Curious Capital Cities

A look at some curious capital cities of the world, including countries with more than one capital, no capital, disputed capitals, US state capitals, and purpose-built capitals like Washington DC.
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[@WonderWhy]

As a few people have already pointed out, there's an error at 9:40 - *Nashville* is the capital of Tennessee and one of the 17 state capitals that is also the state's most populous city. Jefferson City is the capital of Missouri. Really sorry for the error!

[@myinternetkindasucks]

Thanks

[@monkofdarktimes]

Delaware capital is Wilmington I think

[@juniatapark54]

@@monkofdarktimes Dover.

[@accruenewtwo9845]

7:58 "Jordon"

[@EvanEscher]

@God-tier Basement Dweller yeah you're right that looks like Norfolk. But if you're not in the US I guess it doesn't really make a difference.

[@sirflamehood7673]

If Vatican city is it's own capital city and is completely enclaved inside rome, Italy's capital city, then the distance between their capitals is 0 m.

[@zelkovas]

He specified UN members and Vatican City isn't an UN member

[@yaj1v]

@@zelkovas well, it is an observer state and as such recognized by the UN. I believe he was mainly discounting Palestine because.... yeah

[@yaj1v]

@Wally Banter well personally I want secular governance over the historical Palestine region but yeah basically. tbf if Jordan didn't intervene in the Six Day War we might have a Jordanian or Palestinian Palestine

[@Forlfir]

@@yaj1v The Vatican is a bullshit state anyway that was created to reduce tensions with the Catholic Church and the Pope which explains why it's only an observer state as in it doesn't really have a say on anything apart indoctrinating people of course

[@yaj1v]

@@Forlfir yeah ofc

[@itsjustnils]

Germany without its capital Berlin would have a 0,5% higher GDP per Capita, whilst Greece without Athens would loose about 35%

[@kuroderuta]

That makes no sense. Germany would have a lower GDP if you remove Berlin unless you mean GDP per capita.

[@rjfaber1991]

+kami - Have you not heard of the famous Berlin money-burning pyres? It's pretty much all they do in that city these days... Nah, of course it isn't, but that is pretty much the only action you could undertake that lowers your absolute GDP. I suspect +itsjustnils was indeed talking about per-capita GDP.

[@itsjustnils]

@@rjfaber1991 , +Kami, yes I meant Per Capita.. sorry and thanks for pointing it out for me :D

[@szymongorczynski7621]

Hmm... Maybe something to do with a sudden influx wotgin the past 5 years of the city's and also the whole country's population?

[@rjfaber1991]

+zymon Gorczynski - That influx has been way too small to have an effect of that nature. It's far more likely that it's to do with the old wealth disparity between East and West Germany, which is still visible to this day, albeit to much less of an extent than in 1989...

[@72pod]

Guy 1: Do you know the capital of Alaska? Guy 2: Juneau. Guy 1: No, that's why I'm asking you.

[@lzh4950]

A little ironic that the state capital of Alaska isn't connected to the rest of the state by roads

[@kafuchino3435]

@@lzh4950 you can just drive through canada

[@kirchoffkyle]

@@kafuchino3435 not right now, Americans currently can't travel into Canada

[@lzh4950]

@Erik Seville Only via ferry IIRC

[@motorpolitan8884]

The Thai name of Bangkok is krung thep which means city of angels and the largest population of Thais outside Thailand is in Los Angeles, which means 'the angels'.

[@wannabehistorian371]

Interesting coincidence.

[@JimmiAlli]

Los Angeles’ original name was also very long - “El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles del Río Porciúncula" (in English, "the town of our lady the Queen of the Angels of the River Porciúncula").

[@pewdiepieisstillabadyoutub4490]

Jimmi Alli Eh, Does It Matter? The Place’s Walls Are More Vandalism Than Wall

[@bigbrother9531]

@@JimmiAlli los Angeles is now the queen of homeless drug users and street vendors, thanks to the mayor.

[@thomasdoogan6853]

nvm

[@GundemaroSagrajas]

Another fun fact, the Japanese Government never declared Tokyo to be the capital. It was just assumed to be when the Emperor moved there. But ceremonially the capital of Japan is still Kyoto

[@AlejandroRodolfoMendez]

also both cities have the east capital and west capital in their names.

[@platoze]

Alejandro Rodolfo Mendez no, Tokyo means “Eastern Capital”, while Kyoto simply means Capital.

[@AlejandroRodolfoMendez]

i just forget which one is one... but check the kanjis. i forget about it, but in the chapter of geography now japan explain it well. basically kyoto was the capital then became the other capital.

[@yarpen26]

@@AlejandroRodolfoMendez Kyoto is 京都, the characters standing in for respectively "capital-city", whereas Tokyo is 東京, literally "east-capital".

