Center Of The World
LAT. 39°50′ LONG. −98°35′
NE 1/4 – SE 1/4 – S32 – T2S – R11W
While those in DC and NYC will declare the United States the center of the world and each argue among themselves that their city is the center of the US, the actual center of the US (the lower 48) – and hence the world – sits out in north-central Kansas*. The marker is located about ½ mile from the actual site at the intersection of Aa Road and 130 Road a couple of miles NW of Lebanon.
Where it should be.
Have a seat on the bench and feel the world revolve around you …
*The US Geodetic Survey determined the point in 1918 by cutting out a cardboard map of the US and balancing it on a pencil …
This marker – set in 1940 – is actually about ½ mile from the actual – more or less – location which is in the middle of a private field. If one considers Alaska and Hawaii (Alaska, yes; Hawaii, no), the point is up near the point where South Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana join.
That would be in the middle of some good pheasant hunting.
Cardboard balance on a pencil. Scientific enough for me.
God’s country
Senate Democrats have now voted 12 times to not fund the food stamp program, also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Bottom line, the well has run dry. At this time, there will be no benefits issued November 01. We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats. They can continue to hold out for healthcare for illegal aliens and gender mutilation procedures or reopen the government so mothers, babies, and the most vulnerable among us can receive critical nutrition assistance.
https://www.fns.usda.gov/
I recently saw a version of this chart elsewhere….can’t remember where, as is typical for me….so I decided to look it up at my favorite source for data…..the Fed’s FRED data.
While the numbers are down in recent years, there has still been an incredible increase in the numbers of SNAP recipients. By my eye its something like a 40% increase since 2019. There’s a story here somewhere, but I can’t say that I know what it might be.
BTW, ghost, welcome back. Your absence was noted, and I’m glad to hear from you again.
As I look at this again, I see that I’ve misread the chart. The above chart shows the dollars, not people, spent on SNAP over the years. This next chart might be a better way to show both the dollars and the numbers of people.
Damm. Hot Pockets and Cheetos got a whole lot more expensive.
Most interesting, DT, especially the method of determination. Thank you for the daily lesson.
Oh yes, any thoughts from anyone on how to proceed after one’s e-mail address is hacked? Also, I usually send group e-mails
via Bcc. Does that safeguard the recipients?
Define “hacked”.
I don’t know exactly, Ghost. Just that I sent something to DT and he brought up
“corrupted” and someone I haven’t corresponded with for months said my name keeps popping up on her e-mail.
Also, last year, got e-mails from two new
acquaintances asking for money. I knew that was a scam.
The problem with your message to me seemed to be on my end. The host company told me a database had become corrupted but it’s OK now (I hope). I haven’t re-opened that message though. If anyone emailed me during those few days, I didn’t receive it … so if someone is waiting for a reply, please resend.
Have to pass this incredible interview/exposure along.
https://youtu.be/VdSZZqAWaLg?si=luqgVQRuFvPqVJxe
But it’s actually not the gravimetric center of the CONUS. If you consider all landmass above sealevel, the center moves west and north because of all the western mountains. And I’m please to say that I have lived my entire life in the West, by any measure.