You probably learned in school that the Earth is not a perfect sphere but rather an "oblate spheroid" meaning that it bulges a bit at the equator. But how did we figure that out? The story of the 18th century French-Spanish expedition to South America to try and determine the shape of the Earth is the subject of the new book by British author, geographer (he's the former President of the Royal Geographical Society) and television personality Nicholas Crane.
Host Dave Schlom visits with author Nicholas Crane from his home in rural England to talk about the adventures and at times misadventures of a group of 12 academicians and military advisors trying to measure one degree of latitude at the equator. It's a rollicking story filled with colorful characters set amidst the 18th century Andes region of modern-day Ecuador.