[@wannabehistorian371]

@Alejandro Rodolfo Mendez Japanese here. Kyoto is indeed just “capital”. Huh, Geography Now made an error, it seems...

[@SupremeLeaderKimJong-un]

Pyongyang is the best capital of them all. We have a captured US spy ship, cool monuments, statues of my dynasty, karaoke, bulgogi, cold noodles, and the world's tallest unfinished building

[@mattbraybrook232]

Thank you Kim! Very cool!

[@madingwang7778]

yes very nice

[@jakes1566]

Hey Kim, could you work on the wifi? It isn't working for some reason

[@jakes1566]

@VardarBanovina Smh his country's too poor to feed it's people, but it's *certainly* rich enough to make giant memorials and a giant building. It's all about priorities

[@Fornax70]

I love saying Pyongyang

[@nayviler]

Fun fact: the Canadian province of Ontario technically contains two capitals, but only has one capital. Both Ottawa and Toronto are in the province of Ontario. Toronto is the capital of the province of Ontario, Ottawa is the capital of Canada.

[@ChrisPollitt]

Did you know: "Kingston was named the first capital of the United Province of Canada on February 10, 1841."

[@nayviler]

@@ChrisPollitt I'm aware, however this video was more focused on present day capitals 😉

[@risannd]

There is National Capital Region, a term which includes Ottawa, Gatineau, and surrounding areas. However, this area is not independent. It's still part of Ontario and Quebec respectively.

[@foolroblox3231]

Fun fact: London is in Ontario

[@foolroblox3231]

Any “ Guay ”

[@AtlasPro1]

This video would have gone well with the two I just made on the biggest cities over time. Glad to see more videos coming from you!

[@user-vo8nz2yn3y]

you make good videos

[@priyanshgautam9971]

You too make great videos I have subscribed you

[@Adrian-ve5tv]

Your videos are becoming more boring, create interesting videos next, I don't want you to look like Real Life Lore

[@3hreeoshortsvideos8]

@@Adrian-ve5tv But Real life lore is a good channel like Atlas Pro.

[@JustinY.]

And then there's Singapore.

[@insurgentspi0]

Don’t forget the Vatican

[@urmum3773]

That was fast

[@Konmonachi]

Yay(:

[@lth9282]

Why do YOU have to be in every comment section of a popular video?

[@ADCD-dj8gz]

Justin Y. How are you always so quick to comment?

[@_evangupta]

Another one of the reasons why Rio was changed as the capital, (and why they didn't switch to the larger Sao Paulo) is because both these cities are boxed in with mountains behind them, limiting their growth. So they created a new capital, on flater opener ground, (also more central) so the city could expand. Good vid 👌

[@perfilgenerico8717]

Rio de Janeiro was the only capital of a european kingdom located outside of europe

[@emysimo]

Another fun fact: there are only 2 countries in the world whose capitals are not on their mainland: Denmark and Equatorial Guinea, although some sources also cite The Gambia and the UAE.

[@sunnyjim1355]

So, there are 4 then.

[@Absolute_Zero7]

If you count provinces, than the capital of British Columbia (Canadian Province) Victoria is located on Vancouver Island.

[@bananaempijama]

Equatorial is currently building a capital city on their mainland, Oyala.

[@seraphina985]

@Mr. P. Enis The island of Great Britain is the mainland of the UK though as the vast majority of it's territory is located on said island as is it's capital London. Same goes for Iceland, Japan also Tokyo is on the island that forms the mainland of that nation Honshu. Mainland is a rather fuzzy term that is sometimes used in multiple different contexts but the most common definition is the largest contiguous landmass within a defined geographic area whether that be a county, state, country or whatever. So for example if you are talking about the UK then the island of Great Britain would be mainland UK but the continental mainland of the European Peninsula is mainland Europe because Great Britain is the largest single landmass of the United Kingdom but for the continent of Europe that is of course the main European Peninsula itself (Including it's own smaller peninsulas like Italy and Iberia). So TLDR it's literally the Main land of [area in question]

[@seraphina985]

@Mr. P. Enis Yeah dunno where they got that from since New Guinea is the largest, Java is the 5th I think NG, Borneo, Sumartra and I think one other who's name I forget are bigger. I havn't actually been there so I don't know which the locals consider the mainland it could be one of the exceptions though as it is one example where the most populated island and the largest island are not the same place. Honestly it's not exactly a scientific term and what people in an area consider the mainland can be fuzzy like I said it usually means the largest but then usually largest and most populated/economically important are the same place Indonesia doesn't follow this trend as Java has 3-4 times more people than the next most populated despite being 5th in terms of raw size. As another example of where things get quite fuzzy if you ask a British person to colour in Mainland Europe on a map many would colour the continent including Scandinavia ask most Scandinavians and they generally only count the area south of the Baltic sea so it really is somewhat more of a cultural term and depends a lot on the perspective of the person identifying which land is the mainland from their perspective. Course for most of the Scandinavian population by far the easiest route to the rest of the content is across the water and not the long (and thanks to geopolitical BS overly complicated) slog up through Russia

[@SiVlog1989]

Naypyidaw, the modern day capital of Myanmar (Burma) (I was surprised to learn it's not Yangon, formerly Rangoon) is probably the most future proof city ever built. It has massive 20 lane highways that are almost completely deserted at the moment

[@Gonza-lh2vo]

Except a modern city should prioritize public transportation over wide highways. Also, I wouldn't be surpised if corruption had anything to do with the oversize highways.

