See What’s on the Opposite Side of the World From You
When I was a kid, I remember adults joking that any deep hole (which I dug, perhaps in a sandbox) would go “straight to China.” So of course I had to find a globe and check. Surprise: I really ended up in the ocean, somewhere off the coast of Australia. Today you can answer the same question online with the Antipodes Map .
The Indian Ocean is the antipode or opposite point of almost any point on the continental United States. If you are on the west coast, you would be closer to Africa; in the east, closer to Australia. If you live in the northernmost parts of Alaska, your sandbox may end up on land in Antarctica. (If you are serious about digging this hole, I would recommend the children’s book How to Dig a Hole to the Other Side of the World . )
Travel the globe and things get even more interesting. The antipodes of Hawaii reach Africa, with Honolulu opposite Namibia and the Big Island opposite Botswana. Meanwhile, the opposite of New Zealand is France. And if you really want to dig a hole in China, you need to start in Chile or Argentina.