Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with Territory

Can you get there from here?

thrako — Fri, 23 May 2008 17:45:18 -0800

Are there any convex nations? A convex nation is one where: given two locations in the country the straight line connecting the two points lies entirely within the country (and not in the ocean). I can't find any countries that meet this definition.

If we add territorial waters, how many nations are convex? I can't find good maps that show territorial waters, so I don't know which nations have "dents" in their waters.

How do I scare off cats without scaring off cats?

twine42 — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 07:28:55 -0800

Help me banish evil invader cat from my garden without scaring off the natives. Difficulty : it's my landlord's cat... We live in the middle of a field in the fens. The other half of our semi belongs to our landlord's daughter. The next nearest house (200 yards away) belongs to our landlord.

The landlord's cat (a huge bruiser tom) has taken to following her down to visit her daughter - a route that takes them within 20 feet of our front door.

It now comes down on it's own, and gets involved in Mexican stand-offs with our two. Last night we came home to find one of ours backed into the corner by the cat flap, with bruiser less than 10 feet away.

Normally I'd leave cats to sort things like this out themselves, but our two cats probably weigh 10 pounds put together . They're terrified of this thing and one of them has decided she's rather crap in the dining room than face the tom.

Which all leads to the question, how can I help our cats push back their territory without harming any of them, or pissing off my landlord?

The land is flat and featureless fenland, with no fences, hedges or other natural boundaries between our house and the landlord. Our cats are both spayed females.

India's Antarctica

riffola — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 05:47:22 -0800

If Russia gets to claim the North Pole as its own based on geological origins, shouldn't India automatically get Antarctica? For the record I don't believe the North Pole or South Pole should belong to any single country, just like the moon. I am just asking this question based on Russia's reasoning behind their attempt to claim the North Pole as its own.

But mommy, I don't wanna be Martha Stewart

Solomon — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 05:19:20 -0800

Help me not tidy other people's houses. I've been good friends with my boss since he joined the company we work for about 8 months ago. He's a nice friendly guy, and we clicked fairly quickly. Recently, he's been working very long shifts (13 hrs, 6 days straight, with no backup whatsoever) and it's been getting him down, so I've been trying to cheer him up a bit. We've been going out for coffee, etc, and he's been involving me in his world more - I've been to his house, his allotment etc. I know a fair bit about growing veg, so I offered to help out if he wanted, which he said would be cool. Anyway, the first time I went to his house, I really had to try hard to not open my mouth about the state the place was in - cat/dog hair everywhere, washing up not done, dirty bathroom, etc.

I realise that he's been busy. I realise that this is his house (he lives alone). I realise that it's none of my business. But when I go there I get this urge to clean and tidy everything, which I doubt would go down very well. I keep a certain level of tidiness myself, and it's natural inclination to start extending this level to every environment I'm in.

However, I really wouldn't thank anyone to come into my domain and mess with my stuff, so my question is, how can I not feel this way? I really want to not be "interfering friend". How can I realise that this is his space, and most certainly not mine. How can I learn to be more "hands off" in my relationships?

Please keep this about me and my neuroses, and not about me and my boss. I do this a lot, with various different people/places, not just him.

Is there a US City within Canada?

lkm — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 11:57:34 -0800

I remember reading a year or two ago about a city that's fully contained within Canada, but is a US territory. It shares no land border with the lower 48 and it's not part of Alaska. Does anybody know what I'm talking about? I can't find it via google. Thanks.

Variations on "Ottawa, Kingdom of the Netherlands".

goodnewsfortheinsane — Thu, 23 Nov 2006 12:12:55 -0800

People born in administratively unusual places? When part of the Dutch royal family lived in exile in Canada during WWII, Princess Margriet (daughter of Princess Juliana) was born. At the time of her birth, a wing of the hospital was temporarily declared Dutch territory to ensure her being born on Dutch soil. (Under Canadian law, had she been born in Canadian territory she would have automatically received Canadian citizenship.) Thus, effectively, Princess Margriet was born in "Ottawa, Kingdom of the Netherlands".

Do you know of any comparable examples?