Monday, June 1, 2009

Geography 501: Cookbooks Around the World

Five bucks if you know the answer to this question(without peeking):

"Timis County shares its name with a tributary of the Danube and is located in the western part of which European country?"

A seventh grader in the National Geographic Bee not only knew the answer, but luckily had more generous sponsors than myself who awarded him with a $25,000 scholarship and a trip to the Galapagos Islands.

When asked the secret to his extensive knowledge of world geography, he answered, "Reading cookbooks."

What the heck? Reading cookbooks?!

I've got a few of those. Hmmmm....I wonder what good tidbits of geographic knowledge I can find in mine....
Oh wow! Here's something fascinating in Rachael Ray's 30 minute meal cookbook:

Mexico is south of the border.

And to think, all this time I thought that was Romania.

I should have three of my five kids on full scholarships in no time.

5 comments:

K said...

I'm getting out all my cookbooks for Andrew to read too. Maybe he can go to college when he's ten. How else will he know where Mexico is?

Steve-Rosanna said...

These prodigies on both the Scripps Spelling bee and this Geography Bee are amazing young people. As I watched the winner (a young girl fron India via Olathe, KS), I was stunned at some of the words she spelled. Words that I had never ever heard in my extensive reading over the past century. They memorize Greek and Latin root words and have a stunning work ethic-spending hours and hours a day over a year in preparation.

And they always seem to have driven stage dads and moms-who push them very hard.

So, you better get out your laminator and cover those poor cook books you have as they are gonna get a lot of use and abuse.

Remember that you were once a Spelling Bee champ-along with at least a couple of your siblings to include Aitch and Tim.

K said...

Hey Dad-I came in third in my spelling bee. I think that's close enough to call me a champ too. thank-you very much! Of course, I can't spell worth a darn anymore thanks to spell check.

Charlene said...

I'm impressed!! and behind!! Better start buying all those cookbooks I see at the garage sales!!!

Paige at MommyCast.com said...

Your blog makes me feel like such a good mother. What kind of kid reads cook books???? The kind that doesn't have fun, like ours do. Of course the cook book kid got the scholarship, soooooo. . . . I forgot where I was going with this.

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