Random geeky things you've done

[Rhyfelwyr]

Back when I was in Primary 4 (around 8yrs old), I learned the capital of every country in the world. I got an atlas for my birthday that year and just couldn't put it down! I was surprised to hear that my friend's brother also did this when he was at around the same age, so I'm beginning to wonder if its quite common?

This thread is for any similar geeky things that you've done.

[Fragony]

I know the latin names of most birds we have here

[gollum]

Turning into a pc gaming forumite

[Hax]

Back when I was in Primary 4 (around 8yrs old), I learned the capital of every country in the world. I got an atlas for my birthday that year and just couldn't put it down! I was surprised to hear that my friend's brother also did this when he was at around the same age, so I'm beginning to wonder if its quite common?

Hey, I learned all the flags from all the countries by heart when I was 8 as well!

[The New Che Guevara]

Learnt my politics teacher's license plate... for no reason... I'm scared about myself.

Probably, can also include a lot of acronyms and quotes from shakespeare... I think I can recite part of the opening from romeo and juliet.

"Two households both alike in dignity in fair verona where we lay our scene, from ancient grudge break forth to new mutiny where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes, a pair of star cross'd lovers do taint their life, and whose misadventure, pitious o'erthrows, do with their death bury their parents strife"

From memory baby!

other things might be drawing maps of the TW games and planning my conquests... or the one time i drew a map of america and plotted it's downfall. Sorry to the american orgahs... i had a real problem with bush.

Hey Rhyfelwr, what's the capital of Mongolia?

[Fragony]

From memory baby!

Hmmm.

Futility

Move him into the sun gently it;s touch awoke him once, whispering of fields unsown always it woke him even in France, until this day and this snow. If anything might rouse him now the kind old sun will know. Think of how it wakes the seeds, woke once the clays of a cold star, are nerves so dear [ohdamnit] limbs [oh ffs] so hard to stir? Was it for this the clay grew tall? Oh what made fatious beams decide to break earth's sleep at all?

Almost.

[Rhyfelwyr]

Hey Rhyfelwr, what's the capital of Mongolia?

Ulan Batuur (sp?)! Sadly I've forgotten quite a few of them now.

hehe I like learning about the flags as well, although I can't say I ever got them all off by heart.

[A Very Super Market]

Mongolia is easy because it has such a weird name.
Just like Burkina Faso.

Some are really easy for people to get wrong, like Austrialia, Canada, Turkey.


What is the capital of Uruguay?

[Rhyfelwyr]

Montevideo?

The problem with Australia/Canada/Turkey is that the biggest cities are not the capitals. That's easy though its Canberra/Ottawa/Ankara, not Sydney/Vancouver or Montreal?/Instanbul as people might think.

Can't recall Burkina Faso though. Konakre and Ougadogou (always remember that cause it sounds funny) spring to mind.

[A Very Super Market]

Sweet. High-five for not naming Toronto!

Burkina Faso is Ougadogou. That's what makes it so easy, because its so esoteric you can't help but remember it. If its capital was named Springfield or something like that, it would be harder.

And if the Simpsons didn't exist, I guess.


Nerdiest thing I've done..... probably attempting to deliver a lecture on Entomology in Grade 2.

[Aemilius Paulus]

Back when I was in Primary 4 (around 8yrs old), I learned the capital of every country in the world.

Same here, except that I also learned the placement of all the countries in the world as well. When I was 7. I still remember it all, due to my constant practice. In general, everything I do is nerdy. People who know me often say they have never met or seen anyone more nerdy than me. My outer appearance is not nerdy, but I do wear glasses, and I also wear nothing but long sleeve, button-up shirts. all year round. I am quite fond of dressing formally/semi-formally.

And anyway, you are confusing nerdy things with geeky things. There is a canyon worth of difference between a nerd and a geek. Nerd is more of academe interests. Geek is more of obsession with TV shows, manga/anime, films, books series, etc. Whether an obsession with computers is defined as "computer nerdism" or "computer geekism" is still hotly debated. Geeks are also social, or at least extroverts in nature, while nerds generally are introverts.

Here is a simple graph to aid you in enlightenment:

[desert]

Someone was bound to put this up eventually.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xEzGIuY7kw

[Aemilius Paulus]

Someone was bound to put this up eventually.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xEzGIuY7kw

Dadgum you!!!! I was going to edit my previous post, but you just beat me to it.


But seriously, I was about to put that masterpiece up. It just had to go here. No nerd should live a life without watching and listening to that music video. Oh wait, nerd don't have a life... I am confused... Whatever, you get my point. Every nerd, geek, dweeb (but not dork) should watch that.

[Rhyfelwyr]

Out of boredom, I shall imagine a world map and see how well I do with the capitals. Tell me if I miss any countries...

