An Amazing Coincidence And Story Idea

emellaich · 09-05-2009, 10:19 PM

I discovered an amazing geographic coincidence many years ago, but I’m not a writer so I never turned this into a story.

I wonder if any of the writers here would be interested in writing short stories about this. I could bundle up the stories into one ebook for sharing hear or on some place like smashwords. Just to be clear, I’m not talking about selling this, but offering it for free.

Since these facts are completely true,and you can verify them for yourself, I am including sources so you can check the facts.

The bottom line is that Italy and New Zealand are literally opposites.
Let’s start with a picture of New Zealand from Wikipedia:

Now rotate it 180 degrees:

Look at the picture above and you should see that the shape of NZ is a boot.

Now we take Italy from Wikipedia

We mirror it

and we see that NZ and Italy are eerily similar. But, there is even more. Look up the longitude and latitude of the two and you find out they are literally on the opposite sides of the world. Here is one source:
http://www.mapsofworld.com/utilities...-longitude.htm
It lists:
NZ | Capital: Wellington | 41°19'S 174°46'E
Directly opposite this is Spain (41°19'N 5°6'W). However, Italy is almost directly opposite NZ. The web site gives the following for Italy:
Italy | Capital: Rome | 41°54'N 12°29'E
This is exactly the same distance north of the equator as NZ is south of the equator and it is 162 degrees around the world – almost perfectly opposite (which would be at 180 degrees). And there is more.

If you look at the ground line that the boot is standing on … in other words draw a straight line from the boot heel to the toe and continue the line forward of the toe to the equator. You will find that the lines cross the equator at roughly opposite spots. The feet point at opposite points on the equator. This similar orientation is also apparent in the pictures above. With a 180 degree rotation on one image and a mirror on the other image the two boots are almost exactly at the same angle.

So, everything above is factual. Now we come to a couple of more observations that you can take however you wish.
Italy is the home of the Roman Catholic Church. One of the premier religious institutions in the world. On its opposite (NZ) we find that it is not a complete land mass. In fact, it is in two pieces and appears to have a missing piece in the middle.
===========================================
Facts end and the plot begins?

So if Religion is the opposite of Science and Italy is the opposite of NZ could this missing land in NZ represent the home of the sunken city of Atlantis?
Or, Does this mean the anti-christ will appear in NZ
Or, maybe they aren’t so opposite, and NZ will be the home of the second coming of Christ?
Or, maybe it’s the location of the lost land of Eden?
Or do you have some other fanciful speculation that would make a worthwhile story?

MLH

desertgrandma · 09-05-2009, 11:18 PM

Well, lets see.........this site offers an explanation also, under "logic"......
'course, I don't understand a single sentence.......except the part noted....
http://entropulse.com/Continent.htm

emellaich · 09-06-2009, 12:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by desertgrandma

Well, lets see.........this site offers an explanation also, under "logic"......
'course, I don't understand a single sentence.......except the part noted....
http://entropulse.com/Continent.htm

From what little I could piece out that web site is at least as much fiction as anything I imagined. I almost sure that the real answer is found in statistics: Given a large enough universe and random outcomes then there will be some coincidental correspondence between some of those outcomes.

For example, if you have enough people flip a coin twenty times then you will find two of those people who have the exact same sequence of heads and tails. If you then focus only on those two people with the same sequence then the correspondence seems remarkable.

However, although this may be a random occurrence it seems interesting enough that I think it would make a good seed for a story.

HarryT · 09-06-2009, 03:38 AM

Another example is that if you take a random sample of 20 people, the odds are better than even that two of them will have the same birthday. Take 30 people, and it's virtually certain.

Statistics are only surprising to those who don't understand maths

.

Moejoe · 09-06-2009, 04:11 AM

I don't care much for facts in fiction, as uncomfortable to me as a bed made out of spaghetti, but the idea of two countries reflected in each other through shape is very interesting.

