Geography
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 [...]
World’s Tallest Tent – Camping for Giants
Many people know Kazakhstan only from Soviet era news and the movie Borat. It’s just one of those “cold -stan” countries out in Central Asia, right? Well after reading this article, you will know Kazakhstan for something else from now on: it houses the world’s tallest tent. Technically, the tent, formally called the Khan Shatyry Entertainment Center, [...]
Netherlands beats Uruguay 3-2, and now for a geography lesson
The World Cup is in its final week and the Netherlands advanced to the World Cup final, defeating Uruguay 3-2 today. The Netherlands will meet the winner of Germany and Spain, but before you sound your vuvuzela off about your World Cup knowledge, you might want to learn where the countries are located. The Netherlands is [...]
The Failed States Index 2010: Worst Travel Destinations this Summer
When Dinner Topics was created, we promised to keep you up to date on whatever is in the news from pop stars to politics, and this week we are really showing our range with topics from BP to Apple to Australia to Hollywood marriages. Now we move on to the Failed States Index to make [...]
Rare Earth Elements – your iPhone depends on it!
So you’ve seen it in the headlines — the U.S. has uncovered an estimated $1 trillion worth of minerals in Afghanistan. Besides iron and copper (largest mineral deposits discovered), there are deposits of niobium, a soft metal used in producing superconducting steel, lithium, gold, copper, and rare earth elements (REEs).1 If your chemistry is as [...]
