Geography
Earthquake in Japan fact
You don’t need Dinner Topics to follow all that’s happening regarding the earthquake in Japan, but here’s at least one piece of information to take with you to put the size of the earthquake in perspective: “The quake was 900 times stronger than the quake that hammered San Francisco in 1989.”1 In the meantime, if [...]
Where is Bahrain?
After all of the protesting in Egypt the past month and the successful end of Mubarak’s reign (from the protesters’ standpoint), pro-democracy protests have begun sprouting up everywhere, sometimes with violent results. The protests in the news now are taking place in Bahrain, a country not well known by many in the United States. Bahrain [...]
Indonesian, Mount Merapi Geography
The on and off again eruptions from a volcano on Mount Merapi have already killed over 100 people1 in a village in Indonesia. It is a current event likely to be discussed in the coming days, so if you’re not familiar with Indonesia, here are a few pointers: Indonesia is located in southeast Asia and [...]
Where is Bermuda?
The damage was small, but Hurricane Igor passed through Bermuda over the weekend. If you’re not familiar with Bermuda’s location, it’s a series of islands east (wayyyyy east) of South Carolina in the Atlantic Ocean. CIA.gov compares Bermuda’s size to about 1/3 of Washington, D.C., and the population sits at less than 70,000, so don’t [...]
Why do they name hurricanes?
Besides the story about the man who showed up at Discovery Channel headquarters with a gun and explosives yesterday, the other newsworthy event is Hurricane Earl ripping through the entire East Coast. North Carolina is feeling the brunt of it right now (along with Virginia and Maryland), and Earl may head north toward Long Island [...]
And you thought post-game traffic was brutal
After you return home from your mildly inconveniencing traffic jam tonight, here’s a Dinner Topic you can share with the family and make yourself feel good about being home: a 10-day traffic jam in China is finally easing up. Yes, you read that right: a traffic jam that lasted for 10 days! Some truck drivers [...]
Geography and notes on Dillingham, Alaska
A small plane holding nine people crashed near Dillingham, Alaska yesterday evening. Details are still sketchy, but several reports are claiming at least five of the passengers died, including former U.S. Senator Ted Stevens. Follow the links below for the latest information, but in the meantime, you can expand your geographic knowledge and find out [...]
Aurora Borealis tidbits
The aurora borealis (also called the Northern Lights) will be visible to many people tonight. The super short definition of the effect is: “… a barrage of solar radiation hitting and then bouncing around Earth’s magnetic field.”1 If you are looking for a lot more detail, check out the links below, but so as not [...]
