This is true? - Geographic oddities that defy conventional wisdom

[CNGL-Leudimin]

Yeah. San Francisco and Washington are roughly the same latitude as Lisbon. To get as far south as LA or San Diego, you need to get into Africa. To get as far south as Miami or San Juan, you have to get seriously into Africa (like Aswan and Timbuktu, respectively)

Yup. Orlando is at the same latitude as the Canary Islands. Yet, the closest point of the USA to them is still Hamlin ME (already mentioned by me).

[GenExpwy]

Similar: the town of Rochester, New York is just south of the Catskills in Ulster County.

Years ago, I saw a foreclosure notice in the [city of] Rochester Democrat & Chronicle that clearly referred to a property in the town of Rochester, a couple hundred miles away.

[Roadgeekteen]

Los Angeles is closer to London than Tokyo.

[kalvado]

Los Angeles is closer to London than Tokyo.

Or, spinning it a bit around, Los Angeles is closer to Tokyo than London.

[hotdogPi]

Los Angeles is closer to London than Tokyo.

Or, spinning it a bit around, Los Angeles is closer to Tokyo than London.

Those can't both be true.

Unless you mean "Los Angeles is closer to London than Tokyo is" (and same for the second sentence), which doesn't defy conventional wisdom.

[kalvado]

Los Angeles is closer to London than Tokyo.

Or, spinning it a bit around, Los Angeles is closer to Tokyo than London.

Those can't both be true.

Unless you mean "Los Angeles is closer to London than Tokyo is" (and same for the second sentence), which doesn't defy conventional wisdom.

Yes, that is what I tried to say. Throwing in some numbers for apology:
DIstance between Los Angeles and London is 5,456 miles, almost the same as Los Angeles to Tokyo - 5,452 mi. LOndon to Tokyo is bigger than those two - 5,975 miles.

[Jordanes]

Speaking of ZIP codes, Newton Falls, OH has the only ZIP code in which all the numbers are the same -- 44444.

In line with that, the only postcode in Spain that all five numbers are the same digits belongs to Castejon de Monegros, Huesca province, Aragon: 22222. Incidentally, 44444 would be in Teruel province in the same region.

IIRC, General Electric in Schenectady NY has the best ZIP code: 12345.

Virginia Beach has a 23456

[thenetwork]

Speaking of ZIP codes, Newton Falls, OH has the only ZIP code in which all the numbers are the same -- 44444.

In line with that, the only postcode in Spain that all five numbers are the same digits belongs to Castejon de Monegros, Huesca province, Aragon: 22222. Incidentally, 44444 would be in Teruel province in the same region.

IIRC, General Electric in Schenectady NY has the best ZIP code: 12345.

Virginia Beach has a 23456

Newton Falls, OH (Near Youngstown) is the only ZIP with the same five numbers -- 44444

[hotdogPi]

Speaking of ZIP codes, Newton Falls, OH has the only ZIP code in which all the numbers are the same -- 44444.

In line with that, the only postcode in Spain that all five numbers are the same digits belongs to Castejon de Monegros, Huesca province, Aragon: 22222. Incidentally, 44444 would be in Teruel province in the same region.

IIRC, General Electric in Schenectady NY has the best ZIP code: 12345.

Virginia Beach has a 23456

Newton Falls, OH (Near Youngstown) is the only ZIP with the same five numbers -- 44444

You already said that inside what you quoted.

[kalvado]

Speaking of ZIP codes, Newton Falls, OH has the only ZIP code in which all the numbers are the same -- 44444.

In line with that, the only postcode in Spain that all five numbers are the same digits belongs to Castejon de Monegros, Huesca province, Aragon: 22222. Incidentally, 44444 would be in Teruel province in the same region.

IIRC, General Electric in Schenectady NY has the best ZIP code: 12345.

Virginia Beach has a 23456

34567 unused (prefix 345 not assigned)
Scottown, OH 45678
56789 unused, but 567 prefix is used in Thief River Falls MN area, so maybe someday...
67890 unused, prefix 678 is used in KS
78910 unused, although 78940 and 78950 exist in TX
01234 unused, Hinsdale MA is 01235
54321 unused, 54311 exists in MI

My feeling is that USPS is not assigning those "nice" numbers.

Some other interesting combinations:
31415 is in Savannah GA
65536 is Lebanon MO,  Leasburg MO is 65535
32768 is Plymouth FL
16384 not assigned
27182 and 27183 not assigned

ok, I  need to stop...

