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XKCD comic #426 contains an algorithm that generates random coordinates across the country every day. | XKCD comic #426 contains an algorithm that generates random coordinates across the country every day. | ||
| − | These coordinates can be used as destinations for adventures, a-la Geocaching. They can also be used for local meetups. | + | These coordinates can be used as destinations for adventures, a-la [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geocaching Geocaching]. They can also be used for local meetups. |
== How it works == | == How it works == | ||
Revision as of 07:09, 21 May 2008
Contents
What is this?
XKCD comic #426 contains an algorithm that generates random coordinates across the country every day.
These coordinates can be used as destinations for adventures, a-la Geocaching. They can also be used for local meetups.
How it works
Play with the coordinate calculator here: http://xkcd.com/geohashing
Every day, the algorithm generates a new set of coordinates for every region. They are randomly placed -- they could be in the forest, in a city, or on a mountain. You can use this wiki to document the coordinates (geohashes) you've been to.
Unless you can predict the stock market, you can't figure out what the coordinates will be ahead of time. You can first calculate a weekday's coordinates at about 9:30 AM, and on Friday morning you can calculate the coordinates for each day that weekend.
If you go on Saturday afternoons, you might encounter other xkcd readers. Bring games!
Official Meetup
The official xkcd meetups happen Saturday afternoon, starting at 3:00 PM. If the coordinates for your area are in the ocean, a military base, or somewhere otherwise unreachable, that meetup is of course postponed. If you can, record who's there, take pictures, and post them here.
Guidelines
A sample interactive coordinate calculator can be found here: [1] A reference implementation is available here: view download
Meetups are Saturday at 3:00 PM on days when the coordinate is reachable (i.e. not on the open sea). Later we can all go for dinner.
When the coordinate falls somewhere dangerous or illegal to reach, use your judgment. If the coordinates are in an obviously unreachable place, the setup meeting is called off.
Recent Saturdays
Next Upcoming Day
2008-05-21 -- The coordinates for Wednesday, May 21st will become available that morning at about 9:30 AM EST, when the Dow Jones opening price is published.
Next Saturday
2008-05-24 -- The coordinates for Saturday, May 24th will become available on Friday about 9:30 AM EST, when the Friday Dow Jones opening price is published.
