BS: Geography Test- Correct Placement

Subject: BS: Geography Test- Correct Placement
From: Ebbie
Date: 04 Sep 06 - 11:04 PM

Here, by way of another Mudcatter, is a succinct measure of how much - and how little - we know about the geography of the Middle East. Most of the countries I knew I knew only because of the relationship to their neighbors.

I'm going to do some serious studying!



Interactive Map

Subject: RE: BS: Geography Test- Correct Placement
From: Amos
Date: 04 Sep 06 - 11:33 PM

I had some seriously wrong also, although I knew most of the Western half.

A

Subject: RE: BS: Geography Test- Correct Placement
From: katlaughing
Date: 04 Sep 06 - 11:54 PM

All of the "stans" were clustered...I knew that at least and some of the biggies as well as the U.A.E. as Rog did work there, once. That was fun and informative, Ebbie, thanks!

Subject: RE: BS: Geography Test- Correct Placement
From: Joe Offer
Date: 05 Sep 06 - 03:03 AM

I had trouble with the "stans," too. I completed the map, but some countries I had to try two or three names. I'd give myself 75% for first-time answers, no credit for the ones I had to try again.
-Joe, humbled-
(but I'd do better in most other parts of the world)

Subject: RE: BS: Geography Test- Correct Placement
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 05 Sep 06 - 04:33 AM

I got very few first time but every one was in the right general area - So I guess I know the general bits but not the detail. I can live with that:-)

Cheers

DtG

Subject: RE: BS: Geography Test- Correct Placement
From: artbrooks
Date: 05 Sep 06 - 05:56 AM

I got the 'stans, but failed fadly on Sub-Saharan Africa and the Gulf States.

Subject: RE: BS: Geography Test- Correct Placement
From: Lepus Rex
Date: 05 Sep 06 - 06:08 AM

Hah, got everything right the first time, despite the fact that I was guessing which was Niger and which was Mali. I'm lousy at Sub-Saharn geography. And without Nigeria outlined, I'm hopless in West Africa. Thanks for the link, Ebbie. Very cool.

---Lepus Rex

Subject: RE: BS: Geography Test- Correct Placement
From: Wolfgang
Date: 05 Sep 06 - 07:54 AM

Africa was relatively easy, but the northeastern (stan") part of Asia and Bahrein/Quatar was too difficult for me.

Of course, context information was a big help. If the task would have been "Point at Niger/Mali quickly" I might have been wrong, but in the order "Let's start Africa the easy way with Egypt, South of it must be Sudan, the people in Darfur flee West to Chad, at least one of the coutries starting with Nig... borders on Chad..." I could solve it.

Wolfgang

Subject: RE: BS: Geography Test- Correct Placement
From: Bobert
Date: 05 Sep 06 - 08:01 AM

Ouch!!!

Subject: RE: BS: Geography Test- Correct Placement
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 05 Sep 06 - 08:55 AM

I wish there were maps like this for the rest of the world, too.

Maybe I could finally learn the provinces of Canada!

Subject: RE: BS: Geography Test- Correct Placement
From: GUEST,KT
Date: 05 Sep 06 - 09:19 AM

There are similar ones, Jim. here

Subject: RE: BS: Geography Test- Correct Placement
From: Bunnahabhain
Date: 05 Sep 06 - 09:33 AM

The 'stans and Bahrein/Quatar were beyond me too.

Subject: RE: BS: Geography Test- Correct Placement
From: Dave (the ancient mariner)
Date: 05 Sep 06 - 09:37 AM

Mostly the ones with a sea coast are easy for me. As for the rest, hows an old Sea Dog like me gonna learn em?

Subject: RE: BS: Geography Test- Correct Placement
From: mack/misophist
Date: 05 Sep 06 - 10:07 AM

Rotten, rotten, rotten! My excuse, if you can call it that, is that the maps have changed a lot since I was in school. Thanks for the general geography link. I'll spend the rest of the day doing home work. And making an appointment with the optomitrist - Bahrain was too small for my eyes (I hope).

Subject: RE: BS: Geography Test- Correct Placement
From: katlaughing
Date: 05 Sep 06 - 10:23 AM

Joe, I meant that I did well with the "stans" because they were all clustered together. I'd written a column or two about Afghanistan some years ago and had researched the map back then. I was incorrect in thinking Iraq was west of Iran, though; had that switched.:-)

KT, thanks for the link. I did really well on South American, but the one of Europe was difficult...mostly because of eastern Europe...I have not kept up with all of the changes since the USSR broke apart.

Great fun!

Subject: RE: BS: Geography Test- Correct Placement
From: MMario
Date: 05 Sep 06 - 10:38 AM

probably got 50% on first try for the Middle East, 37 of 39 for Canada; 72 of 89 for Asia; Eastern Europe I was pitiful;

Subject: RE: BS: Geography Test- Correct Placement
From: Wolfgang
Date: 05 Sep 06 - 10:50 AM

I got Europe perfect (they left out five small European countries by the way) which was easy (living here), South America too (much to my surprise). The next best in descending order were Asia, Africa and Middle America. I didn't try Carribean and Pacific, I would have been very bad in both.
Of those countries with subdivisions I didn't try China and USA for lack of knowledge, but I tried the two I have travelled, Australia (100%) and Canada (90odd percent).

I would have loved to have such a quiz on the counties of Ireland.

Wolfgang

Subject: RE: BS: Geography Test- Correct Placement
From: Ebbie
Date: 05 Sep 06 - 10:58 AM

On the Middle East one I did bettre on the coastal ones- I was really hampered by not knowing the shapes of the various countries. What really struck me is how tiny in relation to their neighbors some of those countries are.

