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Yep I had to look it up yesterday.
In geography, the antipode
(from Greek
αντίποδες,[1]
from anti- "opposed" and pous "foot"; pronounced /ænˈtɪpəˌdiːz/) of any place on
Earth is the point on the Earth's surface which is diametrically opposite to it.
Two points that are antipodal [ænˈtɪpədəl] to one another are connected
by a straight line running through the centre of the Earth.
In the British Isles, "the Antipodes" is often used to refer to Australia and New Zealand, and occasionally South Africa and Zimbabwe, and "Antipodeans" to their inhabitants.[2] Geographically the antipodes of the British Isles are in the Pacific Ocean, south of New Zealand. This gave rise to the name of the Antipodes Islands of New Zealand, which are close to the antipodes of London at about 50° S 179° E. The antipodes of Australia are in the North Atlantic Ocean, while parts of Spain, Portugal, and Morocco are antipodal to New Zealand. The antipodes of South Africa and Zimbabwe are in the North Pacific Ocean, though as Southern Hemisphere ex-British colonies, they are sometimes included as antipodeans in colloquial English. The antipodes of any place on the Earth is the place that is diametrically
opposite it, so a line drawn from the one to the other passes through the centre
of the Earth and forms a true diameter. For example, the
antipodes of New Zealand's lower North Island lies in Spain. Most of the Earth's
land surfaces have ocean at their antipodes, this being a consequence of most
land being in the land hemisphere.
From: Alan James
Sent: Thursday, August 27, 2009 2:11 PM
Subject: Re: [PSUBS-MAILIST]
Antipodes/XPC15/PC-1501 Frank,
wasn't sure wether you were aware or not that the Antipodes
was a collonial name given NewZealand by the Brits, NZ being at
the opposite side of the world. We have a set of Islands South West of
NZ
called the antipodes, hence the subs name change when it was bought by some
antibodians.
Alan
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