I've already started a short based on this called, Mirror Man, Mirror Me (title is taken from a Captain Beefheart song). Here's the opening.

How was it possible that he'd grown a full beard overnight? In the mirror a different man stared back at him. A man unlike any Nathanial had imagined himself to be.

Of course it could end up as nothing at all to do with New Zealand or Italy, I can't make that kind of decision, the story does that for me

Sparrow · 09-06-2009, 04:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Another example is that if you take a random sample of 20 people, the odds are better than even that two of them will have the same birthday. Take 30 people, and it's virtually certain.

Statistics are only surprising to those who don't understand maths

.

That seems a tad dismissive.

I reckon the stats on the proportion of Abba fans in the general population are surprising whether you're a mathematician or not.

HarryT · 09-06-2009, 04:50 AM

Surely everyone like Abba?

tompe · 09-06-2009, 07:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Another example is that if you take a random sample of 20 people, the odds are better than even that two of them will have the same birthday. Take 30 people, and it's virtually certain.

Statistics are only surprising to those who don't understand maths

.

50% is at 23 persons and it seems to be around 65% for 30 according to wikipedia:

Quote:

In probability theory, the birthday problem, or birthday paradox[1] pertains to the probability that in a set of randomly chosen people some pair of them will have the same birthday. In a group of at least 23 randomly chosen people, there is more than 50% probability that some pair of them will both have been born on the same day. For 57 or more people, the probability is more than 99%, and it reaches 100% when the number of people reaches 366 (by the pigeonhole principle, ignoring leap years). The mathematics behind this problem leads to a well-known cryptographic attack called the birthday attack.

HarryT · 09-06-2009, 07:35 AM

It's a while since I worked out the numbers - I'm sure you're right. The real point, though, is that the number of people you need to get a coincidence of birthdays is far smaller than most people think it "should" be.

tompe · 09-06-2009, 07:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

It's a while since I worked out the numbers - I'm sure you're right. The real point, though, is that the number of people you need to get a coincidence of birthdays is far smaller than most people think it "should" be.

Yes, I know. I just checked it since I remembered another number for 50% and I thought intuitively (yes, I know you should not trust your intuition but it was correct in this case) that 30 was to small for nearly sure.

desertgrandma · 09-06-2009, 11:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by emellaich

However, although this may be a random occurrence it seems interesting enough that I think it would make a good seed for a story.

exactly. Would be interested in reading a fictional story about this.

montsnmags · 09-07-2009, 01:03 AM

I had a story round here somewhere about a place called Farking that appears in the Brecon Beacons at 5am every morning. Its opposite number was in New South Wales, Australia, and was called "Lower Farking" (or "Farking L." by the locals), but I hadn't got to elaborating on that (or even mentioning it at all)...well, actually, I hadn't got to elaborating on the Welsh village much either, more than just waking it up.

What does this mean?

It means it's a right mess in here, and I can't find anything, and I'm too intimidated to start.

