# Mistakes in Novels: A Geography Lesson **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 22, 2005, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistakes-in-novels-a-geography-lesson/313647 "2005-07-22T15:04:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2005, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistakes-in-novels-a-geography-lesson/313647/41 "2005-07-29T05:48:53Z")
> [@NotWithoutRage](#): > > Hmm… we do that trip [NYC to DC] in about three and a half hours all the time. Also, all of the traffic was going the other way. Don’t see a problem there. Really? I thought it was the same distance as L.A. to San Francisco, about 400 miles. In any case, that movie sucked, so who cares. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2005, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistakes-in-novels-a-geography-lesson/313647/42 "2005-07-29T06:03:39Z")
I’ve read 3 novels in the past year which featured a waxing, or new moon rising above the horizon in the evening. A waxing moon does _not_ rise in the evening. It’s already up. The full moon rises at sunset, and each night thereafter the waning moon rises later by about 50 minutes. Only a waning moon rises after sunset. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2005, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistakes-in-novels-a-geography-lesson/313647/43 "2005-07-29T06:15:12Z")
> [@brianjedi](#): > > If only he’d get around to fixing The Stand. As anyone who’s ever even had a passing interest in NCAA basketball can tell you, the University of Kentucky is NOT in Louisville. > > /proud UK student and Wildcat fan > // Louisville Cardinals suck Granted, but my understanding is that JCC (the Jefferson Community College) has/had an affiliation with UK. While it’s unlikely that King _knew_ that, it’s not technically wrong. However, I can’t find any evidence to back up my assertion, so make of it what you will. -Superdude…IU fan ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2005, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistakes-in-novels-a-geography-lesson/313647/44 "2005-07-29T06:19:10Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > -Superdude…IU fan My condolences. If he hadn’t said “The University of Kentucky in Louisville” I’d probably let it slide. But that’s pretty much an unforgivable sin. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2005, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistakes-in-novels-a-geography-lesson/313647/45 "2005-07-29T06:36:27Z")
> [@brianjedi](#): > > My condolences. Do you REALLY wanna talk basketball smack? Which if those three teams made it to the campionship game most recently? Hint: They didn’t play in Kentucky. Although I’ll concede that Mike Davis is hopelessly in over his head at IU. I expect him to be gone after this coming season, if no during it. > [@](#): > > If he hadn’t said “The University of Kentucky in Louisville” I’d probably let it slide. But that’s pretty much an unforgivable sin. Again, I always thought that he was referring to JCC. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2005, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistakes-in-novels-a-geography-lesson/313647/46 "2005-07-30T16:45:52Z")
> [@amarinth](#): > > Though it’s considered a west coast city, Seattle isn’t actually on the coast. It’s about 100 miles away. > > Plus, there’s a mountain range between the city and the actual coast. > > I’ve read too many books where people looked out over the Pacific Ocean from their Seattle office or high rise. They must have excellent vision. No, it’s on Puget Sound, which is an arm of the Pacific. Therefore, it’s on the coast. ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2005, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistakes-in-novels-a-geography-lesson/313647/47 "2005-07-30T16:54:25Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > Do you REALLY wanna talk basketball smack? Which if those three teams made it to the campionship game most recently? Hint: They didn’t play in Kentucky. > > Although I’ll concede that Mike Davis is hopelessly in over his head at IU. I expect him to be gone after this coming season, if no during it. 88-74, 66-52, 70-64, 80-41, 73-58. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Chitwood)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2005, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistakes-in-novels-a-geography-lesson/313647/48 "2005-07-30T17:06:06Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > Do you REALLY wanna talk basketball smack? Which if those three teams made it to the campionship game most recently? Hint: They didn’t play in Kentucky. Well, I’m not **jedi** , but I am a UK fan, and, uh, yes. I do. ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2005, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistakes-in-novels-a-geography-lesson/313647/49 "2005-07-30T18:03:04Z")
Hey, guys, let’s take the college basketball over [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=6423392) and leave everyone else to their discussion. My apologies for the hijack, BTW. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2005, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistakes-in-novels-a-geography-lesson/313647/50 "2005-07-30T18:04:45Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > Stephen King screwed up in the _Dark Tower_ series with the placement of Co-Op City. Forgive me, I know it’s either in the Bronx or Brooklyn, but I can’t remember which. King, however, put it in the wrong place. > > However, he fixed that later in the books, by having Eddie discover that in _his_ universe, Co-Op City _is_ in the wrong place! Pretty neat acknowledgement of an error and a solution, if you ask me. Was that not intentional from the beginning? I was living in Co-Op City (the real one in the Bronx) when I read the Drawing of the Three, and this amused the hell out of me. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2005, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistakes-in-novels-a-geography-lesson/313647/51 "2005-07-30T23:07:29Z")
No, I believe King acknowledged that he discovered later he’d made a mistake, and decided to fix it in his own special way. Refresh my memory about _The Stand_ and the reference to UK. I’ve finished rereading the book and I’m in the process of rewatching the mini-series and I’m drawing a blank here. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2005, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistakes-in-novels-a-geography-lesson/313647/52 "2005-07-31T00:06:41Z")
I’m not sure we should hold movie scenes to the same standard of abuse. (Not that they aren’t fairly stupid, but they are rarely the fault of an actual author (or even screenwriter) failing geography. For example, the only place from which to get a good view of the Detroit skyline is from the river. There are no hills close enough to give a good view and the three expressway bridges that give decent views are still a long way out. However, the Ambassador Bridge that crosses over the Detroit River to Windsor provides a very nice view of downtown, so the movie directors tend to schedule at least one shot of the protagonist entering or leaving Detroit by crossing the bridge. Unfortunately, of course, this means that these people, (typically U.S. citizens) are all living in Canada. That I know, this happened at least in The Betsy and Robocop and it may have happened in The Crow, (although I was more distracted by the scenes of _that_ movie showing narrow, winding streets flanked by European-style apartments that have never existed in Detroit). ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2005, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistakes-in-novels-a-geography-lesson/313647/53 "2005-07-31T04:00:45Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > No, I believe King acknowledged that he discovered later he’d made a mistake, and decided to fix it in his own special way. > > Refresh my memory about _The Stand_ and the reference to UK. I’ve finished rereading the book and I’m in the process of rewatching the mini-series and I’m drawing a blank here. It’s a passing reference at the start of a chapter about flyers for a protest on the campus of the University of Kentucky in Louisville. Except the University of Kentucky is in Lexington. The University of Louisville is in Louisville (obviously.) **Superdude** thinks it was supposed to be some sort of reference to Jefferson Community College. I think it’s more likely that King just assumed UK was in Louisville because it’s the largest city in the state. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2005, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistakes-in-novels-a-geography-lesson/313647/54 "2005-07-31T06:15:05Z")
> [@brianjedi](#): > > **Superdude** thinks it was supposed to be some sort of reference to Jefferson Community College. I think it’s more likely that King just assumed UK was in Louisville because it’s the largest city in the state. Then again, I’m a Hoosier, and no **jedi** , so my assertions may be worth camel spit. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2005, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistakes-in-novels-a-geography-lesson/313647/55 "2005-07-31T11:25:55Z")
> [@brianjedi](#): > > It’s a passing reference at the start of a chapter about flyers for a protest on the campus of the University of Kentucky in Louisville. Except the University of Kentucky is in Lexington. The University of Louisville is in Louisville (obviously.) Ah, gotcha. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistakes-in-novels-a-geography-lesson/313647.md?page=2)