Geographic Oddities

[Reservoir Dog]

Not counting Mexico, what is the closest country due south of the continental United States?

Canada.
Windsor, Canada is about 1 mile due south of Detroit across the Detroit River.

The Canadian city I live in is geographically farther south than the entire states of:
Washington
Montana
Minnesota
Maine
New Hampshire
Vermont
North Dakota
South Dakota

And the vast majority of the states of:
Oregon
Idaho
Wyoming
Wisconsin
Michigan
New York

And you can even throw in a chunk of Iowa as well

[Animal]

LET'S FIGHT ABOUT TEDDY ROOSEVELT!

didn't his son nearly die on that trip?

[CaptQuint]

Quentin?

[CentralTexasCrude]

i remember reading a story about Teddy Roosevelt planning a journey to map the Amazon (like the first civilized human to travel it). Anyway, he brought so much shit with him that it nearly killed half the guides and animals they had to carry him and his shit on the trip. I think they ended up having to dump most of it along the way. this trip was so remote that it was easier for the local tribesmen to build canoes out of trees in place than to carry them.

Yeah, I've read about that. Actually the "first civilized human to travel it" couldn't be more wrong by almost 400 years. After Pizarro and the conquistadors conquered the Inca's around 1530, he sent an expedition East from Peru looking for the rumored gold "El Dorado". Passed over the Andes, discovered the headwaters of the Amazon and started floating down. The expedition got separated at some dangerous rapids. Most headed back to Peru, the rest floated down the entire Amazon to the Atlantic and caught a Portuguese ship to Spain. They estimated the population along the Amazon they traveled at 2-4 million. 200 years later it was deserted and we know why.

maybe he wanted to be the first to map it. i know his plan was to be the first to do something with the Amazon. I'm sure he knew more about the history of the river than either you or me.

Uh, no. The Portuguese discovered the Amazon by chance maybe 20 years before when they realized the best way to India around the tip of Africa was not to hug the coast but swing out way wide west and catch the trade winds. Months in the open ocean. They discovered the Amazon when they realized they were sailing in fresh water 200 miles off the coast.

[Animal]

i remember reading a story about Teddy Roosevelt planning a journey to map the Amazon (like the first civilized human to travel it). Anyway, he brought so much shit with him that it nearly killed half the guides and animals they had to carry him and his shit on the trip. I think they ended up having to dump most of it along the way. this trip was so remote that it was easier for the local tribesmen to build canoes out of trees in place than to carry them.

Yeah, I've read about that. Actually the "first civilized human to travel it" couldn't be more wrong by almost 400 years. After Pizarro and the conquistadors conquered the Inca's around 1530, he sent an expedition East from Peru looking for the rumored gold "El Dorado". Passed over the Andes, discovered the headwaters of the Amazon and started floating down. The expedition got separated at some dangerous rapids. Most headed back to Peru, the rest floated down the entire Amazon to the Atlantic and caught a Portuguese ship to Spain. They estimated the population along the Amazon they traveled at 2-4 million. 200 years later it was deserted and we know why.

maybe he wanted to be the first to map it. i know his plan was to be the first to do something with the Amazon. I'm sure he knew more about the history of the river than either you or me.

Uh, no. The Portuguese discovered the Amazon by chance maybe 20 years before when they realized the best way to India around the tip of Africa was not to hug the coast but swing out way wide west and catch the trade winds. Months in the open ocean. They discovered the Amazon when they realized they were sailing in fresh water 200 miles off the coast.

surely your dumb ass knows the difference in finding a river and mapping it and trying to trace it back to where it originates at the furthest point from the mouth?

[Blast]

There are 4 time zones in the mainland US. Due to quirks on the time zone borders, people that live in Pensacola, Florida and Jordan Valley, Oregon are only 1 hour apart.

that's pretty interesting.

i heard something not long ago, maybe read it on here, that there is an island out in the pacific that is so remote, that if you are on that island you are farther from any other humanity than if you were on the International Space Station.

Awww man, I wanna go there!

I'm guessing you'll have to pack in all your supplies. Agree, I would love to go there.

Matches, hatchet, mosquito netting, hat, sat radio/phone, knife, blanket, extra socks, bug spray, filtered straw, first aid kit, rope, what else.... can I bring a friend?

Solar still, cast iron skillet, steel cups, fishing gear, yeast, files for sharpening the machete, hammock, bottles for clean water, bow drill, spear gun, snorkeling gear, camp knife and sharpening stones.
Oh...
2 55 gallon casks of rum.

