(title by Andrea)
My view of the world was shaken today, but to explain I will start from last week...
Last Saturday night I was over at a friend's house with a very eclectic group of people including photographers, designers, male models :), and English teachers....at some point during the evening it occurred to me that 4 continents were represented. Asia, Africa, and (of course) Antarctica weren't there. I knew with only a few quick phone calls we could have made it 6.
Some wheels started turning in my head about having a 6-continent dinner, a novelty I have never experienced and don't know if I'll have the opportunity to create again once I leave this environment. I mentioned the idea to my friend Andrew, who was in town at the time, and he said he'd personally been part of a 7-continent dinner, but he couldn't remember how they managed to get Antarctica. (?!Me neither?!)
This morning I passed the idea onto Sylvana, hoping maybe we could host such an event here at the apartment. She said, "Whaaat? Whatareyoutalkingabout? ThereareFIVEcontinents!" (Sylvana talks very fast.) I consulted my Italian friend Roberto, and he agreed...only 5 continents.
Now, how did I I live my entire life without knowing how many continents there are?! I mean, there are a lot of things taught in schools that are presented as theories, but the 7 CONTINENTS was presented as pure, solid (land-mass) fact.
By the end of these conversations, Sylvana conceded to 6 or 7, but Roberto held steady to his measly 5 continents (and declared himself my geography teacher).
Worldwide the opinion ranges from 4-7 continents, here are some of the discrepancies according to my friends and Wikipedia:
1) America is one continent. Both the the Peruvian and the Italian agree on this. Andrew-7-continent-dinner-winner says he recently had an argument with a Spanish 9-year-old on this very subject. He came out the victor when he pointed out the separation of the two continents by the Panama Canal. I hope this kid's parents don't come after Andrew when little buddy flunks geography.
2) I was told Antarctica is not a continent because it is ice and not land. However, this is not a true statement. (Andrew declares the exclusion of Antarctica as "a crime.") Although, not included in my friends' count, both Italy and Peru have formally declared Antarctica as a continent (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antarctic_Treaty_System).
3) Although my friends don't agree with this, it is believed by some that Europe and Asia are one and, therefore, Eurasia. Those who believe there are only 4 continents include Africa in this ensemble.
4) Not included in the numbering but still an important difference, Australia is not the name of a continent but rather the name of the country only. The continent, according to Italy and Peru, is Oceania. No matter what you call it, Australia is the only continent staying decisively continental from all counts.
There's a great chart here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continent
I need some feedback. Does everyone know about the continent controversy? Am I behind because I haven't studied geography since 1993? Am I the only one who refers to Australia as a continent? Please, please tell me I'm not the only one.
FYI I still vote for 7 continents, but I'm a loyalist. Go North America!
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6 comments:
i have only ever contemplated that title in a metaphorical sense. congrats on making it work in a literal one. and yes, as a fellow Nebraska-educated girl (for better or for worse), i will back up your assessment of the continental divide. :)
yes, i've heard about this debate. there's a push to divide the world into "Five Continental Landmassses" - Eurasia, Oceania, North America, South America, and Africa. It screams 1984, and is also part of some emphasis to make the world feel like one cohesive unit where we have less "divisions among us" or some such crap. i'm with you on the seven continents thing, and in fact - recommend that we add another continent to make it an even eight. nebraska, iowa, and kansas should be a separate continent unto themselves.
slight tangent: our children will be taught that there are 8 planets rather than 9. heresy.
one more thing: we slept on a volcano last night and i felt an earthquake and apparently there were 70 earthquakes last night so they had to close the park down in case of an eruption. exciting.
7 is the magic number. If any of your friends are in doubt have them call me and I will reasure them. Yours truly--Padre.
you should call your sister
I just had this conversation when I was in Peru!They say America, Europe, Africa, Asisia and Ocealandic (autralia, new zeland etc.
that would be Oceania not Ocelandic
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