Wednesday, November 26, 2008
I often think about the other side of the world~ the one I'd end up at if I drilled a hole right through the earth and ended up on the opposite side of the planet. This is otherwise known as the antipodal point~ the place diametrically opposed to another.I was always pretty certain that China was not the antipode of where I lived, contrary to the saying of "digging a hole to China". Since the world is covered by 71% water, it's a fact that most antipodes aren't land-based. Learn more about antipodes at Wikipedia.com.Here's a map which overlaps two opposite sides of the earth, showing one side as pink and the other side blue. You can see just how few areas of land that also have land as an antipodal point:
Google also has a great tool to help you locate the exact antipodal point from any other. You just have to double-click your intended location on the top map, and the bottom map will automatically show you the antipodal point, which for my house is somewhere in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Check it out here at antipodesmap.com.
