Twelve Mile Circle – An Appreciation of Unusual Places

Twelve Mile Circle

  • Where is Spider-Man Today?

    The newspaper version of the Amazing Spider-Man today (February 5, 2013) has Peter Parker attached to the back of a moving van, hitching a ride to San Francisco . He’s recently left Las Vegas, and he’s just passed a road sign that reads “San Francisco 237 miles.” Obviously Peter is riding along an Interstate Highway.…

  • Practically Insignificant

    I was pondering the nature of individual U.S. counties recently as I was going through the somewhat tedious process to create my 100th meridian map. My mind began to wonder. There are urban counties, suburban counties and rural counties. Every once in awhile, however, there will be an individual county that has a size or…

  • 100th Meridian Counties

    The Intertubes wants to know and I’m happy to oblige. This is one of those occasional articles that regular 12MC readers may want to skip because it doesn’t involve much from an intellectual standpoint. For some reason I keep getting search engine queries about the 100th meridian west of Greenwich, specifically the list of United…

  • Atlantis Lite

    I’ve been thinking about towns submerged by reservoirs. I don’t know why that suddenly came to mind or why it fascinated me without prompting. It’s one of those things. This is also a topic that interests many other people apparently. They’ve written all sorts of definitive lists of underwater ghost towns. I won’t replicate those…

  • How Low Can it Go?

    I stumble across the most fascinating bits of information in unexpected places. It happened this time as I examined the unusually-wide median strip between the eastbound and westbound lanes of Interstate 8 in southern California. Then I learned of a nearby oddity further down the highway while reviewing various roadfan websites. Interstate 8 A motorist…

  • Mystery of the Mexican Quadripoint

    Does Mexico have a quadripoint? I’m not asking that as a trick question. Ideally this should have an easily verifiable solution. Either four Mexican states touch at a common spot — a quadripoint — or they do not. The answer however is considerably more elusive. I remain at a loss as I attempt to uncover…

  • Remarkable Sundials

    I started fixating on sundials after stumbling across the dueling Dodge City railroad time zone sundials during Kansas Mountain Time. Fortunately I don’t think I’ll reach a point where I’m compelled to compile a list and go out of my way to visit them (as I do with lighthouses, fortifications and breweries). However, I’d probably…

  • Highpoints of the Crown Dependencies

    How does one refer to the Bailiwicks of Guernsey and Jersey, and the Isle of Man collectively? I pondered the British Isles Euler diagram and didn’t see a specific designation. “Outlying British Islands” seemed like a possibility although I didn’t want to diminish their significance. I think “Crown Dependencies” covers the three, and only those…

  • Time Zone Boundary Craziness

    Please forgive me for another Time Zone article. I actually had another topic in mind so I’ll bump that one to make room for an unusual observation. Loyal reader David Overton commented on Making the Switch that the most recent Indiana time zone adjustment exacerbated an odd situation. Drivers traveling along a single 19 mile…

  • Making the Switch

    I learn the most amazing things as I delve into topics. For instance, thanks to Kansas Mountain Time, I now know how to change an area from one time zone to another should the need ever arise. The simplicity actually surprised me. It seemed much easier and less bureaucratic than I would ever imagine. Let’s…

Latest Comments

  1. The British flag continues to fly at Roche Harbor, a couple miles north of English Camp.

  3. Been there Once for a few years. In 76 &77. Ran cooperative store. Even though it was very isolated It…

  4. As an Alaskan I always wondered why Interstates were a big deal. From my point of view a road went…