cowan@marob.masa.com (John Cowan) (11/20/90)
In article <14704@accuvax.nwu.edu> cmoore@brl.mil (VLD/VMB) writes: [explanation of the shape of Area Code 409: a torus] >[Moderator's Note: Carl, I think you might agree that 312/708 has some >odd boundary lines also, with one small section of 312 completely >surrounded by 708 at Ohare Airport and one section of 708 completely >surrounded by 312 on the northwest side of Chicago in an area not >actually in the city. PAT] This reminds me of a really weird case on the Dutch/Belgian border. When the United Netherlands split up, the lands near the village of Baarle were assigned based on the feudal landholder. In medieval times, it was common for different landholders to own widely scattered plots rather than contiguous stretches of land. As a result, there are thirteen enclaves of Belgian territory within the main body of the Netherlands. Seven of these enclaves contain sub-enclaves of Dutch territory, and there is an additional Dutch enclave within Belgium. There are a lot of buildings divided between two countries, and the main road crosses a frontier something like eight times within a few miles (marked only by a flag by the roadside). Since Dutch and Belgian regulations for commercial enterprises differ substantially, there are stores with two different inventories, containing items that may not be legally bought on certain days (like Sundays) in one country or the other. In fact, the whole area is pretty much one big shopping center for this reason. Unfortunately, I don't know the telecom situation there. Does anyone? (Minor concession to the Digest's charter.) cowan@marob.masa.com (aka ...!hombre!marob!cowan)