Contest #14 Answer

I’m surprised that anyone got this correct, but I shouldn’t have underestimated the people on this site. The location is in the panhandle of Texas, in particular, in the middle of Collingsworth County. I figured this would be more difficult because there are so many circle, irrigation fields in the world. I kept the river in the upper right part of the photo to give a clue.

The regulars got it correct:

  • Ben
  • Andy
  • Roland
  • Stefan

I’d put up a sexy photo of North Texas, but such a photo doesn’t exist.

Contest #13 Answer

I was surprised at how easy this one was. i thought it would be bit more difficult because the two iconic things in the skyline were hard to see. The answer is Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In the photo you can see the two famous beaches of Ipanema (made famous by the song “The Girl From Ipanema”) and Copacabana (kinda of sort of made popular by Barry Manalow). The two prominent skyline features are Sugar Loaf and the statue of Christ the Redeemer. Christ the Redeemer was chosen by the New Seven Wonders group as one of the New Seven Wonders of the world, and probably the least deserving in my mind. I think you at least have to be around for a century before you can get that sort of status.

Getting this one correct were:

  • Nate Dintenfass
  • Ben Bayer
  • Stephen Hope
  • Karel
  • Enrique
  • Roland
  • Andy McAllister
  • Brian T

Sugar Loaf (by Spamboy)
Image by http://flickr.com/photos/spamboy/

Cristo Redentor
Image by http://flickr.com/photos/marceloandrade1980/

Contest #13

Picture 2.png (by Everything Everywhere)

Name at least one of the noteworthy things in the photo, not just where the noteworthy things are located.

Contest #12 Answer

The answer for contest #12 is Lord Howe Island. It is a the property of Australia and located in the Pacific, 490 miles NE of Sydney. It is home to the world’s southern most tropical coral reef system and is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Winners of contest #12 were:

  • Ben Bayer
  • Stephen Hope
  • Roland

Lord Howe Island
Image from LordHoweIsland.info

Lagoon1 (by Eoin Murphy)
Image by Eoin Murphy

Contest #12

Picture 2.png (by Everything Everywhere)

Note: The compass is in the upper left because of the length of the photo. I oriented Google Earth so East was up, then rotated the screen shot 90 degrees in photo shop so north would again appear up.

Contest #11 Answer

The answer to contest #11 is the Dead Sea. In particular, just south of the Dead Sea proper between Israel and Jordan. The objects with regular shapes are salt evaporation ponds. The Dead Sea is now so salty, than the salts which precipitate contain heavy metals now, which are usually so dilute in regular sea water it is almost impossible to harvest.

Winners of Contest #11 are:

  • Ben Bayer
  • Stepher Hope
  • Andy McAllister
  • Spathiinc
  • Roland

Note: be as specific as possible when giving an answer. Because an answer might be technically true (Earth or Asia), doesn’t mean it will be counted as correct if other places could also fit under your answer.

Dead Sea, salty shore (by CharlesFred)
image by http://www.flickr.com/photos/charlesfred/

Salt off the coast of the dead sea (by Michele & Meyer Potashman)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/potashman/

Geographic Ignorance? Not here!

This is from the February 14, New York Times:

A popular video on YouTube shows Kellie Pickler, the adorable platinum blonde from “American Idol,” appearing on the Fox game show “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” during celebrity week. Selected from a third-grade geography curriculum, the $25,000 question asked: “Budapest is the capital of what European country?”

Ms. Pickler threw up both hands and looked at the large blackboard perplexed. “I thought Europe was a country,” she said. Playing it safe, she chose to copy the answer offered by one of the genuine fifth graders: Hungary. “Hungry?” she said, eyes widening in disbelief. “That’s a country? I’ve heard of Turkey. But Hungry? I’ve never heard of it.”

….

Not only are citizens ignorant about essential scientific, civic and cultural knowledge, she said, but they also don’t think it matters.

She pointed to a 2006 National Geographic poll that found nearly half of 18- to 24-year-olds don’t think it is necessary or important to know where countries in the news are located. So more than three years into the Iraq war, only 23 percent of those with some college could locate Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Israel on a map.

If Ms. Pickler would like to play the game, I would be glad to put up a photo of her house for a contest. Unfortunately, I still the the regulars would get it right and she would get it wrong.

Contest #11

New rules apply! All comments will be moderated for the duration of the contest and made public at its completion. All correct answers will be given credit starting with contest #11. Make sure to be as specific as possible when making your guess.

A running tally of those who guess correctly will now be kept.

Let the games begin!

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