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Everytime friends would talk to me about one city or another, I always knew the population of them. They would be like how do you know all these things. I didn't know. Sometimes someone would say something like such and such a city is bigger, and I'd be like hold on there fella, your wrong about that, this city is actually bigger.
My fun filled childhood involved going through phone books at the library and plotting businesses on maps. Now I have Google to do it for me automatically!
Yeah, I love maps as well. I was a statistic geek. Everytime friends would talk to me about one city or another, I always knew the population of them. They would be like how do you know all these things. I didn't know. Sometimes someone would say something like such and such a city is bigger, and I'd be like hold on there fella, your wrong about that, this city is actually bigger. I have an absurd desire to want to know about all cities. I could probably tell you the population of some small city on the opposite coast of where I am living with pretty good accuracy. Metro statistics are kind of a new form of stat taking, so I am learning pops all over again. I used to just go with cities and there immediate surrounding. Now everyone wants to include three other major cities within what seems like a hundred miles to their metro stats, so on here I am learning knew understandings of statistics...
How old are you? We might have been separated at birth. Before the internet, I would mark the calendar for when a new World Almanac or year book that would have updated population estimates for cities and metro areas.
It is getting fuzzy now, but I could come close to the population figures of the major cities in the country from the 1960 census on to the 2000 census. I can still spend hours pouring over the latest US census estimates on line.
I totally amazed a coworker the other day, they were debating on why Baylor was in the Big Twelve conference instead of TCU since Baylor was so small. Out of the blue, I said "Baylor has an enrollment around 13,000, TCU only 7,000." They went online and found out I was close to spot on.
And we thought knowing trivial things like this wouldn't get us places
Location: from houstoner to bostoner to new yorker to new jerseyite ;)
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When I was a child, yes, but not exactly. I was never much interested in the U.S. I would study maps and encyclopedias after encountering strange, exotic countries in books I read, and then fantasize about someday living in these locales. I also subscribed to National Geographic World as a kid and would read it cover-to-cover as soon as it arrived. I just thought it was amazing there were so many different cultures in the world, and so much to see and do. I remember being absolutely fascinated with Alaska, Barbados, Luxembourg, and Madagascar at varying points!
When I was a child, yes, but not exactly. I was never much interested in the U.S. I would study maps and encyclopedias after encountering strange, exotic countries in books I read, and then fantasize about someday living in these locales. I also subscribed to National Geographic World as a kid and would read it cover-to-cover as soon as it arrived. I just thought it was amazing there were so many different cultures in the world, and so much to see and do. I remember being absolutely fascinated with Alaska, Barbados, Luxembourg, and Madagascar at varying points!
Good for you - most of the kids I knew looked at National Geographic for the naked pictures!!!
When I was young (starting at 12 or so), I used to love to study maps and our old beat up atlas of the United States. I still pull out the atlas (many years later) for fun. I wonder what brings people to this forum. Most of the people I know would have not the slightest interest in a forum about cities, states, who's bigger, better, more powerful, etc. I'm just wondering if many others took a young interest in these things, as I did.
I have always had a big interest in maps, ever since I was in elementary school. Mainly maps of the US though, not so good with other countries.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SlickRick1 Yeah, I love maps as well. I was a statistic geek. Everytime friends would talk to me about one city or another, I always knew the population of them. They would be like how do you know all these things. I didn't know. Sometimes someone would say something like such and such a city is bigger, and I'd be like hold on there fella, your wrong about that, this city is actually bigger. I have an absurd desire to want to know about all cities. I could probably tell you the population of some small city on the opposite coast of where I am living with pretty good accuracy. Metro statistics are kind of a new form of stat taking, so I am learning pops all over again. I used to just go with cities and there immediate surrounding. Now everyone wants to include three other major cities within what seems like a hundred miles to their metro stats, so on here I am learning knew understandings of statistics...
How old are you? We might have been separated at birth. Before the internet, I would mark the calendar for when a new World Almanac or year book that would have updated population estimates for cities and metro areas.
It is getting fuzzy now, but I could come close to the population figures of the major cities in the country from the 1960 census on to the 2000 census. I can still spend hours pouring over the latest US census estimates on line.
I totally amazed a coworker the other day, they were debating on why Baylor was in the Big Twelve conference instead of TCU since Baylor was so small. Out of the blue, I said "Baylor has an enrollment around 13,000, TCU only 7,000." They went online and found out I was close to spot on.
And we thought knowing trivial things like this wouldn't get us places
Yeah, that was me to a "T" as well. I dont know how many Almanacs I would pour through in the library every year over and over. I could look at them all day. My mother would always be like gee, how do you know such and such about this place or another, and I would say I dont know why, although I really knew it was the relentless hours looking stats up, and I felt like a dork why I was so interested. Heres a theory off the top of my head. Maybe by knowing all of these statistics I felt somehow apart of these other communities or it gave me an immiediate understanding of them. I guess it gave me an understanding of the size, makeup, geography, and cultures of a place. With enough statistics I could form my own opinion of how a city really is. Who really knows. Too bad I dont know of any jobs where this little odd desire would benefit.
Of course, it's fun, especially if like traveling. It's also a good thing to be knowledgeable about where cities are, and you feel more connected to your country and the world. Many, many people in the U.S. don't even know the direction of their biggest cities, and that's sad.
Well I guess Im not alone.... There are some fun geography quizes on facebook and some in google... all the other Geography geeks will love them.
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Now I have Google to do it for me automatically! 
