They do not think about it because it usually does not matter, even if they are performing manual celestial navigation. It is like, if I told you to meet me at 6 o’clock, you probably would not ask me to clarify if I meant Atomic time or Universal time.
This would be a much more boring thread if the flat-earthers were right.
I’m not sure if anyone has said this yet, but it’s not possible to have straight borders until it’s possible to calculate the latitude and longitude of a location. When I look at a world map, it appears to me that the borders in Europe, Asia, South America, and most of Africa are not straight. Some of the African borders are straight, but I think those lines were created by European colonists. I’m not sure why the border in South America aren’t straight, since they were also created by European colonists. The divisions in North America between countries are a mixture of straight and not straight. The ones between smaller political divisions are a mixture. Take a look at a map of the U.S. Notice that the borders become straighter as you go from the east to the west.
If you are not following natural features, why would you draw border segments that are not straight? Seems to be more relevant whether the segments are defined as great circles or rhumb lines (or whatever).
First, because you probably are following natural features, at least for part of it.
Second, you might be drawing straight segments, but on a very small scale. The borders probably follow the borders of the land owned by individual landowners, and those might be made up of straight segments of only a hundred yards or so.
I just wanted to add that on I-89 in Northern Vermont there is a plaque about a half mile south of the border saying that this marks the 45th parallel and you are as far from the equator as from the north pole. Of course that’s false, since the pole is further. And I think the border was originally intended to be at the 45th parallel.
You should check out the story of Fort Blunder. It seems that the Americans found the perfect spot for a fort on Lake Champlain to defend against a British invasion. Construction was well on the way when they discovered that it was actually north of the border. In a later negotiation, the border was moved north by a little.
Ah, thanks for that. Of course the border goes straight from there till it hits Maine.
If this national borders interest you, have you tried this game?
I really enjoy it and playing consistently has massively improved my geography. Straight borders are often a major clue.
Yes, I play it every day - straight borders suggest Africa. Crennelated straight borders mean Monaco
Straight borders are created by people who don’t live there.
The straight borders in Africa were created by European governments, not the European colonists in those areas, to settle disputes between Paris, London, Brussels, and Berlin.
The straight borders in western Canada were created by Ottawa, not by the settlers who lived there.
I think the South American borders were created by the Spanish settlers, after they achieved independence and the abolition of the various Spanish vice-royalties, but I’m open to correction.
That’s what I meant by European colonists. Of course it wasn’t the individual colonists who created the borders. Individual people don’t make political decisions. It was the overall government. In these cases, the governments were back in Europe.
I play it every day. It varies tremendously in difficulty. For example, the outline of Mexico is instantly recognizable, while many of the South Pacific island nations are indistinguishable.
Difference in vocabulary, I guess. I don’t think if Disraeli, Bismarck and Leopold as colonist. Imperialists, certainly.
Try Guatemala. Catches me out every time.
That’s why I said “suggests”
till it hits New Hampshire .
My bad. Yes a corner of NH interrupts that line before it hits ME.
Similar to your examples, the border between western Pennsylvania and West Virginia (which was still part of Virginia at the time) is a straight line to settle a dispute. When Virginia and Pennsylvania originally drew up their boundaries, they didn’t know that their boundary definitions overlapped. When they actually started settling out westward and needed to figure out where those borders actually were, they found that the border lines overlapped, and a large chunk of land was claimed by both states.
So both states very calmly redrew their lines, and everyone was happy.
Just kidding.
Both states set up governments in the disputed territory, and lots of angry words and violence ensued. Both states wanted Pittsburgh to be in their territory (even though it was just Fort Pitt back then, not the major city that it is now). To settle the dispute, they drew a line down the middle, which is why West Virginia has a northern panhandle and not a big northern chunky bit.
Most of the states have this kind of nonsense in their border histories. Heck, the border between Pennsylvania and Maryland is just a straight line. How hard can that be? Well, each state chose a different line.
And again, both states very calmly redrew their lines, and everyone was happy.
And again, just kidding.
At first, very few people lived in the overlapping territory, so nobody really cared. But then folks started settling those areas, and of course, settling things peacefully just isn’t in our nature. You had folks gathering up pitchforks and muskets and who knows what else, creating an angry mob that took over a neighboring courthouse and refused to relinquish control of it until the town agreed that they were in the other state. When the states finally did get together and settle the border, they didn’t trust the local yahoos to survey it, and instead got two experts all the way from England named Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon to survey the line. That’s why it’s called the Mason-Dixon line.
There is a commonly told story that the northern panhandle exists because that’s where Mason and Dixon ran into Indians and had to turn north to avoid them. That’s a complete falsehood, though a lot of folks seem to believe it.
For what it’s worth, the town I live in got its charter from Lord Baltimore, so it was originally part of Maryland. I live about 3 miles north of the Mason-Dixon line, so as of 1790 or so, my town is now officially in PA.
My ancestors were involved in the scuffling between Pennsylvania and Connecticut about what colony/state certain areas in north east Pennsylvania were actually in (my ancestors thought they were in far western Connecticut - but that turned out not to be the case). None of my ancestors were shot, so far as I know during the “Yankee-Pennamite Wars” and they stayed in PA (by and large).