Only with an icebreaker
this post was submitted on 07 Sep 2025
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You can plot a course in a straight line. Unfortunately, weather.
in case there are others like me who have to see what it looks like on a Mercator projection map:
Wow. I can't believe my perspective of the world is that distorted. It makes me want to only look at it in 3D. If we've all mainly looked at Mercator projections our whole lives our sense of where everything is relative to everything else and what direction is completely off.
People complain about the proportional sizing of Mercator but the sense of direction it gives us is completely broken. I think the average person knows it's off and people think there is an error factor to consider that a really straight like might be a little squiggly. But nope. This made me realize the Mercator gives pretty much zero accurate sense of direction if real distance is involved.
Short distances are fine, and obviously directly east/west are fine. Directly north/south is also pretty alright, but, as you move further from the equator, any east or west movement is covering less distance, and vice versa.
Right. That is the size issue. I'm saying there is a substantial direction issue as well.
So would there be turning involved still orrrrr?
You're constantly, gradually turning downward, technically.
Actually not turning would be falling. You are constantly being turned upward.
no, that's a straight line
No. Similarly, if you look at how planes fly, they fly in what looks like arcs, going north and then back south. On a mercator projection in looks longer, but it is the shortest straight (ignoring the curve of the earth) line.
If it makes you feel better, the line is actually curved along the surface of the earth, you know, if you believe in a spherical earth.
Nah. I've come to believe it's shaped like Dick Cheney's black, twisted heart.
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I'm no sailing historian, but that's probably how they actually discovered New Zealand.
"Heya mates, how'bout we be goin' straight ahead 'til back'ome we arrrggggh!!"
The Polynesians took the long route.
The European explorers actually took a very similar route, so this seems to be an obvious option for sailors doing island hops in that area.
You can also build a nearly straight railway going from California through Canada and Alaska all the way to China.
That'd be awesome. That probably wouldn't work because it would take 100 years for California to build their first high speed rail
The USA-Russia border crossing might prove troublesome. Also, keeping railways running through the middle of Siberia in an operational state all year round would be challenging.
Also, keeping railways running through the middle of Siberia in an operational state all year round would be challenging.
Definitely don't let Deutsche Bahn handle that part
Die Verbindung fällt heute aus. Grund dafür ist 1mm Schneefall auf den Gleisen.
Ahh, die vier Feinde der Deutschen Bahn. Frühling, Sommer, Herbst und Winter.
I believe Vivaldi composed this one.
One of the few world maps with New Zealand on it.
Even better, imho, you can sail in a direct line from OG Zeeland (Netherlands) to New Zealand.
Can you, though? You'd have to squeeze through the narrow English Channel first, and that would probably require some turns.
Yes
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The word "can" Is doing some heavy lifting here. I mean, there is a difference between theoretically possible and actually being done.
Yeah, it's going through the most dangerous water passage in the world IIRC, between South America and Antarctica. We do go through it fairly regularly at this point, but it's still not "safe."
I got this far on the Wikipedia and gave up:
On a curved surface, the concept of straight lines is replaced by a more general concept of geodesics, curves which are locally straight with respect to the surface. Geodesics on the sphere are great circles, circles whose center coincides with the center of the sphere.
"Locally straight" is just a mathsy way of saying "it's straight if you zoom in a bunch".
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Math nerds are going to have a field day with this statement haha.
Don’t the circumpolar winds essentially prevent this, or at least make it really impractical?
Sorry, can't hear you down here in my submarine
DON'T THE CURCUMPOLAR WINDS ESSENTIALLY PREVENT THIS, OR AT LEAST MAKE IT REALLY IMPRACTICAL?
Ping.
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