Following the Equator

Don't cross UNESCO

UNESCO has been recognizing World Heritage Sites since 1978. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's impressive list of sites is intended to preserve and protect the world's greatest cultural and natural sites.

A total of 852 sites have made the list … no, wait, make that 851.

For the first time ever, UNESCO has delisted a site. UNESCO axed the Arabian Oryx Sanctuary, which was inscribed in 1994, after Oman reduced the size of the protected area by 90 percent. The population in the area has shrunk from about 450 Arabian oryx to just 65.

It's pretty sad to see the delisting: UNESCO literally crossed it off the list.

Greatest travel books

Looking for a last-minute holiday gift? Or maybe just a good read? How about a classic book? Gadling just reminded us of Condé Nast Traveler's list of The 86 Greatest Travel Books of All Time.

Compiled by a jury of 45 writers, the books aren't ranked numerically; they're only listed alphabetically—everything from Along the Ganges by Ilija Trojanow to Wrong About Japan by Peter Carey. The list is historically comprehensive, spanning The Histories by Herodotus (circa 440 B.C.) to this year's Down the Nile: Alone in a Fisherman's Skiff by Rosemary Mahoney.

Our hero, Mark Twain, landed three books on the list: The Innocents Abroad, Life on the Mississippi and Roughing It. But, to our extreme disappointment, our namesake, Following the Equator, didn't make the cut.

To test or not to test …

The guys at Freakonomics posed the question "What should be done about standardized tests?" to a group of testing "aficionados." It's a hot—and controversial—topic, to be sure. But the comments are interesting, especially the French fries analogy.

Who wants to be a travel writer?

Do you know a college student who aspires to be a travel writer? National Geographic Traveler's The Next Great Travel Writer contest could be his or her big break.

First assignment: Write a 300-word essay on a travel experience that moved you, excited you or changed you. But the deadline is fast approaching: All entries must be received by 5 p.m. PST December 31, 2007. The contest is open to North American college students.

The author of the winning essay will travel to Mongolia with National Geographic Traveler Editor-in-Chief Keith Bellows to write a feature for the magazine's website. The aspiring writer will learn firsthand from Bellows what it takes to be a professional travel writer and will work closely with the editor-in-chief to plan, develop and craft the feature story.

It's the opportunity of a lifetime to visit the land of Genghis Khan and the Gobi Desert. And it's a career break to work alongside a professional editor and write for the world's most widely read travel magazine.

Antarctica, anyone?

Antarctica stirs the emotions of explorers. Its remoteness and uncharted territory calls out to adventurers. Its icy, white expanse may be the last great frontier of land exploration on Earth.

But Antarctica is heating up—and I don't mean global warming.

More and more explorers, adventurers and plain-old tourists are making their way to Antarctica. Technically the world's largest desert, Antarctica is becoming a hotspot for the truly adventurous (and wealthy) tourists. A recent New York Times article cites the Antarctic Treaty Secretariat, which says that more than 35,000 tourists are expected to visit the continent next spring and summer. That's a 418 percent increase since 1992-93, when fewer than 7,000 tourists visited the White Continent.

Gifts for globetrotters

Time's ticking if you're looking for that perfect holiday gift for would-be world travelers.

You could opt for the basics, or you could find something new and unique, such as a toothbrush sanitizer, a weather-predicting umbrella or even The Speaking Global Translator.

Magnifying a masterpiece

Leonardo's The Last Supper is ready for its close-up.

One of the world's most famous paintings is now the world's largest high-definition photograph—at 16 billion pixels. And the best part is that all of us can enjoy an in-depth look at the remarkable, 500-year-old painting.

Thanks to a project by high-def photography expert HAL9000, you can now inspect every pixel of the painting.

The original painting, which hangs in Milan's Santa Maria delle Grazie, is a massive masterpiece. Although a tad less famous than another da Vinci painting, The Last Supper measures 29 feet wide and 15 feet high—dwarfing The Mona Lisa, which is less than 2 feet by 3 feet.

Nothing beats seeing this masterpiece in person. In fact, Globespotters just urged visitors to make time for it in Milan.

As Gadling points out, it's nearly impossible to get close enough to the classics to truly study them. But at least now we can get more than a glimpse of greatness. Enjoy zooming!

Test your knowledge

As a follow-up to our poking fun at Kellie Pickler, here's a way to test your own geography knowledge.

Try your hand at The Traveler IQ Challenge from TravelPod.

Langwitches, an education blog from a technology integration facilitator, brought our attention to this fun but addictive online game in a post titled, "Geography Illiteracy & Global Awareness"—a popular topic lately.

One hint: Budapest is the capital of Hungary.

American Idol or American Idiot?

Did you see Kellie Pickler on Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?

Kellie, an American Idol contestant in 2006, clearly is not. She was asked the 3rd Grade World Geography question: "Budapest is the capital of what European country?"

It's not so much that she didn't know the answer, but how clueless she truly is when it comes to global awareness.

World Hum brought our attention to her embarrassing performance on the Fox TV quiz show. Check out the video to see what transpired.