National Geographic - How to ace the national geographic bee, official study guide

Name a country and Ill tell you the capital! Id beg my family, friends, and weary restaurant wait-staff. If they asked about Bolivia (two capitals), Id get a special thrill. If they asked about South Africa (three capitals), my head would practically explode with excitement. It was quite an accomplishment, if I do say so myself, and one that never really ended. In the early 1990s, when the Soviet Union fell apart, I nearly had a nervous breakdown. All those Stans! (My favorite remains Kyrgyzstans capital, Bishkek.

It sounds delicious.) My world capital prowess didnt just help me stand out as a child. After graduating from college, I took a job at New York Citys Macys department store selling fragrances on commission; the more Id sell, the more I was paid. Many of the customers were diplomats from the United Nations. I would politely say, May I ask where youre from? I am from the African nation of Burundi, replied one such diplomat reservedly. Oh, are you fromBujumbura? I inquired. Why, yes I am! he said.

How do you know so much about my country? And invariably Id make the saleover and over and over again. Yes, world capitals helped me pay my rent. In 2016, I was honored to host the National Geographic Bee in Washington, D.C. (If youre reading this book, Im pretty sure you know its the capital of the United States.) Meeting 54 competitors, all of whom know every world capital, felt like home. More importantly, I discovered how deep the study of geography goes. (Deeper even than Siberias Lake Baikal, which is the deepest lake inwell, you know.) Its about so much more than memorization.

The 10 extraordinarily impressive finalists were able to call upon their knowledge of the planets cartography, climate, culture, and moreand answer not just the where and what questions but also the why questions. And I happen to know why youre reading this study guide. Its because youre curious about the world. You care about the world. And for that, all of the rest of us thank you. Now if youll excuse me, Ive got some studying to do.

Im hosting again this year and really dont want to get shown up by a fourth grader. Mo RoccaHost, National Geographic Bee

Captains routinely lost hundreds of men and tons of cargo to starvation and storms while searching for a place to land. In Dava Sobels wonderful book Longitude, the author describes a dozen disasters, including that of Admiral Sir Clowdisley Shovell. The admiral lost four of his five warships and 2,000 troops in 1707 after misjudging his longitude in the Scilly Isles, off the southwestern tip of England. Adrift in dense fog, the ships pricked themselves on rocks and went down like stones. Yikes!