I was chatting with a Canadian acquaintance the other day, and she was surprised that I could (with a little bit of thought) name all five of the Great Lakes. I’ve always been able to retain useless information, and I suppose I must have read about them somewhere and the information just stuck.
I’m curious how many people outside North America know them, though. Vote away!
European here, although I did spend the first five years of my primary schooling at an American international school. Superior is the only one that I couldn’t remember off the top of my head, and I suspect that had I ruminated for a minute or two more, it’d eventually have surfaced.
I did not know that. But that may explain why I thought there were only four (which is therefore what I voted - Superior, Erie, Ontario, Michigan). I wasn’t sure if Lake Huron was one. I have a family friend who lives in Port Huron, which I know is in Michigan (state), so I think I assumed there wasn’t a Lake Huron as well. However, if someone asked me the question as “name the five Great Lakes”, I probably would have gone with Lake Huron as my fifth answer.
Huron and Michigan are usually listed as separate lakes but are connected by a channel. The mnemonic HOMES is commonly used to remember the lake’s names, Huron - Ontario- Michigan - Erie - Superior.
I didn’t realise the African lakes were also known as the Great Lakes - ignorance fought! I should of course have been more specific and made it clear I was referring to the North American Great Lakes.
To be honest, I’d definitely have struggled beyond Victoria, Tanganyika and Malawi. I’d never heard of Lake Albert, or Lake Kivu.
I had a temporary crossing of brain wires between those in Africa and the ones in North America. I knew which ones you meant, I could remember their shapes, but for the life of me couldn’t recall any name for them other than Ontario.
There’s been other times I remembered all five names, but not today.
Okay, next up: How many Tribes of Israel can you name? (Or, the Children of Israel, which of course means only the male children, which are mostly the same as the Tribes.)
Or, if not that, at least name Santa’s reindeer?
(I’ve memorized the names of all the U. S. presidents, in order.)
Rueben was the eldest of the children of Israel, with Simeon and Levi the next in line. Naphthali and Issachar, with Asher and Dan. Zebulon and Gad brought the total to nine.
