Round 2

[fings]

Round 2, Geography.

Name a country in Africa that isn't South Africa:
14: Egypt
6: Zimbabwe
4 each: Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya
3: Zaire
1 each: Congo, Djibouti, Ivory Coast, Lesotho, Madagascar, Morocco, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Sudan, Tanzania

I figured with name changes, there'd be at least one "old" answer, and there was. Zaire is now known as Democratic Republic of the Congo/République démocratique du Congo -- not to be confused with the "Republic of the Congo", a neighboring country. (I'm not sure which of the two the "Congo" answer above refers to.) Anyway, Zaire was the name from 1971 – 1997, so time to update those maps, folks!

Name a US Territory that isn't Puerto Rico:
26: Guam
15: US Virgin Islands
2: Philippines
1 each: "umm...Bahamas?"/"Wait, there are others?"

Guam, 'Where America's Day Begins', is the big winner here, with the US Virgin Islands not too far behind. Bonus kudo to mizerychick for listing the main US Virgin Islands (St. Croix, St. John, & St. Thomas).

For those of you who answered the Philippines, you may want to update your history books (and your dictionary, as both of you misspelled it as "Phillipines"). While the US took the Philippines from Spain as a result of the Spanish American war, and then fought Philippine-American war to control the islands, we gave them independence in 1946.

The Bahamas have never been a US Territory.

Name a city in France that isn't Paris:
10: Nice
8: Marseille
8: Lyon
3: Versailles
3: Cannes
2: Cherbourg
1 each: Avignon, Bordeaux, Calais, Carcassonne, Chartes, Deauxville, Dijon, Giverny, Le Mans, Orleans, Provence, Reims, "can't think of one!"

Nice beats out both the 2nd and 3rd largest cities of France with 10 answers. And I bet "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg" account for its showing in the poll.

Name a large island that isn't Australia:
18: Greenland
8: New Zealand
4: Antarctica
5: Japan/Honshu
2 each: Britain/England, Hawaii, Madagascar
1 each: Cuba, Iceland, Long Island, Oahu, "Vanuatu -- wait, island nation. Uh, Espiritu Santu."

Kudo to buzz for knowing the mainland island of Japan is Honshu. No kudos for those who answered "New Zealand" -- New Zealand is made up of two large islands (and several small ones), called rather unimaginatively "North Island" and "South Island". Still, Greenland runs away with this one, while Iceland, home to Bjork, gets only a single vote.

Edit: And as alladinsane points out, Antarctica isn't an island. Much like Australia, it's a continent, and it is larger than either Australia or Europe.

Name a city in Japan that isn't Tokyo:
13: Hiroshima
13: Osaka
9: Kyoto
5: Nagasaki
1 each: Naha, Okanowa, Yokahama, Yokosuka, "..."

Osaka (dubbed "second city" in Japan) and Hiroshima (where The Bomb was first dropped) tie for first, with the treaty-naming Kyoto taking 3rd. The only other city to get more than one vote is the city the US dropped a nuke on but wasn't Hiroshima, Nagasaki.

And that's it for round 2. And I need to eat lunch.

Comments

Point of Order...

[alladinsane.livejournal.com]

Would Antarctica really count as an island?

Re: Point of Order...

[fings.livejournal.com]

Good point. As you correctly point out, Antarctica is not an island; it is larger than Australia, even.

However, for purposes of the game, it doesn't matter so much, as the people who voted that way still get 4 points. They all were wrong the same way, hence the points for group think.

[buzz.livejournal.com]

I'm surprised you took Japan, since it like New Zealand is a collection of islands.

And I am not familiar with "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg", I answered since I think of when I read about D-Day. :P

[eafm.livejournal.com]

This was fun, and I'm enjoying seeing the range of responses. My first-instinct answer for the US Territory question was "Louisiana". But I figured even if that was a technically acceptable answer (I don't think you specified a *current* territory, did you?), it wasn't likely to do particularly well, point-wise. Taking the quiz was a fascinating experiment -- watching the internal tug-of-war between wanting a good score vs. how much I dislike the idea of saying the same thing as everybody else.

Name a big island...

[wishiwasnt.livejournal.com]

Maybe people thought the island question was supposed to be wrong, since you told us to name an island that's not australia (australia itself, of course, not being an island).

After all, New Zealand is not an island, Japan is not an island, Hawaii is not an island and Britain is not an island.

After the bus

[jfitz.livejournal.com]

Anyone who has watched "Hawaii Five-O" knows that "big island" refers to the largest of the Hawaiian islands, named "Hawai'i". Of course, many survey-takers may not remember such an old TV show.