# Non North American people - how many Great Lakes can you name? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 23, 2016, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-north-american-people-how-many-great-lakes-can-you-name/758129 "2016-06-23T10:00:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dervorin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Dervorin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dervorin)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2016, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-north-american-people-how-many-great-lakes-can-you-name/758129/1 "2016-06-23T10:00:38Z")
No Google, naturally. Poll coming in a moment. 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! In case your memory needed jogging, they are: Superior Michigan Ontario Huron Erie ---
**Author:** ![Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/les_espaces_du_sommeil/32/308_2.png) [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2016, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-north-american-people-how-many-great-lakes-can-you-name/758129/2 "2016-06-23T10:09:07Z")
**Superior Huron Erie** Erie was easy because I went boating on it a couple of times. Superior was also easy because it’s the only one that has an adjective as the name. However, I have not idea how I remembered Lake Huron and not Lake Ontario since I lived in Ontario for a short while. Lake Michigan was an “of course” moment once I saw the answer but I don’t think I’d have come up with it in a reasonable time. ---
**Author:** ![Dervorin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Dervorin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dervorin)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2016, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-north-american-people-how-many-great-lakes-can-you-name/758129/3 "2016-06-23T10:14:08Z")
> [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](#): > > **Superior > Huron > Erie** > > Erie was easy because I went boating on it a couple of times. Superior was also easy because it’s the only one that has an adjective as the name. > > However, I have not idea how I remembered Lake Huron and not Lake Ontario since I lived in Ontario for a short while. > > Lake Michigan was an “of course” moment once I saw the answer but I don’t think I’d have come up with it in a reasonable time. Huron was the one that gave me a some trouble. I think I eventually remembered it because to me, it sounds like the name of an Ent. ---
**Author:** ![Sampsiceramos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Sampsiceramos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampsiceramos)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2016, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-north-american-people-how-many-great-lakes-can-you-name/758129/4 "2016-06-23T10:41:10Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2016, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-north-american-people-how-many-great-lakes-can-you-name/758129/5 "2016-06-23T11:17:37Z")
And how many people know that Michigan and Huron are actually the same lake. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2016, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-north-american-people-how-many-great-lakes-can-you-name/758129/6 "2016-06-23T11:43:46Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > And how many people know that > > Michigan and Huron are actually the same lake. 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. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2016, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-north-american-people-how-many-great-lakes-can-you-name/758129/7 "2016-06-23T12:00:07Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2016, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-north-american-people-how-many-great-lakes-can-you-name/758129/8 "2016-06-23T12:09:40Z")
Victoria, Tanganyika, Malawi, so three off the top of my head… ---
**Author:** ![Dervorin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Dervorin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dervorin)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2016, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-north-american-people-how-many-great-lakes-can-you-name/758129/9 "2016-06-23T12:40:38Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > Victoria, Tanganyika, Malawi, so three off the top of my head… 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. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2016, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-north-american-people-how-many-great-lakes-can-you-name/758129/10 "2016-06-23T12:59:15Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > The mnemonic HOMES is commonly used to remember the lake’s names, Huron - Ontario- Michigan - Erie - Superior. More fun to picture the marvelous Fountain of the Great Lakes, sculpted 100 years ago by Lorado Taft, the Michelangelo of the Midwest. > **[Fountain of the Great Lakes](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fountain_of_the_Great_Lakes#/media/File%3AFountain_Of_The_Great_Lakes.jpg)** > > Fountain of the Great Lakes, or Spirit of the Great Lakes Fountain, is an allegorical sculpture and fountain by Lorado Taft. The bronze artwork, created between 1907 and 1913, depicts five women arranged so that the fountains waterfall recalls the waterflow through the five Great Lakes of North America. In the Great Lakes, the waterflow begins in Lake Superior at 600 feet (180 m) above sea level and continues eastward through each lake until it reaches Lake Ontario. The Fountain is one The fo... ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2016, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-north-american-people-how-many-great-lakes-can-you-name/758129/11 "2016-06-23T13:16:58Z")
So hydrologically, the mnemonic is HOES. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2016, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-north-american-people-how-many-great-lakes-can-you-name/758129/12 "2016-06-23T13:18:17Z")
> [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](#): > > Superior was also easy because it’s the only one that has an adjective as the name. Superior? Oh you mean [Gitchi Gumee](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6DUFPNILvM&t=17), by far the largest(\*) freshwater lake in the world. - - largest by _area_. Lakes Baikal and Tanganyika are both much larger than Gitchi Gumee, by _volume_. ---
**Author:** ![Dervorin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Dervorin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dervorin)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2016, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-north-american-people-how-many-great-lakes-can-you-name/758129/13 "2016-06-23T13:27:18Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > So hydrologically, the mnemonic is HOES. Wouldn’t it be MOES? Michigan-Huron, Ontario, Erie, Superior. OMES? SOME? MOSE? EMOS? ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2016, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-north-american-people-how-many-great-lakes-can-you-name/758129/14 "2016-06-23T13:50:13Z")
I know them all. Geography geek. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2016, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-north-american-people-how-many-great-lakes-can-you-name/758129/15 "2016-06-23T14:57:28Z")
I could name two : Huron and Erie. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2016, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-north-american-people-how-many-great-lakes-can-you-name/758129/16 "2016-06-23T14:59:26Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2016, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-north-american-people-how-many-great-lakes-can-you-name/758129/17 "2016-06-23T15:09:50Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > 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. Don’t worry, it’s not like you’ll find an overwhelming number of Americans who can name them all either. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2016, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-north-american-people-how-many-great-lakes-can-you-name/758129/18 "2016-06-23T18:26:12Z")
> [@Dervorin](#): > > 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. 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.) How many Dopers have memorized [_Jabberwocky_](http://www.jabberwocky.com/carroll/jabber/jabberwocky.html) ? ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2016, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-north-american-people-how-many-great-lakes-can-you-name/758129/19 "2016-06-23T18:36:39Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > 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.) Well, let’s see… 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. Jacob, Jacob and sons. Benjamin and Judah, which leaves only one: Joseph, Jacob’s favorite son. I credit Tim Rice for this knowledge. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2016, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-north-american-people-how-many-great-lakes-can-you-name/758129/20 "2016-06-23T21:32:15Z")
99% of North Americans cannot name the five largest lakes of North America. The top eight are: Superior Huron Michigan Great Bear Great Slave Erie Winnipeg Ontario The Great Lakes are numbers 1, 2, 3, 6, and 8. There are probably more non-Americans who know that, than Americans. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-north-american-people-how-many-great-lakes-can-you-name/758129.md?page=2)