Month: April 2012
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Gravity Hills
Many years ago I had an acquaintance who was an accomplished magician. Fortunately I got to see him practice various magic ticks as he perfected his craft. So of course I learned the secrets behind many of the illusions. The human brain likes to believe what it thinks it sees. The magic tricks often reveal…
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Semi-Practical Exclaves Galore!
I mentioned a semi-practical exclave in Australia a few days ago. This was a spot in New South Wales where a resident in an automobile could exit his neighborhood without ever leaving NSW. However, he could return only via Queensland. I noted somewhat tongue-in-cheek that the “…situation becomes very special, perhaps unique, meaning I didn’t…
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Alabama Capitals
It took awhile for some new states admitted to the United States to settle down with a mature governance structure. Alabama fit that exact pattern. It had five capital cities in less than thirty years. Montgomery is the Alabama capital today (map). It has grown in size and stature to a couple hundred thousand residents…
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First Name, Surname Symmetry
I wondered recently about towns bearing someone’s first name combined with counties bearing the same person’s last name. This spark came after learning that Gail was the county seat of Borden County, Texas. Both honored Gail Borden, the condensed milk guy (and so much more). The only other instance of this first name – surname…
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Australian Semi-Practical Exclave
I had an interesting exchange of email messages with reader “New Taste” recently. It involved a little corner of Australia where Queensland and New South Wales hit the Coral Sea. The discussion had been triggered by one of my earlier articles I called “What Crosses an Airport Runway?” Well, a surprising number of unexpected things…
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Space Shuttle Discovery Flyover
We had a moment of excitement this morning when the Space Shuttle “Discovery” set atop a modified 747 jet airline flew right past my office window. Please excuse the low-quality photograph. I had only the camera on my mobile phone at the time and this was the best I could manage. Seeing it live with…
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Condensed Texas
I first came across Borden County, Texas in More Land than People, Part 2. It’s amongst the 63 out of 3,143 counties or equivalents where square mileage exceeds the number of its inhabitants. For Borden (map), that was 897.4 square miles for only 641 people recorded in the 2010 Decennial Census so there was plenty…
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No Water Necessary
The Henley Royal Regatta is perhaps the most famous boat race in the world. It takes takes place each year along a particularly straight segment of the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames, England (map). This huge sporting event features world-class competition and serves as a primary attraction in the summer social season. The regatta revels in…
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Devil’s Highway
Here is wisdom. He that hath understanding, let him count the number of the beast; for it is the number of a man: and his number is Six hundred and sixty and six. — Revelation 13:18 Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia –- Fear of the number 666 A national highway in the western United States carried the “number of…