An Aussie’s attempt to label the state of the U.S. Don’t laugh — how well can you do labeling a map of Australia? From Texas Hill Country’s Facebook feed, and unknown origin past that.
Found this at the Facebook site of Texas Hill Country. A little rough for high school geography, especially if it’s ninth grade geography (surely you can moderate this a bit, teachers), but a good idea for a quiz?
How well can your students do labeling the U.S.? Will they find this person’s obvious anguish and creative non-answers amusing? Can they do better?
Now turn the tables: How well can your students in the U.S. do labeling a map of Australia? Canada? Mexico?
Ask your students: Is it important to know such stuff? Why?
And you, Dear Reader: What do you think?
Here you go, a map of Australia to practice with:
Unlabeled map of Australia to label! Royalty free produce of Bruce Jones Design, Inc., copyright 2010
Millard Fillmore's Bathtub 
I aced Australia but Canada’s Maritime provinces caught me – I knew there names but not which went where. Mexico, I wouldn’t even try. And I believe Ihave been in 18 states.
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Joshua, years ago I worked with a professional Scout from National staff, who had gone to Princeton. Over dinner our conversation turned to Richard Feynman, and where the title of Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman came from (shocked reaction of a wife of a Princeton dean when Feynman said he’d take both milk and lemon in his tea).
My colleague laughed, and said he knew it to be true. He said he came from Iowa and was at Princeton, like Feynman, a bit of a fish out of water. Invited to a schoolmate’s estate for a weekend, at tea with faculty members and others on the lawn, he was asked where he was from.
“Iowa,” he answer promptly and proudly.
You know those officious, rich ladies. One of them laughed wanly, he said, and told him: “No, dear. Here we pronounce it ‘Ohio.'”
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An American recently asked me what part of Canada I was from. I told them Alberta. They asked where that was and I said near the Rockies, directly north of Montana. Their reply was “Oh, so right by Niagara falls!”
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I could ace Canada. Not Mexico, though. And I probably don’t know any of the “states” or their equivalents in any other countries. I do know my countries, capitals and flags though.
I can relate to Jude’s comment. I memorized most of them between 1970-1991 or so. Newer nations are my weakness. Well, that and age. Eritrea? East Timor? Montenegro? I can find them on a map. But I can’t tell you their capitals or describe their flag to you.
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Okay, who is going to tackle Mexico and Canada?
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I might be able to come close to New South Wales — at least get it in the proper half of the Australian continent, on the north/south line.
I got most of the states while moving and getting from one job to another, not with the substantial stays I’d like to have. I’ve never spent a night in South Dakota, and never been to Rushmore (though I did visit the Wall Drug, in Wall — after it closed); spent only one night in Las Vegas, on the way to Los Angeles; have only driven through New Hampshire (and who has ever stayed a night in Rhode Island?), nor ever spent a night in North Carolina.
I like the stories of those odd Good Sam Club members who try to visit every county, borough and parish in the U.S., and I once found a story on a guy trying to do something I think tougher, visit every unit of the National Parks System (about 340 of ’em now).
Toughest thing to do, I’ve concluded, is find a good cup of coffee and a decent breakfast in every state. Who could I get to advance my book on that?
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lagniappe: I just looked at the map and smacked myself. Crikey, how could I forget Northern Territories and Queensland… And I would have blown the ten largest because Darwin, Hobart and Cairns are not in the top ten. Moreover, did you know there is an Australian Capital Territory much like our Washington D.C. or Mexico City?
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Truly embarrassing that I cannot name all the states of Australia. I could probably get the names of the cities (if you placed marks on the 10 largest) but other than Western Australia, New South Wales, Victoria, and Tasmania, I’m drawing a blank.
As for Africa, My anthro class many years ago had a blank map where we had to get 49 out of 50 countries correct. Whether I could still do that…
If airports count for every state, my lone miss is Alaska. Otherwise, I landed in every state at least once while in the USAF or civilian sector.
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I’ve visited only half of the 50 states. I also did a pathetic job on Australia. Oh, well; there’s always more to learn.
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I’ve never been to Alaska, Hawaii, North Dakota, or Maine. Trying to figure out how to get there, now.
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I’m currently working on Africa–that’s my biggest problem–so many more countries than there were in, say 1960, when I started learning about it. I can do this with Mexico, since I’ve lived there. I listed all 50 states a couple of days ago in an effort to figure out which ones I have yet to visit. That’s a useful mental exercise, but nothing like what Al Franken can do–but he’s obviously practiced.
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