Random geeky things you've done

[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...

[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)

[Craterus]

As a kid, I knew:

Everyone's birthday
Everyone's phone number (home, mobile and email addresses where applicable)
Countries of the world and their capitals
States in America and their capitals
Football teams, nicknames and stadiums
All the Pokemon
James Bond films, villains, everything

Yeah, pretty geeky.

[Aemilius Paulus]

As a kid, I knew:
...

What about now ?

[Craterus]

I've still got a good hold on birthdays, email addresses, countries&capitals, American states.

On the upside, I think I could now name all the presidents (might fail on correct order).

[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.

[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).

[Gregoshi]

Geeky, nerdy things I've done:

1) building models - mostly battleships but a few cars and a Colonial Viper & Cylon Raider from the original Battlestar Galactica series.

2) a fan of science fiction and fantasy books/movies

3) played D&D from the age of 18 in 1977-78 up until the age of 47 - I've been on a break the last two years, though the itch is returning. I used to put "D&D" on the calendar to mark days we were playing but the wife stopped that as it was too risky for "embarassment" (hers) in case visitors saw it.

4) played Magic: The Gathering card game during the 90s...sometimes at work during lunch break.

5) was really into astronomy in teens-20s with occassional returns to it in the years since. Was secretary-treasurer, vice-president and then president of the Penn State Astrononmy Club.

6) was into video/computer gaming starting with Intellivision, Commodore 64, Amiga and finally PCs.

7) will leave messages on answering machines or order food at a drive-thru window in an accent or non-sensical ramblings. The words "May I help you?" can inspire almost any kind of absurdity from me.

8) I can embarass my wife and kids in public - like skipping through a parking lot while swinging shopping bags to and fro, or "riding" a shopping cart.

9) played board wargames as a teen and into my 20s (until computer gaming took over).

Hmmm, that's all I can think of at the moment.

[Aemilius Paulus]

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).

That is irrelevant. US is unique in the amount of autonomy it gives to its states. The US States actually matter, where as the Russian oblast, French department, Swiss canton, German bundesländer, etc are merely administrative/bureaucratic divisions. Although geography, as a subject, is exceedingly important in Russia, and most Russians can accurately place over a 100 countries on a world map, few know all the oblasts, let alone their capitals.

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

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).

With English names as a courtesy to the forum's main language.

Baden-Württemberg - Stuttgart
Bavaria - München
Thuringia - Erfurt
Schleswig-Holstein - Kiel
Saxony - Dresden
Saarland - Saarbrücken
Saxony-Anhalt - Magdeburg
Berlin - Berlin
Bremen - Bremen
Brandenburg - Potsdam
North Rhine-Westphalia - Düsseldorf
Rhineland-Palatinate - Mainz
Lower Saxony - Hannover
Hamburg - Hamburg
Hesse - Wiesbaden
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern - Schwerin

If I have any of those wrong...

[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.

[Megas Methuselah]

I wasted time beating Aemilius Paulus' post here by a mere minute or two upon noticing that he was replying to this thread. I suppose that's kinda geeky.