Canada - Ottawa
USA - Washington
Mexico - Mexico City
Cuba - Havana
Bahamas - Nassau?
Jamaica - Kingston
Haiti -
Dominican Republic -
... various islands nobody cares about
Honduras -
Belize - Belmopan
Nicaragua -
El Salvador - San Salvador
Costa Rica -
Panama - Panama
Columbia - Bogota
Venezuela - Caracas
Guyana - Georgetown
Suriname -
French Guyana -
Brazil - Brasilia
Uruguay - Montevideo
Argentina - Buenos Aires
Chile - Santiago
Paraguay - Asuncion
Bolivia -
Peru - Lima
Ecuador - Quito
Greenland - Godthaab?
Iceland - Reykjavik
UK - London
France - Paris
Netherlands - Amsterdam
Belgium - Brussels
Luxembourg - Luxembourg
Switzerland - Bern
Leichtenstein - Vaduz
Italy - Rome
Spain - Madrid
Portugal - Lisbon
Andorra - Andorra la Velle
Germany - Berlin
Denmark - Copenhagen
Norway - Oslo
Sweden - Stockholm
Finland - Helsinki
Russia - Moscow
Estonia - Tallin
Latvia - Riga
Lithuania - Vilnius
Poland - Warsaw
Belarus - Minsk
Ukraine - Kiev
Moldova - Kishishev?
Czech Rep - Prague
Slovakia - Bratislava
Hungary - Budapest
Slovenia - Ljubliana
Croatia - Zagreb
Bosnia - Sarajevo
Serbia - Belgrade
Albania -
Greece - Athens
Romania - Bucharest
Bulgaria - Sofia
Morocco - Marrakesh
Algeria - Algiers
Tunisia - Tunis
Libya - Tripoli
Egypt - Cairo
Sudan - Khartoum
Chad - N'Djamena?
Niger -
Burkina - Ougadogou
Senegal - Dakar
Gambia - Konakry?
Sierra Leone - Freetown?
Liberia -
Ivory Coast - Abijan
Benin -
Togo -
Nigeria - Abuja
Cameroon - Youande?
Central African Rep -
Equatorial Guinea -
Congo - Brazaville
Zaire - Kinsasha
Angola - Luanda
Namibia - Windhoek
South Africa - Pretoria? [gah]
Botswana -
Zimbabwe - Harare
Swaziland -
Malawi -
Burundi -
Rwanda -
Mozambique -
Tanzania - Dar-es-Salaam
Madagascar - Antaanaravio
Kenya - Nairobi
Ethiopia - Adis Ababa
Eritrea -
Somalia - Mogadishu
Djibouti - Djibouti
Yemen - Aman
Oman - Muscat
Saudi Arabia - Riyadh
Jordan - Amman
Israel - Jerusalem
Lebanon - Beirut
Syria - Antioch jk lol too much M2TW
Armenia - Yerevan
Georgia - Tblisi
Azerbaijan - Baku
Iraq - Baghdad
Kuwait - Kuwait City
Dubai -
UAE -
Iran - Tehran
Turkmenistan - Tashkent?
Uzbekistan -
Kirgystan -
Kazakhstan - Alma Ata
Afghanistan - Kabul
Pakistan - Islamabad
India - Delhi
Sri Lanka -
Nepal - Kathmandu
Bhutan -
China - Beijing
Mongolia - Ulan Batuur
North Korea - Pyonyang
South Korea - Seoul
Japan - Tokyo
Taiwan -
Philippines - Manilla
Vietnam - Ho Chi Minh?
Cambodia -
Laos -
Thailand - Bangkok
Burma -
Bangladesh - Daka
Malaysia - Kuala Lumpur
Singapore - Singapore
Indonesia - Jakarta
Brunei -
Papua New Guinea - Port Moresby
Australia - Canberra
New Zealand - Wellington
... various Pacific Islands

Hmm I've forgotten more than I realised, time to refresh my memory (who cares about studying for exams?)...

EDIT: What is the video? It says unavailable in my country???

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

Haiti - Port au Prince
Dominican Republic - Santo Domingo
Honduras - Tegucigalpa
Nicaragua - Managua
Costa Rica - San Jose (a beautiful city if I may say so myself)
Suriname -
French Guyana -
Bolivia - La Paz/Sucre
Albania - Tirana
Niger -
Liberia - Monrovia
Benin - Porto Novo
Togo -
Central African Rep - Bangui
Equatorial Guinea -
South Africa - Pretoria? [gah] Pretoria/Bloemfontein/Cape Town (there are three)
Botswana - Gaborone
Swaziland - Lobamba/?
Malawi - Lilongwe
Burundi -
Rwanda - Kigali
Mozambique - Maputo
Eritrea - Asmara
Syria - Antioch jk lol too much M2TW Damascus
Dubai - City/Emirate in the UAE
UAE - Abu Dhabi
Uzbekistan - Tashkent
Kirgystan - Bishkek
Sri Lanka - Colombo
Bhutan -
Taiwan - Taipei
Cambodia - Phnom Penh
Laos - Vientiane
Burma - Naypyidaw (or Rangoon?)
Brunei -

Trying my hand at the ones you didn't get...

