The Largest U.S. Cities Named After a Food: and Other Mind-Boggling Geography Lists from Around the World (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This quirky work will reel in geography aficionados and trivia buffs like nothing else. It reveals ordinary, extreme and surprising facts about places around the world, including their names, topography, transportation, idiosyncrasies, climates, demographics, finances, recreational pursuits and politics. Among the facts readers will glean: Argentina’s highest speed limit is 130 km/hr (81 mph); East Orange, NJ, is the most populous U.S. city or town with a population that’s less than 5% white; Seoul, South Korea, is the largest world city with a one-syllable name; Lake Forest, Ill., is the richest city in the U.S. (with a per capita income of $77,092); and Socorro, Tex., is the poorest (its per capita income is $7,287). Like census figures, these pieces of information beg for analysis, which Maxwell, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, does not provide. Yet the facts he presents (which come from the CIA World Factbook, the 2000 U.S. Census and elsewhere) still fascinate.
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Product Description

More than 500 astonishing lists and oddities fill this unusual compendium of geographic trivia. From a list of countries with the lowest number of international tourists per year to information about the largest countries in the world without an FM station, this book of wide-ranging curiosities makes minutia from across the world fascinating. What U.S. towns have the same name as a foreign country? Which large U.S. cities claim the highest percentage of households without telephone service? What state's residents call soft drinks "pop" more than any other? This humorous and revealing book holds these answers and many more.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 360 pages
• Publisher: Santa Monica Press (November 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1891661477
• ISBN-13: 978-1891661471
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,172,535 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible!, November 12, 2004

By	JGK (Olathe, KS) - See all my reviews

For anyone who is interested in facts and figures about the world we live, this is an incredible book. As a learning tool for kids (using interesting lists to find these places on a map of the world) this would also be valuable.

In general, there is everything you wanted to know and more about the world: find out the antipodes (where you end up if you drill through the center of the earth) of places around the world; discover the earliest or latest sunrises and sunsets; all the cities mentioned in songs that hit the Billboard Top 40. In other words, its hard to believe this data exists, let alone that someone was able to think of all the interesting ways to use it.

Looking through this book you'll learn more about our world and the people in it in a short time than you'll find anywhere. Some of the lists are particularly poignant: want to know the 7 countries that apply the deat penalty for crimes that happen when a person is under 18? CONGO, IRAN, NIGERIA, PAKISTAN, SAUDI ARABIA, YEMEN and, of course, THE UNITED STATES. Makes you think...