you're lying to me for no reason!

[HotelMinion]

Had a guest come in with his wife the other day and I swear this is what he said.

Guest: Which way is east?

Me: *points right* That way.

Guest: Oh that's what the girl working here before you said that, but I didn't believe her, so I went the other way.

Wife: See! I told you! *slaps him*

After my puzzled stare he wandered away. Really, you ask and then you do the opposite? Wuh?

Bonus story: this reminds me a little of what happened years ago. Different hotel. Background: where I live, the sun rises on the east and sets on the west.

Old Man: I have to go east from here, which way is that?

Me: Let's see, the sun rises on the east, so it's...that way, towards the sun.

Old Man: What are you talking about! No it doesn't!

Me: Yes it does.

Old Man: It rises on the west!

Me: Not here it doesn't.

Old Man: *angrily* I'm telling you, it does, so that means I have to go that way! *points opposite way* Stop telling lies!!

After a few minutes of trying to explain, and he argues, I shrug, giving up. The phone rings so I busy myself with it. While I'm talking, I see a look of confusion set on the old man's face. Then a look of realization and he touches him chin, looking at the sun. Then his shoulders hunch in resignation and he wanders off sheepishly. I love it when they realize I'm not lying.

[sms001]

Have had all too similar at work, with co-irkers. "Go clean the east wall." "Which one is that?" Me, staring sadly at the rising sun pouring through the windows of said wall....

[XCashier]

Background: where I live, the sun rises on the east and sets on the west.

You live on Planet Earth, in other words.

[Bright_Star]

Only on the planet Venus does the sun rise in the west & set in the east. That's because it has a retrograde rotation.

[Argus]

Me: Let's see, the sun rises on the east, so it's...that way, towards the sun.

And if you intend to go south while the sun is coming up, you put the sun on your left.

[bhskittykatt]

I had one like this a while ago. SC wanted to go to [city south and east of here] and was aghast and horrified when I suggested a route near Seattle. "No, I want to go north!" he insisted.

So I pulled out a road map. I pointed to us, and I pointed to where he wanted to go (on the other side of the mountains). He insisted (highway just north of us) would get him there. I showed him where that highway dead-ends and he insisted the map was wrong. He said he would go up to (highway just north of us) and figure it out from there.

I went hiking up there later and parked in the parking lot at the end of the highway. There was no new extension that led over the mountains (and even if there had been it would have been under at least 2 dozen feet of snow when SC had been in town...this was in February and the final section typically doesn't get cleared until mid to late July [though they're looking at possibly early July this year...yay!]).

[MoonCat]

OTOH, there's Canada, where, in order to go west from Toronto, you have to get on a highway marked "East" and travel for quite a distance before it loops around and goes west.

I swear this really happened.

[wolfie]

OTOH, there's Canada, where, in order to go west from Toronto, you have to get on a highway marked "East" and travel for quite a distance before it loops around and goes west.

Which highway is that? I'm in Toronto, and haven't heard about it. The closest I can think of is the QEW to Fort Erie, which goes west to Hamilton and then loops eastward around the lake to Fort Erie.

[Dadeo]

Which highway is that? I'm in Toronto, and haven't heard about it. The closest I can think of is the QEW to Fort Erie, which goes west to Hamilton and then loops eastward around the lake to Fort Erie.

I can't think of any that "loop around" per se, the only route I can think of would be QEW east to 427 up to 401 west.

[MoonCat]

Which highway is that? I'm in Toronto, and haven't heard about it. The closest I can think of is the QEW to Fort Erie, which goes west to Hamilton and then loops eastward around the lake to Fort Erie.

That was probably it, it was years ago so I don't recall exactly, plus not being the driver, the names of highways don't tend to stick in my memory.

[fireheart]

I can remember the whole "sun rises in the east/sets in the west thing" from when I was about 8 or 9.
Either way I'd still get confused about which way's north

[dalesys]

I can remember the whole "sun rises in the east/sets in the west thing" from when I was about 8 or 9.
Either way I'd still get confused about which way's north

So L. Frank Baum was *right* about the directions in Oz!

[Chromatix]

There are a couple of tricks to figuring out compass directions without a compass, if you know what you're doing. One works during the day, and the other works at night.

The day trick requires an old-fashioned analogue watch, or at least the ability to form a reliable mental picture of one. Point the hour-hand at the Sun, then the point half-way between there and the 12 mark is roughly South. Except if Daylight Savings or Summer Time is in effect, in which case use the 1 mark instead of the 12 mark.



Caveat 1: if it's near midday in the tropics, the Sun will be directly overhead and you won't be able to get a reliable bearing. You'll have to wait until the Sun goes a bit further and can be discerned to be to the West of you. Before midday, the Sun will be to your East. On a watch face, if 12 is North and 6 is South, then 3 is East (3 = E should be easy to remember) and 9 is West.

Caveat 2: if it's near midday in the Southern hemisphere, the Sun will be to the North of you, and the watch's bearing by the above method will be unreliable. To correct this problem at any time of the day, point the 12 mark (or the 1 mark if appropriate) at the Sun, and the half-way mark to the hour hand will then point reliably North.



The night trick requires a reasonably clear sky, and might not work in the southern hemisphere (although there's undoubtedly a different trick you can use along the same lines). There happens to be a nice bright star (Polaris) almost exactly in line with the physical North Pole - it's considerably more accurate than a magnetic compass. Polaris is in turn roughly in line with the two end stars of the very recognisable "Big Dipper" constellation. All of the relevant stars are bright enough to see even through moderate light-pollution.



Unfortunately you can't use the Moon as a reference, unless you have a reliable lunar calendar or you know how to interpret the phase to figure out what correction to make. There's roughly a 50% chance that it won't even be visible at the time you need it, due to the fact that it orbits nearly in the same plane as the Sun. However, if you *can* see the Moon, and you know whether it's before or after midnight, then the Sun is below the horizon on the lit side of the Moon. If the Moon is *full*, then the Sun is directly opposite it. You can then figure out your direction from where the Sun is, except that the watch-face trick won't work.

[Tanasi]

On a state highway just a little ways from my office there is a stretch of road that according to the road signs you're traveling both north and south on different highways at the same time. Reality is you're traveling on a third highway east. No wonder the damnyankees get lost around here.

[wolfie]

And near Wythville VA, I81 northbound and I77 southbound share the same piece of pavement.