Lines Across America
Consider the 50 states of the United States (including Hawaii and Alaska) on a globe. What is the minimum number of straight lines (great circles) needed to be drawn across the map such that each state has at least one line crossing it?
Clarification:
The straight lines are actually slightly curved on a 2D map, because they correspond to great circles of a 3D sphere.
The answer is 5.
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1 solution
Moderator note:
Note that xkcd hasn't proven that it's a minimum. We might be able to do it in 4.
Try here .