It is surprising that a lot of educated folks don't know about this. I always run into folks who think Greenland is the biggest island.
Edit: on Australia being continent - now I come across as a fool. But I hope people understood what I meant. Also, I have had to argue against folks who said Greenland should also be a continent since it is bigger than Australia.
Don't worry manojlds, I'm sure the Pluto people will back you up and demote Australia.
I often wonder if it will matter in a couple of years. If we actually get to the point where walls are displays, then I would expect most schools will have a globe projected on the wall instead of a map. How long until we start with 3D animations instead of 2D drawings?
some definitions are arbitrary, for some people America is one continent, for some there are two, it's human-based, whatever is established in a culture, not math.
Well, since you bring it up, Australia isn't connected to another continent by land like North America is (as are Europe, Africa, and Asia). You'd have to say "the Americas" are an island, or "Afro-Eurasia"
I know, and I never said it was--hence my confusion at being called silly for my post (which was purely objecting to calling North America an island, since it IS connected by land).
If we want to be pedantic about whether or not the Panama Canal turns North America into an island or not, we can change the argument, and ask whether or not the Americas are an island.
There isn't really a single universally accepted list of continents. Some count Australia as continent, some count it as part of Oceania. And some define the continent Australia as the country Australia plus all those islands that would otherwise be Oceania.
Edit: on Australia being continent - now I come across as a fool. But I hope people understood what I meant. Also, I have had to argue against folks who said Greenland should also be a continent since it is bigger than Australia.