I’ll do my best if you do yours!
My qualifications:
I have enjoyed reading gazetteers.
I have enjoyed reading maps.
I have enjoyed reading atlases.
I subscribed to National Geographic.
I took Geography in high school.
One of my friends doesn’t believe that people knew the world was round before Galileo. I say ya twit, Erastothenes the ancient Greek guy designed an experiment based around the already common knowledge that the earth was round. He still doesn’t believe me. Can you set him straight, with a citation if possible?
BTW: I challenge you to a gloves-off round of Capitals of Countries.
The rules:
All currently existing independent countries are permitted. No other geographical units (dependencies, provinces, states, territories, etc.)
Only the English form of the country is permitted. Either the English or the local form of the capital name is permitted.
No reference works allowed. All answers must be off the top of our heads.
Name me a time and meet me in IRC Undernet #straightdope.
En garde!
Before I provide you with a cite for Erastothenes’ experiment regarding the circumference of the earth, let me respond to your challenge.
I don’t know about IRC Undernet but I can certainly participate here.
What do you say?
Challenge No. 1:
Burkina Faso
Erastothenes conducted an experiment surrounding two wells in two cities and the shadows created by the sun in those two cities. By establishing that the time at which the sun was shining straight down in both wells was different and by knowing the distance between the two cities, Erastothenes was able to compute the circumference of the earth.
matt, if you want an outside source, I believe Carl Sagan made reference to this experiment in the book Cosmos
Iguazu Falls in South America are 5 times wider than Niagara Falls and over twice as high. Why aren’t they better known? Is it strictly a case of location?
Eratosthenes of Cyrene from the Encyclopædia Britannica.
You can find a description of his experiment in conjunction with a school science project, here:
Eratosthenes Experiment: A Worldwide Science and Math Experiment March 20, 2000
Did the (New York) Erie Canal or the New York Central Railroad run nearby as millions of immigrants migrated westward across Brazil?
I think that accessability to the waterfalls was definitely a factor in their recognizability.
By the way, the capital of Burkina Faso is Ouagadougou.
Cume, ol’ boy:
This should be a snap, and I’d even do it myself except you seem so eager to please. So…
I live in NYC. If I started digging straight down. Digging. And digging. And digging some more… through the molten core and “up” through the other side, where would I surface?
Don’t bother to factor in spherical deformaties and other complicating details… all I really need is the spot that is the “mirror image” longitude and latitude to NYC. Thanks.
(Why do I want to know? That’s where I’d send people when I wanted them to be as far away from me as possible!)
Cumulus: I know what the capital of Burkina Faso is. What is the capital of Nauru?
Okay . . .
If you dug straight down from New York City to the other side of the earth, you would find yourself at the bottom of the South Indian Ocean.
matt_mcl, that’s a trick question. You and I both know that Nauru has no capital city, per se.
My turn now (with no tricks):
Mauritius.
What’s the nearest landfall? And how far away from my break-through point would I need to swim to get there? Tiny, obscure islands are very acceptable.
You’re probably approximately 2,000 miles away from St. Paul Island. Antarctica may be closer for you.
Matt,
While the cited experiment gave a number, they realized the world was round when men set out to sea. It was the only rationale why the first part seen of an approaching ship was the top of the mast.I’ve heard Yaren district cited as the capital of Nauru, which is the answer I was looking for, but whatever. The capital of Mauritius is Port Louis. What is the capital of Slovenia?
The capital of Slovenia is . . .
Ljubljana.
Next question: Bolivia.
Isn’t Bolivia’s capital La Paz?