Having discovered the existence of online antipodes maps (maps which show you one place and then the place directly opposite it on the globe) naturally I had to see what was opposite my house.  This is what I discovered:

A beautiful piece of Spanish farmland.  At first I was a bit disappointed that it wasn’t a city or residential area where there was a house directly opposite mine, but then I noticed the beautiful circular fields dotting the landscape.  Apparently this is due to the use of Centre Pivot Irrigation, which certainly makes for some fascinating aerial views.

The notion of the antipodes is connected with our part of the world, the term is often used in the Northern Hemisphere to refer to New Zealand and Australia.  Much of the earth’s land mass is directly opposite the Pacific Ocean, which actually takes up nearly half the globe if you stop to look at one.

New Zealand is pretty unusual having so many points which line up with land masses at their antipodes, most of the other points are in Asia and South America.

Technology is a strange, terrifying and exquisite creature.