# Geographical mental images you can't shake even though they are incorrect. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 27, 2014, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geographical-mental-images-you-cant-shake-even-though-they-are-incorrect/682459 "2014-02-27T23:20:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2014, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geographical-mental-images-you-cant-shake-even-though-they-are-incorrect/682459/21 "2014-02-28T21:20:51Z")
I’m so used to North America having a Wild West that when I read Russian literature and they talk about going _east_ to the wilderness of Siberia, I do a double-take almost every time. ---
**Author:** ![DChord568](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@DChord568](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DChord568)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2014, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geographical-mental-images-you-cant-shake-even-though-they-are-incorrect/682459/22 "2014-02-28T21:46:33Z")
For no logical reason whatsoever, I always want to put Turkey much farther to the east than it really is. It’s like I think it’s near India or something, which is ridiculous. Even knowing my error, I was still surprised when I checked just now to find Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan and most of Saudi Arabia lie east of it. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2014, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geographical-mental-images-you-cant-shake-even-though-they-are-incorrect/682459/23 "2014-02-28T22:55:38Z")
> [@ouryL](#): > > and further South than Florida I always knew Hawaii was farther south than Florida, because Hawaii is actually inside the tropics. That’s one way to remember it. > [@Hampshire](#): > > The oldy but goody: > > [Americans geographical mental image](http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/world-accordign-to-USA.jpg) The link won’t work for me. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2014, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geographical-mental-images-you-cant-shake-even-though-they-are-incorrect/682459/24 "2014-02-28T23:15:52Z")
I always thought Dominica and the Dominican Republic were just different names for Dominica, and am still rattled by the fact that the actual Dominican Republic and Haiti both share the same island mass - Hispaniola, which I always thought was some Old World term to describe someplace, like “Gaul” or “Bohemia.” ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2014, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geographical-mental-images-you-cant-shake-even-though-they-are-incorrect/682459/25 "2014-02-28T23:22:11Z")
Bermuda is waaaay farther north than you’d expect. ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2014, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geographical-mental-images-you-cant-shake-even-though-they-are-incorrect/682459/26 "2014-02-28T23:57:49Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > The oldy but goody: > > [Americans geographical mental image](http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/world-accordign-to-USA.jpg) Both funny and sad. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2014, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geographical-mental-images-you-cant-shake-even-though-they-are-incorrect/682459/27 "2014-03-01T00:08:51Z")
Maine is not a large state in overall U.S. terms but it is absolutely huge in New England terms (it is bigger than the all the 5 other New England states combined plus it has got literally thousands of islands, many of which are inhabited full-time or part-time). That throws me off because I have only ever been to the extreme southern part of Maine. The Maine border is less than an hour from the northern Boston suburbs. I hear news stories sometimes about northern Maine and mentally place them as fairly close by. Nope, it would take me 6 - 8 hours at least to get to parts of it if you can even get to it at all (many of the roads are private logging roads). New York City is much closer. Maine is really remote in some parts especially for East Coast state. This doesn’t apply to me because I have been there twice but you would be surprised just how many people think Hawaii is located fairly close off the California coast. I think you can blame U.S. maps for that. Nope, It takes just about as long to fly from Boston to LA as it does from LA to Honolulu (roughly 6 hours each leg). ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2014, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geographical-mental-images-you-cant-shake-even-though-they-are-incorrect/682459/28 "2014-03-01T00:21:52Z")
I’ve lived in California for most of my life, but I often visit Viet Nam. When I’m looking out at the ocean in Viet Nam, I can’t get it through my head that north is to the left. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2014, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geographical-mental-images-you-cant-shake-even-though-they-are-incorrect/682459/29 "2014-03-01T01:40:28Z")
The weird latitudes of the world combined with circular routes always throw me off. I have read many times that the closest state U.S. state to Africa is Maine. Good try. I will never be be fooled by that trick. I am spinning my globe now. It might work through some philosophies of the world but I will never believe it personally. Bite my ass Snapple. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2014, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geographical-mental-images-you-cant-shake-even-though-they-are-incorrect/682459/30 "2014-03-01T01:43:57Z")
I still find it odd that you can fly straight north from Canada and eventually hit Russia. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2014, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geographical-mental-images-you-cant-shake-even-though-they-are-incorrect/682459/31 "2014-03-01T02:28:17Z")
San Jose is a bigger city (population) than San Francisco. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2014, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geographical-mental-images-you-cant-shake-even-though-they-are-incorrect/682459/32 "2014-03-01T02:30:27Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I still find it odd that you can fly straight north from Canada and eventually hit Russia. Even weirder: You can fly straight north from Russia and eventually hit Canada. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2014, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geographical-mental-images-you-cant-shake-even-though-they-are-incorrect/682459/33 "2014-03-01T02:34:00Z")
