if the United States were independent European countries ...

US vs. EU

Lets for a moment assume that the United States do not function as one country but are somewhat similar to the European Union. In such a case we could compare the individual states of the US as independent countries to members of the EU. We will do the comparison to have a rough estimate of quality of economies of individual states, if they were to function as independent countries. 

How to estimate who is important? We will take a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as a main and the only indicator. We will take the GDP of individual states of the US and calculate what fraction of the total US GDP they are. The same procedure we will apply to the European Union. This will give us an estimate of how important is the economy of that state/EU member for the total GDP of the US or EU. Why not just look at the total numbers? It would give us the same information, however, fractions are easier to look at. 

Who is who? To roughly compare states to countries we will look at the individual GDP numbers. We will restrict the list to 10 richest states from the US. The direct match of the GDPs is not possible, therefore we will choose country with GDP closest to a given state, possibly rounding in favor of the state. 

The United States

On the picture bellow, we present contribution of the states economies to the total GDP of the US. 10 states that contribute the most, are California, Texas, New York, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, Virginia and North Carolina, and give together a bit more than 50% of the total US GDP. Other half divides among the other 40 states. California has significantly higher GDP that any other states and is only slightly smaller than sum of the GDPs of Texas and New York together. Although we restrict our list to 10 states, the last state from our list (North Carolina) has very similar GDP contribution as few following states (Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan). 

The Unites States GDP for individual states as a contribution to the total US GDP. Fraction of the total US GDP
per state was taken from Wikipedia and refers to 2010.

European Union

GDP of the European Union divided into member countries.
Data taken from  World Bank.

Similar comparison for members of the European Union shows that first ten largest contributors sum up to more than 75% of the total GDP of EU. From 27 member countries the first 10 are Germany, France, United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Poland, Belgium, Sweden and Austria.

Germany and France together contribute in approximately 1/3 of the total GDP. Including in that list the UK, the total contribution of the three countries is approximately 50% of the total EUs GDP. On the other side, Germany contribute to the EU GDPs approximately the same as 17 counties (whole EU not including 10 countries mentioned before).

Who is who

To summarize first 10 highest contributors to the total US and EU GDPs in the table below we list 10 US states and 10 EU countries along with their GDP (in Million US dollars).

The United States			European Union
US #	US State	GDP (Millions USD)	EU #	Country	GDP (Millions USD)
1	California	1,936,400	1	Germany	3,280,530
2	Texas	1,207,432	2	France	2,560,002
3	New York	1,156,500	3	UK	2,261,713
4	Florida	754,000	4	Italy	2,060,965
5	Illinois	644,200	5	Spain	1,407,405
6	Pennsylvania	575,600	6	Netherlands	779,356
7	New Jersey	497,000	7	Poland	469,440
8	Ohio	483,400	8	Belgium	469,374
9	Virginia	427,700	9	Sweden	458,551
10	North Carolina	407,400	10	Austria	379,069

Let us try to select one or combination of counties that economy (in terms of GDP) are roughly representing the GDP of a given US state. The largest EU countries must however stay off the comparison, the first EU country that approximately has the same GDP as California is Italy (the fourth EU economy). Below we compare the first 10 US states to EU countries.

US #	US State	EU Country
1	California	Italy
2	Texas	Spain
3	New York	Spain
4	Florida	Netherlands
5	Illinois	Netherlands
6	Pennsylvania	Poland + Hungary (598,071 Million USD)
7	New Jersey	Austria + Hungary (507,700 Million USD)
8	Ohio	Austria + Hungary
9	Virginia	Poland
10	North Carolina	Sweden

Summarizing the comparison, California being an independent country would correspond in the strength of its economy to Italy. Texas and New York, both approximately match Spain. Florida and Illinois match GDP of Netherlands. For Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Ohio we combined two EU countries to slightly overestimate the GDP of the states and assigned them to economies of Poland and Hungary for Pennsylvania and Austria and Hungary for both New Jersey and Ohio. The last two of the first 10 US states, Virginia and North Carolina, approximately correspond to economies of Poland and Sweden respectively. The comparison is of course very approximate.

most common North American birds

Blue Jay

Blue Jays are native to North America and are common in eastern US and Canada. Male and female are very similar and are light blue with white bellies. Coloring is caused by light interference not a diet like in many birds. Blue Jays mainly eat nuts and soft fruit. Both, male and females, build the round and open nest. Birds name comes from its noisy nature. It may be aggressive to people approaching the nest.  

