There is no antipode for this podcaster's home

Today's we have a rather obscure technical term from the world of geography. Antipodal is a word I came across in a BBC article. The article is about a replica of the U.K.'s famous stonehenge. This new henge is antipodal to the original. Which is to say it is on the opposite side of the Earth.

Antipodal points also called antipodes are points on the surface of a sphere that are diametrically opposed. So if you could tunnel straight through the center of the earth you would emerge at the antipode of where you started. For example the Antipode Islands of New Zealand are so named because they are roughly on the other side of the world from the Crown of England.

After learning this word I decided to figure out what is the antipode of my new home in Cincinnati. For this I turned to a new piece of free software, Google Earth. Google Earth is amazing. It is a digital map of the entire Earth. You pick any place on earth and zoom in on it. As you zoom in the software displays ever more detailed satellite photos of the area. Depending on the area the photos maybe be so detailed you can see your car parked in front of your house. Add to this the amazing topographic detail that displays 3d hills and mountains; animation that lets you tilt your view so you can appreciate the topography and the ability, and this is this coolest, to "fly" from one location to another. I can't praise Google Earth enough. It can be downloaded from earth.google.com. Sorry it is Windows only.

So I used Google Earth to find my house by using my address. I noted the latitude and longitude. Then I switched the north for south and subtracted 180 from my longitude. This spun the globe and displayed my antipode. Sadly it is an uninteresting spot in the middle of the South Pacific.

Antipode comes to us by way of the Greek anti meaning opposite or opposed and pod meaning feet.

I have a little house keeping today. I need a little help. I am considering renaming Today's Podcast. I think the name is too vague and confusing. The name doesn't really describe the content of the shows and it can be confusing talking about today's Today's Podcast. Or even tomorrow's Today's Podcast.

Please help me by emailing me your suggestions. My email address is scott at todays podcast.com.

UPDATE: Gerry of Vancouver BC. corrected my methodology. I first stated you could switch East for West but that only works if you are 90 degrees east or west. The correct method is to subtract 180 degrees from longitude. Thanks Gerry.