[7/8]

Speaking of ZIP codes, Newton Falls, OH has the only ZIP code in which all the numbers are the same -- 44444.

In line with that, the only postcode in Spain that all five numbers are the same digits belongs to Castejon de Monegros, Huesca province, Aragon: 22222. Incidentally, 44444 would be in Teruel province in the same region.

IIRC, General Electric in Schenectady NY has the best ZIP code: 12345.

Virginia Beach has a 23456

34567 unused (prefix 345 not assigned)
Scottown, OH 45678
56789 unused, but 567 prefix is used in Thief River Falls MN area, so maybe someday...
67890 unused, prefix 678 is used in KS
78910 unused, although 78940 and 78950 exist in TX
01234 unused, Hinsdale MA is 01235
54321 unused, 54311 exists in MI

My feeling is that USPS is not assigning those "nice" numbers.

Some other interesting combinations:
31415 is in Savannah GA
65536 is Lebanon MO,  Leasburg MO is 65535
32768 is Plymouth FL
16384 not assigned
27182 and 27183 not assigned

ok, I  need to stop...

Some good Canadian postal codes, taken from a reddit thread:

H0H 0H0 - North Pole
V4G 1N4 - Delta, BC
S0H 0M0 - Brownlee, SK
P0T 2G0 - Murillo, ON
R0B 0T0 - Island Lake, MB

[Roadgeekteen]

Los Angeles is closer to London than Tokyo.

Or, spinning it a bit around, Los Angeles is closer to Tokyo than London.

Those can't both be true.

Unless you mean "Los Angeles is closer to London than Tokyo is" (and same for the second sentence), which doesn't defy conventional wisdom.

Yes, that is what I tried to say. Throwing in some numbers for apology:
DIstance between Los Angeles and London is 5,456 miles, almost the same as Los Angeles to Tokyo - 5,452 mi. LOndon to Tokyo is bigger than those two - 5,975 miles.

The fact that they are almost the same always made me confused. The pacific ocean is really big.

[CNGL-Leudimin]

34567 unused (prefix 345 not assigned)
Scottown, OH 45678
56789 unused, but 567 prefix is used in Thief River Falls MN area, so maybe someday...
67890 unused, prefix 678 is used in KS
78910 unused, although 78940 and 78950 exist in TX
01234 unused, Hinsdale MA is 01235
54321 unused, 54311 exists in MI

My feeling is that USPS is not assigning those "nice" numbers.

Some other interesting combinations:
31415 is in Savannah GA
65536 is Lebanon MO,  Leasburg MO is 65535
32768 is Plymouth FL
16384 not assigned
27182 and 27183 not assigned

ok, I  need to stop...

We have also a 31415 in Spain, as well as a 31416, both in Northeastern Navarre. 27182 and 27183 are somewhere in Lugo province in Galicia. 16180 is unused, would belong to Cuenca province. No 12345 either, would be in Castellon province.

[hotdogPi]

34567 unused (prefix 345 not assigned)
Scottown, OH 45678
56789 unused, but 567 prefix is used in Thief River Falls MN area, so maybe someday...
67890 unused, prefix 678 is used in KS
78910 unused, although 78940 and 78950 exist in TX
01234 unused, Hinsdale MA is 01235
54321 unused, 54311 exists in MI

My feeling is that USPS is not assigning those "nice" numbers.

Some other interesting combinations:
31415 is in Savannah GA
65536 is Lebanon MO,  Leasburg MO is 65535
32768 is Plymouth FL
16384 not assigned
27182 and 27183 not assigned

ok, I  need to stop...

We have also a 31415 in Spain, as well as a 31416, both in Northeastern Navarre. 27182 and 27183 are somewhere in Lugo province in Galicia. 16180 is unused, would belong to Cuenca province. No 12345 either, would be in Castellon province.

Another one (as far as I can tell) that exists in Spain but not the US: 40320 (which is 8!).

[jwolfer]

I just got a Happy New Year greeting from my friend in Bogotá, Colombia and it reminded me...They are in Eastern Time zone like Jacksonville and NYC...the Pacific coast of South America is the same longitude as the east coast of North America.. because it's the Pacific coast I think of it being same longitude as Los Angeles

Z981

[Big John]

54321 unused, 54311 exists in MI

54311 actually assigned to Green Bay.

[ColossalBlocks]

Sorry for bumping the thread in advanced.

