The Address Book, By Tim Radford

 

Christopher Hirst
Thursday 03 May 2012 10:07 EDT
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Starting with a Molesworthian recollection of inscribing his address, including "The Earth, The Solar System, The Universe", in a school exercise book, Radford elucidates our location in chapters that move ever outward.

His exploration of each viewpoint brings a host of surprises. Under "The Town", Radford notes that they can endow us with names: the Sundance Kid "once served a prison sentence in Sundance, Wyoming." Under "Continent", we learn that the European alphabet is Phoenician, our numbers Arabic and our food from Asia Minor.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in