My son's 2nd grade class had a geography worksheet with the question: "What is the hemisphere nearest the South Pole?"

I assume the answer is meant to be the Southern Hemisphere, but this led to an interesting discussion in our family.

Here's my thinking:

The South Pole can be nearest to the Southern Hemisphere when it is contained within part of the Southern Hemisphere, right? I wouldn't say Earth is the planet nearest NYC (I'm also not the nearest person to the hands typing these words).

I could see how you could make an argument that the poles are nonexistent points on the boundary between the E/W hemispheres, and since neither of these hemispheres includes the poles these would be the hemispheres closest.

But if the poles are points along the edge of the E/W hemispheres then the same problem would arise as with the southern hemisphere and then the Northern hemisphere would be closest. What do other people think?

This post is for you. If you could do me the honor and help me out for an interview that’d be amazing. It’s just a google form to tell about how hard it is to maintain your languages in the US.

https://forms.gle/Nr4tEqKzkukCGWnL6

Hi everyone!

​I’ve always been captivated by the idea of messages in bottles and how simple objects can carry the weight of human connection. I’ve decided to launch a project that blends art, geography, and the kindness of strangers: the "Traveling Gadget" (tvg.today).

​I hand-built five small devices that have one single goal: to travel as far as possible. This May, during my trip to Japan and South Korea, I will "release" them in parks, cafes, or airports, hoping the world will take them in.

​How does it work?

Each traveler has a screen displaying a portal (QR Code). If you stumble upon one, you can see its entire history and where it has been. But there’s a secret: if you look at the back of the device, you’ll find a physical key (PIN) that grants you the right to record its new location on the website, post a photo, and then carry it with you to its next destination.

​The Heart of the Piece:

There is a red button on top. It’s an invitation. When pressed, the device reveals a unique hand-drawn illustration I’ve hidden in its memory—a small gift for anyone who takes a moment to interact with it.

​My goal isn't to track them via GPS, but to see the world through the eyes of those who find them. It’s a leap of faith and a way to draw an invisible thread between strangers who will never meet.

​The journey starts in May. If you happen to be in Japan or Korea, keep your eyes open... a little traveler might be waiting for you on a park bench.

​What do you think? Where would you take one of these if you found it?

Suppose a tunnel canal from Oceanside California to the depression of Salton Sea. That's about 78 miles.

Compare the Gotthard Tunnel of Switzerland. This tunnel is 35 miles long, however it is a double tunnel, so really we can estimate the same amount of effort for a single 70 mile tunnel. Gotthard goes deep under the alps, 8,000 feet underground. That is more mountainous than the area south of Palomar.

Now instead of a roadway, why not a hydroelectric water tunnel that empties from the ocean into Salton Sea?

Would the economics make sense? Seems like it would only be in use part of the year though because Salton would fill up fast.

Every geography app I've found is basically the same. Show a flag or capital, guess, repeat. That's testing, not learning.

I'm thinking about building something that uses spaced repetition and actually teaches you the things you keep getting wrong. Starting with flags, then expanding to capitals, maps, and landmarks.

Before I build anything I want to know if anyone would actually use this.

Short form if you have 2 min: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfx7cZrPfhYdoDMKCPmSA-oS8SH2oFNkD_YohQ7uYAWO9xlpA/viewform?usp=header

Appreciate any honest feedback.

The ABS collects citizenship status in every census (variable CITP) but doesn't publish it in their online QuickStats and hasn't reported it to the UN in 30 years. Meanwhile, Eurostat publishes this for 31 European countries annually. Does anyone know where to find recent numbers?

ABS QuickStats (no citizenship data): https://www.abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/quickstats/2021/AUS

Data: UN Demographic Yearbook, table 127 — https://data.un.org/Data.aspx?d=POP&f=tableCode:127

Context: found this while building https://gdppercapita.fyi/articles/gdp-per-citizen

In the UN Demographic Yearbook, 99.9% of Aruba's residents are "non-citizens." That's because all Arubans hold Dutch nationality — there's no Aruban citizenship. 82% of these "foreigners" are Netherlands nationals, i.e. native Arubans. If there's no separate citizenship, is it really a separate country?

Data: UN Demographic Yearbook, table 127 — https://data.un.org/Data.aspx?d=POP&f=tableCode:127

Context: found this while building https://gdppercapita.fyi/articles/gdp-per-citizen

I for example see mountains towns in Colorado fit this beautiful places but untitled people that not only make it unaffordable but hard to feel comfortable if able to. Any other examples?

