I think "at most" is the phrase needed.

Shouldn't that be "You're Always At Most 107 Miles From A McDonald's"? Otherwise, the one down the street would need to be 105.5 miles further away.

Yeah, the grammar thing, and you mean that there are so many in Alaska (yes, we have to stall claim Alaska despite it being the home of Sarah Palin) that yo can go no place there and be more than 107 miles to a Mickey Ds?

Shouldn't that read "one is always at MOST 107 miles from a McDonald's" ie, no more that 107 miles away. At least means that they are ALL more than 107 miles away from any point - which doesn't make sense.

In New Zealand, you're never further than 75 miles from the ocean.

@twritersf:

...but if you stand on the edge of Alaska, you can see a McD's. In Siberia.

Somewhere out there is a McDonald's-phobe who is always at least 107 miles from a McDonald's.

Looks like the country is split in half with the east having a more dense concentration of Mickey Ds.

For kicks, the author should overlay this data with the reported rates of obesity and diabetes. Let's see if there's a correlation.

That's really gross. And now I want to go to McDonald's.

I want to live in this place where any McDonald's is at most 107 miles away.

@dohtem: Wouldn't that just correlate with the population density?

@dohtem:
That's simply the distribution of the population of the US.

@treimel, dulcinea47: yeah, i think you guys are right.

Never more than 107 miles...

Who edits these headlines?

The continental United States. Alaskans have to trek farther for their McDonald's fix.

@bornonbord: What you say is true: Yeah, that's almost as good.

@LordSkippy: That was my first thought, too.

@twophrasebark: It's a ground squirrel infested prarie shithole where it's flatter than my wife's ass, hot in the summer, frozen in the winter and cow tipping is regarded as a sport.
North Dakota is quaint and binge drinking is a primary activity.

@dohtem: Like dulcinea47 and treimel said, it's just how the distribution of the population is. As you get farther to the midwest and past that, until you get to the west coast, there is a lot of rocky and relatively uninhabitable areas. It gets hotter, drier, and more remote. Whereas once you get toward the midwest and toward the east coast, there are more areas of forrestry and vegetation, which make it more temperate for people to live.

Meg, um, could you please edit the headline and article to read "at most" instead of "at least" so it's a) correct and b) not driving the conversation off of whatever point you were actually trying to make?

@YouDidWhatNow?: nice.

I smell an opportunity, time to plug in those holes so there are more McDonalds.

@Spider Jerusalem:

a) done.
b) too late.

@dohtem: Yep
[georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu]

@TCama: I think it's the contiguous US - Alaska's still on this continent (despite having Russia oh-so-close-by).

This seems not to include Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands.

@LordSkippy: Beat me to it ...

@LordSkippy: I was going to say the same thing.

"You are never more than 107 miles from a McDonald's"

@treimel:

I have made more trips between Missouri, Iowa, and Illinois than I could count and I am thankfully for their bounty. I want to spend as little time off the highway as possible and I want a closer resemblance to a meal than those rotating gas station hot dogs.

What's the furthest we can be from Wal-Mart? I need new socks.

@Chumas: That sums it up pretty well.

I don't buy it. Sham-science at it's best.

I would have though for sure that places like this, the area in Nevada around Area 51 (down Highway 6 and the like) would have been the winner of the "least number of McDonalds" lottery. I dont recall seeing one for days on that roadtrip.

@dohtem: The most obese states in the US are Mississippi, Alabama, Oklahoma, South Carolina and West Virginia.

@bornonbord: What you say is true: Dude, your giant embedded photo messes with the margins of the site when people expand on the post. I know you can't edit, but keep that in mind anyway.

@dohtem: There's also a strong correlation to rainfall. Wetter areas have more people, ergo more McDonald's

@Spider Jerusalem: sooooo...she fixes the headline but not the story??

@El_Fez: Agreed.... Stayed in Rachel NV one night... that was about as far from reality as you could get.... and I think they are 3 miles to the nearest gas station!

What is Mr. Von Worley's day job?

@bornonbord: What you say is true: 70 in England - around 45 miles if you count tidal rivers.

@calquist: That's not actually very far, is it? I am guessing southern Missouri to northern Illinois is about 850 miles. One day drive for me, and I'd bring a picnic basket and ice chest instead of tanking up at McDs.
LA to KC in 2 days = my kind of trip.

@twritersf: It actually says tin the contiguous united states, which explues alaska, and hawaii (where im from)

@Chumas: Actually, that sounds pretty good!

@pecan 3.14159265: I've got no problems with the margins on my browser. It fits within the comments collumn borders.

@BusyBusyBusyBusySleep: Heck, just say "lower 48" and remove the ambiguity.

How many McDonalds in Guam or Saipan?

@clickertrainer: Well, the trips vary from 3 - 8 hours, but I was traveling forward and back at least once a week or more. I don't eat McDonald's for each trip, but it was always nice knowing that I didn't have to stress about packing something if I was leaving on short notice or if I got hungry on the way, there was always food.

@jaydez: Now that we're on the subject I'd really like to know the answer for that and other national chains.

I wonder what the number is for Starbucks.

Oh, and I want to know the furthest I can be from a publicly accessible toilet so that I know never to go to that location.

@clickertrainer: Yep, I once drove from Washington DC to Rolla MO (about 940 miles, or 1500km) in a single day.

That's my record though. I was SO close to 1000 miles, but it was 11:30 at night with terrible thunderstorms all over.