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While presenting a riddle to the kids
at Whit's End, Whit references the cities of Cincinnati, Buffalo,
and Detroit in Promises, Promises, although he doesn't say any states. He
attempts to prove that he is in neither of the cities. It can be
deducted that Cincinnati and Buffalo are closer to Odyssey than
Detroit is.
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The town of Odyssey experiences all
four seasons of the year: spring, summer, fall, and winter. Many
episodes indicate this.
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The town of Odyssey experiences bad
storms, including occasional tornadoes. The show never indicates that
tornadoes are rare occurrences in Odyssey, though when a tornado
strikes, the town's citizens take extra safety precautions. This could
indicate that Odyssey is located in a state that experiences tornadoes,
but not in excess.
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Kids Radio originally began as KYDS
Radio in Kid's Radio.
In reality, only stations west of the Mississippi River have call
letters that begin with K. All stations east of it start with W.
However, later on, the Adventures in Odyssey team decided to
toss "KYDS" as it would be too confusing for radio stations in real
life and transformed KYDS Radio to Kids Radio. Where would that
place Odyssey? Also in Family Vacation, George and Mary Barclay are trying to get their
car to start when the voice on the radio announces the KFOF call
letters of the station.
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Terry and George Johnston take a
train ride nonstop from Odyssey to New York in
The Last Great
Adventure of the Summer and arrive in Manhattan within
hours.
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In
The Ill-Gotten Deed,
Horace and Grover McAllister race from their homes in Virginia to
somewhere "out west" where they will later found the town of Odyssey.
According to the episode, it takes them weeks (on horseback) to reach
their destination.
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In the episode
Lincoln, Jimmy is
asked if he is a Yankee or a Confederate, and he replies that he's
neither; he's from out West.
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The town of Odyssey is only a few
miles from the state line. (Not
One of Us)
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If traveling by train, it is a day's
journey from Chicago to Odyssey. (Train
Ride)
Whit and Eugene board an Amtrak train in Chicago and head home
to Odyssey. It is brought to their attention that some of the
passengers on another train car (mannequin salesmen) are on
their way to a convention in Cincinnati. According to Amtrak's
website, a trip from Chicago to Cincinnati is approximately 8
1/2 hours in total. If traveling by train, it is a day's
journey from Chicago to Odyssey, as revealed in the episode as well.
Now, where is Odyssey in relation to Cincinnati? It is revealed
that the stop to Odyssey is before Cincinnati.
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In
A License to Drive,
Eugene mentions that in the state in which Odyssey resides, it is
illegal to spit on the sidewalk. The only three states in which this is
illegal are Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Ohio.
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The episode
Timmy's Cabin reveals
that the legendary Johnny Appleseed supposedly planted the apple orchard
on Tom Riley's farm. Johnny Appleseed's route spanned through the states
of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.
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Odyssey is located near or around an area
with mountains. In the episode
Flash Flood, Whit,
Eugene, Bernard, and Tom go camping in the mountains near Odyssey. Many
other references to the mountains near Odyssey are dispersed throughout
the show.
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In
On Solid Ground, Whit
takes a caller during Kids Radio's "Adventures of the Bible" segment.
When asked what "foundations" are, one caller responds, "Aren't they
those big farms down south?" It can be deduced that Odyssey is in one of
the northern states.
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A city named Connellsville is located near
Odyssey, as referenced by countless episodes.
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In
The Mysterious Stranger, Whit is told that the
Tate House is "on old Route 40, towards Connellsville", implying that
it's in the Odyssey area. Route 40 goes through New Jersey, Delaware,
Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois,
Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Utah, and even Nevada and California.
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A city named Waynestown is located near
Odyssey, as revealed in And the Glory.
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During Eugene and Bernard's trip across
the country, their known stops on their route include Iowa, Colorado,
California, and even a brief stop to Disney Land. (First-Hand
Experience, Second
Thoughts, The Fifth
House on the Left I, It Happened at Four Corners, and
The Fifth House on the
Left).
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In
First-Hand
Experience, Eugene and Bernard begin their roadtrip near a city
called Cleveland. However, there is not enough evidence to prove which
Cleveland the episode refers to. (There are several cities named
Cleveland in the United States.)
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Jason Whittaker makes a phone call in
A Name, Not a Number
and mentions that it will take him a couple days to drive from Phoenix
(Arizona) to Odyssey. Now what is Jason's interpretation of the phrase,
a couple?
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In
Unto Us a Child Is Born,
Katrina Shanks Meltsner mentions that she will be making the drive to
Chicago to be with her family during their Christmas Day brunch. This
downside is that she has to leave early enough Christmas Day to be there
on time for it. On the other hand, she lives close enough to Chicago
that she can make the trip and be at her destination all on the same
day.
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Carl Ross tells Jack Allen the story of
the Underground Railroad and establishes that it takes place in the
"southern United States." Also, the ultimate destination of the
sojourners is in the north. It can be assumed that Odyssey is in one of
the northern states. (The
Underground Railroad)
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Erica Clark learns in
Rewards in Full that
it is illegal in their state to ride a bike without a helmet. No wonder
we've seen illustrations of Odyssey kids wearing helmets on older
editions of Adventures in Odyssey cover artwork.
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In
Angels Unaware,
Odyssey resident Alma Stump is interviewed for the local Odyssey news.
She reveals that she grows strawberries and raspberries. Interestingly,
strawberries tend to not grow very well anywhere south of Missouri. This
could indicate that Odyssey may be located in a northern state such as
Minnisota (raspberries grow very well there), Illinois, North Dakota, or
Ohio. However, we only eliminate states as Odyssey's location based on
specific mentions of characters only. Yet, details matter!
