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May 15, 2010
Peak XV
In 1852, in the Dehra Dun offices of the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India, it was announced that a Bengali computer named Radhanath Sikhdar had discovered the highest mountain in the world. Designated Peak XV by surveyors in the field, the mountain in question jutted from the spine of the Himalaya in the forbidden kingdom of Nepal. According to Sikhdar's meticulous trigonometric reckoning, which took into account such factors as curvature of the earth, atmospheric refraction, and plumb-line deflection, Peak XV stood 29,002 feet above sea level, the planet's highest point.
Modern surveys using lasers and state-of-the-art Doppler satellite transmissions have revised this measurement upward by a mere 26 feet - to the currently accepted altitude of 29,028 feet.
Mount Everest.
Posted by dave at May 15, 2010 10:32 PM