[@SiVlog1989]

@@Gonza-lh2vo true, although no amount of public transport can completely eradicate the individual freedom of owning personal transportation like a car or a bike. Having said that, I agree that questionable things may have happened

[@Gonza-lh2vo]

@@SiVlog1989 Of course, some people prefer or need a car.

[@Sebotway]

I too watched the Top Gear special in Burma

[@diogovenes4371]

@@Sebotway THIS! :D

[@adrianvertudazo133]

I like his pronunciation of the word 'city' as "seti"....

[@Igor_054]

+ Adrian Vertudazo I've always wondered why does he shift that vowel sound for every single word possible. Not sure if it is an accent (where is he from, by the way...) or perhaps even a speech impediment.

[@ShamliseG]

He's Scottish

[@heheguy0923]

Adrian, that's because he's British.

[@omegastar180films6]

WonderWhy is Scottish

[@heheguy0923]

@@omegastar180films6 At least their capital is Edinburgh

[@SprunkCovers]

As a Chilean, I don't understand why a lot of people (outside of Chile) say that Valparaiso and Santiago are the two capitals, it's only Santiago, the Congress is in Valparaiso, but I have never heard a single Chilean that says that Valparaiso is the other capital

[@doomxtreme]

Google maps lists Valparaiso as a capital

[@Ignacio.Romero]

@@doomxtreme It doesn't? Chile only has one capital

[@JPWack]

For anyone with doubts about this: Valparaiso has our Parliament, but Santiago has everything else, including our old Parliament, a lot of population (close to one third of the country's total) and is the center of economic activities

[@disoriented1]

@@JPWack ..why do you refer to your national legislature as 'parliament'? .while Mr Ricardo Santos refers to it as 'Congress'?..just curious..in Anglophone nations, it is not a semantic difference..parliaments are much different than congresses..

[@JPWack]

@@disoriented1 by mistake, I didn't know there was a difference. Yeah, Chile has a Congress, independent of the executive branch of government. Maybe I watch too many British tv shows 😂

[@tharcysiotatikawa2432]

Fun fact: Brasilia was designed to look like Santos Dumont's first motorized plane, 14-Bis, when seen from above. You can see it in Google Maps, and parts of the city were even named as wings.

[@VexillologyHub]

Aren’t Rome and Vatican City closer than Brazzaville and Kinshasa?

[@Tony.H03]

Well seeing Vatican city is a country in a city, yes, but then one would have to consider Vatican City to be the capital of... Vatican City? If an entire country is just one city, does that make that city the capital? That's a philosophical question. Maybe WonderWhy will try and answer :)

[@6zeekoe9]

Vatican City is not a UN member

[@Tony.H03]

@@6zeekoe9 fair enough, just an observer state. But he still should've mentioned it I think. (sorry WonderWhy, I love you, but technically Vatican city is the only capital city *inside* another capital city)

[@timothyhawkins6157]

He did specify the closest capital cities of two UN members, Vatican City is an observer state rather than a full member so it wouldn't count under this criteria. But you're right, in terms of countries generally they would be closest (with the Vatican being literally inside Rome). Would've been worth a mention

[@maxkuchlein173]

​@Faarquad Borislav But he said the closest capitals of UN members.

[@WK-bo6qv]

Imagine Alaska and Nevada having their capitals in the centers of their states

[@i_amnot_here2453]

We have a purpose-built capital in the Philippines too, Quezon City. It was made capital when the country became independent. But the government reverted it back to Manila in the 70s. But what's weird is that the lower legislative house is still there, the senate is in another city (Pasay City) while the executive and the judiciary is in Manila. Although officially, the capital is Manila.

[@TicketToKnow]

Awesome that Nauru got a mention, great video!

[@jamescook2412]

Geography now launched Nauru episode yesterday and they talked about Nauru's capital.

[@geography_joe]

Its a big week for nauru now that theyre famous thanks to youtube geography vids

[@darkshoalproductions]

Interesting fact about Florida's capital, Tallahassee. We were originally planning to have the capital be near the middle of the state, but realized it would be very difficult for people visiting from other states trudge through the still very dangerous wilderness to get to it, so we put it up in the north to be as close to the other state capitals as we could.

