Twelve Mile Circle – An Appreciation of Unusual Places

Twelve Mile Circle

  • Mob Rule

    One dictionary defines mob rule as a government by violent gangs, or by the masses. Another provides a wonderful synonym, Ochlocracy, a middle French word derived from the ancient Greek; which various other sources define as power from the multitude or crowd. Either way it seems a strangely deviant name for a website devoted to…

  • One Percent of Greenland Lives in a Single Building

    [UPDATE: Block P was torn down in 2012] I received the July 2010 print edition of National Geographic in the mail over the weekend. It had an interesting article on Greenland as it struggles with the effects of global warming. Naturally it includes all the usual excellent photography, maps and narrative that one would expect…

  • What Crosses an Airport Runway?

    The world of geo-oddities extends even to airport runways, and I’ve uncovered several curiosities over the past several days. The areas served by airports don’t always confine themselves to neat, tidy spaces. Oftentimes transportation resources represent a cooperative spirit between neighbors as they band together to meet a common need. Sometimes it’s just the opposite,…

  • Potpourri

    The virtual file folder is bulging at the seams but none of the topics I’ve collected for today are large enough to merit a standalone article. There should be something for just about everyone here today, something old, something new, something borrowed, something stupid. Haines Shoe House Wouldn’t you visit the Haines Shoe House if…

  • That Confounding Trivia Question

    UPDATE: THE CONTEST HAS ENDED. THEY ANNOUNCED THE CORRECT ANSWER AS STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT. SEE COMMENTS BELOW FOR ISSUES MANY PEOPLE HAVE WITH THIS ANSWER. People searching for the answer to a specific trivia question are hammering the Twelve Mile circle website. I’ve seen dozens of search engine queries and I’ve received several email messages from…

  • A Town’s Odd Streets and Enclaves

    Geo-oddities exist everywhere. You just have to look for them. I came across an interesting situation in Bothell, Washington, fascinating in its own right but leading to a confluence of events even more unusual. So the situation begins with the city’s placement directly atop a boundary line separating King County from Snohomish County. That’s hardly…

  • Adjacent Counties, Same Name, Different States

    We’ve had a lively interactive discussion within the comments section of the recent article, “For Aficionados of Counties.” This doesn’t surprise me. Many of our regular readers are indeed aficionados of counties. In fact I seem to have cornered a great deal of the market on geo-oddities at this tertiary level of US government, not…

  • Vote For a Geo-Oddity Bear

    THE POLLS HAVE CLOSED. WE LOST. CHASKA WON Regular reader “Craig” commented on my recent post, Geo-Oddities Go Hollywood. He was wondering if I was aware that the National Zoo in Washington, DC was considering naming one of its Andean bears after a geo-oddity. I hadn’t known about it so I followed the link that…

  • Geo-Oddities Go Hollywood

    The readers of the Twelve Mile Circle are the greatest. They’re always looking out for me. Loyal visitor “Bill” sent a message letting me know that Hollywood is planning to focus on a popular geo-oddity in an upcoming feature film. Seriously. It would be create quite a splash since it’s the latest project of Kathryn…

  • Shack at the End of the Road

    I strolled vicariously through Street View images leading to the northernmost coverage area of Canada, all the way to the town of Inuvik in the Northwest Territories. I pushed further north and further north at the tap of a trackpad until I could move no further on my laptop. Then I arrived right here at…

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  2. Park ranger at Chalmette (New Orleans) Battlefield let me pull up the Union Jack 20 years ago. My dad would…

  4. Dr Howder delivered me Feb 20 ,1935. Also my two sons 1957,1960. He was also my family doctor. I lived…

  5. In April/May 2025, I took a trip from home (south-central Missouri) to the 100th Meridian on the “River Road” west…