Blue Jays are 20-25 cm long and have crest on their heads which appearance depends on the birds mood. Four subspecies were distinguished: northern, coastal, interior and Florida Blue Jays.  

Blue Jay.

Northern Cardinal

Cardinal is a small, around 20 cm long, bird with a characteristic bright red color feathers in males. Female is similar in size, but light grey-brownish. Cardinals eat mainly seeds, insects and fruit. Male cardinal marks his territory singing. Male, in characteristic way, feeds female during courtship. Both, male and female, are of similar colors to adult female when they are chicks. Chicks grow adult feathers in the fall.

In past, it has been sold as a cage bird, however,  it has been forbidden since 1918. Northern cardinal is common to eastern part of the Canada, US and Mexico. Cardinal is a state bird of several states in the US (North Carolina, West Virginia, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Virginia). 

Northern Cardinal, male (left and middle) and female (right).

Mallard Duck

Mallard Duck is the most common duck in the northern hemisphere, outside of North America, Europe and Asia it has been introduced to Australia and New Zeeland. Male and female Mallard Duck differ in colors, but are the same size. Male Mallard has green or blue head and grey and brown body with blue stipes on the wings. Female has light brown and grey feathers with blue stripes on wings. 

Mallard duck, male (right and left) and female (middle).

Many common domestic ducks originated from Mallard Ducks. The Mallard is around 50-65 cm long. Mallards reach adulthood at 14 months and live up to 20 years. Ducklings are yellow and initially become similar in colors to female. 

Common Grackle

Common Grackle is a small, about 30 cm long, black bird with distinctive blueish head. Male and female are similar, with female being a bit smaller and less iridescence. Common Grackle is native to the eastern and central North America. Grackles eat insects, frogs, berries, seeds and grain. Grackles often nest in large colonies. 

Common Grackle.

Grackle is often considered a pest. Despite a decent current population the number of Grackles decreased over 60% during last decades.

European Starling

European Starling is a small blackish bird with characteristic light "V" shape spots present in a winter plumage. Male and female are similar with male being less spotted. Starlings mimic voices and in captivity learn to imitate sounds and speech.

European starling in the winter plumage. 

Starlings are not native to North America and have been introduced there at late XIX century by Shakespeare lovers that tried to introduce in the US every bird mentioned in his plays. Starlings are considered agressive and are threats to air traffic.

American Robin

Robin is a very common songbird with red-orange belly and grey back. Robins eat mostly insects, fruit and berries. Although Robins are present in the US territory year-round, they migrate south for winter. Robin is around 25 cm long. Male and female Robins are similar. 

Robin was chosen to be a state bird of Connecticut, Michigan and Wisconsin. In XIX century, Robins were hunted for meat. Now Robins are protected although not endangered. American Robins have been observed to migrate east and several of them were reported in UK. 

American Robin.

American Goldfinch

American Goldfinch is about 10-13 cm long, bright yellow-black bird. Male is much more vibrant in colors than female. Both male and female have black wings with a white stripe. American Goldfinch is common to south Canada and the US. Goldfinch migrates south for winter. Goldfinches shed feathers twice a year. Summer plumage is more bright. Female builds a nest during late summer. 

American Goldfinch is a state bird of Iowa, New Jersey and Washington.

American Goldfinch, male and female on the left, male only on the middle and right pictures.

Canada Goose

Canada Goose is a large, 75 - 110 cm long, goose native to North America. Canada Goose has been also introduced to the Northern Europe and New Zeeland. Distinctive black neck and white chin is common for males and females. Goslings are yellow. Smaller Cackling Goose has similar plumage and sometimes may be taken as a small Canada Goose. Geese migrate in characteristic "V" shape formations from Canada to the US. 

