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Show HN: What country you would hit if you went straight where you're pointing

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Re: Show HN: What country you would hit if you went straight where you're pointing

#31

Post by FredPret »

lastofthemojito wrote: post #23

Very neat! I was confused as to how the possible paths would lead me to France, or if I slightly moved my phone, Brazil. Then I remembered French Guiana - it might be worth adding awareness of things like overseas departments rather than just the parent country. Also, it reminds me of this HN conversation I found fascinating a few years back: Finding the longest straight line you could sail without hitting land - htt…

France is the country with the most surprising shape. Most of it is in Europe but the rest covers many timezones and several continents.

Re: Show HN: What country you would hit if you went straight where you're pointing

#35

Post by goalieca »

FredPret wrote: post #31
lastofthemojito wrote: post #23

Very neat! I was confused as to how the possible paths would lead me to France, or if I slightly moved my phone, Brazil. Then I remembered French Guiana - it might be worth adding awareness of things like overseas departments rather than just the parent country. Also, it reminds me of this HN conversation I found fascinating a few years back: Finding the longest straight line you could sail without hitting land - htt…

France is the country with the most surprising shape. Most of it is in Europe but the rest covers many timezones and several continents.

Saint Pierre et Miquelon is a perfect example with it being a french territory inside canada.

Re: Show HN: What country you would hit if you went straight where you're pointing

#36

Post by devilbunny »

lastofthemojito wrote: post #23

Very neat! I was confused as to how the possible paths would lead me to France, or if I slightly moved my phone, Brazil. Then I remembered French Guiana - it might be worth adding awareness of things like overseas departments rather than just the parent country. Also, it reminds me of this HN conversation I found fascinating a few years back: Finding the longest straight line you could sail without hitting land - htt…

So I just spent a few minutes playing with Great Circle Mapper and while it's not exactly definitive (you get a static image, no zooming) it appears that leaving from Greater London and heading in a great-circle direction toward the northeast coast of Brazil, there are indeed some combination of your location and precisely where you point the phone that you either pick up Finisterre, metropolitan France, or Brazil. I suppose if you kept going you would pick up France again as in the territory of French Guiana.

Going from, say, Land's End, it looked a bit more likely to nick northern Galicia.

Re: Show HN: What country you would hit if you went straight where you're pointing

#39

Post by [deleted] »

lastofthemojito wrote: post #23

Very neat! I was confused as to how the possible paths would lead me to France, or if I slightly moved my phone, Brazil. Then I remembered French Guiana - it might be worth adding awareness of things like overseas departments rather than just the parent country. Also, it reminds me of this HN conversation I found fascinating a few years back: Finding the longest straight line you could sail without hitting land - htt…

[deleted]

Re: Show HN: What country you would hit if you went straight where you're pointing

#40

Post by jvanderbot »

I was on vacation in Baja Mexico. South of California. We were having dinner on the beach and my wife asked "I wonder how far you can go before you hit land".

Later some basic Geo calculations and a Google maps visit to estimate the bearing she was looking and yeah, the great circle arc went all the way to Antarctica, crossing half a planet.

Its remarkable how huge the Pacific Ocean is. Its Vast.

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