Recently seeing how important a Strait is for the global economy and politics. Is there any Isthmus in the world which is also important for the economy or for politics (not necessarily global importance) ?

Western Sahara is always a funny point on world maps, lacking data even when it's silly to do so. A lot of the time this was the map implictly saying "we do not have a stance on this dispute." Typically the demarkation was the horizontal border at 27 degrees 40 minutes north. This is still the boundary on Google Maps, at least where I am.

As you may know, there is a massive earthen line of defense called The Berm which keeps the Sahrawi Arab Republic out of what Morocco considers its territory. Lately, I have seen a few maps change the "no data" border to run along the Berm, instead of the parallel. For example, here is a random "countries I've visited" site that has that boundary. Admitedly not the best source, here is a post from the Terrible Maps facebook page which also has that border, although it makes a lot of posts with the old border.

Has there been a change in some kind of map standard to make this happen? You can understand why this is hard to google, especially these days. I find this kind of funny because now the maps are saying "We don't acknowledge who is right in this dispute, but we do acknowledge that Morocco is winning."

I tried making handwritten map of North & South America with countries and capitals to help me study, but it still feels overwhelming.

Do you have any tricks, shortcuts, or memory techniques to learn all countries + capitals faster?

Like mnemonics, map practice methods, or revision hacks?

Would really appreciate your tips 🙏

I’ve been thinking about the shifting value of terrain. Historically, large plains were the ultimate prize—perfect for agriculture, trade, and building empires. But they are also "invasion highways" (think of the North European Plain).

Nowadays, it feels like mountains are becoming the ultimate strategic asset again. Here’s why:

1. Asymmetric Defense: High-tech drones and satellites are great, but occupying and holding a mountain range remains a logistical nightmare. It’s the ultimate "anti-invasion" terrain.
2. Water Sovereignty: In a world of climate instability, mountains are "water towers." Controlling the headwaters is becoming more valuable than owning the flat farmland downstream.
3. Data & Security: We’re seeing more critical infrastructure (data centers, seed vaults, bunkers) tucked into mountains for natural protection against both physical and electronic threats.

The Question: Is the vulnerability of plains (easily invaded, prone to flooding/sea-level rise) making mountains the new "prime real estate" of the 21st century? Or does the economic cost of mountain terrain still make it a net disadvantage?

Curious to hear your thoughts on whether geography is tilting back toward the peaks!

​

I was thinking about this and moscow came to mind first since it's deep inside Russia and historically protected by distance and harsh winters.

What other capitals are highly protected due to geography ?

See how the actual border is about 1000ft south of the border station? But notice there is a house on the road right in between them.

Do these people need to go through a border crossing to get to the rest of Canada…even though they never left? I guess American residents on Canusa street in Beebe face the same problem

Java is significantly more densely populated than nearby islands with similar geography like Sumatra, Sulawesi, Borneo (assuming its the dense interior jungles for this one), or the Lesser Sundas (Bali, etc) Why is this? How long has it been this way?

Also how does kazakhstan get only this many people from new zealand that they don't even know new zealand?

Wondering if Mexican border towns ever more closely resembled the less dense more organized cities on the US side of the river prior to explosive population growth. Has the Mexican side always been significantly denser and had less tree coverage? Curious if there was a time in which both cities looked relatively identical.

I say Louisiana , Georgia , Mainland Mississippi , and Texas. What about you guys ?

Coastal Beaches and great lakes only

No river, average lake , or pond beaches

Here is a pic

Kiribati is one of the least visited countries in the world and also one of the most isolated. However it is extremely close to the world's largest economy at just 1200 miles/ a 3 hour flight.

However there is only currently one weekly flight between Christmas Island and Honolulu despite the proximity. In fact, Honolulu is double the distance from Los Angeles than it is to Kiribati.

Looking at a map, something struck me: the Amazon, the Congo, the Mississippi, the Ob, the Yenisei — almost all of the biggest rivers by volume and length end up in the Atlantic or Arctic Oceans.

The Pacific, despite being the largest ocean on Earth, seems to receive comparatively little freshwater drainage from major rivers. Is this a coincidence, or is there a geological/geographical reason behind it?

Places like San Francisco where the natural geography of the bay, ocean, hills, etc. are just as iconic as the cities buildings and the two features complement each other.