[@LlamaKing9000]

That's not true. Back when Tallahassee was settled, the only two cities in Florida were Jacksonville and Pensacola. Instead of choosing which city to make the capital, Tallahassee was chosen since it was halfway between them. At the time it was just a small native American village, but it was technically in the center for Florida's population.

[@darkshoalproductions]

Well, looking it up, it seems the Florida history book we were mandated to read in fourth grade may have had some errors in it. I thank you for clarifying. However, the two towns were Pensacola, and Saint Augustine, which is the oldest continuously occupied city in the US. Jacksonville had only just been settled in 1822, a mere two years before Tallahassee was chosen to be the capital, and their town charter wasn't approved by the Florida legislature until 1832. Thank you for prompting me to look into this.@@LlamaKing9000

[@Tdwt18]

I wish it was in the middle of the state imo it makes more sense to put it more near Orlando now because most of the biggest population centers are in central and south Florida, but moving the capital would probably decimate Tallahassee and would be too much work moving many government stuff here

[@ZACKMAN2007]

If that was true then Orlando would be the capital

[@revertrevertz5438]

No mention of Astana, Kazakhstan’s Capital? :( fun fact Astana in Kazakh just means “Capital City”

[@doomxtreme]

He can’t mention all capitals. My countries were mentioned, but cool fact

[@Slithermotion]

@@doomxtreme And why should that be mentioned in a video about curious capitals? I mean if it already means capital city there is nothing special about it...or am I missing something?

[@rameenaayan3248]

Almaty means land of apples. Btw in Bengali the word Astana means shelter

[@5000yes1]

Fun fact: Astana was renamed in a honor of an autocrat.

[@stefanetienney2666]

You must mean glorious N U R S U L T A N

[@bazookacantgame]

Fun fact: Wellington is the world's most southern capital

[@user-yj6kk9wh4g]

Whir twerp And Reykjavik the most northern 😉

[@Dave_Sisson]

Well it depends on what you define as a capital. Hobart is a state capital and it's further south than Wellington. But Stanley is the capital of the self governing, fast growing and very wealthy Falkland Islands and they increasingly refer to themselves as a "nation", even if they can't be technically independent "due to the obvious military threat."

[@vkdrk]

@@Dave_Sisson Hobart is still in Australia. Tasmania is not an independent country hence it doesn't count as a capital city of the country.

[@juanpedronardin8596]

@@Dave_Sisson If we talk about state/province capitals, Ushuaia is the most southern one

[@lebens3585]

@@juanpedronardin8596 but we don't

[@just-a-silly-goofy-guy]

Curious George really is interested in this

[@seamusscullion1596]

Alexander the Greater Jesus dude 😂

[@hoodclassicsofcalifornia]

This joke was pretty bad not gonna lie

[@bnbandit1123]

You are like the second Justin Y

[@nolmartmaridorgimeno7022]

Meister Meme don’t underestimate the kermit

[@rshua]

kremit At least he’ll be Safe and Sound.

[@pyrrhocorax]

Fun fact :The first capital of Greece, after the Greek War of Independence was Nafplio(Ναύπλιο), but in 1834, it was changed and Athens became the capital of Greece. The city of Thessaloniki in Greece has the nickname Symprotevousa(Συμπρωτεύουσα), literally meaning "Co-capital". This is because during the Byzantine Era, it was called Symvasilevousa(Συμβασιλεύουσα), meaning "Co-reigning"

[@TheMixCurator]

Fun fact re Brasilia: "The Pilot Plan" for the city means from an aerial view, it looks like an aeroplane. The plan also included two principal components, the Monumental Axis (east to west) and the Residential Axis (north to south)

[@jnyerere]

I was born and partially raised in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. At the time of my birth (in the 80s) it was still the capital of Tanzania. Even though the capital has been Dodoma since 1995, many people still think Dar is the capital. I don't blame them considering that the official residence of the president is still located in Dar.

[@rjfaber1991]

How did Dar es Salaam become the capital in the first place? I'd have thought that after Britain got Tanganyika as a mandate and joined it up with Zanzibar, they'd keep Zanzibar City as their capital, and so would the subsequent independent countries that owned it. After all, Zanzibar was already much more well-developed and it's in a fantastic strategic position.

[@isaccalderonsierra9789]

Don’t forget about Belmopan, Belize, created after the former capital Belize City was hit by hurricanes

[@rjfaber1991]

I found out about that one a while ago, and it was quite odd; you'd expect a city with such an obviously Mayan name to be the continuation of an old Mayan city, as is the case all over Central America, but instead, it's a brand-new planned city...

[@xtremegamer2218]

Culo

[@legoshaakti]

You should have mentioned St. Paul, Minnesota as one of the unusual state capitals. While it’s not the largest city in the state, it’s in the exact same urban area as Minneapolis, which *is* the largest city. The area is usually just referred to as “the Twin Cities,” or simply “the cities” by residents of Minnesota.