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A writer named Mark Herring bicycles
across the United States in
Best Face Forward and
stops at Whit's End.
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In
New Year's Eve
Live!, Harlow Doyle accidentally gets on a bus headed to
Chicago shortly before midnight. When he asks the bus driver
what time they will arrive, the driver says "around 8:30
tomorrow morning." Therefore, Odyssey has to be located
somewhere that the trip to Chicago takes 8 1/2 hours or slightly
longer by bus.
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A woman named Alice refers to the camp
where she met Timmy Riley as being "out west" (Passages:
Fletcher's Rebellion). This indicates that Odyssey is planted within
one of the eastern states.
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The Barclay family flies to the New
England states to visit, and ultimately move to, Pokenberry Falls, in
Pokenberry Falls, R.F.D.
Edwin Blackgaard later says that he and Walter Shakespeare will be
touring New England in The Taming of the Two. It can be assumed the Odyssey resides outside
of the cluster of states in New England.
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Alex Jefferson claims that he, Mandy
Straussberg, and Cal Jordan will fight them [the Bones of Wrath] "on our
beaches." Cal, taking his comment literally, corrects him and tells him
that Odyssey doesn't have any beaches. (Snow
Day) Thus, Odyssey is landlocked. But does the state have beaches?
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Jack and Joanne often take
business trips to Chicago, as revealed in
Plan B II -
Collision Course. In this case, they flew to Chicago.
Jack arrives at his meeting with Arthur Dent, scheduled for 5:30 PM.
Meanwhile, back in Odyssey, Connie meets AREM online at 5:45 PM and
receives a report at 5:50 PM. Then, in Chicago, Arthur Dent arrives late
at his 5:30 meeting with Jack Allen. It can be assumed, based on the
unfolding events in this episode, that Odyssey is located in the same
time zone as Chicago.
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Upon arriving home from her road trip with
Joanne Allen, Connie is greeted by a warm embrace from her mother and a
brief reminder that she traveled 1,000 miles to Washington D.C. In other
words, Odyssey is located at least 1,000 miles away from D.C. Either
that, or June Kendall threw a number out there. (Eggshells)
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A city named Odenton is located near
Odyssey, as revealed in The Black Veil.
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Malcolm Lear states in
The Taming of the Two
that Odyssey is in the "less illness-bound area of the country." Chew up
the meat and spit out the bones on this statement. Last time we checked,
even Whit gets sick and needs Connie to deliver an occasional bowl of
chicken soup (Bad Company).
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Whit claims that daisies can be seen
around the entire state in which Odyssey is located. (True
Calling)
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In
Odyssey Sings!, a
producer from a national hit television show, America Sings, is
trying to decide where to take the show on tour. He throws a dart and
hits the town of Odyssey on a map, determining where to go next.
However, no clues are provided to indicate where in the country Odyssey
is.
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A girl named Lindsay travels 500 miles to
intern at Whit's End in Best of Enemies, but she doesn't say where she is from. However, we
do know that she has taken a bus.
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A city named Greensburg is located near
Odyssey, as revealed in The Other Side of the Glass.
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In
A Capsule Comes to Town,
it is explicitly stated that Odyssey is "a small, mid-western town."
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State Senator Hoines makes a visit to
Odyssey in License to
Deprive. Unfortunately, he is not a senator in real life or we would
know exactly which state's senator he is... and where Odyssey is, too!
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In the special audio release of
Passages: Darien's Rise,
John Avery Whittaker reads the manuscript titled, "The
Chronicles of the Chosen" about a mysterious world named Marus.
At one point, Anna, one of two main child characters, catches a
first glimpse of a room in Marus: "It reminded her of a room in
her great grandfather's house. He was the governor of a
neighboring state." However, not enough evidence is provided to
tell us where Odyssey is or isn't. Let's call it a good teaser
for avid fans.
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In
For the Birds,
Eugene mentions hearing a western meadowlark along with a few other
species of birds. Later in the episode, the Parker family finds a baby
blue jay, indicating that this episode takes place during the birds'
breeding season. The only states listed as possible places for Odyssey
that also have western meadowlarks in the breeding season are Illinois,
Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota and Wyoming. This would exclude the
states of Alabama, Delaware, Georgia, Louisiana, Ohio, Rhode Island and
South Carolina as possible locations for Odyssey. However, we only
eliminate Odyssey's locations in states when characters specifically
mention them in a way that eliminates them as being Odyssey's location.
Sometimes, however, the devil is in the details!
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A talking painting of Frederick Douglass
in the Whit's End Gallery tells the story of the Jubilee Singers and
references "the South." It can be deduced that Odyssey is in one of the
northern states. (The
Jubilee Singers)
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In
Between the Lines,
Jason Whittaker travels to Richland, a town about an hour away over the
state line. Richland is referenced multiple times on Adventures in
Odyssey.
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If we were going by the Adventures in
Odyssey video series as our guide to Odyssey's location, one could
make some assumptions based on A Flight to the Finish. During the
scene in which Holly's cat is instigating Dylan's dog, Sherman, a fight
ensues, followed by an explosion. During the explosion, the animation
zooms out to a map of the united states, revealing the Odyssey truly is
located in the mid-western United States. Yet, it is still unclear as to
which state this explosion occurs. This would narrow it down quite a bit
if we used this scene as gospel. It's a fun scene, but we're not willing
to sign off on it based on the animated series.
