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And I thought it is enough to have a crazy hairstyle that looks like a toupee
modified 27-Mar-21 21:01pm.
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The United States of America is referred to as America for the same reason United Mexican States / Estados Unidos Mexicanos is referred to as Mexico.
No one has time to say the long versions.
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Yes, Europe and Asia are one continent, we all know that.
On the other hand... just the other day I watched a YouTube video which discussed continents and why Australia is a continent while Greenland isn't.
It concluded that the reason many people consider Europe and Asia to be different continents is due to cultural differences.
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Message Closed
modified 3-Feb-21 13:23pm.
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So Antartica is really just a strip of land going all about the outside edge to keep all the water in?
I’ve given up trying to be calm. However, I am open to feeling slightly less agitated.
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That's what they tell me.
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PIEBALDconsult wrote: Europe and Asia to be different continents is due to cultural differences. Well, that's a difficult argument for them to uphold.
I mean, if that were true then we'd have Quebec as a separate continent. Also, Red States viz-a-viz Blue States. China vs. Russia?
We all know how that ends up.[^]
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"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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... the sub-continent of Texas...
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PIEBALDconsult wrote: ... the sub-continent of Texass...
FIFY
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"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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PIEBALDconsult wrote: It concluded that the reason many people consider Europe and Asia to be different continents is due to cultural differences.
It's much older than that, Both "Asia" and "Europa" is old Greek and what the Greeks referred to as Asia is todays Anatolia.
Afrika is what the Romans called the land where the Carthagenes lived, which is todays Tunisia.
The meaning of the words have obviously changed since then.
The whole concept of continents is much newer than the names for them. Well, at least the ones mentioned above.
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Yup, the ancients couldn't study the planet from space and didn't know about tectonic plates.
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The theory of tectonic plates wasn't accepted until the 1960s. And even though he couldn't look at the Earth from space, Eratosthenes accurately calculated its circumference.
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Only by mistake:
Quote: It is remarkable that such accuracy was obtained in view of the fact that most of the "known"
facts and his observations were incorrect: (1) although it is true that the sun at noon is directly
overhead at the Tropic of Cancer on the day of the summer solstice, it was erroneously
concluded that Syene lay on the line. Actually, Syene is 37 miles to the north; (2) the true
distance between Alexandria and Syene is 453 miles and not 500; (3) Syene lies 3° 30' east of the
meridian of Alexandria; (4) the difference of latitude between Alexandria and Syene is 7° 5'
rather than 7° 12' as Eratosthenes had concluded.
From "Geodesy for the Layman"[^] pag. 6.
Some pople have genius even when they make mistakes.
Mircea
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Greg Utas wrote: The theory of tectonic plates wasn't accepted until the 1960s. That is a deceptive generality based on the most narrow possible definition of "accepted."
«One day it will have to be officially admitted that what we have christened reality is an even greater illusion than the world of dreams.» Salvador Dali
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Since I don't think politics could play a role, I will cite this[^]. The theory had been around for quite some time, certainly if you include its precursor of continental drift, but a theory usually doesn't gain acceptance until backed by some evidence.
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W∴ Balboos, GHB wrote: far-western Asia
You mean far Eastern Europe?
If you can't laugh at yourself - ask me and I will do it for you.
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Obviously, Europe and Asia are a single continent, Eurasia.
That makes 7 continents: Africa, N. America, S. America, Antarctica, Australia, Eurasia and, the most important of all, Great Britain.
Also, obviously, until the Suez Canal was built, Africa and Eurasia were just one continent. Similarly, until the Panama Canal was built there was just one American continent.
There was originally only six continents: Great Britain, Antarctica, Australia, New Zealand, America and The Rest. Whether Britain and Ireland count as two separate continents is still disputed (by the Irish, mostly).
- I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.
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I'd always assumed that the definition of a continent was based on geology, rather than geography. The "current" idea of where the Asia/Europe border exists seems very fluid; countries that in my youth were firmly considered to be in Asia are apparently now "European", including even Russia. When the Eurovision Song Contest accepted Israel as a contestant I was vaguely uncomfortable with it; when Australia was welcomed in, I realised the thing was a con. (Europe, not the ESC).
My assumption was that the Urals formed (as many mountain ranges do) a border between land masses / tectonic plates. That seemed to make sense, although didn't explain why the concept of Asia and Europe being separate continents dated back hundreds of years. Yet they're not, despite the Urals appearing perhaps to be a result of tectonic collision. So I have to agree that the distinction is purely for cultural / religious / political purposes. Further if continents were really to be based on tectonics, then the Caribbean would be a continent, as would the Philippines and, perhaps surprisingly, the Falkland islands. And the Pacific itself would be a continent.
On the other hand, I can't agree to the concept of "far-western Asia". Given that the world is centred (obviously) around London, Asia only extends a few hundred miles into the Western hemisphere but 8000-odd miles to the Eastern. At -1º longitude I obviously live in western Asia, but I'm not sure I could call it far western
The other "proof" that Europe isn't really a continent is that, unlike the true continents, it's name does not start and end with an "A ". Definitive proof, eh?
Yet another reason for the EU to call it quits, though...
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Drain the Oceans[^]
Bastard Programmer from Hell
"If you just follow the bacon Eddy, wherever it leads you, then you won't have to think about politics." -- Some Bell.
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Could be worse... could be Belgium.
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All joking aside; the hospital I visit is near the border, and half the nurses are Belgian. And they more friendly than the Dutch.
Bastard Programmer from Hell
"If you just follow the bacon Eddy, wherever it leads you, then you won't have to think about politics." -- Some Bell.
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W∴ Balboos, GHB wrote: The basic reason that is probably the only "justification" is that the early map-makers (per current usages) were Europeans and thus, in their usual arrogance, needed to give themselves a special spot. Ehr..
We do have one. Running economics. There's no US without Europe, and that's being kind.
Bastard Programmer from Hell
"If you just follow the bacon Eddy, wherever it leads you, then you won't have to think about politics." -- Some Bell.
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Eddy Vluggen wrote: There's no US without Europ Let me clarify your slight error.
It is without the US you'd either have that (your) part of the world as part of the Third Reich or Satellites states of the Soviet Union.
Now, get back to stroking that inferiority complex . . .
Ravings en masse^ |
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"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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W∴ Balboos, GHB wrote: It is without the US you'd either have that (your) part of the world as part of the Third Reich or Satellites states of the Soviet Union. Look up why we got the Marshall aid after WW2.
Bastard Programmer from Hell
"If you just follow the bacon Eddy, wherever it leads you, then you won't have to think about politics." -- Some Bell.
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Eddy Vluggen wrote: Look up why we got the Marshall aid after WW2 Is this the part (wikipedia) that upsets you about the Marshal Plan?
Quote: The Netherlands received US aid for economic recovery in the Netherlands Indies. However, in January 1949, the American government suspended this aid in response to the Dutch efforts to restore colonial rule in Indonesia during the Indonesian National Revolution, and it implicitly threatened to suspend Marshall aid to the Netherlands if the Dutch government continued to oppose the independence of Indonesia.[81] Damn anti-imperialists !
Without US, you'd have been swallowed by Soviet Troops. Except for the UK, what part of Europe was even left? What the US got out of WW II: gold-star families.
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"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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