The equator is eight thousand miles long and should not be contradicted - according to the Handbook for Grade School Nuns (Saint Fidgeta and Other Parodies, 107).
Inspiration[]
The Earth's equator is an imaginary line on the surface, equidistant from the North and South Poles, dividing the Earth into Northern and Southern Hemispheres. It is about 24,901 miles long[1].
Bowen notes if one rounds off pi drastically "the diameter of the earth is about 8,000 miles, the equator being about 24,000. The point, as I take it, is that grade-school nuns aren't very good at math, science, or distinguishing their pupils' questions from challenges to their authority.[2]”
"The good sister was just confusing the diameter and the equator. Actually, I may have contributed this item to Bellairs. When I was in the sixth grade, my teacher, Sister Thomasina, tried to tell the class that the equator was 2,500 miles long. I instantly chimed in with 'Nooo! It's 25,000 miles!' After class she called me up to her desk and gave me a dressing down for correcting her in public. Naturally, I would have related this story to John at some time or other.[3]”
References[]
- ↑ Wikipedia: Equator
- ↑ Correspondence with Charles Bowen.
- ↑ Correspondence with Alfred Myers.