[CentralTexasCrude]

LET'S FIGHT ABOUT TEDDY ROOSEVELT!

didn't his son nearly die on that trip?

Yes! Oooooh I can't remember his name. It was something kinda lame. Someone else look it up, I like to try to remember.

His name was Kermit Roosevelt. Served in WW1. Founding member of the OSS (pre-CIA) during WW2. Founding member of the CIA. He was in charge of overthrowing the Iranian regime during the 1950's and installing the Shah.

[CaptQuint]

Quentin?

I was in the home of one of TR's sons. Turns out that son was named Theodore Roosevelt Jr.

[CaptQuint]

This was a good purchase

[CentralTexasCrude]

i remember reading a story about Teddy Roosevelt planning a journey to map the Amazon (like the first civilized human to travel it). Anyway, he brought so much shit with him that it nearly killed half the guides and animals they had to carry him and his shit on the trip. I think they ended up having to dump most of it along the way. this trip was so remote that it was easier for the local tribesmen to build canoes out of trees in place than to carry them.

Yeah, I've read about that. Actually the "first civilized human to travel it" couldn't be more wrong by almost 400 years. After Pizarro and the conquistadors conquered the Inca's around 1530, he sent an expedition East from Peru looking for the rumored gold "El Dorado". Passed over the Andes, discovered the headwaters of the Amazon and started floating down. The expedition got separated at some dangerous rapids. Most headed back to Peru, the rest floated down the entire Amazon to the Atlantic and caught a Portuguese ship to Spain. They estimated the population along the Amazon they traveled at 2-4 million. 200 years later it was deserted and we know why.

maybe he wanted to be the first to map it. i know his plan was to be the first to do something with the Amazon. I'm sure he knew more about the history of the river than either you or me.

Uh, no. The Portuguese discovered the Amazon by chance maybe 20 years before when they realized the best way to India around the tip of Africa was not to hug the coast but swing out way wide west and catch the trade winds. Months in the open ocean. They discovered the Amazon when they realized they were sailing in fresh water 200 miles off the coast.

surely your dumb ass knows the difference in finding a river and mapping it and trying to trace it back to where it originates at the furthest point from the mouth?

And I guess your dumb ass doesn't realize that expedition in the 1530's didn't even know they were at the source of the Amazon looking for "El Dorado". Probably had never heard the Portuguese discovery 20 years before at the other end of the continent. They just floated down trying to get back to Europe alive.

[CentralTexasCrude]

Anyway hope you enjoy the thread. I'm blowing out of here tomorrow way before sunrise for work out in the wilds of W Texas. Won't be in touch probably until this weekend. Hope you all have a great week. I'll leave you with one final geographic oddity until then. If you live in the hills/ mountains of Pennsylvania and are posting on an anonymous social media site, your chances of turning into a psycho Disco hick increases by 5,000%. True story. I'm out.

[Wut]

There are 4 time zones in the mainland US. Due to quirks on the time zone borders, people that live in Pensacola, Florida and Jordan Valley, Oregon are only 1 hour apart.

that's pretty interesting.

i heard something not long ago, maybe read it on here, that there is an island out in the pacific that is so remote, that if you are on that island you are farther from any other humanity than if you were on the International Space Station.

Space station is only 250 miles up, there are probably a several little islands, most of Antarctica, and some of Australia with no people within 250 miles. Maybe even some of Canada. Parts of Greenland too.

[CaptQuint]

The only earthworms within 250 miles of me are on the space station

[Animal]

There are 4 time zones in the mainland US. Due to quirks on the time zone borders, people that live in Pensacola, Florida and Jordan Valley, Oregon are only 1 hour apart.

that's pretty interesting.

i heard something not long ago, maybe read it on here, that there is an island out in the pacific that is so remote, that if you are on that island you are farther from any other humanity than if you were on the International Space Station.

Space station is only 250 miles up, there are probably a several little islands, most of Antarctica, and some of Australia with no people within 250 miles. Maybe even some of Canada. Parts of Greenland too.

yeah, fortunately the space station is tethered exactly above every point on the globe.

[Wut]

There are 4 time zones in the mainland US. Due to quirks on the time zone borders, people that live in Pensacola, Florida and Jordan Valley, Oregon are only 1 hour apart.

that's pretty interesting.

i heard something not long ago, maybe read it on here, that there is an island out in the pacific that is so remote, that if you are on that island you are farther from any other humanity than if you were on the International Space Station.

Space station is only 250 miles up, there are probably a several little islands, most of Antarctica, and some of Australia with no people within 250 miles. Maybe even some of Canada. Parts of Greenland too.

yeah, fortunately the space station is tethered exactly above every point on the globe.