Canada Goose is a serious threat to air traffic and has caused plane crushes in the past. Canada Geese introduced in New Zeeland have become a serious problem and since 2011 they are not protected. However, the US and Canada population suffered serious decline in the population at the beginning of XX century caused by overhunting. Birds reach naturally northern Europe and Siberia. 

Canada Goose.

House Finch

House Finch is a small, about 15 cm long, singing bird. Adult male differs from a female in plumage. Males feathers are colored red (head, belly and shoulders), rarely yellow. Female is gray. Coloration is caused by type of diet. House Finches eat mainly grains, seeds, fruit and berries (the type of berries dictates color of plumage).

House finch, male (left and right) and female (middle).

House Finches originally were present only in Mexico and southern states of the US and have been introduced in the north-eastern US in 1940.

Rock Pigeon

The most common from pigeons and doves in North America. It is nowadays present close to residential areas, however, its natural nesting sites are close to coastal area with natural cliffs. Rock pigeon is present all around the world in areas habitat by people. Adult rock pigeon is around 35 cm long. It is mainly grey with blueish accents and green neck. Contrary to doves its colors are not uniform. Female looks almost identical to male, with less apparent green neck. Rock pigeons live from 5 years in the wild to almost 15 in captivity. 

Rock Pigeon.

House Sparrow

House Sparrow is a small bird, nowadays common in all continents (except Antarctica). Sparrows are about 10-13 cm long, with brown-grayish plumage in males and grayish in females. Males and females are similar size. House Sparrows originate in Middle East but spread or have been introduced to other parts of the world. Sparrows eat mainly seeds and grain. House Sparrow is a worlds most widely distributed wild bird.

House Sparrow, male (right and middle) and female (left).

architecture of Egypt - antiquity - Pyramides

Egypt is one of the most fascinating countries. Starting with its ancient civilisation, its history, believes, knowledge and architecture to the modern, post-Arab Spring. Modern Egypt controls the strategic region of Suez Channel and Red Sea on the border of Africa and Asia. Over the last three millennia architecture of Egypt went a stunning transition. Despite the passing time, one may notice large influence of the history and tradition on modern Egyptian architecture. Contrary to different parts of the world, in Egypt one can compare the ancient architecture to the most modern buildings directly. The oldest of Egyptian constructions date to XXXV century B.C. and are very often superbly preserved, in particular of tombs and pyramids.

Panoramic view on Giza pyramides

Step Pyramid of Djoser

The Step Pyramid of Djoser is the oldest preserved pyramid in Egypt. Although not the oldest pyramide worldwide, Djoser pyramid is the worldwide oldest construction build from a cut stone (Caral pyramide is Peru is the worlds oldest unworked stone pyramide). Djoser pyramid was build in XXVII century B.C. and consist of six "steps" (mastabas). The construction of such a scale profs the new paradigm in the architecture and social structure of Egypt (mainly large scale manpower and material control).

Meidum Pyramid

Meidum pyramid initially was designed as a step pyramid. It was designed for the last pharaon the Third Dynasty. However, his successor turned Meidum pyramid into a true pyramid filling the steps with a limestone. The pyramid was constructed in different stages, expanded in base and height at every stage. Meidum pyramid has collapsed still in the antiquity. Due to that it is mostly known as a "collapsed pyramid". Remains of the pyramid include only the core constructed as an initial stage. Meidum site represent a transition stage, between "step" and "true" pyramids.

Great Pyramid of Giza

The great pyramid of Giza is the oldest and largest pyramid in the Giza complex. It is the most known and recognizable Egyptian pyramid and represent a true pyramide style. The pyramid was build for pharaon Cheops (called also Khufu) in XXVI century B.C.  Great pyramid was the worlds tallest man made object until the construction of Lincoln Cathedral, England in XIV century. The pyramid is build from a polished limestone, on a base of an almost perfect square and is aligned to the north and south poles.  

Djoser, Meidum and Giza represent three milestones in the pyramid architecture in Egypt. From the true stone pyramid of Djoser, through Meidum site with step pyramid changed later to a classic pyramid, ending with the true pyramid of Giza.

See also:
Teutonic knights castles in Poland
Worlds most scenic castles
10 reasons to visit Poland