PhilosFX's Global Reach (and Stretch!)

Readers of PhilosFX come to us from all around the globe. That is a fact that humbles your faithful scribe. I suppose there are lots of reasons why folks visit PhilosFX from far-flung places such as Caribbean Netherlands, French Guiana, and Tajikistan. One hypothesis: they all like my Road King post!  

Figure 1. Flags of the 206 countries with at least one visitor to PhilosFX

Whatever the reason, I am grateful for the global reach of this blog. I enjoy feeling as if I am adding content, rather than merely consuming it, and that my content interests others besides myself. I enjoy swimming in the wide electronic ocean and occasionally finding another swimmer or schools of swimmers. I really love it when someone takes the time to leave a comment or ask a question about a topic of mutual interest. The connections, and feeling connected, are what matter.

According to Flag Counter, there are some 242 unique countries, protectorates, and territories around the globe. This total does not include the states and provinces within the larger entities, such as the 51 states or districts of the USA or the 13 provinces or territories of Canada. So with 206 flags collected so far, there are 242-206=36 countries which have yet to visit. The Flag Counter on PhilosFX lets me know the names of the "Never" countries, so I am going to stretch a little beyond my reach and attempt to connect with some more of these more distant locales.


Table 1. The "Never" Countries: 53 36 countries who have yet to visit PhilosFX

American Samoa		Guinea 12/26/18		Sao Tome and Principe
Angola		Guinea-Bissau		Sierra Leone
Bhutan		Lesotho		Sint Maarten
British Indian Ocean Terr.		Liechtenstein		Somalia
Burkina Faso 12/26/18		Marshall Islands		South Sudan
Cape Verde		Mauritania		Svalbard
Central African Republic		New Caledonia		Swaziland
Christmas Island		Niger 12/25/18		The Gambia 12/26/18
Comoros		Niue		Timor-Leste
Djibouti 12/26/18		Norfolk Island		Togo 12/26/18
Equatorial Guinea		North Korea		Tokelau
Eritrea		Palau		Tonga
Falkland Islands		Republic of the Congo		Turkmenistan
Faroe Islands		Rwanda		Tuvalu
Fiji 2/25/2018		Saint Barthelemy		Vanuatu 12/25/18
French Polynesia		Saint Helena		Vatican City
Greenland		Saint Pierre and Miquelon		Wallis and Futuna
Guernsey		Samoa 12/25/18

So next time one of you is in French Polynesia, Svalbard, or Vatican City, do a brother a solid and visit PhilosFX! I would like to see the number of "Never Countries" slowly reduce to zero and for the evidence of connections in the world of ideas to spread.

What is driving this quest is similar to the passion behind my global stamp collection or the fact that I keep track of all the different beers I've tried from countries around the world. Life is short and precious. We only get so much time. I do not want to live in isolation, Rather, I long to connect, and one way to connect is via the hive mind that is the Internet.

Thanks for reading. If you know someone in one of the 36 countries in Table 1 above, send them a link to your favorite blog! And keep that link handy when you leave home for Saints Barthelemy, Helena, or Pierre and Miquelon!