Today We Learned You Can Sail In A Straight Line From The UK To New Zealand

Here at Digg dot com, we love looking at maps that show us what the world really looks like — which is often not the same thing as what we think the world looks like (i.e., the Mercator projection). Today, our lesson in geographic reality comes via Reddit, where u/kevpluck blew our minds by observing that it's possible to sail in a straight line from the United Kingdom to New Zealand, or vice versa. Don't believe it? Just take a look at this rendering on a two-dimensional representation of the globe:

Here's what the straight line looks like on a traditional two-dimensional world map — not very straight anymore, thanks to the Mercator projection's necessary but deceptive distortions.

It's possible to sail in a straight line from the United Kingdom to New Zealand [OC] from r/MapPorn

Please be sure to bring enough food, water and medicine if you decide to try to sail this route yourself.

[Via Reddit]