A raindrop that falls in Erie County, Pa., will travel 2,147 miles to the Gulf of Mexico rather than 15 miles to Lake Erie.
Via MapPorn. River Runner will trace any drop falling in the contiguous United States.
Trivia
“The Slash”
In areas of mountainous terrain and wildnerness, the border between the United States and Canada is kept clear of brush and vegetation to a width of 6 meters, forming a visible line between the nations that’s visible in satellite images.
The deforested segments total more than 2,000 kilometers.
Misc
- “Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow.” — Swedish proverb
- Uranus was discovered before Antarctica.
- PROTECTORATE is a palindrome in Morse code.
- PUBLIC RELATIONS is an anagram of CRAP BUILT ON LIES.
- If you copy this sentence, be sure to omit “”.
(The fourth is due to Mick Tully, the fifth to David Armstrong.)
Ambiance
This cottage, at 112 Mercer Street in Princeton, New Jersey, has been home to three Nobel winners: Albert Einstein lived there from 1935 to 1955; physicist Frank Wilczek between 1989 and 2001; and economist Eric Maskin until 2012.
It resides on the National Register of Historic Places and has been designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark, but it bears no outward marker of its significance.
Express
This is just pleasing somehow: The Japanese railway station with the shortest name is Tsu Station in Mie Prefecture.
The name is written with a single stroke.
Misc
- POSSESSIONLESSNESSES has nine Ss.
- Trains are older than bicycles.
- 87 percent of the human population lives in the Northern Hemisphere.
- This sentence no verb.
- “God pity a one-dream man.” — Robert H. Goddard
Roald Dahl wrote the film adaptations for two of Ian Fleming’s novels, You Only Live Twice and Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang.
(Thanks, Ben and Fred.)
The Coinage Shield
The “tails” sides of British coins less than £1 can be arranged to depict the Royal Shield from the monarch’s coat of arms.
The full Royal Shield appears on the £1 coin.
Misc
- Peter Davison, who played the fifth Doctor in Doctor Who, is the father-in-law of David Tennant, who played the 10th.
- Sharks are older than trees.
- ABHORS, ALMOST, BEGINS, BIOPSY, and CHINTZ are alphabetical.
- “The punishment can be remitted; the crime is everlasting.” — Ovid
“Whoopee! Man, that may have been a small one for Neil, but that’s a long one for me!” — Pete Conrad, after becoming the third human to set foot on the moon
Getaway
The highest recorded temperature on Mars (35° C) is higher than the highest temperature on record for Scotland (33.2° C).
(Thanks, Jay.)
For What It’s Worth
The number of milliseconds in a day is
And there are 10! seconds in six weeks.