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And now it's time for who Smarted.
Bonjour. Hello. Ciao.
Or should I say, ciao Pantalino intelligente.
That means hello, smarty pants in Italian.
In French, you would say, bonjour Pantalon intelligent.
And in German, it would be, hello schleuhausen.
How cool is that? Thanks to my Babbel subscription, I'm learning how to speak other languages like French, Italian, and German, because I'm getting ready to take a little tour of some foreign countries.
Actually, it's more of a big tour of some little countries.
That's because today's episode is all about the smallest countries in the world.
Of course, I don't have the budget or the time to actually travel to these countries.
So instead I'll be visiting a local middle school where they're having a country day.
That way, instead of traveling the world, I can tour all the students' presentations about different countries around the world.
Much cheaper, more efficient, and I can do it in 15 minutes.
Plus, I can show off my new language skills thanks to Babbel.
Okay, before we head over to the school, the first thing you should know is what exactly is a country?
Smarty pants is a country, A, a place that has its own government, B, any large land mass, or C, any place that has a flag.
The answer is A, a country is a place that has its own government.
Great job if you got that.
Currently, there are 195 recognized countries in the world.
While some countries may seem to be big masses of land, others are much smaller.
And just so you know, when you look at a country on a map and see lines around it, those are just imaginary lines made by geographers.
If you travel from one country to another, you won't really see a line on the ground separating them.
In fact, if you were to look at Earth from outer space, all the countries blend in with each other.
Of course, some small countries are easier to pick out or identify because they're islands or groups of islands known as an archipelago.
Others are small countries that sit within another country's borders.
Some small countries have their own unique language while others speak the language of their closest neighbors.
But we'll explore all of that as we answer questions like, what are the world's smallest countries?
Where are they located?
And just how small are they?
Oh, and how many people live in the smallest country in the world?
It's time for another width of science and history on Hey, smart egg.
Who's smarted? Who's smart?
Is it you? Is it me?
Is it science or history?
Listen up. Everyone, we make smarting lots of fun on who's smart.
Okay, smarty pants, we're at the school.
And I got to say, everything looks a lot smaller than I remember.
Of course, that was many years ago that I was here.
Anyway, speaking of small, I can't wait to go on a small country tour.
Oh, and I think I see my tour guide straight ahead.
Hi there, I'm Kay, and I'll be your tour guide.
Hi Kay, I'm Trusty.
So where do we begin?
Welcome to Lichtenstein, the sixth smallest country in the world.
Aha, smarty pants, which of the seven continents is Lichtenstein in?
Is it in Africa, Europe, or South America?
The answer is Europe.
A big high five if you got that.
Lichtenstein is a small country that's between Austria and Switzerland.
I see. And just how small is Lichtenstein?
It's only 62 square miles or 99 .7 kilometers.
That's smaller than Washington state here in the United States.
Of course, you'll notice that a lot with the smaller countries.
In fact, of the 195 countries, only 15 of them are bigger than Alaska.
The biggest state of the United States.
And the very smallest countries are even smaller than Rhode Island, the smallest state in the USA.
Whoa. Lichtenstein is known for its art museums, castles, and soccer teams that play in the Swiss leagues.
And the language spoken in Lichtenstein is?
Is what, smarty pants?
Is it Swiss, Dutch, or German?
If you said German, you're right.
Although it's a slightly different dialect and more resembles the German spoken in Switzerland.
Woh ist das Nachstischlach?
Uh, do you need to use the lavatory?
No, I asked. Where is the nearest castle in German?
Thanks, Babble. Okay, moving on.
Where is our next smallest country?
Welcome to San Marino, the fifth smallest country.
Mm, smarty pants, have you ever heard of San Marino?
If not, see if you can guess which country completely surrounds San Marino.
Is it New Zealand, Mongolia, Brazil, or Italy?
The answer is Italy.
But wait, if Italy completely surrounds San Marino, why isn't San Marino just part of Italy?
Because San Marino is a sovereign nation with its own government.
San Marino has a long history and claims to be the oldest republic dating back to the year 301.
Wow, and just how big or small is San Marino?
