Sunk

Scott Hardie | July 19, 2016
Help me settle an argument: Is Atlantis, the sunken civilization of ancient folklore, a city or a continent?

I'm not looking for a scholarly answer that you have to research. I can do that, and have. I'm curious what you think of when the concept comes to mind.

Aaron Shurtleff | July 19, 2016
I've always heard it referred to as the sunken city of Atlantis, so that is what I would say.

..so now you KNOW it is a continent!

Steve West | July 19, 2016
I always had the impression that it was some kind of island nation like Crete or Cyprus. Now I need to look it up.

Samir Mehta | July 19, 2016
[hidden by request]

Matthew Preston | July 19, 2016
First thing that came to my mind was the lost city of Atlantis.

Scott Hardie | July 20, 2016
Thanks, all. My understanding was the same as Samir's. I had no idea that there were so many different versions of the concept out there. Even the Wikipedia article switches between calling it a city, an island, a nation, and a continent.

We were playing a great new game called Codenames in which you try to get players to choose certain words from a grid of cards by telling them how many and a one-word linking concept, like I needed my team to choose thief and racket so I said "crime, 2." The competition was coming down to the wire, and I needed them to choose Africa and Atlantis without choosing England which would have ended the game, so I said "continents, 2." They chose Africa right away, but an argument erupted about whether Atlantis was a continent or a city, and those arguing city were louder. They decided that I must have meant England because it's "surrounded by a continent." We lost. Thanks, guys. (They remain convinced that Atlantis is only a city.) Anyway, I'm maybe not making the best argument for Codenames, but it's really fun if you're looking for a new game to try.