National Geographic Bee 2010
Which city beginning with the letter “K” has more than 7 million inhabitants living within its metropolitan limits?
Kiev, Kinshasa, or Kuala Lumpur?
If you said Kuala Lumpur, which would have been my guess, you’d be wrong, as was the contestant who attempted to answer the question in the first round of the National Geographic Bee Final yesterday in Washington, D.C. The correct answer, Kinshasa, a city located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is one of the largest in Africa, comparable in size to Johannesburg (South Africa) and smaller only than Lagos (Nigeria) and Cairo (Egypt).
The Bee Final was characteristically exciting–and challenging for us onlookers (even those with degrees in Geography)! Ten contestants–all male–advanced past the semi-final round held Wednesday (a head-to-head match-up among winners from all 50 U.S. states, territories, and Department of Defense Dependents Schools), to compete for a chance at a $25,000 scholarship, a trip to the Galapagos Islands, and a lifetime membership to the National Geographic Society.
A few highlights from the Final:
