h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

A scientist once remarked that the lights of civilisation when viewed from an airliner at night look remarkably similar to colonies of bacteria growing on agar in a petridish. Fu-Manchu cannot recall the name of this scientist, but his remarks must have been reported by New Scientist many years ago.

Pilots flying over the Tall Grass Prairie Preserve refer to it as the Black Hole because it is almost uninhabited by humans. A few persons live on holdings within scope of the Preserve and there is a resident at the headquarters area. Other than that, the only inhabitants are bison and other wildlife. Fireflies emit light, but not enough to be seen far away.