If you love maps and data, you should click on over to TwistedSifter.com, which has rounded up 40 maps to give you perspective on the world. See the global distribution of McDonald’s and the rainbow of Antarctica’s time zones. You can marvel at America’s rivers and many researchers, share the love of coffee and beer and sigh at our resistance to the metric system and paid maternity leave. One of the more surprising maps shows the busiest air travel routes of 2012, with the busiest flight path between Seoul and the island of Jeju, the “Hawaii of Korea.” There are no U.S. or European cities on the list, but if you’ve seen enough maps, you’ll have enough perspective to see we’re just a small part of this big globe.
Can We Please Keep Phones Away From Drivers?
Investigators in Spain are saying the driver of the train that derailed last Wednesday, killing 79 people, was using his cell phone at the time of the accident. It has also become clear that the train was going 94 mph on a sharp bend of track where the speed limit was only 49 mph. It doesn’t matter if a driver is operating a train, car, tour bus, airplane, tug boat or bicycle — I think we can all agree he or she should be giving their undivided attention. In this instance, it appears the driver received a call on his work phone to take direction on an approach to the train’s final destination, and it seems he was also consulting a paper document. It’s still unclear whether a computer failure is partly to blame for the accident, especially since the brakes should have been applied 2.5 miles before the train hit the dangerous curve. Either way, the train company should have had procedures that would have prevented this from happening.
Territorial Disputes Over Tourist Attractions
Spain is being accused of intentionally holding tourists in long lines as they make their way back from day tripping in Gibraltar. The British Overseas Territory claims the traffic jam — which has so far affected more than 10,000 vehicles — has been deliberately orchestrated because of a disagreement over a creation of an artificial reef in territorial waters. Of course, this isn’t the only territory in the middle of a tug-of-war match by two — or sometimes more — countries. Here are just a few of the dozens of places with disputed borders where you may find yourself stuck:
- Mont Blanc Summit (France vs. Italy): Both countries have had a long but peaceful dispute over ownership of the summit of the highest mountain in the Alps.
- Liancourt Rocks (Japan vs. South Korea): this group of small, craggy islets has become a tourist attraction in recent years, but its sovereignty is still being disputed.
- East Jerusalem (Israel vs. Palestinian Authority): Jerusalem’s Old City and some of the holiest sites of Judaism, Christianity and Islam are just a few of the attractions that lie in this hotly debated territory.
- Ceuta (Spain vs. Morocco): the majority of this city’s population are ethnic Spanish who are opposed to the idea of being ruled by Morocco.
- Tennessee River (Tennessee vs. Georgia): Georgia lawmakers claim surveyors who mapped out the border between these two states in 1818 got it wrong, and part of the Tennessee River should actually belong to Georgia.
- Paracel Islands (China vs. Taiwan vs. Vietnam): three countries lay claim to the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea. The islands have the potential to become a popular tourist attraction because of their large reef system, but currently tensions between the countries are too high.
- Southern Half of Belize (Belize vs. Guatemala): All of Belize was formerly part of Guatemala, and today the debate still continues over who is the rightful owner.
Scenes From The Royal Baby Watch In London
Update 3:38 p.m.: Buckingham Palace has confirmed that Kate Middleton has given birth to a baby boy. An official announcement of the birth has been placed on an easel outside the palace.
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Camera crews and tourists from across the world are anxiously waiting outside both Buckingham Palace and St. Mary’s Hospital, where the Duchess of Cambridge entered the hospital in early stages of labor. Once the bundle of joy arrives, a notice of its sex and birth weight will be delivered by motorcade to the palace, where it will be posted on a board. As the world waits for the official announcement, here’s an idea of what the scene looks like over in London:
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U.S. Drops Bombs Near Great Barrier Reef
After a training exercise went wrong, two U.S. fighter jets dropped four bombs into Australia’s Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. Thankfully, the bombs were unarmed. Although military officials are maintaining the 2,000-pound projectiles were dropped approximately 164 feet away from coral to “minimize possible damage to the reef,” the news is alarming considering just a few weeks ago the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) debated adding the Great Barrier Reef to its list of endangered sites. Perhaps the bombs will show up on a later version of Google Street View, which is now mapping marine life.