Digging Through the Planet: The Geography of Antipodes

Have you ever wondered what's happening on the exact opposite side of the world to you?

Wherever you are on our planet, there's a good chance you'd need a snorkel.

In this episode, we explore the concept of antipodes—the exact point on the opposite side of Earth from wherever you're standing. We discover why most antipodes end up in the ocean rather than on land and cover a whole host of fascinating geographic facts, including how the Northern Hemisphere contains the vast majority of Earth's land and population, how map projections distort our view of the planet, and why Earth's oblate spheroid shape means some antipode distances are longer than others.

Along the way, we also raise the big questions like how deep have humans ever dug into Earth and how long it would take to fall through a frictionless tunnel to your antipode.

External Links and mentions on the show:

Jono's sketch that explains the Mercator Map Projection Jono references the Antipodal Map in the book Marvellous Maps by Simon KuestenmacherThe 7.6 mile deep hole Jono talks about is the Kola Superdeep Borehole in Russia, initiated by Soviet scientists in 1970, primarily to better understand the earth’s crust. Here's Jono's sketch about the thickness of the earth's crust being proportionally similar to the thickness of an apple's skin. And finally, if you want to know your exact antipode, you can look here on AntipodeMap.com

Episode Summary

00:00 What Are Antipodes

03:23 Land Distribution on Earth

04:14 Map Projections and Perspectives

07:19 Antipodal Map Overlay

08:56 Cultural References Worldwide