Geographical mental images you can't shake even though they are incorrect.

[Little_Nemo]

@Shagnasty

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.

People didn’t make fun of Palin because she was factually wrong. They made fun of her answer because it was inane. She was being asked about her foreign policy experience and she decided to answer with this piece of geography trivia.

[D18]

@Siam_Sam

I keep thinking Hawaii is much farther west than Alaska when it’s really straight south from Alaska.

Yes - and Hawaii isn’t that much further from Anchorage than from LA. There was an old WWII map on display in the Maui airport with the distances illustrated. I can’t double check my memory right now, but LA is something in the range of 100 miles closer.

And for those marveling at Maine being closer to Africa than Miami is, check out how much closer St. John’s NL is than Maine.

[Octarine]

@williambaskerville

I’m Irish, and I’m always stunned when I’m reminded that Dublin, Ireland is only 150 miles south of Moscow.

Woah - when I first read that, I though you meant the total distance between Dublin and Mosow was 150 miles! :eek:

It’s still shocking, though. Although it becomes a bit more believable when you’re in Ireland during December . . . brr.

[Lord_Mondegreen]

@Quintas

1. The location of Britain in relation to France. My mental image is of it being an island to the west of France. When I read of the Normandy invasion in WW2, I always picture them sailing across the channel west to east, when in reality the trip in North to South.

When I read the thread title this is the exact one that entered my head. I’ve been to both countries many times, and taken planes, ferries, hovercraft and trains between them, but I still think of France being entirely to the east of the UK.

[Enginerd]

@Quintas

2. South America in relation to North America. In my mind I picture the west and east coast of each continent basically lining up. In fact, the west coast of S. America pretty much lines up with the East coast of N.America.

Yours?

This is mine, but it’s made worse by the fact that I’ve lived on both coasts of the US and the west coast of South America. Even knowing the time zones doesn’t help - if asked to draw a map, I’d get it flat out wrong.

[USCDiver]

@bibliophage

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.

I grew up in an East Coast state, so I’ve always equated the direction ‘east’ with ‘towards the Atlantic’ and ‘west’ as towards the Pacific’. I always have to stop and think when I’m reading about or discussing Western Europe and West Africa to remember that both are on the Atlantic side of their respective continents.

[Jragon]

@USCDiver

I grew up in an East Coast state, so I’ve always equated the direction ‘east’ with ‘towards the Atlantic’ and ‘west’ as towards the Pacific’. I always have to stop and think when I’m reading about or discussing Western Europe and West Africa to remember that both are on the Atlantic side of their respective continents.

Related, but not quite the thread topic, I was recently describing something to someone and had to stop for a second to ask whether the “west Pacific” referred to the west side of the Pacific, or the side of the Pacific in the Western Hemisphere. It turns out I was right and it refers to the Asian side, but I was really confused for a second.

[smiling_bandit]

@Kenm

Even weirder: You can fly straight north from Russia and eventually hit Canada.

Well, if you kept going north, you’d start flaying around in a circle before you got to Russia.

[kanicbird]

I sort of think the earth considerably larger then it should be in respect to the other planets. I most likely consider Pluto larger also then actual as I still consider it a planet.

[Kenm]

@smiling_bandit

Well, if you kept going north, you’d start flaying around in a circle before you got to Russia.

I have two Acme gyroscopes in my jet pack.

[Chronos]

1. The location of Britain in relation to France. My mental image is of it being an island to the west of France. When I read of the Normandy invasion in WW2, I always picture them sailing across the channel west to east, when in reality the trip in North to South.

One of mine is almost the opposite of that. I think of Ireland as being north of mainland Europe, and it is… But it’s also the westernmost country in Europe.

Another one: I lived in Bozeman, MT for a decade, which is about equidistant from Seattle, Portland, Denver, and Calgary. That, I had no problem with. But it’s considerably closer than that to Salt Lake City, which just seems completely wrong to me: Salt Lake City feels like it should be much further south than Denver.

And while we’re at it with how far north Europe is, Cork, the southernmost city in Ireland, is at about the same latitude as Saskatoon. And there are palm trees in Ireland.

[Sunspace]

There are? I know there are palm trees in British Columbia, but Ireland? I mean, yes, if it wasn’t for the Gulf Stream, Ireland would have the same climate as Labrador, but still…

[notfrommensa]

Cairo Illinois is closer to Little Rock Arkansas, than it is to Chicago Illinois.

[kambuckta]

Here in Australia, I always envisage the southern state capitals (Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth) as being at roughly equal latitudes.

They’re not.

[Little_Nemo]

@bibliophage

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.

Something similar can screw you up when you’re reading a history about the Germans in World War I. Most people are more familiar with World War II and think of the Eastern front as the bad front for the Germans. But in World War I, it was the other way around - German soldiers wanted to fight on the Eastern front against the Russians and were scared of being sent to the trenches on the Western front.

[Little_Nemo]

@DChord568

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.

Modern day Turkey is not the original homeland of the Turks. They were originally from Central Asia.

[yawuntz]

Chicago is at the bottom of Lake Michigan.

[williambaskerville]

@Octarine

Woah - when I first read that, I though you meant the total distance between Dublin and Mosow was 150 miles! :eek:

It’s still shocking, though. Although it becomes a bit more believable when you’re in Ireland during December . . . brr.

Try being in Moscow in December. In Dublin, it’s headline news if there’s any chance of a white Christmas.

[Siam_Sam]

Most (27) US states have at least some land north of Canada’s southern border.

[vontsira]

@Little_Nemo

Something similar can screw you up when you’re reading a history about the Germans in World War I. Most people are more familiar with World War II and think of the Eastern front as the bad front for the Germans. But in World War I, it was the other way around - German soldiers wanted to fight on the Eastern front against the Russians and were scared of being sent to the trenches on the Western front.

I’ve always wondered and speculated mildly, about this one. “Shape up, Private, or we’ll send you to the Western Front !”

I suppose the real “plum assignment” for a WWI German soldier, would have been occupation duty in Belgium. Unless you were extremely unlucky, the worst thing to happen to you would be the locals refusing to speak to you…