----------------------------Original message----------------------------
 
The Royal Geographical Society's magazine, 'Geographical' has a
remarkable Q & A section every month which deals with just such questions.
Readers can also submit questions for various prizes.
Their email is:
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Brian P. Bach
Central Washington University
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On Fri, 31 Oct 1997, Barry S. Rein wrote:
 
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> I subscribed to this mailing list because it was announced as a good place
> to get answers to difficult geography questions.  Well, I have some I'd
> like to ask, but first some background:
>
> A few years ago on public television there was a series called "Pole to
> Pole with Michael Palin", an entertaining travelogue in which Mr. Palin
> travelled from the North Pole to the South Pole by a variety of means.
> What caught my attention was this: the route he followed approximated the
> particular longitude line that covers more land between the poles than any
> other longitude.  I forget which one it was exactly, but it went through
> Scandinavia, Russia, Turkey, and much of Africa.
>
> Anyway, that got me to thinking about similar questions, and these are the
> ones I'd like to find answers to. For example, what pole-to-pole longitude
> covers the LEAST land?  I imagine it would run through the Pacific.  Then
> you might ask, what great circle going through both poles covers the most
> land?  The least land?  And what great circle anywhere covers the most
> land? The least?  And so on. You could think up a lot more questions like
> this.
>
> My interest here is just curiosity, but I think it would be fun to know the
> answers.  If anyone can give me a reference to a place that has the answers
> I'd really appreciate it.
>
> Thanks,
> Barry Rein
>