Watch This Video To Learn Why The Border Between The US And Canada Is So Weird

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The border between the United States and Canada looks like it’s pretty straight on a map, but up close, there are hundreds of random turns, zig zags and swoops. As such, the fine people over at CGP Grey set about trying to figure out exactly why the straight line is less than straight, and like pretty much everything else in history, it turns out the truth is a bizarre combination of strange bartering and flat out mistakes.

A treaty between the United States and Canada established the official border as the 49th Parallel. Unfortunately, given less than accurate measuring equipment, those hired to deforest twenty feet of land between the two countries wound up plotting out nine hundred points kinda sorta around the 49th Parallel and connecting each with a straight line. Those shaky measurements plus some random language written into the treaty in which certain areas (like Vancouver) were given to one side or the other combined to give us the not-so-straight line we all learned to draw in elementary school.

Most YouTube channels designed to talk about science or history ramble quite frequently. They use the subject matter as a jumping off point and cram in a lot of hot facts. CGP Grey, on the other hand, is really good at identifying a single problem and explaining it in a really simple and easy to understand way. Here’s to hoping the channel never changes.

Mack Rawden
Editor In Chief

Mack Rawden is the Editor-In-Chief of CinemaBlend. He first started working at the publication as a writer back in 2007 and has held various jobs at the site in the time since including Managing Editor, Pop Culture Editor and Staff Writer. He now splits his time between working on CinemaBlend’s user experience, helping to plan the site’s editorial direction and writing passionate articles about niche entertainment topics he’s into. He graduated from Indiana University with a degree in English (go Hoosiers!) and has been interviewed and quoted in a variety of publications including Digiday. Enthusiastic about Clue, case-of-the-week mysteries, a great wrestling promo and cookies at Disney World. Less enthusiastic about the pricing structure of cable, loud noises and Tuesdays.