I'm constantly surprised at how the picture in my head is different than how it really is. I always picture Africa like Australia. sort of away from it all, but technically you could walk from Northern Europe to South Africa. Why is Australia a continent and Greenland isn't? Why is Europe even a continent? When did the middle East get so close to Europe? You can walk from Germany to China. Or France to Jerusalem. In my head it doesn't seem like you should be able to.

I am pretty sure it is 2 or 3 thousand miles from Germany to China, but I have also been surprised by certain geography facts.

I used to think of Switzerland as a cold northern European country, but it actually borders Italy.

(11-07-2018, 06:37 PM)fredtoast Wrote: I am pretty sure it is 2 or 3 thousand miles from Germany to China, but I have also been surprised by certain geography facts.

I used to think of Switzerland as a cold northern European country, but it actually borders Italy.

I should have said "theoretically".  

(11-07-2018, 06:37 PM)fredtoast Wrote: I am pretty sure it is 2 or 3 thousand miles from Germany to China, but I have also been surprised by certain geography facts.

I used to think of Switzerland as a cold northern European country, but it actually borders Italy.

There is 7500km between Berlin and Beijing. 

And yes, I did look at a globe and I still do. I can tell where every country in the world is. 

(11-07-2018, 06:43 PM)Arturo Bandini Wrote: There is 7500km between Berlin and Beijing. 

And yes, I did look at a globe and I still do. I can tell where every country in the world is. 

I think it's that we are not connected to much that makes it seem that everything else should be disconnected.  This is all stuff I know, but it doesn't always come through when I'm reading books taking place outside North America.

Well that's easy.  They all have names on them.  

(11-07-2018, 08:01 PM)fredtoast Wrote:

Hit!

Australia is a continent and Greenland an island because of tetonic plates. Greenland is part of the North American plate while Australia is its own plate.. or something like that..

(11-07-2018, 06:37 PM)fredtoast Wrote: I am pretty sure it is 2 or 3 thousand miles from Germany to China, but I have also been surprised by certain geography facts.

I used to think of Switzerland as a cold northern European country, but it actually borders Italy.

As Stephen Wright once said, anywhere is walking distance if you have the time.

(11-07-2018, 08:08 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: Hit!

Yup, I wouldn't mind saying I've been all around the world!

(11-07-2018, 05:55 PM)michaelsean Wrote: I'm constantly surprised at how the picture in my head is different than how it really is.  I always picture Africa like Australia.  sort of away from it all, but technically you could walk from Northern Europe to South Africa.  Why is Australia a continent and Greenland isn't?  Why is Europe even a continent?  When did the middle East get so close to Europe?  You can walk from Germany to China.  Or France to Jerusalem.  In my head it doesn't seem like you should be able to.

The Mongols went from China almost to the border of Germany (Poland).

The Middle East has always been close to Europe. A lot of folks did walk from France to Jerusalem during the Crusades.

Maps are very deceiving because they're to scale. You couldn't make a map the actual size of a city much less a country to be of any use whatsoever and maps are almost all in one or two dimensions while the real world is 3 and 4 dimensions. Most maps can't accurately depict hills and valleys, changes in weather conditions and the like, traffic, stop signs, etc. A map of a road that winds up a mountain might look like a hop, skip and a jump. When I was in Job Corps in Montana there was a lake that on the map appeared to  be a short walk, but we tried 3 different times to hike there starting early in the morning and never once made it there before catching rides back down the mountain and the maps never take into account bears, cold weather in the dead of summer, how utterly exausted we would get as the air thinned, etc.. 

Accurate World Map. It will also fold into a globe lol.

(11-07-2018, 10:54 PM)jfkbengals Wrote: Yup, I wouldn't mind saying I've been all around the world!

I have been to all 7 continents. 

We also have a geography bee every year right before winter break. Two years ago the kids were so bad at it that we had over an hour to kill before the end of the day with the time we had set aside for the bee. So to fill it, we had some teachers come up and compete using the remaining questions. The questions come from the national geography bee and get harder as you go. I won the teacher geography bee....I teach science and I beat 3 social studies teachers. Have always loved reading maps and globes.

(11-09-2018, 01:45 PM)grampahol Wrote: Maps are very deceiving because they're to scale. You couldn't make a map the actual size of a city much less a country to be of any use whatsoever and maps are almost all in one or two dimensions while the real world is 3 and 4 dimensions. Most maps can't accurately depict hills and valleys, changes in weather conditions and the like, traffic, stop signs, etc. A map of a road that winds up a mountain might look like a hop, skip and a jump. When I was in Job Corps in Montana there was a lake that on the map appeared to  be a short walk, but we tried 3 different times to hike there starting early in the morning and never once made it there before catching rides back down the mountain and the maps never take into account bears, cold weather in the dead of summer, how utterly exausted we would get as the air thinned, etc.. 

My dad was on the troop train heading for San Fran on his way to Korea. They laid over at Flagstaff. Flagstaff is near Humphrey's Peak, a mountain. My dad's buddy said to him, "Hey! Let's head over to the mountain. It's just right over there!". So they set out on foot.

Two hours later, they turned around and headed back.

For the rest of his life, that became one of my dad's favorite joke sayings.... "Hey! It's just right over there!"

(11-10-2018, 01:11 AM)Beaker Wrote: I have been to all 7 continents. 

We also have a geography bee every year right before winter break. Two years ago the kids were so bad at it that we had over an hour to kill before the end of the day with the time we had set aside for the bee. So to fill it, we had some teachers come up and compete using the remaining questions. The questions come from the national geography bee and get harder as you go. I won the teacher geography bee....I teach science and I beat 3 social studies teachers. Have always loved reading maps and globes.

I wonder why the kids get disinterested. Like you, I loved geography.

Sometimes when I'm stuck waiting somewhere and it is boring, I'll try and name off as many country names in my mind as I can. My record is 150. Someday I'll be able to name all 195 just off my head.

(11-10-2018, 01:28 AM)Bengalzona Wrote: I wonder why the kids get disinterested. Like you, I loved geography.

Sometimes when I'm stuck waiting somewhere and it is boring, I'll try and name off as many country names in my mind as I can. My record is 150. Someday I'll be able to name all 195 just off my head.

Maybe we can find a middle ground between disinterested and Rainman.

(11-07-2018, 06:43 PM)Arturo Bandini Wrote: There is 7500km between Berlin and Beijing. 

And yes, I did look at a globe and I still do. I can tell where every country in the world is. 

Me too. It’s on the globe.

(11-10-2018, 09:19 AM)michaelsean Wrote: Maybe we can find a middle ground between disinterested and Rainman.

4,276 matches.... biotch!

I remember the first time I took acid. WTS:

One of the things that amazed me was how small Africa is depicted compared to its actual size:

https://www.citymetric.com/horizons/true-size-map-lets-you-move-countries-around-globe-show-how-big-they-really-are-1380