It’s not tethered at a certain distance from that mystery island either. Every 90 minutes it’s on the opposite side of the Earth from your island.

[Biker]

Most gas powered vehicles operate with specific MPG operations while driving on the roads. However, there is one geographic place in Pennsylvania where those physics seem to stop, as pick up trucks and V8 Camaros tend to operate well below their designated fuel efficiencies. Very odd geographic locale

[Blast]

I think in the right circumstances, I could have all my stuff on my person. It'd look hilarious, but I think I could make it Blast!

I don't doubt you could pull it off.

I have to admit, I wouldn't be able to get the casks of rum, but I do have a back pack that has all of that in case of emergency, except the yeast to make beer. That I'd have to find locally.

[CaptQuint]

Most gas powered vehicles operate with specific MPG operations while driving on the roads. However, there is one geographic place in Pennsylvania where those physics seem to stop, as pick up trucks and V8 Camaros tend to operate well below their designated fuel efficiencies. Very odd geographic locale

Awww, someones butthurt

[CaptQuint]

[Animal]

There are 4 time zones in the mainland US. Due to quirks on the time zone borders, people that live in Pensacola, Florida and Jordan Valley, Oregon are only 1 hour apart.

that's pretty interesting.

i heard something not long ago, maybe read it on here, that there is an island out in the pacific that is so remote, that if you are on that island you are farther from any other humanity than if you were on the International Space Station.

Space station is only 250 miles up, there are probably a several little islands, most of Antarctica, and some of Australia with no people within 250 miles. Maybe even some of Canada. Parts of Greenland too.

yeah, fortunately the space station is tethered exactly above every point on the globe.

It’s not tethered at a certain distance from that mystery island either. Every 90 minutes it’s on the opposite side of the Earth from your island.

so your statement is correct for a split second every few months when the space station is directly over a spot that is more than 250 miles from another inhabited spot. However, this particular spot in the article i pointed out is over 1,000 miles from another regularly inahbited spot. Which means that at any particular moment, the odds are greater that the closest human to that spot is an astronaut. That is the only simple point they were trying to make.

[Wut]

There are 4 time zones in the mainland US. Due to quirks on the time zone borders, people that live in Pensacola, Florida and Jordan Valley, Oregon are only 1 hour apart.

that's pretty interesting.

i heard something not long ago, maybe read it on here, that there is an island out in the pacific that is so remote, that if you are on that island you are farther from any other humanity than if you were on the International Space Station.

Space station is only 250 miles up, there are probably a several little islands, most of Antarctica, and some of Australia with no people within 250 miles. Maybe even some of Canada. Parts of Greenland too.

yeah, fortunately the space station is tethered exactly above every point on the globe.

It’s not tethered at a certain distance from that mystery island either. Every 90 minutes it’s on the opposite side of the Earth from your island.

so your statement is correct for a split second every few months when the space station is directly over a spot that is more than 250 miles from another inhabited spot. However, this particular spot in the article i pointed out is over 1,000 miles from another regularly inahbited spot. Which means that at any particular moment, the odds are greater that the closest human to that spot is an astronaut. That is the only simple point they were trying to make.

That’s not true at all, the odds are greater that at any particular moment the space station is further than one thousand miles from this island. There will be times that the space station is closer but usually not.

[CaptQuint]

Chalmers: Why is there smoke coming out of your oven, Seymour?

Principal Skinner: Uh- Oh. That isn't smoke. It's steam. Steam from the steamed clams we're having. Mmm. Steamed clams.

Principal Skinner: Whew. Superintendent, I hope you're ready for mouthwatering hamburgers.

Chalmers: I thought we were having steamed clams.

Principal Skinner: D'oh, no. I said steamed hams. That's what I call hamburgers.

Chalmers: You call hamburgers steamed hams?

Principal Skinner: Yes. It's a regional dialect.

Chalmers: Uh-huh. Uh, what region?

Principal Skinner: Uh, upstate New York.

Chalmers: Really. Well, I'm from Utica, and I've never heard anyone use the phrase "steamed hams."

Principal Skinner: Oh, not in Utica. No. It's an Albany expression.

Chalmers: I see. You know, these hamburgers are quite similar to the ones they have at Krusty Burger.

Principal Skinner: Oh, no. Patented Skinner burgers. Old family recipe.

Chalmers: For steamed hams.

Principal Skinner: Yes.

Chalmers: Yes. And you call them steamed hams despite the fact that they are obviously grilled.