[@cristrguacl]

Chilean here! We don't think as our country with two capitals. Valparaiso is seat of the congress just since the return to democracy, after the end of the dictatorship in 1990. When you go to Santiago you can see the former Congress building in downtown, and legislative work is still done there, albeit just a portion of it.

[@dentrobate54]

14:35 Lol, Bangkok has as many titles as Daenerys from Game of Thrones.

[@ceblack426]

9:39 The capital of Tennessee is Nashville, Jefferson City is the capital of Missouri

[@disoriented1]

@Connor Black.....lol..to be honest..most of us in Missouri at times forget Jeff City is the capital!

[@christianlorre]

Sacramento and Carson City are examples of where the money is. Sutter's Mill and the Comstock Lode with the huge huge mineral wealth caused state's capitals to end up on top of that area.

[@ravenlord4]

Funny how so many people in the comments don't understand the concept of a city-state.

[@BJGvideos]

I don't. What is it?

[@scythal]

@@BJGvideos A country that's so small that it only consists of one city.

[@BJGvideos]

@@scythal So...Vatican City is a city state? How about Nauru?

[@carlosandleon]

@@BJGvideos Nauru is not a city, it's s couple of Towns but Nauru is better called an Island Country anyway lol.

[@BJGvideos]

@@carlosandleon A couple of towns? I thought it was Yaren and nothing else.

[@MuunNii]

The La Paz - Sucre really reminded me of the situation in Germany (even germans arent aware off) following the Bonn - Berlin compromise

[@tzhongyan2]

Malaysian here, didn't know Putrajaya is set as our 2nd capital city. Always thought it's only the government moved there without declaring it a capital city.

[@Axemantitan]

10:02 Salem, Oregon is not geographically central to Oregon, but it is pretty much central population-wise.

[@hoodclassicsofcalifornia]

Ah Asian capitals, the ones where there translation means ____ capital

[@jameswabrek9909]

Many creative

[@musAKulture]

they had other names before they became capitals though. beijing was once named ji, xi'an's first names were feng and hao, and nanjing was once jinling. those names were 2-3 thousand years old though. as for japan, kyoto was called heian, and tokyo was called edo.

[@joedawg199]

Except Pyongyang.

[@wannabehistorian371]

I guess we wanted everyone to get the memo?

[@nitusrivastava7803]

Delhi was before called shahjahanabad and mumbai was called bombai

[@Corredor1230]

Oh wow! 2:05 is a picture of the old Bogota Skyline! Quite nostalgic. Many new buildings have been built recently and it looks quite different nowadays. Pretty cool! I love my hometown.

[@bradyh1782]

Equatorial Guinea's capital is off it's coast and Bolivia has 2.

[@cryptic2610]

South Africa has 3

[@rjfaber1991]

That's because when Spain got Equatorial Guinea from Portugal, the mainland part of the country was very sparsely inhabited, certainly by Europeans. The islands is where the population lived, as it had done (and continues too do) in the Portuguese colony that Equatorial Guinea was originally part of, Sao Tome & Principe.

[@adamdodda3275]

Equatorial Guinea isn't equatorial

[@bradyh1782]

@@adamdodda3275 I know.

[@liamtahaney713]

Bolivia doesn't have two though. Sucre is only in the name only. They said it in their first constitution, but never did any governing then.

[@albumine7777]

Once again, amazing video!

[@alessandrobressani7323]

I love your attention to detail, like having Swaziland as Eswatini, and saying La Paz is at 41% the height of Everest.

[@MaryCeleste86]

Nanjing is also de jure capital of the Republic of China.

[@musAKulture]

good point

[@scythal]

They should change it to Taipei.

[@joaquindubini3681]

@@scythal they pretty much wont ever give up their claim as tye real China...

[@ducttapeanddreams]

At 10:05 you show Virginia's Capital as Williamsburg, which is the Colonial Capital. Richmond, Virginia is the state's capital since 1780, and is Medium-Central to the state as a whole, and very central to the population centres.

[@masonmckeague5538]

I was scrolling through the comments to see if someone would mention this!

[@montyroot9090]

And then at 10:11 he shows a painting of the colonial Capitol building in Williamsburg while talking about current capitals that used to be the most populous, as if it's still the capital. It's especially strange because he later acknowledges that Richmond is the capital when he talks about independent cities at 10:42.

[@tgcace]

WonderWhy I love your videos Keep it up Ps plz upload more often

[@summersaleh250]

I absolutely love your videos🔥🔥 I'm binge watching like crazy

[@Tenrekz]

Netherlands: we have the most capitals South Africa: Are ya sure about that?

