the annual geography quiz

[gh]

the San Francisco Chronicle prints one every year, and you may recall that I throw the questions onto here, just for giggles.

Rules are simple: answer must come from your head, not from looking it up. And as soon as somebody gets the right answer, I post the next question. There are 50 of them.

Some are very easy (I'm talking about you, No. 1), but I'll put them up anyway.

As the paper says in its intro, "There are no prizes for acing the test—just the quiet satisfaction of knowing your grasp of geography is far better than that of those geniuses at Apple":

1. One of the world's major rivers was named for a group of women who were said to have undergone voluntary mastectomies. Which river?

[mcgato]

Amazon?

Woo hoo, I enjoy this every year. I also spend way too much time on the thread.

[gh]

Answer as printed by the fishwrap; gh not responsible for content!

<<1. The Amazon was named for the female warriors of Greek mythology who supposedly had their right breasts removed to improve their archery or their javelin throwing, depending on the story. Historians note that the mastectomies were not part of the original legend and don't make much sense anatomically or athletically, either.>>

This one will be right up McGato's alley...

2. In 1974 a nickel would buy you a ride on the Staten Island Ferry. What does it cost now?

[jeremyp]

Too easy. Next? I meant #1.

[ed gee]

Your time and patience.

Answer as printed by the fishwrap; gh not responsible for content!


2. In 1974 a nickel would buy you a ride on the Staten Island Ferry. What does it cost now?

[Master Po]

2. In 1974 a nickel would buy you a ride on the Staten Island Ferry. What does it cost now?

I have no idea, and so this is truly a guess, but that's in the spirit of this quiz (which by the way, I really enjoy -- thanks gh!). So...

...a nickel?

[gh]

that would be incorrect

[Marlow]

The quiz was linked to my e-mail homepage, so I took it and only got HALF right!
On the other hand, their answer to #23 is wrong and I knew the right answer, so I got that going for me!

[Tuariki]

Does anyone still travel to Staten Island?

[gh]

The quiz was linked to my e-mail homepage, so I took it and only got HALF right!
On the other hand, their answer to #23 is wrong and I knew the right answer, so I got that going for me!

Can we ever have a quiz without your injecting a spoiler into it?

[AS]

The ferry is free...

[gh]

<<2. It's free.>>


3. True or false: Brazil is the only country in the world named after a nut.

[AS]

<<2. It's free.>>


3. True or false: Brazil is the only country in the world named after a nut.

I'm gonna go with "false" on the basis that I doubt Brazil is named after the nut...

[bambam]

<<2. It's free.>>


3. True or false: Brazil is the only country in the world named after a nut.

False - Macadamia - sounds like a country - must exist somewhere

[Marlow]

The quiz was linked to my e-mail homepage, so I took it and only got HALF right!
On the other hand, their answer to #23 is wrong and I knew the right answer, so I got that going for me!

Can we ever have a quiz without your injecting a spoiler into it?

How is that a spoiler??!! I have revealed nothing about any answer. If anything it builds suspense for #23!

[gh]

go ahead, make my Xmas, build more suspense.

[AS]

gh, having provided my answer to the Brazil question I then went and 'researched' it, and it appears Brazil was named for the tree "brazilwood', not the nut (which is not a product of said tree)... so let's move on to #4

[gh]

<<3. False. Brazil was named not for the Brazil nut, but for the brazilwood tree (which is not where Brazil nuts come from). And no other nations are named for a nut, either.>>

sounds like bambam was completely nuts with his Macadamia response.

[gh]

4. What U.S. city's subway system uses the CharlieCard, and why is it called that?

[Conor Dary]

New York?

[gh]

Not correct (how many U.S. cities actually have "subways"?) (a sidebar Q for which I have no idea)

[dj]

4. What U.S. city's subway system uses the CharlieCard, and why is it called that?

Boston, because you can use it forever to ride 'neath the streets of Boston; Charlie's the man who never returned.

[AS]

4. What U.S. city's subway system uses the CharlieCard, and why is it called that?

Chicago? And Charlie is presumably some personification of the rail network's abbreviation: Chicago Rail = CHI-RL...

[dukehjsteve]

4. What U.S. city's subway system uses the CharlieCard, and why is it called that?

Boston, because you can use it forever to ride 'neath the streets of Boston; Charlie's the man who never returned.

I think dj's got it ! Thank you, Kingston Trio !

[aaronk]

Atlanta (MARTA) and the Bay Area (BART) have subways.
Isn't Chicago's all above ground...the EL LOOP??

[Tuariki]

What US city is full of Charlies?

[gh]

<<4. Boston uses the CharlieCard in honor of a fictional passenger in a song made famous by the Kingston Trio. Charlie was riding the subway when the fare went up, and, without an extra nickel to pay the newly imposed "exit fee," was forced to "ride forever 'neath the streets of Boston." In the song, Charlie's wife goes down to the Scollay Square station each day and hands him a sandwich through an open window. Why she doesn't just hand him a nickel is a question best left to a marriage counselor.>>

[gh]

5. The French call this La Manche, but the English-speaking world knows it as something else. What?

[wineturtle]

Gertrude Ederly got famous for swimming in The English Channel

[gh]

<<5. The English Channel.>>

[gh]

6. In what country would you find the Great Slave Lake?

[lonewolf]

Canada.

[tandfman]

Atlanta (MARTA) and the Bay Area (BART) have subways.

So do Philadelphia and Washington, in addition to others previously mentioned.

[bambam]

<<3. False. Brazil was named not for the Brazil nut, but for the brazilwood tree (which is not where Brazil nuts come from). And no other nations are named for a nut, either.>>

sounds like bambam was completely nuts with his Macadamia response.

C'mon, Macadamia is a great name for a country. I think we should invent an Olympic track & field team from Macadamia.

[DrJay]

C'mon, Macadamia is a great name for a country. I think we should invent an Olympic track & field team from Macadamia.

I bet you already have it invented....history, bios, stats, medalists. You should sneek one of their athletes into one of your websites and see how long it takes someone to catch it.