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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 === | ||