[@rjfaber1991]

Can I just be a massive spoilsport and say that as a Dutchman, I can attest to the fact that I've never heard anyone here mention or even think of The Hague as our capital? If you've grown up with the idea that a country's capital is where the government is seated, that may seem strange, but there's no reason why it should be the case, and Dutch people are very used to the idea that the two don't need to align.

[@kuocdo1938]

South Africa has three capitals.

[@matthewlebo1841]

Juneau and Honolulu are the only state capitals you can’t drive into.

[@bmtfadediv2601]

Actually, you can drive into Honolulu from the other municipalities in Oahu.

[@matthewlebo1841]

Yeah, but you can’t drive to it from the state at large.

[@bmtfadediv2601]

+Matthew Lebo But that's not what your comment says.

[@stefanetienney2666]

You can drive into Juneau, there’s a road through British Columbia

[@bmtfadediv2601]

@@stefanetienney2666 No there isnt.

[@denisevlogiev]

I just love your videos so interesting

[@Urmothafu]

I was very surprised and delighted to see a beautiful picture of my hometown, Bonn, you dont see it in international media very often 1:44

[@cyndie26]

1:28 The city known as "Eastern Capital" (東京) is now, interestingly enough, Tokyo (or Dongjing in Mandarin) -- in Japan.

[@AlejandroRodolfoMendez]

that's because tokyo and kyoto have the same situation like in china and the japanaese use kanjis that are borrowed signs from the one that use in china.

[@cbrtdgh4210]

Kyoto 京都, literally "capital city", was the official capital of Japan until 1868. Tokyo 東京都, literally "eastern capital city" was made capital in 1869 and was formerly known as Edo 江戸，literally "bay entrance".

[@panner11]

Yeah but that doesn't mean that the Chinese will necessarily use that. In this case, they do.

[@Evzone1821]

How curious, a new wonderwhy vidéo about curious cities!

[@shon-rosswieczorek5956]

“However while the single fixed capital-“ South Africa: *no*

[@BestJannaInBronze]

True

[@leaguemaskthaamumugod7552]

For a few years now I've enjoyed the pleasant surprise that is a WonderWhy video. You make such interesting content, any time I see a new video of yours I have to watch it right now. I've not even watched this video yet. Just figured I'd let you know you're the shit.

[@AllanJTaylor]

Love this video! just wanna point out thought that at 10:05, you show what looks to be Newport News or Williamsburg as Virginias capital, but it's been Richmond since 1780, which is significantly more centralized.

[@imrustyokay]

9:40 I didn't know Nashville, Tennessee changed it's name to Jefferson City....

[@madingwang7778]

it was a mistake

[@adamdodda3275]

@@madingwang7778 wow thanks

[@nashtitans09]

There are a lot of incorrectly US State capitals listed.

[@Mr._Lechkar]

I wonder why it takes so long for WonderWhy to make a video

[@TheGodfather441]

you're lucky you're new, us old timers have waited years between videos

[@anniejones3634]

Because it requires a lot of research, editing, and whatnot. There's less time between sponsored videos, though.

[@Camilo-bk9nv]

I guess the guy has a life...

[@user-ix7iu4wf8o]

well hello there new watcher ... small note to you the next video will be in 2050

[@Zoxide_]

TheGodfather441 been here for about 5 years and seen about 10 videos since subbing

[@tylerbartoo9980]

Hello, enjoyed the video. Just wanted to let you know the photo you posted for Carson City, NV is actually a picture of Reno, NV. Interesting content though. 👍

[@Omar-cz7ox]

Thanks for this great video! Cheers from Olympia!

[@Nexxarian]

Since Tokyo is the capital of Japan, and Tokyo is recognized as Tokyo Metropolis, one of the 47 prefectures of Japan, that's basically the equivalent of saying something like the entirety of the state of Maryland being the capital of the US (I know it's not but just an example). Furthermore, several islands in the Pacific off the coast of Japan are part of Tokyo Metropolis, so you can be hundreds of miles away from Japan itself and still be in the capital.

[@OnkelJajusBahn]

Interresting, as a German I want to add something too. Of cause Berlin is the capital, but all ministeries as well as the president have a second residence in Bonn too, some ministeries even still have their first residence in Bonn and their second in Berlin, so Bonn could be considered the second capital. A lot of other federal institutions are spread all over Germany for excample the Highest Coart beeing located in Karlsruhe.

[@nitusrivastava7803]

Onkel Jajus Bahn this way Mumbai is the capital of India also

[@filipthunell8631]

and? stock holm is built across multiple islands connected by bridges

[@saangtoaikaa9211]

@@nitusrivastava7803 No. All the top institutions of the legislative (Parliament), judicial (Supreme Court) and executive (President/Prime Minister) branches of the Union Government are in New Delhi. Mumbai is considered the de-facto financial capital and Bengaluru the de-facto technology capital of India.

