 47 year-old Sherpa named Appa has made his eighteenth trip to the 29,035 foot summit of Mount Everest, which is obviously a global record. The next closest competitor ... Read More
New Geography Quiz
Thursday May 22, 2008
Test your geographic skills and abilities with my latest 15-question multiple-choice Geography Quiz. Good luck!
World Disaster Maps
Thursday May 22, 2008
FP Blog provides some interesting maps that show the chances of death from different types of disaster globally, the expected economic losses from disaster, and a final map that indicates ... Read More
U.S. Embassy in Berlin Moving Back to Pre-WWII Location
Thursday May 22, 2008
Next Tuesday the United States Embassy in Berlin, Germany, will open again at the location where it stood until 1941, when U.S. diplomats left at the outbreak of World War ... Read More
How to Type in Chinese
Thursday May 22, 2008
I've long been curious about how Chinese characters, since there are up to 40,000 of them, are input into a computer. Fortunately, Slate provides an explanation. As it ... Read More
Seven Wonders of the United States
Wednesday May 21, 2008
Good Morning America has announced their Seven Wonders of the United States, which include eight wonders. They seem interesting and perhaps political in nature. The wonders include include: ... Read More
Western Seaboard?
Tuesday May 20, 2008
Eileen wrote to ask about the use of the term "Seaboard" as in Eastern Seaboard. Fascinatingly, the Oxford English Dictionary provides a definition of the word "board" as, "The ... Read More
1927 Version of GPS
Sunday May 18, 2008
Thanks to Matt N. for pointing out this great post in BoingBoing which tells and shows of a fun 1927 wrist map of the UK to be used for navigational ... Read More
French Foreign Legion
Sunday May 18, 2008
The New York Times provides an entertaining and lighthearted look at the celebrities who have been granted honorary positions in the French Foreign Legion. As the Times reports, the ... Read More
China's Worst Disaster in 30 Years
Friday May 16, 2008
The recent earthquake in China's Sichuan Province is the world's most populous nation's worst disaster in thirty years, since the catastrophic 1976 earthquake in Tangshan, which killed at least 255,000 ... Read More
Love in Saudi Arabia
Friday May 16, 2008
The New York Times has a fantastic article and video about romance and love in Saudi Arabia. It's an interesting look at this traditional and conservative country that often ... Read More
The Year of the Potato
Friday May 16, 2008
Did you know that the United Nations has declared 2008 as the Year of the Potato?! The Year of the Potato has its own website and the UN, especially ... Read More
The Soviet Union's 5-Day Week
Monday May 12, 2008
About.com's 20th Century History site explores the fascinating history of the calendar in the former Soviet Union. Learn about their 5-day week calendar which didn't work out so well. ... Read More
Satellite Images of Myanmar Cyclone Damage
Sunday May 11, 2008
NASA provides satellite imagery of the cyclone-caused flooding in Myanmar following Cyclone Nargis. Cyclone Nargis swept through the Irrawaddy Delta of Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) and the country’s ... Read More
Olympic Torch Reaches Mount Everest's Peak
Sunday May 11, 2008
An Olympic torch made its way to the top of Mount Everest last Thursday as part of the torch's relay to Beijing for the start of the Summer Games, which ... Read More
U.S. Senate on McCain's Birthplace
Sunday May 11, 2008
As reported earlier in a heavily discussed post, there is concern about U.S. presidential candidate John McCain's birthplace. In support of Senator McCain and his birthplace, the U.S. Senate ... Read More
San Francisco to Mandate Recycling?
Sunday May 11, 2008
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom wants to make recycling in the city of San Francisco mandatory and if residents do not comply, their garbage pickup would cease. Mayor Newsom ... Read More
Tenth Anniversary of Euro Agreement
Wednesday May 7, 2008
Today is the tenth anniversary of the agreement that launched the euro, the European common currency that unified the European economy. The BBC has a story about the anniversary ... Read More
Myanmar Cyclone Death Toll May Reach 10,000
Monday May 5, 2008
In what might be the worst catastrophe sine the December 2004 tsunami in Asia, a cyclone which struck Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) on Saturday may have a death toll ... Read More
Earthquake Information
Monday May 5, 2008
Geography Intern Amanda Briney has written a nice overview of earthquakes that provides a thorough information about their cause and effects. Enjoy!
Geographical Videos
Monday May 5, 2008
The My Wonderful World blog provides five interesting videos with a geographical theme. Check them out! You might also want to visit my very own video, the Ten ... Read More
State of the Air: Los Angeles No Longer Worst in All Categories
Friday May 2, 2008
In the American Lung Association's annual State of the Air report, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was ranked as the country's worst for short-term particle pollution pushing Los Angeles into second place. ... Read More
Chinese Frustration Expressed in Poem
Friday May 2, 2008
An apparently anonymous poem is circulating online that gives voice to frustrated Chinese, who see their country as being criticized for no matter what it does by the West. ... Read More
CIA Director: Population Growth a Big Problem
Thursday May 1, 2008
General Michael V. Hayden, the director of America's Central Intelligence Agency gave a lecture where he told of the three most dangerous trends in the world. They include population ... Read More
Hispanics Comprise 15% of U.S. Population
Thursday May 1, 2008
Brand new U.S. Census Bureau estimates show that Hispanics now make up 15% of the U.S. population with approximately 45 million people. The black population in the United States ... Read More
Ireland Town Wins Name Spat
Thursday May 1, 2008
A 2004 law in Ireland required that all towns adopt the Irish-language version of their name. While about 2300 towns were affected, the community of Dingle rejected a change ... Read More