Procrastination Junction

Published May 21, 2009 @ 06:35PM PT

Let's see. I should, theoretically, be packing. Instead, I've decided it's much easier to believe in the moving-fairies, who will magically take care of all moving-related chores and tasks sometime Sunday night, or at least before I leave for San Francisco Monday morning.

The advantage of not-packing is that it really frees up one's time. Which is great, seeing as how I've just discovered Our Dumb World: The Onion's Atlas of the Planet Earth:

"Click on the Onion pins scattered around the globe to reveal mind-expanding factoids about the lesser, conquerable nations of the Earth."

For instance:

- Bangladesh: Framed by the Ganges and Brahmaputra Rivers, Bangladesh is home to some of the richest, most fertile soil in the world. That's the setup. The moment Bangladeshis establish an agricultural society around it, however, God delivers the devastating punchline, drowning hundreds of thousands in a typhoon. Works every time.

- Rwanda: Sadly, the Hollywood film Hotel Rwanda has done little to improve the nation's tourism industry

- Republic of Congo: The Republic of Congo, though not a perfect nation by its own admission, is always quick to point out that at least it's doing a heck of a lot better than the Democratic Republic of Congo

- Sudan: Enough oil is discovered in the southern city of Bentiu to fuel the national conflict for generations to come (1978)

- Zimbabwe: Many suspect voter fraud after Mugabe wins a second term in office during a non-election year (2002)

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Author

Michael has worked for NGOs in Afghanistan, across east and central Africa, and Iraq. Prior to going overseas, he worked on a project providing assistance to the United Nations on the application of International Humanitarian Law to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.