[@geography_joe]

I was waiting for an Equatorial Guinea mention but it never came 😪 great video as always though

[@crtfbrebu3682]

i know what is so unique about Malabo it is the only capital city in the world that isn't on its mainland

[@wannabehistorian371]

@CRTF Brebu Well, Copenhagen has that distinction too. So one of two.

[@denzal689]

Just a suggestion for future videos, if you add a quick caption like at 0:30, have it stay on the screen longer, or put it somewhere else because the video player blocks it when paused.

[@3of11]

Florida’s capital was put between the two biggest cities at the time (no one lived in the penensula). There was a proposal to make Orlando the capital city to more “centralize” it. It can take 12-14 hours to drive from key west to Tallahassee. I bet that’s the longest time from “anywhere in the state to the capital”. Except Juneau which cannot be accessed by car!

[@nitusrivastava7803]

3of11 i live in orlando and i like it a kot better than talahasse

[@stickykeys2795]

9:54 Update: Now in September 2019, Austin, Texas also has a population of more than 1 million.

[@LaMarioC]

Not officially until census 2020

[@wigglebot2368]

True but Phoenix, Arizona is still in the lead!

[@SnowghostFilms]

One thing one of my old teachers pointed out to me about my home city is that you can draw the southern cross on the parliamentary triangle. The 4 main stars are Parliament House, The Australian War Memorial, the City Centre and the National Library with a small island in the lake being the smaller 5th star. Really cool, and a plain beautiful city.

[@bell6394]

Thank you for this video!! Very interesting

[@forformgamer]

Small fun fact about the Netherlands: The Hague is sometimes called a second capital city because of the government being seated there, but The Hague (Den Haag or 's-Gravenhage in Dutch) is officially not a city. For a place to be called a city you need "city rights", which The Hague doesn't have.

[@rjfaber1991]

It's a widely held belief, but unfortunately it is bollocks. I grew up in Apeldoorn, which was frequently called "the largest village in the Netherlands" by people who hold on to the city rights idea, but in reality, city rights have been demoted to a purely symbolic honour, and whether an inhabited locality is called a 'stad' in official documents these days is purely down to population, not the presence or absence of city rights.

[@zzzzzz4110]

Can wait for the next video in 2024!

[@Snaily]

Glad to hear it's worth waiting for.

[@terrariaman8454]

Dudes he doesn't upload one every like 10 years. He takes his time and research into his videos, so it isn't worth making jokes about his absense.

[@terrariaman8454]

@@zzzzzz4110 ...

[@aveliene5565]

Terraria Man r/wooooosh

[@liam-man7265]

Somehow I dreamt that 2024 was today’s current year, which is funny since I dreamt of it on Friday, April 24, 2020.

[@dmjbents]

One of your best videos!

[@Sabotage_Labs]

Well done, Mate. Cheers!

[@EvanEscher]

10:41 that's actually Reno, a bit north of Carson City

[@TotoDG]

As soon as you said the US capitals, the Animaniacs song started playing in my head!

[@titusmccarthy]

You're a child.

[@TotoDG]

Either this is an r/woooosh or you had no childhood.

[@battleprattlealternativeac8978]

United States Canada Mexico Panama Haiti Jamaica Peru!

[@personinapurplebackground7410]

@@battleprattlealternativeac8978 republic Dominican,Cuba Caribbean Greenland el Salvador to.

[@garethm54]

@@personinapurplebackground7410 Puerto Rico, Columbia, Venezuela , Honduras, Guyana and still...

[@Siddif]

I didn’t even get a notification for this one. I only saw it after watching your newest video. Glad I got to see it but KZbins notifications are messed up again.

[@mathphysicsnerd]

Out of all the "big" geography centered channels on KZbin, I think this one easily tops the category. I like RealLifeLore and I find Wendover Productions informative (if a bit more forceful on inserting his opinions into his work than I like), but when there's a new WonderWhy video I really enjoy watching.

[@gusscp]

Nice to see my Brasília in your video!

[@Pratchettgaiman]

Salem, OR is not in the geographic center of Oregon, but it is in the center of the Willamette Valley, where 2/3 of the population lives.

[@DoctorX149]

New wonderwhy video, historia civillis video, and polymatter video, in just a few days... I think I might die of happiness

[@williamstuartmitchell5480]

Interesting, enjoyable and once again it shows how much there is to learn about the world and how much I don’t know. Thank you for doing this and I thought it was excellent. PS. Dinnae take any guff about your accent. Edinburgh or somewhere in the borders? Or do I have even more to learn about Scotland?

[@Meow09]

Also, New Zealand's capital was changed to be more centered. From Auckland to Wellington

[@MSthesmart]

Islamabad was especially built to become a capital city of Pakistan. Before it was Karachi in 1960 but it was located in most southern part

[@yarpen26]

Islamagood would have been my personal pick though.

