Forgotten secession: when the original 13 tried to split.

In 1812-13 there was a movement in the original thirteen states to secede from the rest of the nation—an idea first championed by a guy na...

Italian guy creates his own nation

Italy has always been a land of micronations, city-states, and enclaves. Even today, San Marino and Vatican City are tiny independent nati...

Worst geography blunder in a movie?

What movie has the worst geography error? Steven Seagal's Submerged is is classic—portraying Uruguay as mountainous (it's actually...

The Rodney Dangerfield nation

"I don't get no respect" ...that was the catchphrase of comedian Rodney Dangerfield. And it might as well be the slogan of t...

Obama's secession secret?

There's been a lot of criticism of Rick Perry's talk of Texas secession, but at least he's not giving his vacation dollars to ...

Criminal Corner - Another spot for the perfect crime?

Yesterday we laid out the case made by legal scholar Brian Kalt that major crimes committed in the Idaho portion of Yellowstone National ...

Loophole land—where crimes can't be prosecuted. Really.

According to a law professor from Michigan, there is small section if Idaho where major crimes can not be prosecuted—thanks to a giant blu...

When Hawaii was Russian

Hawaii became a U.S. state 52 years ago yesterday. One long-forgotten chapter in Hawaii's history is when the Russians tried to take c...

The place that's name shall not be spoken

I'm not going to write the name of this place, because I fear Google will put up some weird ads. Hey, this is a family-friendly site! ...

The Northwestern Confederacy

Secession-talkers like Rick Perry get a lot of heat these days, but the truth is, America has always had leaders who advocated leaving the...

Is Kansas flatter than a pancake?

Scientists at Arizona State and Texas State have focused considerable research energy on one of the great questions of our time: Is Kans...

Snooki vs Montana

No one is likely to be surprised that Snooki from Jersey Shore is a bit of a dim bulb. But her geographic illiteracy was on full display...

Rick Perry and Texas secession revisited

Can Texas secede from the Union, as presidential candidate Rick Perry once suggested? Probably not. Can Texas split into multiple states ...

Kanawha - the rough draft of West Virginia

Before West Virginia was, well, "West Virginia," it was "Kanawha." That was the original name for a proposed state tha...

Garden of Eden - located!

Has the Garden of Eden been located? New scientific research, coupled with coordinates laid out in the Bible itself, mean it may indeed be ...

National Geographic's map fail

The National Geographic Society should know better. I've always been a little frustrated that their yellow-bordered National Geographi...

Swim from Cuba to US ends

This morning, Diana Nyad had to end her quest to swim the 103 miles from Cuba to the United States. She made it half way, which is nothin...

Tennis pro fails geography

When tennis pro Bojana Jovanovski landed in Carlsbad, New Mexico for the Mercury Insurance Open last week, everything seemed fine—until sh...

Columbus stamp goof - revealed

Yesterday we posed the question: What's the geography goof on the 1993 Columbus stamp? I must say I had the same question as reader Phi...

US stamp's Columbus error

This 1992 US stamp has a significant geography goof. It's supposed to show Columbus pitching Isabella on the idea of a westward journey ...

Naming rights for Tennessee

Should the state of Tennessee sell naming rights as a way to make money? The idea was floated the other day by Knoxville humorist Scott McN...

Ironic Grant County

Grant County, Oregon voted to declare itself a "United Nations-Free Zone" over concerns that the UN has plans to send in the black...

The unfriendly place?

Above is an unretouched detail from a very popular map... can you guess what place this is? Note the politically incorrect "Unfriendly ...