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We all have geography lessons in school. And while we learn many interesting things about the maps and geography in them, there's always room for improvement. 

So, today, let's look at these interesting maps of Europe that we picked and found online. After all, there's no wrong time to learn something new. And who knows, maybe you'll end up using these facts somewhere (maybe a trivia night?), unlike some things you were taught at school.

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    Annik Perrot
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Mer..credi! in France because you start to say Merde! and realize there are kids around ;-))

    Marvelor
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    As someone who speaks French, people also tend to use “purée !” (Which means mashed potatoes) instead of put!n

    Dddad
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    In Belgium, over all we just say sh*t and f^ck because we just don't care.

    Nastassja Ficko Soklič
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    it's not ''piška'' in Slovene, but ''pišuka''. Also, ''pišuka'' has no meaning while ''piška'' actually does mean chicken.

    Matthews
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Just like some places in Brazil, Portugal has “Fogo!”, fire, because of the similarity with the F word, “F o d a”. Pretty interesting to see the use of similar sounds to tone down curse words being a case elsewhere.

    Zedrapazia
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I am swiss, but who that Gottfried Stutz is I honestly don't know. However, Gott = God, Fried = Friede / peace (I guess) and Stutz is slang for money. God peace money? I don't know and am too lazy to google atm

    devotedtodreams
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Sometimes, when I say "Gopfridstutz!", my Mom will reply with: "Dä cha au nüt defür" (roughly translated: "It's not his fault") XD

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    Somebodys grandmother
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Danish is wrong... we say: "for katten, for søren" - aka for the cat, for søren (a name)... for hulen is looooong cone....

    Robert T
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Any subtitles on Danish TV seemed to translate all English swearwords to "pis". So I still don't know how to swear in Danish.

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    Kristiina Männiste
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Pekki does not mean fat- it means INTO the fat. And where does the human body have lots of fat - in the buttocks. So Pekki actually means up your a*s. Kid friendly would be "Kurat!" - meaning the devil. As the devil is a kinda chaotic neutral guy in Estonian folklore - strong but stupid and deathly afraid of wolves, thunderstorms and his grandmother.

    Tucker Cahooter
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    1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Did the TV show "Father Ted" popularise "f.e.c.k" or was it already in common usage? (Looks like BP doesn't like it spelled out)

    OneHappyPuppy
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Notice the grey areas, yeah we don't bother covering up the curse words, the kids have already heard them a hundred times by then...

    Cip IESAN
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I see that "peach" in Finnish is the same as in Romanian: "Piersica".

    Gvendolina Kacirova
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It's the same concept in CZ, you start kur... and instead of ...va you end it "nik"! :-)

    Olga Sushko
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I assure you, not all curse words are kid-friendly in Ukraine!

    Abel
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I am spaniard and miercoles means wednesday, nothing more!

    Zodiac
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Hungarian curse words like "faszom, bazmeg" are definitely NOT kid friendly.

    Midnight (she/her)
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    omg i have so many things i could say about this . . . yet so little time . . .

    Midnight (she/her)
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    whats wrong with wednesday? and pancakes? the earthworm one had me cracking up so hard

    Jan Olsen
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    We do not say "for hulen" in Denmark - and they don't say "for Søren" in Norway -

    MamaPumpkin
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Hungarian is reeeeally creative with curse expressions :D And a lot of them are by default kid friendly. We have things like "let the cat kick it", gotta love that language!

    Francois
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Chips in Dutch translates to crisps in English. Chips in English translate to friet or patat.

    Oskar vanZandt
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    1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I think it's meant to "ships" instead of "sh1t" although I've not heard people censor "sh1t" as it's a foreign word anyhow and isn't considered offensive in The Netherlands in general.

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    The Original Bruno
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Are these all Bowdlerizations, or are some of these idioms? WTF, Gottfried Stutz?

    pineapple87
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Finn here, never have I ever heard persikka used as a swear word. Raspberry (vattu), however....

    Svea Baumann
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Fun fact, it's Scheibenkleister because it sounds similiar to Scheiße, the German word for s**t. So you start with "Schei..." and realize there are kids listening and say "Scheibenkleister" instead. Quite the same issue in French and Spanish I guess

    LillieMean
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    If there are children around, yes. The other one is PERR...honen or SAA..sta. I have used these expressions myself. Vittu is so fast, so sometimes it slips out. Helkatti. 🙊

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    zububonsai
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    1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    In Russian "blin" covering up the original "blyat". Wondering if and with what they cover up "shest' "

    Nina
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Dutch I can confirm the chips. Do wonder though what is child-unfriendly in Ireland if 'F**k!' Is child-friendly?

    martymcmatrix
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    What about »Leck mich am Arm« (lick my arm) and »Steck dir einen Finger in die Hüfte« (stick a finger in your hip).....wait, I finally remembered »Armleuchter« (arm lamp)...🙋🏽

    Min
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I'm not sure I'd call "F**k" a kid friendly curse word.

    G R
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    F*e*c*k is a completely different word than the F word with a U in it. You can say the former in front of your granny or your priest, it's not considered a sweat term at all.