[@nitusrivastava7803]

Nah

[@piyushvaidya5086]

@@yarpen26 ik you are mostly kidding, but Islamabad literally translates to city of Islam in Persian and it's delusional brother Urdu.

[@StupidLazyStupid]

Just a small thing, at 10:40, when you mentioned Carson City, the picture actually showed Reno. Cheers!

[@thepedrothethethe6151]

2:01 Technically the congress pass legislation in Valparaiso, but the parliament (congress in my country) makes constant reunions in the old Congress Building, in Santiago. Also, Valparaiso serves more as a regional capital, than a National Capital.

[@kingpak1325]

I think Ottawa is worth mention, it was chosen because it’s in between Ontario and Quebec, to please both Anglophones and Francophones.

[@FreddieMercuryyy]

amazing that the francophones could be pleased

[@daddyleon]

9:32 the same is true for The Netherlands. While The Hague is the Political and Diplomatic capital and Amsterdam is the largest city and official capital (and arguably the economic capital, sorry Rotterdam?). Amsterdam isn't the capital of its province (comparable to a State in the USA), Haarlem is; but The Hague is also the capital city of its province while Rotterdam is larger.

[@daddyleon]

@@Voyagerthe2nd Uh, no Utrecht isn't the largest, sorry.

[@BAn-hy3ts]

And they all are in one metropolitan area , de Randstad. Which has around 8,5 million people, almost half the population of NL.

[@cHemon]

- "Bangkok" was the name of the small village in the area that was later established as a capital city. Locals don't actually use this name nowadays. - "Krung Thep" or กรุงเทพ (City of angel) is the most often used by locals. - "Krung Thep Maha Nakhon" or กรุงเทพมหานคร (City of angels, the great city) is the official name used in formal documents. - "Kor Tor Mor" or กทม., is the abbreviation. - "Krung Rattanakosin" or กรุงรัตนโกสินทร์, can also be referred to the city of Bangkok, specifically the old historic part of the city surrounded by the moats.

[@johnguill6129]

Review your map for state capitals. Richmond, Virginia is fairly central. The circle on the map looks like it still reflects Williamsburg is the capital.

[@davidb3979]

7:20 UN resolution 181 was never put into effect because the Arab-Palestinian population rejected it as they did not want Jews and the Jews state. That's why Israel subsequently declared themselves independent and the Arab countries invaded and annexed the Palestinian territories for themselves...

[@Lordsebastian101]

why is moscow in the thumbnail when it's not even featured

[@geography_joe]

Cuz it looks cool probably

[@amcghie7]

Russia might have been a good example of a country that moved its capital as well

[@DarthMalgusSith_Lord]

@@amcghie7 Moscow to Saint Petersburg back to Moscow

[@amcghie7]

@@DarthMalgusSith_Lord yup

[@williamkrause5831]

That’s Moscow!? Now I see why Trump is so lovestruck with Russia.

[@TheGroundHopper]

great video dude

[@cjsully4088]

Wow loved this episode!!!

[@aalmi002]

Great video. I agree with you mostly about US state capitals not being the most obvious ones based on population size and geography. However, with regards to my state of Florida, it originally made sense because Tallahassee was a constructed capital city between the former British colonies of West and East Florida specifically between the cities of Pensacola and St. Augustine. Tallahassee was centrally located in relation to those cities since most people lived in northern Florida with hardly anyone except maybe some Indians living in South and Central Florida. Obviously, the cities of Tampa, Orlando and Miami didn’t exist at that time.

[@aalmi002]

@wonderwhy ^

[@jubbetje4278]

Beginning in 1995, a series of eruptions rendered half the island (and country) of Montserrat uninhabitable, including its capital Plymouth. Plymouth is now a ghost town, but is still the official capital.

[@nikanikuradze7437]

4:17 Kutaisi used to be legislative capital, but the parliament was moved back to Tbilisi in January 2019

[@AdamBurianek92]

Bratislava, Slovakia is not just capital bordering two countries... once it had a direct flight connection to Vienna (just 60 km far)... the flight itself lasted up to 10 minutes but with all airport procedures it took approximately 1 hour... it's faster to get there through highway (45 mins) or train (55 mins)

[@LeoStaley]

The other famous city of angels has a ridiculously long name too, "town of our lady the Queen of Angels of the River Porciúncula" aka Los Angeles.

[@speedy01247]

Thats not ridiculously long.

[@joaofabio5927]

this name is beautiful!

[@lzh4950]

1:20 Meanwhile the "east capital" is modern-day Tokyo

[@alanbrito4941]

4:19 im from chile and the capital is santiago. Valparaiso is just were the congress is, but nobody sees valparaiso as the capital

[@kiambotebbonikay]

Kinshasa, DRC my home city. At some places from here you can see the lights or even hear the sound of cars engines from Brazaville, the neighboring city and Capital of the Republic of Congo.