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Geography fun facts and oddities: Difference between revisions

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* Madeira is a Portuguese autonomous region (part of Portugal but self-governed)
* Madeira is a Portuguese autonomous region (part of Portugal but self-governed)
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* '''Yucatan'''
** Yucatan peninsula was named by the Spanish
** theories of the origins of the name
*** when the Spanish arrived there, they asked the local Maya then name of the place
**** the Maya replied either "Ma'anaatik ka t'ann" which means "I do not understand you" or "uh yu ka t'ann," which means "hear how they talk!"
**** the Spanish thought they said "Yucatan," so called it that
*** the other theory is that the Maya extensively cultivated "yucca" plants (or "cassava," a tuber, similar to sweet potatoes) and so named the region for that practice
**** it is possible, but the yucca plant and its name was common across all Maya regions
** also, Yucatan is the location of the " Chicxulub" asteroid that created the "Chicxulub crater"
** see: [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yucat%C3%A1n_Peninsula#Etymology Yucatan Etymology (wiki)]]


=== Europe ===  
=== Europe ===