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    Did I say that out loud? (he/him)cis/het
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This one is both fascinating and quite scary. The relatively mild climate in the British Isles is, as I understand it, heavily reliant on the Gulf Stream. If that gets messed up because of climate change, we're fűcked!

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    Maps are leading us in nearly every step of our way. They are reachable to everyone - just a few presses and you can see Google or Apple Maps. But that wasn’t always the case. 

    The history of maps can be traced as far back as 5000 years ago. The first-ever maps were used to depict small areas in pictures. And there was no set of rules on how everything should be drawn, which made maps quite inaccurate.

    Later, the map-making art was taken over by the Greeks and Romans. The most notable works of this mapping period were those of Claudius Ptolemaeus. He was a geographer, mathematician, and astronomer, who came up with longitude and latitude lines. And, well, that revolutionized European geographic thinking. 

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    Monstarr the Divisive
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Ha, jokes on switzerland, the biggest, most popular and most expensive city isn't even the capital.

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    Apatheist Account2
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Milton Jones: why did I run up to doorbells and ring them, then run away? Just for the buzz...

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    Then, during the middle ages, there wasn’t much progress in the map-making scene. Most of the maps that were produced during this time were of monasteries, which were influenced by religious devotion. They were heavily decorated with angels and imaginary monsters. 

    However, the Islamic world made some progress in the map-making area. The most notable instance is of Al-Idrisi, an Arab scholar who produced numerous world maps and geography books that heavily influenced this scientific field. 

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    Ellinor
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    To be honest, all French people I know think that Italians and British are the most attractive (mainly because of the accent)

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    Robert T
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Iceland seems to have drifted into the Bay of Biscay! And a lot more people watch rugby than play in the UK - unless you include those who are forced to play it at school.

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    After the Middle Ages, the invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg pushed the monasteries out of the dominance of map production. Also, the printing process becoming more available resulted in the growth of major publishing houses. And they produced maps that were accessible to everyone, no matter their financial status.

    Even more, improvements in mapping were brought about by the accessibility of public learning and the thirst for knowledge. Increasingly, maps started having more colors showcasing various aspects of the presented place. 

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    Also, in the late 1700s, thematic maps started showing up; for example, those showing the spread of certain illnesses or the extent of a flood.

    Now, the maps on our phones are made by using satellite systems and surveying techniques. With these tools, cartographers can measure everything with precision, which was never achievable before. And due to their precision, maps have become an irreplaceable aspect of nearly everyone’s life. 

    Did you learn something new from these maps? Share your discoveries with us in the comments!

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    Hugh Cookson
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Oh Dear, if this all goes tits up, I'm pretty sure Russia will go down the pan - so then it's goodbye Belarus and Serbia.

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    Alexia
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    1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The percentage is higher in the Balkan countries. We just don't declare it.

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    Verena
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The red area in the Netherlands indicates the huge harbours, biggest cities and heavy industry

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    Scotira
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I was confused for a second as 7:00-8:00 is usually breakfast time 🙄🙈

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    Zedrapazia
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Fun short story. Company that outsourced to Switzerland wanted to enforce their policy to have at best 50% black workers, and then got very surprised and confused why this wasn't feasibly possible

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    Hugh Cookson
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    For my country, yes ; for the cretins that run my country, no ; those people I'd rather put them in a hole in the ground and just fill it in whilst they're alive. Wars are not started by the people of a country, they are started by upstarts, despots and chancers using those people to fulfill their own deluded ambitions - think Putin and Netenyahu at the moment ; they won't win and people on both sides of their particular countries will suffer because of those two idiots unachievable delusions.

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    Robert T
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Depends on your definition of "speaks". UK schools teach foreign languages (which and whether it was compulsory varies over the years). However, they start late and are not very advanced by the time they finish. I did both French (5 years) and German (2 years) and I speak neither with any fluency.

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    Alexandra
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It's something in the water that makes the average male height in the Netherlands top the other countries....

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    EvilNob
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    When does the point come when it switches, and the parent becomes the one who lives with the child?

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    #31

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    Cecilie
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    In Norway I have never once heard of a school closing because of snow! But at kindergarden the smallest children below 3 stay inside if the temperature comes below -10.

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    Hugh Cookson
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The Conservative government that threw the baby out with the bathwater by having such a dumbed down referendum really, really f****d up the future of the UK for at least a generation. I even knew expats living in Spain who voted to leave who thought a deal could be brokered to allow them unlimited access to their properties only to find out that now, under the new 'agreement' they could only go to their European places for a limited time every year and would be penalised if they exceeded their quota ..... The general British public are a thick lot at the best of times, they should never have been given a vote on something as important as leaving Europe and all that that withdrawal entailed (not that the ruling party at the time had a f*****g clue either - bloody inbred toffs with no idea )

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    Jihana
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    General information: don't just downvote racist comments but report them. Downvotes don't really have any consequences anymore, but reported comments do.

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    Robert T
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Are you seriously trying to tell me that Moscow is safer than London? Or are we only counting criminal activity and not the authorities?

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    Robert T
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This kind of figures. We watch Polish Who Wants to be a Millionaire. The top prize is 1 million zloty. This is only about £200k (or Euro or USD).

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