I find it damn odd that you can literally see Russia from the U.S. People made fun of Sarah Palin for calling the Russians her neighbors but it is literally true for some Alaskans. The Diomede islands in the Bering Strait are about two miles apart in some areas. Little Diomede is American and Big Diomede is Russian. The people that inhabit those islands can easily see and know other on a clear day yet they were worlds away in terms of politics during the Cold War. The Bering Strait freezes over some years so that you can walk between Asia and North America if you are foolhardy enough. That means that you can literally walk across almost all of the developed globe if you wanted to. You can theoretically walk from France to China to Russia to the the U.S. and Canada through the U.S. into Mexico into Central America until you have to go through the Darién Gap where they intentionally made it hard to pass but hardy hikers have done it. From there, you are free to walk all the way through South America all the way to Argentina. Turn around again and head back. Even island countries like England and Wales aren’t out of the question. Get special permission to walk through the length of the Chunnel separating England and France. If you pull that off, you will understand gradients of human culture and a few people have tried it although none have completed it yet. You can technically walk to 5 out of the 7 continents with nothing other than your endurance that way (Australia and Antarctica can’t be done) but you can hit most of the developed countries in the world using nothing but willpower and the shoes on your feet given enough time and willpower. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2014, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geographical-mental-images-you-cant-shake-even-though-they-are-incorrect/682459/34 "2014-03-01T02:38:05Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I keep thinking Hawaii is much farther west than Alaska when it’s really straight south from Alaska. Me too, apparently. I thought they had two different time zones. I guess it’s because, as a kid, I rarely saw maps with Hawaii in it’s actual location. > [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > The link won’t work for me. Try any of [these](https://www.google.com/search?num=20&safe=active&q=world+according+to+americans&tbm=isch&tbs=simg:CAQSnwEJXTKqvepv-6UaigELELCMpwgaeAo6CAESFN0GgQapBrQGswasBrIG3wfiB9wHGiD6R3hr-JdZR6Z_1w8aUx4WJhrb2Nx2rpoeaiDB1hmkbCQo6CAESFN0GgQapBrQGswasBrIG3wfiB9wHGiD6R3hr-JdZR6Z_1w8aUx4WJhrb2Nx2rpoeaiDB1hmkbCQwLEI6u_1ggaAAwho1nvqy_1trg0&sa=X&ei=u0cRU4OhMsyjkQf5gYHADg&ved=0CCQQ2A4oAQ&biw=1024&bih=579). Or, if you want an [meta one (XKCD)](https://xkcd.com/850/). ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2014, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geographical-mental-images-you-cant-shake-even-though-they-are-incorrect/682459/35 "2014-03-01T07:33:53Z")
It was a Law & Order episode where Briscoe and Logan had to go to Philadelphia to go ask someone questions, and they said they were going to take a train and they’d be there in an hour and a half. I remember that blew my mind - this Midwest-born, West Coast livin’ guy was floored that those two cities were less than hundreds of miles apart. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2014, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geographical-mental-images-you-cant-shake-even-though-they-are-incorrect/682459/36 "2014-03-01T08:13:14Z")
> [@Kenm](#): > > Even weirder: You can fly straight north from Russia and eventually hit Canada. :eek: > [@BigT](#): > > Me too, apparently. I thought they had two different time zones. They _do_ have different time zones. Hawaii is always one hour behind Alaska. Alaska is one or two hours behind the West Coast of the Lower 48, depending on the time of year. And thanks for the links. ---
**Author:** ![williambaskerville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f14d63/32.png) [@williambaskerville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/williambaskerville)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2014, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geographical-mental-images-you-cant-shake-even-though-they-are-incorrect/682459/37 "2014-03-01T08:56:20Z")
I’m Irish, and I’m always stunned when I’m reminded that Dublin, Ireland is only 150 miles south of Moscow. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2014, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geographical-mental-images-you-cant-shake-even-though-they-are-incorrect/682459/38 "2014-03-01T09:21:17Z")
> [@williambaskerville](#): > > I’m Irish, and I’m always stunned when I’m reminded that Dublin, Ireland is only 150 miles south of Moscow. I guess that explains The Troubles, then. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2014, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geographical-mental-images-you-cant-shake-even-though-they-are-incorrect/682459/39 "2014-03-01T10:02:43Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > This doesn’t apply to me because I have been there twice but you would be surprised just how many people think Hawaii is located fairly close off the California coast. I think you can blame U.S. maps for that. Nope, It takes just about as long to fly from Boston to LA as it does from LA to Honolulu (roughly 6 hours each leg). I have a cousin who swears Alaska and Hawaii are right off the coast of California . . . like those huge maps we had in school. As for me, I’m usually pretty good with geography . . . but I can’t help thinking that Ukraine should be a lot further east than it is. And shouldn’t Japan be further south, relative to the Koreas? And why is Amsterdam further north than London? And what’s with the western part of Florida almost due south of Chicago? ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2014, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geographical-mental-images-you-cant-shake-even-though-they-are-incorrect/682459/40 "2014-03-01T10:55:23Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I tend the think of the east coast of the United States as being a north-south line even though I know it actually slants to the west and Jacksonville is about five hundred miles west of Boston. I do the same thing with the Mexican border. In my mind it’s a straight east-west line, but there’s actually a huge chunk of Mexico north of Brownsville, and Brownsville is actually closer to Guatemala than it is to the opposite side of Texas. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geographical-mental-images-you-cant-shake-even-though-they-are-incorrect/682459.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geographical-mental-images-you-cant-shake-even-though-they-are-incorrect/682459.md?page=3)