Panama isn't the only country to be bisected by a canal. Canada is bisected by the Welland canal. "Bisected" doesn't mean it has to be cut in two EVEN pieces. Just sayin'
A map of The-Two-Pieces-of-Canada-as-Bisected-by-the-Welland-Canal would show how comically unequal the pieces are, kinda like a photo of an elephant next to a mouse. But, I gotta say, you're right!
Even if you were correct, Cuba is so closely associated with communism that it wouldn't be meaningful for most people taking the quiz. Venezuela is also more socialist than not, and all nations have some degree of socialism in their form of government, so it's sort of a moot point to point out that kind of technicality.
No, Bolivia desn't have two official capitals. Like Netherlands, where Amsterdam is the official capital, with the government seated in Hague; Bolivia has one official calital, Sucre, with the government seated in La Paz.
I suggest the question about the use of the metric system be worded better ("does not use the metric system").
The United States does the metric system, frequently and systematically--all weights and measures are defined using the metric system, all products are labeled using the metric system, it's a required part of education, and in significant swaths of science, engineering and technology it's used exclusively. It has been the officially preferred measurement system since 1988.
Of course customary measures are also in extensive use, but metrication is a continuum (in every country), and if the point is to ask which country is the only one in the Americas that still extensively uses non-metric measures, then it should be worded that way.
I'll be honest--I think it's a really uninteresting "question" that's an excuse for U.S.-bashing, since it's such a frequent saw. However, that's subjective. What is not subjective is that the question as worded is inaccurate.
I tend to read many American articles and also know many Americans, I never see or notice any usage of the metric system at all. The fact that this makes the US unique does not have to be seen as "bashing".
If scientists or engineers (or even drug dealers from what I heard in Trevor Noah's daily show) prefer the metric system for ease and increased accuracy, this does not mean that in general, everyone in the US uses the imperial system rather than the metric system in their daily lives.
I'm glad we agree that it would be better, then, to rephrase the question to make it clear that the focus is on the use of a customary or non-SI system "in daily life".
The fact is, metrication is a continuum, with customary measures and the metric system existing side by side in different contexts and different countries. You need to qualify which aspect of that mix you mean.
I didn't say that "scientists and engineers" use the metric system--you moved those goalposts. I said that it's used exclusively in large parts of "science, engineering and technology." It's why every American who touches these things is familiar with the metric system. I guess you think everyone who enters a tool shop is a scientist or engineer, or that anyone in the military or health care industry or auto mechanics or in the trades don't have "daily lives".
I also didn't say this question is bashing, just that it often is used in attempts to portray the U.S. as backward.
On that question though, as I was sitting here in Chiclayo, Peru, I thought through the names of every American country (except one) several times before deciding that there are none that end in U.
Cuba isn't the only communist country, Venezuela is as well. Cuba is the first one that comes to mind and the only one of the two to outright recognize itself as Communist, but that doesn't mean that Venezuela doesn't fall under the same description
Since the question uses the phrase "official capitals", Geografen is clearly right about this.
The United States does the metric system, frequently and systematically--all weights and measures are defined using the metric system, all products are labeled using the metric system, it's a required part of education, and in significant swaths of science, engineering and technology it's used exclusively. It has been the officially preferred measurement system since 1988.
Of course customary measures are also in extensive use, but metrication is a continuum (in every country), and if the point is to ask which country is the only one in the Americas that still extensively uses non-metric measures, then it should be worded that way.
I'll be honest--I think it's a really uninteresting "question" that's an excuse for U.S.-bashing, since it's such a frequent saw. However, that's subjective. What is not subjective is that the question as worded is inaccurate.
If scientists or engineers (or even drug dealers from what I heard in Trevor Noah's daily show) prefer the metric system for ease and increased accuracy, this does not mean that in general, everyone in the US uses the imperial system rather than the metric system in their daily lives.
The fact is, metrication is a continuum, with customary measures and the metric system existing side by side in different contexts and different countries. You need to qualify which aspect of that mix you mean.
I didn't say that "scientists and engineers" use the metric system--you moved those goalposts. I said that it's used exclusively in large parts of "science, engineering and technology." It's why every American who touches these things is familiar with the metric system. I guess you think everyone who enters a tool shop is a scientist or engineer, or that anyone in the military or health care industry or auto mechanics or in the trades don't have "daily lives".
I also didn't say this question is bashing, just that it often is used in attempts to portray the U.S. as backward.
On that question though, as I was sitting here in Chiclayo, Peru, I thought through the names of every American country (except one) several times before deciding that there are none that end in U.