[LittleGrizzly]

Brazil - Brasilia

Rio De Janerio... surely ?

South Africa - Pretoria? [gah]

Isn't it cape town ?

I suppose my memorizing of familys number plates as a child (6-8) was fairly geeky... impressive party trick i could pull out to impress the adults!

Im generally quite good as remembering things like numbers plates, phone numbers... most type of code things... i could make a fairly long list of all the various codes a remember for various reasons...

[Aemilius Paulus]

South Africa - Pretoria? [gah]

Ahhh, my favourite. SAF (South African Republic) has three capitals, all of which have different functions. Capetown, Praetoria, and Bloemfontein. Legislative, executive, judicial. Peculiar folk they are.

That aside, naming capitals on the Internet forum seems silly and pointless to me. You can just look it up. That is not fair. What we should do is an instant message quiz.

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

Brazil - Brasilia

Rio De Janerio... surely ?

No, Brasilia is correct.

[desert]

What's the capital of New York?

[Aemilius Paulus]

No, Brasilia is correct.

Yeah, they did it like Australian way. They cleared the land, and planned the whole city out, right from the very beginning. Brasilia is their capital, but that is about all. Just like Canberra, the capital of Australia. Yes, Australia's capital is not Sydney.


The capital of NY is Albany. Why the laugh? Did you expect people to say NYC?

[desert]

Did you expect people to say NYC?

You wouldn't believe how many people do that.

[Rhyfelwyr]

I didn't cheat, honest!

Didn't even do that well lol

But I did learn them 11 years ago. Maybe if I relearn them over the week we could have a little contest via instant messenging?

[A Very Super Market]

American (And some Canadian ones) capitals of states and province are wonky.

Pennsylvania - Harrisburg, not Pittsburgh or Philadelphia
Washington - Olympia, not Seattle
Texas - Austin, Not Dallas or Houston.


The list goes on. The only one that makes the any sense are the Midwestern states, and maybe California.

[Beefy187]

Other then geography, and coin collection, I used to do a bit of pokemon.

Remembered all 251 pokemon at my best (Gold and silver) and I was able to sing the pokemon theme song and pokemon collecters song in Japanese.

I would say history, but after knowing Org, I kinda lost my confidence...

[Uesugi Kenshin]

American (And some Canadian ones) capitals of states and province are wonky.

Pennsylvania - Harrisburg, not Pittsburgh or Philadelphia
Washington - Olympia, not Seattle
Texas - Austin, Not Dallas or Houston.


The list goes on. The only one that makes the any sense are the Midwestern states, and maybe California.

Eh, Sacramento isn't that big. In the US we have a fairly long tradition of designating relatively unimportant cities our capitals. D.C was built from the ground up as our capital, Montpelier is a small town even by Vermont standards, Albany is a bit of a pit but holds NY's governmental centers, and so on.

[Centurio Nixalsverdrus]

Wow, I did this as well! I looked so often at an atlas, one classmate once claimed I must have eaten one. Also, I can recognize most countries at their shape and draw a world map just out of memory. Don't ask me for rivers and similar in my home country though!

Btw, the capital of Togo is Lomé.

I know all Canadian provinces and territories and their capitals

Nova Scotia - Halifax
New Brunswick - Fredericton
Prince Edward Island - Charlottetown
Newfoundland - St. John's
Québec - Québec City
Ontario - Toronto
Manitoba - Winnipeg
Saskatchewan - Regina
Alberta - Edmonton
British Columbia - Victoria
Yukon Territory - Whitehorse
Northwest Territories - Yellowknife
Nunavut Territory - Iqualuit (Frobisher Bay)

[seireikhaan]

The only one that makes the any sense are the Midwestern states, and maybe California.

Surely, the city of Iowa City would be the capital of the state of Iowa, right? Nope... (Des Moines)

[A Very Super Market]

Pshaw. You named all the capitals and provinces and territories in Canada. Bit like just picking the biggest cities. 'Cept for my own BC.

We have 13 Ps and Ts, and anyone could name them all. Can you name all 50 US states? For the record, I can.

Isn't Des Moines the largest city in Iowa? See, that makes sense.

[Centurio Nixalsverdrus]

Harharhar! BUt I'm not from Canada.

If want to equal my amazing deed Mr. Smartypants, name every German state and its capital. And don't look them up (though it would surprise me even if you looked them up).

[seireikhaan]

Isn't Des Moines the largest city town in Iowa? See, that makes sense.

Yes, it is. However, it was made the capital long ago when IC was the biggest; people gradually shifted to DM as more jobs were made available.