this post was submitted on 29 Dec 2024
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Today I Learned

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Started an argument with my much smarter wife because she said North and South America are not two separate continents. She was right, because continents are only defined by convention.

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[–] mineralfellow@lemmy.world 1 points 4 days ago

Italy is a part of Africa. At least, geologically.

[–] Usernameblankface@lemmy.world 3 points 6 days ago

Eh, they're all just big and bigger islands, because every land mass is surrounded by water.

[–] FundMECFSResearch@lemmy.blahaj.zone 70 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Yeah. People in the US learn about 7 continents at school. In France, we learn about the 5 continents.

[–] josefo@leminal.space 2 points 5 days ago (1 children)

What seven, America is two and Europe/Asia is counted twice also? I'm from elsewhere and also learned 5

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[–] drolex@sopuli.xyz 17 points 1 week ago (5 children)

N'importe quoi, y a la chocolatine du nord et la chocolatine du sud, ça fait 6, retourne à ton école pourrave à Paimpont (j'ai rien contre Paimpont, c'est très pimpant).

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[–] Dagnet@lemmy.world 53 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (3 children)

I remember many years ago I was playing WoW and the conversation in guild chat was about continents so I said that in my country America is a single continent. That moment an American in guild flipped the fuck out and got really mad at me even suggesting that his great country could be in the same continent as mine (Brazil) going as far as saying "that's so fucking dumb, next you will say Europe and Asia are the same continent?!" which is funny cause eurasia is a thing, what a dumbass.

[–] masterbaexunn@lemmy.world 41 points 1 week ago (3 children)

Mexico is in North America, but try telling that the common trump supporting gringo.

[–] Branquinho@lemmy.eco.br 16 points 1 week ago (1 children)

AFAIK, Cuba is on the North American tectonic plate as well...

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[–] jol@discuss.tchncs.de 22 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Geology doesn't care about your feelings.

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[–] tobogganablaze@lemmus.org 49 points 1 week ago (2 children)
[–] Alinor@lemmy.world 30 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Personally a great fan of the CGP Grey videos. Continents in this case: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3uBcq1x7P34

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[–] Gladaed@feddit.org 30 points 1 week ago (10 children)

There is a useful way to do it: By looking at Tectonic Plates and their boundaries.

[–] SmoothLiquidation@lemmy.world 33 points 1 week ago (2 children)

And then India is no longer in Eurasia. Or you could say that Los Angeles is not in North America.

[–] Gladaed@feddit.org 6 points 6 days ago

India is usually considered a subcontinent. West Coast is a geologic mess until resolved.

[–] BearOfaTime@lemm.ee 12 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Los Angeles is not in North America

I don't see a problem with that.

Plus, by tectonic plates, isn't it America, since N/C/S America are on the same plate, right? (I don't trust my memory of school from decades ago).

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[–] teft@lemmy.world 24 points 1 week ago (7 children)

I try to explain this to people who don't believe south americans call themselves americans.

[–] jqubed@lemmy.world 27 points 1 week ago (3 children)

This becomes even more confusing with the way people commonly talk in English versus Spanish. In English, residents of the United States of America typically refer to themselves as Americans, and in English “American” typically only refers to someone from the USA. In Spanish, it seems residents of the USA are typically called the equivalent of “United Stateser” and “American” refers more generally to someone from the continent, at least in some parts of the Spanish-speaking world. I once had an apparent native Spanish-speaker online argue that was the correct form in English as well and insisted that the official name of the country is United States (Estados Unidos), not United States of America (Estados Unidos de América), and that America never refers to the country in English. They didn’t appreciate when I asked why in international sporting events the Americans’ shirts always say USA and why the supporters chant “U-S-A” all the time.

Languages are weird. If you’re learning a different language and try to insist that the new language behave the same as your native language, you’re going to have a hard time.

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[–] Canadian_Cabinet@lemmy.ca 20 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Yep. In Spain and Latin America, there is no separation between North and South. Its just one continent: América

[–] ShinkanTrain@lemmy.ml 21 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

Most romance languages follow that. The 5 rings in the Olympics logo are meant to be continents.

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[–] __nobodynowhere@startrek.website 9 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

The USA isn't the only America nor the only United States. Maybe when the government collapses we can come up with a better name.

[–] rockerface@lemm.ee 4 points 6 days ago

North America isn't even the first place to be called America

[–] BearOfaTime@lemm.ee 9 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Well, they're in South America

[–] njm1314@lemmy.world 11 points 1 week ago (5 children)

Right? Continent or not has nothing to do with it.

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[–] acockworkorange@mander.xyz 16 points 1 week ago (4 children)

You were right too, because continents are only defined by convention. And by the convention I was taught, there’s 3 Americas: South, Central, and North.

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[–] JusticeForPorygon@lemmy.world 10 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Oceania is the best continent

[–] vonxylofon@lemmy.world 4 points 6 days ago

Always at war with Eastasia.

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