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How Far Can You Get From McDonald's?

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Re: How Far Can You Get From McDonald's?

#51

Post by ericd »

wisty wrote: post #46
grecy wrote: post #10

I grew up in rural Australia, and we used to host a ton of exchange students from North America. Driving from Melbourne back to my home town, there is a huge billboard saying "Next McDonalds 100km" (60 mi.). Many times we would have to pull over so the American exchange students could take a photo, as they were in disbelief they were so far away from one. On that same road you're easily 250km (130mi.) away, but there…

Most Americans have no taste-buds. They don't eat lamb, and prefer grain-fed beef (which tastes like slightly gamey chicken) to grass-fed beef (which has a much more ... beefy ... flavor). And don't even think of offering them kangaroo. On the other hand, I'm sure there's some Minnesotan here, who'll tell me I'm a wimp for not eating gopher. Regional US food rocks, but generic "US food" is just bland.

Meh, I eat plenty of lamb, and I know plenty of people who do as well. It's certainly not as popular as beef, but probably mainly because it's much pricier.

Thomas Keller of French Laundry fame (three Michelin star restaurant in Napa) states in his cookbook that he actually prefers to use beef that's been finished on grain. Personally, I like both.

Deer is delicious, if you haven't had it.

Re: How Far Can You Get From McDonald's?

#52

Post by wahnfrieden »

tocomment wrote: post #42
tzs wrote: post #8

> Which begs the question: just how far away can you get from our world of generic convenience? An interesting kind of related question is to ask what is the farthest you've ever been away from other humans. For most of us, we've never been more than a few miles from others. I've read that the record is probably held by one of the Apollo astronauts who remained in lunar orbit while the landing party landed.

He should have said "raises the question". " begs the question".means assuming the conclusion of your argument.

Irrelevant, pedantic, and prescriptivist.

Re: How Far Can You Get From McDonald's?

#54

Post by SquareWheel »

wahnfrieden wrote: post #52
tocomment wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He should have said "raises the question". " begs the question".means assuming the conclusion of your argument.

Irrelevant, pedantic, and prescriptivist.

It's not pedantic, it totally changes the meaning of the statement.

Re: How Far Can You Get From McDonald's?

#55

Post by vacri »

brntn wrote: post #44
grecy wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Haha, no. It's a 500km (310mi.) drive, and there is only a McDonalds at the start and one at the end.

I find this hard to believe (grew up in Swan Hill). Where are you heading to from Melbourne? I doubt you could stay in Victoria and be more than 250km from a McDonalds.

Maybe in the Wimmera?

You're certainly far from Macca's when you head up the Cobb in NSW, though.

Re: How Far Can You Get From McDonald's?

#56

Post by vacri »

tocomment wrote: post #42
tzs wrote: post #8

> Which begs the question: just how far away can you get from our world of generic convenience? An interesting kind of related question is to ask what is the farthest you've ever been away from other humans. For most of us, we've never been more than a few miles from others. I've read that the record is probably held by one of the Apollo astronauts who remained in lunar orbit while the landing party landed.

He should have said "raises the question". " begs the question".means assuming the conclusion of your argument.

Common usage has it the other way around - 'begs the question' does mean 'raises the question', simply because that's how it's used. That philosophical jargon has it differently doesn't change that.

Re: How Far Can You Get From McDonald's?

#57

Post by daemin »

grecy wrote: post #10

I grew up in rural Australia, and we used to host a ton of exchange students from North America. Driving from Melbourne back to my home town, there is a huge billboard saying "Next McDonalds 100km" (60 mi.). Many times we would have to pull over so the American exchange students could take a photo, as they were in disbelief they were so far away from one. On that same road you're easily 250km (130mi.) away, but there…

I remember seeing a sign on the Sturt highway that said the next McDonalds was 450kms away in Wagga Wagga. I may have a picture of it somewhere. Though I checked and it does not exist anymore.

You might get really far away from one if you were in central Western Australia somewhere, though with the mining boom still happening that may not be the case.

Re: How Far Can You Get From McDonald's?

#58

Post by vacri »

dredmorbius wrote: post #49
tzs wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know how far above the Moon the command module's orbit was, but the Moon is about 3500 km in diameter, so when the command module was on the opposite side of the Moon from the lunar module, the astronaut in the command module would have been at least 3500 km from any other human. There are enough inhabited islands in the oceans that it is hard to find a place where you might be 3500 km from anybody. For examp…

The ISS orbits between 330km and 410km above the earth. Really just a hair's breadth off the planet, skimming the outside of the atmosphere. While distance is one measure of loneliness, travel time would be another. I'd suspect among the most isolated humans were early Antarctic explorers. Robert Scott, when he died on the return leg of his failed South Pole expedition, was some 400 miles (670 km) from his intended d…

"I'm going for a Big Mac, I may be some time..."?

Re: How Far Can You Get From McDonald's?

#59

Post by kijin »

GigabyteCoin wrote: post #45

I can't find the source for the life of me, but I remember reading an article about 6 months back that declared basically "there is not a single square foot of land inside the continental USA that is considered 'silent' any longer". In other words, no matter where you "go to get away" in the USA, you will never truly leave the buzz of the city. EDIT: Perhaps this is it http://geohazards.usgs.gov/staffweb/mcnamara/PDF…

I just skimmed that paper very quickly, and it seems to include wind and water. If you count all the noises that nature makes, nowhere on the planet is going to be "silent".
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