The Appalachian Mountains share some of the same longitude lines as the Sahara Desert.

[dfilpus]

Sorry for bumping the thread in advanced.

The Appalachian Mountains share some of the same longitude lines as the Sahara Desert.

Say what? Latitude, maybe, but not longitude.

[US 89]

Sorry for bumping the thread in advanced.

The Appalachian Mountains share some of the same longitude lines as the Sahara Desert.

Say what? Latitude, maybe, but not longitude.

Maybe he's counting going all the way around the North Pole and down the opposite side of the planet.

[ghYHZ]

The Appalachian Mountains share some of the same longitude lines as the Sahara Desert.

Say what? Latitude, maybe, but not longitude.

The northern most reaches of the Appalachians are the Long Range Mountains in Newfoundland....extending 400 km up the west coast. Highest peak is 2670 feet (814 m)

The International Appalachian Trail is to be extended here...beginning near the ferry terminal in Port-aux-Basques

[CNGL-Leudimin]

Sorry for bumping the thread in advanced.

The Appalachian Mountains share some of the same longitude lines as the Sahara Desert.

Say what? Latitude, maybe, but not longitude.

I don't see how either. Africa only reaches about 17°W, while the Northernmost reaches of the Appalachians are at 55°W. However, the Southern Appalachians are at the same latitude as Northern Sahara.

The International Appalachian Trail is to be extended here...beginning near the ferry terminal in Port-aux-Basques

And then to Greenland, Scotland, Scandinavia, and even Spain! There are two planned sections of the International Appalachian Trail in Spain, one in the Northwest (Leon-Santiago) and other in the West (Alcantara-Cordoba). Parts of the second section are already blazed AFAIK. Both sections are planned to be connected through Portugal. IIRC the IAT aims to connect all the remnants of the Central Pangean Mountains, of which the Appalachians were once part of. Anyway, I prefer to stick to the original Appalachian Trail (Mount Springer in GA to Mount Katahdin in ME). Thanks to all those thru-hikers who vlog their adventures I know lots of landmarks along the trail.

[abefroman329]

The Mormons tried to come to the rescue by building a mall near Temple Square a few years back.  Not sure if the mall has been successful or is still being propped up.

If it's the mall I'm thinking of, it's really more of a "town center" concept and seems like the stores contained within are too upscale for it to be successful.

[abefroman329]

Is there a state where the changing course of rivers has resulted in funky state boundaries? I understand that states don't like losing land area so no one ever set the boundary as "the other side of the river" but there are some odd ones.

Some portions of New Hampshire are on the other side of the Connecticut River, ditto for the Salmon Falls River on the Maine side.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kentucky_bend

Also, the state border of Delaware is officially designated as the New Jersey shoreline, as is the border of Maryland officially defined as the Virginia/West Virginia shoreline of the Potomac, unlike the border being in the center of the river as in many other such situations.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Jersey_v._Delaware
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maryland_v._West_Virginia

The portion of the Potomac that flows through DC also belongs to DC.  Which is why, traveling west on I-66 from DC, you get a fair bit into VA before you see the "Welcome to Virginia" sign.

[tckma]

Speaking of ZIP codes, Newton Falls, OH has the only ZIP code in which all the numbers are the same -- 44444.

In line with that, the only postcode in Spain that all five numbers are the same digits belongs to Castejon de Monegros, Huesca province, Aragon: 22222. Incidentally, 44444 would be in Teruel province in the same region.

IIRC, General Electric in Schenectady NY has the best ZIP code: 12345.

Speaking of ZIP codes again, that 12345 ZIP is exclusively the General Electric facilities in Schenectady, formerly the company's largest and most occupied campus, hence it got assigned that "nice" ZIP.  But that ZIP code means A LOT of mail destined for Santa Claus ends up there.

Canada's solution was to assign a unique postal code for Santa's mail: H0H 0H0.  I believe that ends up somewhere in the Toronto area if you follow Canada's postal code region scheme.

[MikeTheActuary]

Canada's solution was to assign a unique postal code for Santa's mail: H0H 0H0.  I believe that ends up somewhere in the Toronto area if you follow Canada's postal code region scheme.

Montréal, actually.

The first H designates metro Montréal.

A zero in the second position of any forward sortation area prefix indicates a rural area (although there are exceptions)...and metro Montréal doesn't have any rural areas.

The second H has no particular meaning, aside from having been chosen for the obvious reason.