[Ads-l] If you flattened out West Virginia, it would be bigger than Texas

[Jim Parish]

One of Isaac Asimov's essays did the math, and showed that if you 
scraped the lower 48 down to sea level and cut Texas out with a 
cookie-cutter, you could pile the debris into Texas - it has enough 
curvature to form a decent pan. And it even has a handle....

(I read this many moons ago, and my memory may be faulty, but the 
imagery was striking enough that it's stuck in my mind.)

Jim Parish


On 4/14/2018 12:51 PM, David Wilton wrote:
> "In this report, we apply basic scientific techniques to answer the question 'Is Kansas as flat as a pancake?'":
>
> http://www.usu.edu/geo/geomorph/kansas.html
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of Barretts Mail
> Sent: Saturday, April 14, 2018 10:45 AM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: [ADS-L] If you flattened out West Virginia, it would be bigger than Texas
>
> I’ve never been to West Virginia, but having relatives from there, I have heard this my whole life. Today I received an e-mail in which someone talks about a West Virginia transplant who has never heard of this joke.
>
> https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=434018 <https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=434018>
> quadzool
> 24 Aug 2007
> ——
> If you flatten out West Virginia, would it be bigger than Texas? This is what some (West Virginians, prolly) have claimed. And if this is true, would it still hold true if you flattened out Texas, too?
> ——
>
> http://mockable.org/a-collection-of-little-known-facts-about-west-virginia-the-mountain-state/ <http://mockable.org/a-collection-of-little-known-facts-about-west-virginia-the-mountain-state/>
> mockers
> 16 December 2009
>
> ——
> Locals often claim that if the many mountains and hills of West Virginia were somehow flattened-out, the state would be larger than Texas.
> ——
>
> Benjamin Barrett
> Formerly of Seattle, WA
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
>
> ---
> This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
> https://www.avast.com/antivirus
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org