I just 'did' Canada. Again, living close to Canada as we in Alaska do, I did pretty well from Ontario west. But the islands...! gnu, I guessed at New Brunswick and lucked out. Why do we rarely hear about Nunavut?

Subject: RE: BS: Geography Test- Correct Placement
From: Lepus Rex
Date: 05 Sep 06 - 11:39 AM

Ooh, fun! I got:
111 out of 111 for Europe.
87 out of 87 for Asia.
133 out of 162 for Africa. Eegh, West Africa... :P
35 out of 39 on South America... Damned Suriname/Guyana/French Guiana always screw me up. At least I got Paraguay/Uruguay right this time...
22 out of 24 for Australia.
37 out of 42 for Central America.
87 out of 87 on Middle East.
141 out of 150 for... the USA. Yeah. Back to second grade for me...
35 out of 39 for Canada... Ugh.
Not even going to bother with Oceana and the Carribean. Or China, because I already know I'll get at least half of that wrong.

---Lepus Rex

Subject: RE: BS: Geography Test- Correct Placement
From: kendall
Date: 05 Sep 06 - 12:16 PM

37 of 39 for Canada

Subject: RE: BS: Geography Test- Correct Placement
From: kendall
Date: 05 Sep 06 - 12:20 PM

35 of 39 for South America

Subject: RE: BS: Geography Test- Correct Placement
From: kendall
Date: 05 Sep 06 - 12:26 PM

148 out of 150 for the USA

Subject: RE: BS: Geography Test- Correct Placement
From: RangerSteve
Date: 05 Sep 06 - 01:18 PM

The first one I got wrong was Chad. The rest of the sub-saharan countries I got right, but they were lucky guesses, except for Mauritania, which I knew was on the ocean from an old National Geographic TV special. I also screwed up on the four Stans that were recently part of the Soviet Union.

Subject: RE: BS: Geography Test- Correct Placement
From: weerover
Date: 05 Sep 06 - 02:06 PM

I got the first half of the original without a mistake then got a few of the neighbouring ones confused with each other. I then tried the USA and was doing fine till I was asked to find Alaska - the map only just included the south of Canada, so I was bamboozled!

wr

Subject: RE: BS: Geography Test- Correct Placement
From: Ebbie
Date: 05 Sep 06 - 02:13 PM

weerover, Alaska and Hawaii are in the box at the foot of the map. (In Alaska we often say that most US school children think that Alaska is somewhere off the coast of Mexico)

Subject: RE: BS: Geography Test- Correct Placement
From: Desert Dancer
Date: 06 Sep 06 - 12:09 AM

If I got all the US states right, how come I got 147 out of 150??

It helps to have been to 49 out of 50.

~ Becky in Tucson

Subject: RE: BS: Geography Test- Correct Placement
From: Wolfgang
Date: 06 Sep 06 - 08:35 AM

Becky,

you have to have ayll of them right at the first attempt to score 150.
147 could mean you got 3 states only right at the second attempt or one at the third and one at the second.

Wolfgang

Subject: RE: BS: Geography Test- Correct Placement
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 06 Sep 06 - 10:27 AM

Not just you.. I couldn't see Bahrain at all!

And I'm crap at the rest of the world too!

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Geography Test- Correct Placement
From: Ebbie
Date: 06 Sep 06 - 11:34 AM

On the map Bahrain is a tiny white dot in the water next to a slightly larger white island. My first time I didn't find it at all and had about decided that there was an error!

Subject: RE: BS: Geography Test- Correct Placement
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 06 Sep 06 - 12:51 PM

Ah.... did a lot better on the second go, but still crap at the 'istans'.

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Geography Test- Correct Placement
From: Bill D
Date: 06 Sep 06 - 01:10 PM

I did very well on the MiddleEast...started with the easy ones, and missed only Qatar and one of the 'stans'...and did get Chad on the wrong side of Niger.

Australia is easy, but I see I need to brush up on the details of Europe...Slovenia and Czech republic and the Balkans are not 'wired' in, though I could easily find them on a labeled map. I also need to remind myself 'exactly' where the Maritimes are in Canada.

The USA I learned at 7 years old, and can draw it from memory.

I got 100% on S. America and missed only one on Central America....no real excuse, just haven't brushed up lately.

I find I do a lot of it from shape....countries with distinct shapes pop into my memory easily, while amorphous ovals are easily confused. even when I know the basic area.

(I think I was better when I was collecting stamps 50 years ago, and had to find The Orange Free State)

Subject: RE: BS: Geography Test- Correct Placement
From: GUEST
Date: 06 Sep 06 - 02:55 PM

47 of 96 in the Pacific.
4 I did know (Australia, for instance)
1 I made a good guess from the name (Midway)
1 I was lucky
The rest of the points came from remembering the feedback on the many wrong trials.

Wolfgang

Subject: RE: BS: Geography Test- Correct Placement
From: Lepus Rex
Date: 06 Sep 06 - 03:39 PM

The borders on the map that Ebbie first linked to were a little goofy, now that I really look at it (squinting involved). Qatar is shown as an island, weirdly, rather than a peninsula. And Afghanistan is lacking it's distinctively shaped Wakhan region (that little protuberance in the northeast that reaches out across the Pamirs to touch Chinese-controlled territory)... and it shows Azerbaijan as controlling a weird little land corridor through Iran, between the main part of the country and it's exclave of Nakhichivan. So, anyone who flunked these areas, use this as an excuse. :)

---Lepus Rex

Subject: RE: BS: Geography Test- Correct Placement
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 07 Sep 06 - 04:16 AM

I wondered why there was no Afghan/China border!

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Geography Test- Correct Placement
From: GUEST,John Gray in Oz
Date: 07 Sep 06 - 10:13 AM

So now we know what we have to take out in a first strike. Just joking folks. ( I wonder if the Pentagon has one of these though )

JG / FME