Wherio #6 — July 18th, 2026

Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address at the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, months after the Civil War’s deadliest battle was fought there. The roughly 272-word speech lasted only about two minutes and followed a two-hour oration by the day’s featured speaker, Edward Everett. In it Lincoln reframed the war as a struggle for a new birth of freedom and government of the people, by the people, for the people. It is now regarded as one of the greatest speeches in American history.

Geography clue given: Its 50-star, 13-stripe flag adds a star for every state.

Dom Pierre Perignon, a Benedictine monk at the Abbey of Hautvillers in France’s Champagne region, made real contributions to winemaking in an era when the region’s wines were mostly still red. The legend that he invented sparkling champagne and cried ‘Come quickly, I am drinking the stars!’ is, however, mostly later marketing; sparkling wine did not dominate Champagne until the mid-19th century. His name lives on as the prestige cuvee of Moet & Chandon, which now owns the remains of the monastery where he spent his working life.

Geography clue given: Western Europe's highest peak, Mont Blanc, sits on its border.

Following the discovery of silver at Cerro Rico, traditionally credited to the indigenous prospector Diego Huallpa, the city of Potosi grew explosively in the Bolivian Andes at a lung-searing 4,000 meters above sea level. The ‘rich mountain’ yielded a staggering share of the world’s silver and bankrolled the Spanish Empire for centuries, with the colonial mint striking coin that circulated across the globe. The human cost, borne by forced indigenous and enslaved African labor, was immense. The historic center and the mountain itself are now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Geography clue given: It contains the world's largest salt flat.

Bhumibol Adulyadej, titled Rama IX, ascended the throne of Thailand after the mysterious death of his brother, King Ananda Mahidol, beginning a reign of 70 years and 126 days, the longest of any Thai monarch. Born in the United States and raised partly in Switzerland, the jazz-loving king was an accomplished saxophonist and composer who once jammed with Benny Goodman. During his seven decades on the throne, Bhumibol presided over Thailand’s rise as a regional economic power and became a deeply revered, unifying figure through repeated political upheavals.

Geography clue given: It was long known to outsiders as Siam.

Ernesto Cardenal, Nicaragua’s revolutionary poet-priest, became minister of culture when the Sandinistas took power, serving in the post until 1987. A liberation theologian, he had founded a famous primitivist art community in the Solentiname Islands, where he lived for over a decade. His blend of Marxist politics and Catholic ministry drew Vatican wrath: Pope John Paul II publicly admonished him and barred him from administering the sacraments in 1984, a suspension Pope Francis lifted only in 2019. He remains one of Latin America’s most celebrated poets.

Geography clue given: It is the largest country in Central America by area.