San Marino is only 24 square miles.
Whoa, the entire country could fit inside Disney World.
It's a small world after all.
Yep, it's definitely a small world.
And like I said earlier, the country of San Marino is surrounded on all sides by the much larger country of Italy.
Smarty pants, do you know what it's called when a country is surrounded on all sides by another country or countries and not touching a body of water?
Is it A, Land Ho, B, Land Locked, or C, Land Rover?
The answer is B, Land Locked.
As in locked in by land.
Okay, I don't think our next smallest country has that issue.
Welcome to Tuvalu, the fourth smallest country.
Smarty pants, Tuvalu is an island.
Any idea where it's located?
Is it A in the Pacific Ocean, B in the Atlantic Ocean, or C in the Indian Ocean?
If you said A, Pacific Ocean, well done.
Tuvalu is about halfway between Hawaii and Australia and the continent of Oceana.
And how big is Tuvalu?
About 10 square miles or 16 kilometers.
10 square miles? That's not even twice as big as the Los Angeles Airport.
Do they even have an airport in Tuvalu?
Yes, the Funafuti International Airport is located in Funafuti, the capital of Tuvalu.
But one thing they don't have in Tuvalu is credit cards.
Oh no! No credit cards?
How do you pay for things?
Cash, and only cash.
It's a good thing you told me.
Else I'd be pretty broke if I went there.
Um, you might tell me.
You might want to go there sooner rather than later, since Tuvalu is sinking.
Wait, did you say sinking?
Yep. Thanks to rising sea levels, Tuvalu is at risk of being submerged by the ocean.
Yikes! And how long has Tuvalu been a country?
Tuvalu has been an established country since 1978.
Imagine that, Smarty Pants.
It hasn't even been a country for 50 years, and it's vanishing.
Smarty Pants, how many people do you think live in a country that's not that much bigger than an airport?
I mean, LAX can get pretty crowded.
Tuvalu has a population of 11 ,192 people.
Wow, that's like 70 ,000 less people than at a Taylor Swift concert.
I guess it's a good thing there aren't too many people if the island is sinking and they'll need to find a new place to live.
Fortunately, scientists do think Tuvalu can be saved, but it's going to take a lot of effort, new technology, and cash.
Okay, moving on to our next smallest country.
Welcome to Nauru, the third smallest country.
Smarty Pants, besides being small, what do you think Nauru and Tuvalu have in common?
Are they, A, both islands?
B, both cash only? Or C, both have populations over 10 ,000?
If you said they're both islands, nice job.
While Nauru is the third smallest country in the world, it is the smallest island nation in the world.
I see, and just how small is it?
Nauru has an area of only 8 .1 square miles or 13 kilometers.
Wow, that's way smaller than every single one of the Hawaiian islands.
How many people live in Nauru?
The population is only 10 ,670 people, but Nauru has phosphate mines.
Smarty Pants, which of the following is phosphate used for?
Fertilizer to grow food, animal feed, in food as preservatives or additives, dietary supplements, or in medicines?
Well, no matter what you said, you're right.
Phosphate is used for all of these.
While several countries fought over the mining rights in the 1950s and 1960s, Nauru was eventually established as an independent country in 1968.
Do you know what the capital of Nauru is?
Um, no, I don't. It's a trick question.
Nauru doesn't have a capital.
Wait, no capital? Why do you think that is, Smarty Pants?
It's because Nauru is basically just one city.
And while it was one of the richest nations in the world in the 1980s, it's since become one of the poorest.
That's too bad. Tuvalu is sinking and thanks to corruption and mismanagement of the phosphate mines, Nauru is in poverty.
But maybe they can turn it around.
Oh, and one other thing.
Both Tuvalu and Nauru have their own native languages.
Tuvaluan and Nauruan.
But English is also widely spoken on both islands.
Okay, coming up are our top two smallest countries in the world right after this quick break and a word from our friends at Babel.
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Now back to who's smarted.
Okay, we're up to the second -smallest country in the world.
Smarty Pants, any idea what it is?
Yep, me neither. What do you got, Kay?
Welcome to Monaco, the second -smallest country in the world.
Ah, yes, Monaco. Located in Europe, this beautiful little country is on the famous French Riviera and bordered by France to the north, east, and west.
Smarty Pants, true or false?
As the second -smallest country in the world, Monaco has a tiny population.
The answer is... False.
Monaco might be the second -smallest by area, but it's the most densely populated country in the world.
Wow, sounds pretty crowded.
Exactly how small is Monaco?
Smarty Pants, would you say Monaco is more or less than one square mile?
The answer is... Less.
Monaco is only 0 .8 square miles, or 1 .28 kilometers.
Whoa. Whoa is right.
Less than a square mile.
That is one small country.
But here's the thing.
While their landmass is tiny, the bank accounts of Monaco are huge.
In fact, an estimated 30%, or one in three residents of Monaco, are millionaires.
That's a lot of millionaires.
They should rename the country Manicou.
Good one, trusty. So what would you see if you went to Monaco?
Lots of casinos, including the famous Monte Carlo.
Right, but here's a fun fact for you, Smarty Pants.
The residents of Monaco are actually forbidden by law from gambling at the casinos.
It's only for visitors and tourists.
Both residents of Monaco and visitors can enjoy delicious Mediterranean food.
Nom nom nom nom nom.
As well as lots of beautiful art museums.
That's good enough for me.
Smarty Pants, what language do you think they speak in Monaco?
Is it Italian, German, French, or Monacoan?
Well, they made Monacoan up.
The answer is French, bonjour.
And thanks to Babel, I'll be able to get around.
And speaking of France, Monaco is under French rule from 1793 to 1814 until it regained its independence in 1815.
Monaco is also one of five European microstates.
That includes Liechtenstein, Andorra, Malta, and the number one smallest country in the world.
Ah, so the number one smallest country is also in Europe.
But which country is it?
Hmm, it's not Finland, or Poland, or Germany, or Albania, or Greece, or Belgium.
Hmm, what could it be?
The smallest country in the world is Vatican City.
Vatican City? The home of the Sistine Chapel where the Pope lives?
How can a small city be a country?
Even though Vatican City is in the middle of Rome, Italy, and only around 800 people live there, it is still a country with its own coins, stamps, and passports.
Wow, I'm reading your presentation here, and I see Vatican City is the seat of the Roman Catholic Church.
For many years, Vatican City was under the rule of the Italian government.
But after many years and much disagreement in 1929, it finally became its own country.
Smarty Pants, true or false?
The world's smallest country is protected by the world's smallest army.
The answer is true.
Whoa. The Swiss Guard oversees protection of Vatican City.
And just how small is Vatican City?
Vatican City is only 0 .17 square miles, or 273 .5 meters.
Meters? You could measure it in meters.
It's not even one lap around a high school track.
It could easily fit inside New York Central Park.
If you rode a bike for five minutes in Vatican City, you'd wind up in a different country.
That's wild. And of course, they speak Italian in Vatican City, except for the Pope, he also speaks Latin.
Well, I think that wraps up today's episode.
Thank you, Kay. It was very informative, and we traveled thousands of miles in not much more time than it would take to walk around the entire Vatican City.
My pleasure, trusty.
I do wonder, are there any good pizzerias in Vatican City?
That I don't know. Oh well, looks like I'm going after all.
Una pizza a la formaggio, por favoré.
This episode was sponsored by Babbel.
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A big shout out to Stevie and his mom in Whitestone, New York.
Thank you so much for writing to tell us that Stevie and mom listen in the car on the way to every homeschool adventure and that Stevie is always sharing facts and his love of who smarted with everyone he meets.
Aw, thanks so much.
We were blessed to have you as part of our smarty family.
This episode, smallest countries, was written by Sarah Sweetik and voiced by Caitlyn Gard and Jerry Colbert, technical direction and sound design by Josh Hahn.
Our associate producer is Max Kamaski.
The theme song is by Brian Suarez with lyrics written and performed by Adam Tex Davis.
Who Smarted was created and produced by Adam Tex Davis and Jerry Coleman.
This has been an Atomic Entertainment production.
Who Smarted.
