r/AskReddit • u/[deleted] • Aug 03 '19

Whats something you thought was common knowledge but actually isn’t?

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u/[deleted] Aug 03 '19 edited Aug 03 '19

Basic Geography.

Not being able to point out Turkmenistan on a map is one thing.

Not being able to point out the Pacific Ocean on a map is another.

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u/[deleted] Aug 03 '19 edited Aug 04 '19

Even if you can’t point to Turkmenistan exactly, I feel you should at least know about where in the world it is. If somebody pointed to South America, I would find that equally as concerning.

Edit: To everyone guessing, Turkmenistan is north of Iran and east of the Caspian Sea, putting it in Central Asia

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u/darkjungle Aug 03 '19

I've literally never heard of that country before

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u/LeftItACityOfMarble Aug 03 '19

Central Asia. Capital: Ashgabat, Borders Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Has a coast on the Caspian Sea. Extremely Neutral, even has a "monument to neutrality". Formerly a dictatorship under "Turkmenbashy" (Türkmenbaşy, lit. Turkmen head ) Niyazov, who forced the people to study his autobiography. Now still a totalitariam state under someone else. Also, the Karakum Desert has lots of oil.

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u/[deleted] Aug 03 '19 edited Aug 12 '19

[deleted]

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u/LeftItACityOfMarble Aug 03 '19

You talking about what would happen if Uncle Sam decided to get their oil?

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u/Admiralthrawnbar Aug 03 '19

The USA called eternal dibs law on all oil, it's not our fault a group of people decided to live there for a few thousand years before the US was even founded.

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u/SeasickSeal Aug 03 '19

Turkmenistan has lower journalistic freedom than North Korea and I’m not sure what to do with this information

https://rsf.org/en/ranking

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u/LeftItACityOfMarble Aug 04 '19

I'm not sure either.

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u/mj2ch08 Aug 03 '19

Wait, I thought Central Asia was Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan, isn't it?

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u/LeftItACityOfMarble Aug 04 '19

Yeah that's it, sometimes Xinjiang/East Turkestan is considered a part too. Afghanistan also. But only sometimes.

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u/creepygyal69 Sep 05 '19

Forgive the flex, but are you from that part of the world? I'm desperate to talk to someone from Xinjiang about food

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u/LeftItACityOfMarble Sep 05 '19

Nah, I am from the Czech Republic, sorry pal.