Quito, Ecuador: Intiñan Equator Museum

Perhaps the most famous part of Ecuador is the equator, which runs right through the country - even in the Galapagos Islands. But since Quito has the most people of any city in the country, you'd want a museum to celebrate the imaginary line's location. 

So the country built one. In fact, it built two. As you'd guess, there's a story there. 

The equator had first been laid out in Ecuador by the French in 1739. The imaginary line stayed in place for more than 200 years, and the good people of Ecuador decided it was time to cash in on the notoriety of the place. So it built "Middle of the World," with a big monument marking a point on the equator. 

There was only one problem. A few years later, GPS became popular, and it turned out the equator was not where it was assumed to be. It was about 270 meters away. That's not far, but you want to get these things right. 

The "Middle of the World" area is still in place, but a new museum that covers the actual line has gone up as well. The Intiñan Equator Museum is the place to go if you want to stand on both hemispheres at once. And really, why else would you go? 

The photo shows the line brought to life. You can balance an egg on a nail because of the curious geography of the place, and you can try to walk a straight line on the equator - harder than you'd think. The rest of the area is something of a tribute to the various geographic regions of the country as well as its cultural heritage. (There is a gift shop, although we weren't given time to go in - boo!)

In the meantime, here's a demonstration of the way waters spin differently in each hemisphere: