Original photo by ParkerDeen/ iStock
If you think the Electoral College is confusing, perhaps you’ll take a liking to The Gambia’s method of choosing its leaders: marbles. The small West African nation eschews paper ballots in favor of this novel approach, which was introduced in 1965 due to the country’s low literacy rate. Voters are given a marble upon checking in at their polling station, with each candidate represented by a photo affixed to a color-coded drum. Once the marble has been dropped into the voter’s drum of choice inside a private booth, a bell sounds to confirm it went through — and prevent anyone from attempting to vote twice. As simple as it is effective, the system has even been credited with ending The Gambia’s former dictatorship and keeping its democracy thriving.
Oops, incorrect!
It's a factAfrica’s five smallest nations by size are all islands: the Seychelles, São Tomé and Príncipe, Mauritius, Comoros, and Cape Verde. When it comes to the continental mainland, however, The Gambia is the most modestly proportioned — its area is just 4,363 square miles.
Other countries have adopted unique electoral processes as well. Aspiring presidential candidates in France need to secure 500 endorsements from elected officials, a time-consuming process meant to discourage fantasy candidates. In neighboring Germany, the Bundestag (lower house of the Parliament) requires two votes per ballot: one for a district representative and one for the voter’s preferred political party, which determines how many seats each party gets in the Bundestag overall. In general, half of the Bundestag’s 598 seats are determined by the first vote and half by the second.
Numbers Don't Lie
More Interesting Reads
The Gambia is home to three sacred pools of ______.
Ready to reveal?
Confirm your email to play the next question?
The Gambia is home to three sacred pools of crocodiles.
Only two countries’ names officially begin with “The.”
And The Gambia is one of them. The use of the definite article isn’t entirely uncommon when referring to countries — the Netherlands and the United Kingdom come to mind — but it’s mostly used on an informal basis or because the grammar of the sentence requires it. According to such authoritative sources as the U.S. Department of State and the Times Comprehensive Atlas of the World, the only two countries that should officially be referred to with the definite article are The Gambia and The Bahamas. (It’s also appropriate when the place in question is a geophysical entity, such as groups of islands like the Maldives, but that’s again a matter of grammar rather than official naming practices.) The Gambia’s article comes in part because it was named after the River Gambia, and in part because of a request from the prime minister to avoid confusion with another African country that also earned its independence in the 1960s — Zambia.
Michael Nordine is a writer and editor living in Denver. A native Angeleno, he has two cats and wishes he had more.
top picks from the Inbox Studio network
Interesting Facts is part of Inbox Studio, which publishes content that uplifts, informs, and inspires.
