Following the Equator

Our 10 Best of 2008

This is the 320th post of 2008 at Following the Equator, and we decided to commemorate our blog's first full calendar year with a top-10 list of favorite posts.

We had a lot of stories, videos, photos, interviews, tips and perspectives about educational travel. We launched some regular weekly features, including our Tip of the Week and Photo of the Week. We debuted Life on Tour, introduced EF on YouTube and EF on Facebook and promoted the EF Tours group on Flickr (above). And, along the way, we encountered a lot of inspiring travelers.

Following the Equator also was nominated for a Blogger's Choice Award and finished fifth out of 1,177 blogs for Best Travel Blog. Thank you to everyone who supported our blog in 2008 by voting, reading, sharing, commenting and subscribing. We're looking forward to an even more successful 2009.

Top 20 Imaginary Lines

Our post last week about the Real Equator got me thinking about Earth's imaginary lines—those lines we can't see but still observe.

Look at a globe or map, and you'll see all kinds of imaginary lines running all over the place. I started to ponder the most prominent imaginary lines in the world. What are the most important? The most famous? And why?

To address those questions, Following the Equator compiled a list of the Top 20 Imaginary Lines. What do you think? Is one line better than another? Did we overlook any lines? Scrutinize our list and post your comments below.

The Little Red Ball

Follow the little red ball in this video that Bryan Wojtowicz and students from Bryant University made on their trip to Panama City, the Galápagos Islands and Quito, Ecuador, in January.

As Wojtowicz told us, the concept was to create a promotional video for Bryant's Sophomore International Experience. The coolest thing that the students did with the little red ball—”aside from their famous dodgeball game—was at the Panama Canal.

"We bounced it off the wall from the boat," Wojtowicz said. "We didn't know if we were going to get in trouble by people on the boat, because you aren't supposed to throw anything off the boat. We asked our professors, and they said, 'No, go for it, because that's kind of a creative idea.'"

The Real Equator

The most interesting thing we learned from talking with equatorial dodgeball enthusiast Bryan Wojtowicz was that the "world's first interhemispherical dodgeball game" took place at the "real" equator.

"Real equator?" I asked.

Wojtowicz explains:

"We first went to what was called the real equator (outside Quito, Ecuador)," he said. "I don't know if you know, but in the '50s, they made a monument for what they thought was the equator. But, years later, with GPS technology, they found out that that was not exactly zero degrees latitude.

Dodgeball across the equator, Part II

Whenever we hear something exciting about the equator itself, Following the Equator just has to follow through. After reading about the college students who played dodgeball at the equator, I tracked down the man behind the feat that nearly became a world record.

Bryan Wojtowicz, who just graduated from Bryant University in Smithfield, Rhode Island, concocted the idea for the impromptu game while filming a student video project during a university trip to Latin America. Bryan was one of about 50 Bryant students who traveled to Panama and Ecuador in January.

At the equator just outside Quito, Ecuador, Bryan (photo above) and teammate Matt Meehan competed against Rob McNell and Chris Walker in what Bryan dubbed "the world's first interhemispherical dodgeball game." Brendan Sysun served as referee and uttered the now-famous line, "Equatorial line infraction! You're out!" Luckily, Raymond Mahoney filmed the game for all to see.

Dodgeball across the equator

It was historic. It was global. It was perhaps "the world's first interhemispherical dodgeball game."

But, unfortunately for five students from Bryant University in Smithfield, Rhode Island, it's not a Guinness World Record.

On a winter-break trip to Latin America, the college students competed in what is believed to be the world's first dodgeball game across the equator. The global game lasted a mere 10 seconds, but it did indeed cross the line. A red line at the exact equator in Ecuador marked the center line. Watch for yourself:

Friday Fun Fact: The equator

We've had a number of unusually longer posts lately, so we've decided to introduce the Friday Fun Fact: a quick fact related to travel or global awareness or education.

In honor of our blog's name, the debut Friday Fun Fact is about the equator:

The equator is 24,901.5 miles long and runs through 13 countries—Brazil, Colombia, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ecuador, Gabon, Indonesia, Kenya, Kiribati, Maldives, Sao Tome & Principe, Somalia, and Uganda.

If you have any ideas for upcoming Friday Fun Facts (or want to pose questions), post comments below or email me.