Principal Skinner: Ye- You know, the- One thing I should- - Excuse me for one second.

Chalmers: Of course.

Principal Skinner: Oh well, that was wonderful. A good time was had by all. I'm pooped.

Chalmers: Yes. I should be- Good Lord! What is happening in there?

Principal Skinner: Aurora borealis.

Chalmers: Uh- Aurora borealis at this time of year at this time of day in this part of the country localized entirely within your kitchen?

Principal Skinner: Yes.

Chalmers: May I see it?

Principal Skinner: No.

Skinner's Mother: Seymour! The house is on fire!

Principal Skinner: No, Mother. It's just the northern lights.

Chalmers: Well, Seymour, you are an odd fellow but I must say you steam a good ham.

Skinner's Mother: Help! Help!

[Animal]

that's pretty interesting.

i heard something not long ago, maybe read it on here, that there is an island out in the pacific that is so remote, that if you are on that island you are farther from any other humanity than if you were on the International Space Station.

Space station is only 250 miles up, there are probably a several little islands, most of Antarctica, and some of Australia with no people within 250 miles. Maybe even some of Canada. Parts of Greenland too.

yeah, fortunately the space station is tethered exactly above every point on the globe.

It’s not tethered at a certain distance from that mystery island either. Every 90 minutes it’s on the opposite side of the Earth from your island.

so your statement is correct for a split second every few months when the space station is directly over a spot that is more than 250 miles from another inhabited spot. However, this particular spot in the article i pointed out is over 1,000 miles from another regularly inahbited spot. Which means that at any particular moment, the odds are greater that the closest human to that spot is an astronaut. That is the only simple point they were trying to make.

That’s not true at all, the odds are greater that at any particular moment the space station is further than one thousand miles from this island. There will be times that the space station is closer but usually not.

wow, you are one hairsplitting tedious fuck. it takes ISS an hour and half to make an orbit. So if you were on that island for, say 1 day, it would orbit the earth 16 times. and in those 16 times, the odds are pretty good that it would pass over a 1,000 mile window of open space above that island at least once. how fucking hard is that to grasp? If nothing else, its your best chance of anywhere on the planet to make that claim.

[Wut]

Space station is only 250 miles up, there are probably a several little islands, most of Antarctica, and some of Australia with no people within 250 miles. Maybe even some of Canada. Parts of Greenland too.

yeah, fortunately the space station is tethered exactly above every point on the globe.

It’s not tethered at a certain distance from that mystery island either. Every 90 minutes it’s on the opposite side of the Earth from your island.

so your statement is correct for a split second every few months when the space station is directly over a spot that is more than 250 miles from another inhabited spot. However, this particular spot in the article i pointed out is over 1,000 miles from another regularly inahbited spot. Which means that at any particular moment, the odds are greater that the closest human to that spot is an astronaut. That is the only simple point they were trying to make.

That’s not true at all, the odds are greater that at any particular moment the space station is further than one thousand miles from this island. There will be times that the space station is closer but usually not.

wow, you are one hairsplitting tedious fuck. it takes ISS an hour and half to make an orbit. So if you were on that island for, say 1 day, it would orbit the earth 16 times. and in those 16 times, the odds are pretty good that it would pass over a 1,000 mile window of open space above that island at least once. how fucking hard is that to grasp? If nothing else, its your best chance of anywhere on the planet to make that claim.

Sorry if accuracy is a problem for you.

[Animal]

yeah, fortunately the space station is tethered exactly above every point on the globe.

It’s not tethered at a certain distance from that mystery island either. Every 90 minutes it’s on the opposite side of the Earth from your island.

so your statement is correct for a split second every few months when the space station is directly over a spot that is more than 250 miles from another inhabited spot. However, this particular spot in the article i pointed out is over 1,000 miles from another regularly inahbited spot. Which means that at any particular moment, the odds are greater that the closest human to that spot is an astronaut. That is the only simple point they were trying to make.

That’s not true at all, the odds are greater that at any particular moment the space station is further than one thousand miles from this island. There will be times that the space station is closer but usually not.

wow, you are one hairsplitting tedious fuck. it takes ISS an hour and half to make an orbit. So if you were on that island for, say 1 day, it would orbit the earth 16 times. and in those 16 times, the odds are pretty good that it would pass over a 1,000 mile window of open space above that island at least once. how fucking hard is that to grasp? If nothing else, its your best chance of anywhere on the planet to make that claim.

Sorry if accuracy is a problem for you.

actually, accuracy is what i am after. you, on the other hand, just live to be a contrarian