Mexico Wins World National Geographic Bee

Teens Defeat Canada And U.S., The Four-Time Champion

(AP)  What historic site was carved from sandstone in 1200 B.C. and features two massive temples and statues of an ancient ruler?

A trio of Mexican teenagers answered correctly; the Egyptian monument Abu Simbel; to win the eighth National Geographic World Championship on Thursday, dethroning four-time champion, the United States.

"To win gold, it's really great," said team member Emanuel Johansen Campos, 15, of Tejalpa, Mexico, near Cuernavaca. "I don't have any words."

Mexico took command from the start against the two other finalists, Canada and the United States. The team correctly answered that Chinese explorer Zheng He set out on his explorations of the South Pacific and the African coast before Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro made his voyage across the Atlantic.

Mexico wound up with 34 points, three points ahead of the United States and nine points ahead of the Canadians, who stumbled when asked to identify Turkey's Lake Van on an unmarked map.

Competitors eliminated in the preliminary round included Argentina, Australia, Bulgaria, Taiwan, France, Germany, Ghana, Hungary, India, Poland, Romania, Russia, Singapore and the United Kingdom.

It was the first finals appearance for Mexico. Johansen was joined by Carlos Franco Ruiz, 14, of Zapotlan de Juarez, north of Mexico City, and team captain Angel Aliseda Alonso, 16, of Guadalajara.

Aliseda, the oldest contestant in the finals, said the three met only once before arriving in San Diego but prepared together over the telephone. He said they had not even expected to make it out of the preliminary round Tuesday.

During the competition, the team had help from a translator; the contest was in English.

The United States was defending the title it won two years ago in Budapest, Hungary. It gave up a brief advantage halfway through the hour-long contest at SeaWorld Adventure Park and then stumbled again in the finals, guessing Slovenia rather than Albania as a destination for European refugees during the Kosovo war in 1999.

The competition tests teenagers on geography, demographics and political history. Teams and individuals were asked to identify errors on maps, countries based on demographic statistics and the origin of tribal musical instruments and carved relics loaned by the San Diego Museum of Man.

The National Geographic Society holds the contest every other year. Past champions include Canada and Australia.

[cremlacrem]

to: bobnjersey

Good one!

[iceman_1960]

"Since when did Americans start hating Mexicans??"
- Posted by GretaGreen at 08:26 PM : Aug 10, 2007

It started when that bigoted movie "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" came out.

"Any more lip out of you and I'll haul off and let you have it. If you know what's good for you, you won't monkey around with Fred C. Dobbs." - Humphrey Bogart

[rudy654-2009]

hating blacks went out a while ago ... otherwise you're best bet is hating anything islamic ... but mexicans are closer and have easier access so their on the list too.
Posted by bobnjersey at 10:09 PM : Aug 10, 2007

They hate the African Americans, as well. Just wait for story that features an African American, and they pile on top of each other in order to post the most hateful and vile speech. No, these sick people have been raised to hate.

[rudy654-2009]

Can anyone tell me what's going on? Since when did Americans start hating Mexicans??
Posted by GretaGreen at 08:26 PM : Aug 10, 2007

The truth is, these people have been around for a long time. They were probably abused as children, and know no love or kindness. They sit in front of a computer all day, or listen to hate radio, because that's the only life they really have. Their existence is cold and lonely, and they know nothing else. Don't let them discourage you.

[rudy654-2009]

For all you racists, the day will come when you are old and decrepit, and the only people who will even change your diaper will be some migrant worker, because your own family will remember the hateful individual you were, and they won't care what happens to you - other than to make sure you leave some money behind so they can bury you.

[rudy654-2009]

Uh, spanish or illegal english version?
Posted by drummer94 at 08:12 PM : Aug 10, 2007

No, it was a contest for the educated. It wouldn't have been for you.

[rudy654-2009]

I do detest anybody or group that comes into my Country, uninvited and tells me to my face that they are going to drive all peoples of European ancestry out of the country I was born and live in.

You're full of excrement! You think you can come here and tell all of us that this is how all Mexicans think? Some news for you bud, the only people who have ever done what you're saying are Euro-Americans. They came over uninvited, decided to slice the land up any way they chose, and totally disregarded the people who had been born and raised here for generations upon generations. They did it to the Native Americans and the Mexicans, who are also of Native American descent. It is interesting to me how a racist such as yourself, found a way to express his hate topic based on some students winning a geography contest. You sad, pathetic little creature.

[bobnjersey]

[I do not understand this hatred for Mexicans
... Can anyone tell me what's going on? Since when did Americans start hating Mexicans??]
[Posted by GretaGreen at 08:26 PM : Aug 10, 2007]

hating blacks went out a while ago ... otherwise you're best bet is hating anything islamic ... but mexicans are closer and have easier access so their on the list too.

[toolmangler-2009]

I do not hate Mexicans, Muslims, Atheists, or anybody else that disagrees with Americas way of doing things. I do detest anybody or group that comes into my Country, uninvited and tells me to my face that they are going to drive all peoples of European ancestry out of the country I was born and live in. Then they place a Mexican flag above the US flag (which is flown upside down).


http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/january2007/300107Immigration.htm

[bequialife]

When did we start hating mexicans?? When they came here to form gangs, murder, rob, they have no ambition nor goals except to breed and expect freebies. They are not interested in educating themselves are bettering themselves. They litter, they dress filthy! Why can't they wash their clothes or look clean!! They contribute nothing to this country. They deteriorate neighborhoods. We make it difficult for the guy from, oh, lets say, Poland, to immigrate here, and he has a Phd, can support himself, and never committed a crime.