Dig a Hole in Bismarck Through the Earth and Come Out the Other Side… Where Do You End Up?
We like to think that if we dig a hole deep enough, we'll end up in China.
If you dig your hole in Bismarck, that's not the case…unless your hole has a lot of turns to allow you to get to China.
The term 'antipode,' according to Wikipedia, is used in geography to determine any spot on the Earth's surface diametrically opposite to it.
In other words, if we're in Bismarck, and we dig a hole straight through the Earth, with no turns, and come out on the complete opposite side, that spot on Earth would be Bismarck's 'antipode.'
Though you may never have been curious what spot on Earth is the antipode to Bismarck, there's enough curiosity in the subject matter for a website to exist to let you know where any spot on Earth's antipode is. Introducing, the antipode map.
We put Bismarck into the map, and the spot in Bismarck that they use is the Burleigh County Distrcit Court building near the intersection of Rosser and 6th street.
If you choose to go to that spot and dig a hole to the other side of the Earth, prepare to swim. Because you'll end up nowhere near any piece of land and you'll be out in the middle of the Indian Ocean.
In fact, this is the exact spot you'll end up.
So with that being said, we don't recommend that you dig a hole to the complete opposite side of the world from Bismarck.
And if you're not a swimmer, we don't recommend digging a similar hole in any part of the United States because according to an article from NPR in 2006, pretty much all of the contiguous 48 states are completely opposite to nothing but water. There are very very few exceptions.
You're welcome for saving you all that work.