Cheers,
Marc

09-05-2009, 10:19 PM	#1
emellaich Wizard Posts: 1,101 Karma: 4388403 Join Date: Oct 2007 Device: Palm>Ebookman>IPaq>Axim>Cybook>Kndl2>IPAD>Kndl3SO>Voyager>Oasis	An Amazing Coincidence And Story Idea I discovered an amazing geographic coincidence many years ago, but I’m not a writer so I never turned this into a story. I wonder if any of the writers here would be interested in writing short stories about this. I could bundle up the stories into one ebook for sharing hear or on some place like smashwords. Just to be clear, I’m not talking about selling this, but offering it for free. Since these facts are completely true,and you can verify them for yourself, I am including sources so you can check the facts. The bottom line is that Italy and New Zealand are literally opposites. Let’s start with a picture of New Zealand from Wikipedia: Now rotate it 180 degrees: Look at the picture above and you should see that the shape of NZ is a boot. Now we take Italy from Wikipedia We mirror it and we see that NZ and Italy are eerily similar. But, there is even more. Look up the longitude and latitude of the two and you find out they are literally on the opposite sides of the world. Here is one source: http://www.mapsofworld.com/utilities...-longitude.htm It lists: NZ \| Capital: Wellington \| 41°19'S 174°46'E Directly opposite this is Spain (41°19'N 5°6'W). However, Italy is almost directly opposite NZ. The web site gives the following for Italy: Italy \| Capital: Rome \| 41°54'N 12°29'E This is exactly the same distance north of the equator as NZ is south of the equator and it is 162 degrees around the world – almost perfectly opposite (which would be at 180 degrees). And there is more. If you look at the ground line that the boot is standing on … in other words draw a straight line from the boot heel to the toe and continue the line forward of the toe to the equator. You will find that the lines cross the equator at roughly opposite spots. The feet point at opposite points on the equator. This similar orientation is also apparent in the pictures above. With a 180 degree rotation on one image and a mirror on the other image the two boots are almost exactly at the same angle. So, everything above is factual. Now we come to a couple of more observations that you can take however you wish. Italy is the home of the Roman Catholic Church. One of the premier religious institutions in the world. On its opposite (NZ) we find that it is not a complete land mass. In fact, it is in two pieces and appears to have a missing piece in the middle. =========================================== Facts end and the plot begins? So if Religion is the opposite of Science and Italy is the opposite of NZ could this missing land in NZ represent the home of the sunken city of Atlantis? Or, Does this mean the anti-christ will appear in NZ Or, maybe they aren’t so opposite, and NZ will be the home of the second coming of Christ? Or, maybe it’s the location of the lost land of Eden? Or do you have some other fanciful speculation that would make a worthwhile story? MLH Attached Thumbnails

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09-05-2009, 11:18 PM	#2
desertgrandma Enjoying the show.... Posts: 14,270 Karma: 10462841 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Arizona Device: A K1, Kindle Paperwhite, an Ipod, IPad2, Iphone, an Ipad Mini & macAir	Well, lets see.........this site offers an explanation also, under "logic"...... 'course, I don't understand a single sentence.......except the part noted.... http://entropulse.com/Continent.htm

09-06-2009, 03:38 AM	#4
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Another example is that if you take a random sample of 20 people, the odds are better than even that two of them will have the same birthday. Take 30 people, and it's virtually certain. Statistics are only surprising to those who don't understand maths .

09-06-2009, 04:11 AM	#5
Moejoe Banned Posts: 5,100 Karma: 72193 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: South of the Border Device: Coffin	I don't care much for facts in fiction, as uncomfortable to me as a bed made out of spaghetti, but the idea of two countries reflected in each other through shape is very interesting. I've already started a short based on this called, Mirror Man, Mirror Me (title is taken from a Captain Beefheart song). Here's the opening. How was it possible that he'd grown a full beard overnight? In the mirror a different man stared back at him. A man unlike any Nathanial had imagined himself to be. Of course it could end up as nothing at all to do with New Zealand or Italy, I can't make that kind of decision, the story does that for me

09-06-2009, 04:50 AM	#7
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Surely everyone like Abba?

09-06-2009, 07:35 AM	#9
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	It's a while since I worked out the numbers - I'm sure you're right. The real point, though, is that the number of people you need to get a coincidence of birthdays is far smaller than most people think it "should" be.

09-07-2009, 01:03 AM	#12
montsnmags Grand Sorcerer Posts: 10,155 Karma: 4632658 Join Date: Nov 2007 Device: none	I had a story round here somewhere about a place called Farking that appears in the Brecon Beacons at 5am every morning. Its opposite number was in New South Wales, Australia, and was called "Lower Farking" (or "Farking L." by the locals), but I hadn't got to elaborating on that (or even mentioning it at all)...well, actually, I hadn't got to elaborating on the Welsh village much either, more than just waking it up. What does this mean? It means it's a right mess in here, and I can't find anything, and I'm too intimidated to start. Cheers, Marc