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"Darren New" <dne### [at] san rr com> wrote in message
news:491c7acb@news.povray.org...
> Tim Cook wrote:
>> Greenwich, England was decided upon as the Prime Meridian,
>
> I think you have to ask yourself why that was, first. :-)
Not really. Sure, the British Empire was pretty much top of the pile. But
they could just as easily have chosen Paris, Jerusalem, Cairo, Rome, or a
random spot in the middle of the Sahara and marked it with a little
monument. Regardless of *why* a particular place was chosen, the important
part is the fact that it *was* chosen, and agreed upon, and thenceforth used
by everyone. There isn't really an obvious natural feature to use as the
Prime Meridian...well, maybe the highest point on the surface, but when
you're out and about exploring without being actually certain what that
point is, it's problematic, and if a higher point than the one you know
about is discovered, you have to change all your maps.
--
Tim Cook
http://empyrean.freesitespace.net
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