Help! I'm Lost and My GPS Isn't Working! Quiz

Answer: The United Kingdom

Looking ahead, I see the UNESCO Heritage Site sign for Stonehenge. That certainly helps, doesn't it. You'd think that'd show on the GPS.
Stonehenge is one of the oldest man-made landmarks in the world. Comprised of a number of stone monuments set around and within a circle, some of the structures have been standing since 3000 BC (or so). The site is under near-constant watch for its protection. Years of weathering and erosion may have taken their toll, but tourists can still check it out.
To get here, I must've made a left turn at Amesbury. Stonehenge is in Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire in south-central Britain. If your GPS works, you can get here by following 51°10′44″N 1°49′34″W. If it doesn't, you'll get there the same way I did...frustrated by technology.

Answer: Luxor

Luxor is one of those locations my GPS just can't compute. I may have searched 'Luxor' in an attempt to find the city of Thebes, but as it turns out, I made my way to the Vegas Strip. On one side of the street, I can see the Sahara and Paris, but on the other, I can see New York, New York.

The Luxor, well-known as the black pyramid at the end of the Sunset Strip, is Egyptian-themed, but for some reason the Blueman Group has been known for performing inside. I particularly remember the guys from "Fear Factor" sliding down the side of the well-known structure collecting flags. I was looking for the Valley of Kings...I got Kings, Queens, Jacks...the whole lot. Looking closer at the GPS, I can see where I am. 25°41′N 32°39′E is where I wanted to go...I ended up at 36°05′43.62″N 115°10′25.86″W.

Not the same...but there's still a lot of sand.

Answer: Minnesota

The Mall of America is in Bloomington, Minnesota near Minneapolis. One of North America's largest shopping centers, tens of millions of visitors shop here every year. The mall is owned by the same conglomerate as the West Edmonton Mall, North America's largest shopping center.
The National Mall, on the other hand, is a long expanse of parkland in the core of Washington D.C.'s landmarks. At one end, you can find the Capitol Building, the National Gallery of Art, and the National Air and Space Museum. At the other, you can see Washington Monument and the Smithsonian Institute. Barack Obama held his inauguration here and Martin Luther King Jr. once told an audience "I have a dream" at this park.
The National Mall is found at 38°53′24″N 77°01′25″W (if my GPS ever smartens up) and the Mall of America is at 44°51′15″N 93°14′32″W...and I need to go to a different mall again to return this unit.

Answer: Rose Tower

Completed in 2007, the Rose Tower finished its construction in Dubai's main commercial region reaching a total 333 meters, beating the Burj Al Arab's 321 meter height. Both of these hotels are found in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and both are notable for their own reasons- the Rose Tower for being the city's fourth-tallest building and the tallest hotel in the world upon its completion and the slightly off-shore Burj Al Arab for holding the tallest hotel title for eight years until that point. Dubai also contains what was topped off as the world's tallest building, the Burj Dubai, in 2009. Reaching 818 meters, this tower overtook Taipei 101 as the tallest building and the CN Tower in Toronto as the tallest structure altogether. ...and I was just looking for the Howard Johnson.

The Rose Tower is found at 25°12′42″N 55°16′35″E.

Answer: Alcatraz Island

Once a very well-known, active penitentiary, Alcatraz Island has since become a tourist location protected by the U.S. Register of Historic Places. This island prison was actively holding prisoners in maximum security until its closing in 1963. In the eighties, the U.S. switched it over to landmark status, converting a portion of the prison into a museum. Famous inmates of this historic location include Al Capone, the 'Birdman', and 'Machine Gun Kelly'.

The only way on and off the island for visitors is by ferry. All I can tell from this infernal GPS unit is that Alcatraz is at 37°49′36″N 122°25′24″W. No roads lead onto it. How did I get here?

Answer: Paris, France

Both the Ancient Greek statue of "Venus de Milo" and the "Oath of the Horatii", painted by Jacques-Louis David in 1784 are on display in Paris' Louvre. Known for its thousands of works of art, its historical architecture, and its glass pyramids, the Louvre is one of Paris' most important and most famous landmark. Cited as the most-visited museum in the world, it also contains many of Leonardo Da Vinci's works including the "Mona Lisa".

Much of Dan Brown's popular novel, "The Da Vinci Code", involved this location and the works of art within.

The Louvre rests on the Seine and sits in the center of Paris. As I fidget with the technological nightmare on my windshield, I have no choice but to keep driving onward to my next destination. The Louvre is found at 48°51′37.42″N, 2°20′15.35″E.

Answer: Brazil

Of the 'New Seven Wonders of the World', chosen in 2007, the only two to appear in South America are Machu Picchu in Peru and the statue of Christ the Redeemer on Corcovado Mountain in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Because I'm close to the ocean, Rio seems to be the only correct possibility.

Other sites in these seven wonders can be found in Mexico, Italy, China, Jordan, and India. Christ the Redeemer (known as O Cristo Redentor in Portuguese) opened for patrons in 1931 and has since become one of Brazil's most famous landmarks and tourist attractions.

It reaches thirty meters tall. Christ the Redeemer is found at 22°57′6″S 43°12′39″W on the GPS, but I wouldn't know that with my GPS being inactive.

Answer: Montreal

While Montreal, Quebec may have played host to the 1976 Olympic Games, their stadium was constructed for the Summer Olympics of that year while Lake Placid, Calgary, and Salt Lake City (all quite far apart from each other) created in 1932, 1988, and 2002 respectively (though Lake Placid also hosted the games in 1980). Ironically, in the same year, Canada didn't win a single gold medal.

The same thing happened in Calgary. Montreal's Olympic Stadium is also known as 'The Big O' and it cost $770 million (at the time) to construct. This blasted GPS isn't helping at all! I mean, it can differentiate between entire cities on the same continent! What a piece of junk! The Big O is found at 45°33′28″N 73°33′7″W.

Answer: China

It's a bit odd how I never noticed, but hey, I've been impatient all trip. The terracotta warriors in Xian, China total in the thousands, and many of them possibly haven't been unearthed. Exhibited in a warehouse in Shaanxi Province, these statues were buried along with Emperor Qin around 200BC.

Although many have been destroyed over years of excavation and age, there's still an overwhelming abundance of them housed in China. Their museum was designated as a UNESCO Heritage Site in 1987. Back into the car with me- one site left and one more location where I can get fed up with my GPS.

The terracotta warriors of Xian can be found at 34°23′5.71″N 109°16′23.19″E on your working unit.

Answer: Moskva

The Moskva River, incidentally, connects to the Volga, which is Europe's longest river stretching nearly 3,700 kilometers to the Caspian Sea. The river only flows through Russia, and no other European countries. Passing alongside Moscow, the Volga and Moskva is in close proximity to the Red Square and Kremlin and St. Basil's Cathedral. St. Basil's Cathedral is one of the most well-known architectural pieces in Russia due to its colourful, ornate appearance.

It's commonly regarded as myth that the original architect of this building was purposely blinded so that he would never build anything so beautiful again, but I guess such ideas are tossed around when Ivan IV is your Tsar, right? St. Basil's Cathedral is found on the corner of Red Square at 55°45′9″N 37°37′23″E. My GPS unit can now be found at the basin of the Volga in the Caspian Sea somewhere near Astrakhan at 46°21′N 48°03′E. Good riddance.