It points towards Mecca (Flight 93 memorial)

Politicalities ^ | Sept 11,2005 | Jonathan Haas

[spycatcher]

It points towards Mecca

Today is September 11.

Michelle Malkin and other bloggers are buzzing about the proposed Flight 93 memorial, which bears a striking resemblance to an Islamic crescent. Zombie produces an animated image consisting of the memorial (rotated so the arms of the crescent point to the right) overlapped with the crescent of the Tunisian flag. The juxtaposition is nearly perfect.

Zombie also links to this image credited to "Etaoin Shrdlu". What you're seeing is an azimuthal equidistant projection of the globe centered on the Flight 93 crash site. On such a projection, the concentric circles represent a fixed distance from the center, and the angle of a straight line from the center to any point represents the azimuth between the two points. Etaoin's image shows that a line perpendicular to the endpoints of the crescent (that is, the direction the crescent faces) appears to pass very close to Mecca. Mecca sits near Saudi Arabia's western coast with the Red Sea, and as Etaoin's image shows, the crescent points right at it.

But I've always been one to go for cold calculations over pretty pictures, so I set to find out if indeed the crescent points towards Mecca. Here's what I came up with:

According to this site, the latitude/longitude coordinates of Mecca are 21.4234, 39.8262 and the coordinates of the Flight 93 crash site are 40.052, -78.8963. Using the calculator from this site, I determined that the azimuth between the two points is 124.80°.

Next I went to the Flight 93 National Memorial website and found the biggest overhead view of the memorial I could find with north oriented up. I measured the distance from tip-to-tip of the crescent and came up with 64px east-west and 90px north-south. The arctangent of 64/90 is the angle between north and a line drawn between the tips, which works out to 35.42°. Adding 90° to this angle gives the direction the crescent faces as 125.42°.

Conclusion: the crescent points towards Mecca with an error of 0.62°, or 0.17%. If you take a circle and divide its circumference into 580 equal arcs, the angle subtended by one of those arcs is the error. (Bear in mind that any error in my figures could change this value; the figure most open to interpretation is the distance in pixels between the tips of the crescent.)

I don't know if the architect deliberately made his design look like an Islamic crescent, or if it's coincidental. I don't know if the architect deliberately made his crescent point almost directly towards Mecca, or if it's coincidental. What I do know is that a memorial in the shape of a swastika would never be permitted, whether the resemblance was intentional or a coincidence. Nor would a memorial resembling a Confederate battle flag.

The strong resemblance of this memorial to an Islamic symbol, whether intentional or accidental, is grossly insensitive to those of us who find it offensive. The commission needs to go back to the drawing board.

[endthematrix]

RE: "National Stockholm Syndrome"

That's a great way to describe our counter-culture. Liberal guilt has deluded them to hate themselves to the point of admiring those that will kill them. I always had taken the anti-Lib "it's a mental disease" as a joke. I am now absolutely convinced it's true.

[D-fendr]

red crescent pointed to Mecca

Actually, its face is away from Mecca - its rear/back is toward Mecca. So, the crescent represents "moon-ing" - showing our ass - to Islam and the tower symbolizes Washington and our nation's founding in victory of freedom over tyranny…

Yep, once you have a crescent, you can take take flight to a lot of places..

[tomkat]

The commission needs to be bitch-slapped

Yup.
Hard.

It's been real dry up here lately.
Shiite happens...

[Thinkin' Gal]

This illustration released by Paul Murdoch Architects shows a crescent of maple trees, one aspect of the winning design of the Flight 93 memorial. The 'Crescent of Embrace' memorial was chosen Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2005, by the Flight 93 Advisory Commission. The aim of the one-year competition was to honor the 40 passengers and crew who died after their plane was hijacked and crashed on Sept. 11, 2001, in a field in rural Pennsylvania. (AP Photo/Paul Murdoch Architects)

'Crescent of Embrace'

Grove of Peace?

[Pajamajan]

"Liberal guilt has deluded them to hate themselves to the point of admiring those that kill them. I always had taken the anti-Lib "it's a mental disease " as a joke. I am now absolutely convinced it's true""

The more I learn about liberalism, the more obvious it becomes that "Mental Disease" is the only way to describe it.
( I have lost count of all the times I've thought "no, they couldn't possibly think that", or sink that low.)

[The Red Zone]

Kick their b-tt, O L-rd, kick their b-tt
Kick their b-tt, O L-rd, kick their b-tt
Kick their b-tt, O L-rd, kick their b-tt
O L-rd, kick their b-tt.

[King Prout]

It is always wise to independently verify what one can.

using the ground at the crash site as my notional flat cardinal direction basis, and using independently researched cartesian coordinates for Mecca and the crash site, here is the spherical geometry derived independently in AutoCAD2000

this is the angle from due north of the Great Circle from the crash site to Mecca, as well as the chord of that arc.

the author of this article is correct in his calculations.

considering what a PITA it was to get this data, the odds against this alignment being "innocent/accidental" seem rather miniscule.

[tomkat]

Nice pic, good catch.

Btw, you have the longest profile page I've ever seen here.
 

[sumocide]

Since earth is round the opening points to Mecca as well. It just points around the other side of the globe.

[King Prout]

thank you, thank you, annnnnnd thank you ;)

[illumini]

oh please

[King Prout]

custom hardwood?
hrmn...
know where I can get some no-flaws mulberry wood in 102" lengths?

[tomkat]

My supplier is an Amish guy the next town over, and if anyone around here can find some, he can.
I'll be talking to him sometime this week - will check it out, but don't hold your breath.

The guy behind this pic is in PA, but sounds like he'll only ship >500BF.

(click)

[spunkets]

Thanks. It's a religious symbol dedicating the fed(National Park) memorial to the terrorists religion. The religion that motivated the attack. The memorial honors the murderous perp scum on their terrorist mission that killed those people.

Heinz foundation cash

Here's the Memorial Project's contact info:

Contact Us

General Correspondence
By Mail
National Park Service
109 West Main Street, Suite 104
Somerset, PA 15501-2035

By Phone
Superintendent - Flight 93 National Memorial
(814) 443-4557

By Fax
(814)443-2180

[King Prout]

drat... I only need a little bit of mulberry
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1462744/posts?page=2303#2303
assuming I stick to a completely traditional construction

[King Prout]

thanks for the contact information.

[King Prout]

I see they seem averse to receiving e-mail
I wonder why? >/sarc<

[RightOnline]

Oh hell........just engrave "Allah Be Praised" on it and get it over with.

[tomkat]

Check your mail...

[Fresh Wind]

Yep, once you have a crescent, you can take take flight to a lot of places..

When you gotta go, you gotta go!