Interesting Maps

You are confusing political and geographic terms.

The western world is a political term. The countries involved are loosely to the west, but it also includes Australia which is to the east of the middle and far east. The phrase "The West" in a global sense is a synonym of western world. But in other contexts, "The West" means something else. Context is key.

The western hemisphere means means something very different. You have to include the word hemisphere, otherwise it's a vague adjective. The fact you were not aware of it doesn't mean other people are not.

That's quite literally how that line works. The eastern hemisphere runs east from the prime meridian to 180 degrees east. Being half a sphere. The western hemisphere, being the opposite half. The entire geographic coordinate system is based on that concept. I expect a lot of people are aware of how latitude and longitude work.

As it's the maps thread, here is a map showing the 4 hemispheres pretty clearly.

sorry, dont have a map to post in the Intersting Maps thread (boo! for shame! failed at the first hurdle!) ,,,, but in the spirit of the East / West / Lat / Long etc ..... There are 4 North Poles (and I guess, 4 South Poles to go with them...)

True North - the top of the world where the world axle is (check a globe if unsure)

Magnetic North - the place all the magnets point to

Geomagnetic North - complicated , but I think its the bit under the magnetic cloud around the world? (its in Ellesmere Island , Canada)

(N) Pole of Inaccessibility - the point on a map that is the furthest from the coast - ie the middle of nowhere - its at 85' 48" N by 176' 9" W

Poland was never part of the USSR.

That's why Ireland is a third world country.

Yeah. The perception is that third world means underdeveloped but it originally meant not explicitly NATO/US or Warsaw Pact alligned.

By that definition Switzerland was indeed a Third World Country, as were Austria, Sweden and Finland (while, say, Nicaragua was a First World Country).

But that sense of "Third World Country" pretty rapidly fell out of use. The countries concerned were much more likely to refer to themselves as "non-aligned", and "Third World" pretty soon came to refer to economic development rather than political alignment.

The idea of a meridian existed for thousands of years by the 18th century, in Greek antiquity. Different countries used different ones as suited them, and knowledge was limited. As the world globalised, more aligned to common meridians. Here is a list of some of the various ones used. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_meridian#List_of_historic_prime_meridians_on_Earth

The international date line was not set by change. It developed some what naturally, the the pacific became the natural border where people didn't align to both east and west neighbours. But it shifted based on various colonies (Philippines, under Spain aligned to Mexico for centuries). This are all geographic influences, and would have been a major factor in the in the prime meridian being set in centre-ish europe.

The paragraph you quote refers to the final decision between London and Paris. Two options about 2 degrees apart. The difference between the two is marginal. But the point is the other 358 degree range had been discarded by that point.