On 23/07/2012 03:33 PM, Warp wrote:
> (I'm not exactly sure how you pluralize McDonald's. See the subject for my
> attempt.)

Hypothetically, it ought to be McDonalds'. But I don't think many people 
know that.

> Here's a map of all the McDonald's restaurants in the US. (Or, more
> precisely, a coloration of the US based on the distance to the nearest
> McDonald's.)

> The one detail that immediately catches my eye is the clear distinction
> in density between almost exactly the left half and the right half. What
> explains this?
>
> Does the right half of the US consist of mostly urban areas and the left
> half mostly of rural areas? If yes, then how did this situation form,
> historically speaking?

The thing that immediately jumps out at *me* is... Wow. Considering that 
the scale on this map must be hundreds of miles to the inch, there are 
places where you'd have to drive the equivalent of several times the 
length of my entire country to get to the nearest McDonald's! o_O

I'm really surprised that the map isn't solid white over most of its 
surface. You wouldn't have thought that at this scale you would be able 
to see individual buildings.

Anyway, why the east/west split? My random guess: Westerners arrived at 
the East cost, and moved towards the "wild west", colonising it as they 
went. Maybe that legacy still lives on.

Alternatively, maybe half the country has better taste? :-P

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