How is Odyssey a small town

[JD]

How is Odyssey a small town they had have several Villains a company trying to take over the world, a writer of a popular comic book, a owner of a encyclopedia company. and thats only a few i will post some other reasons why Odyssey isn't a small town but do u think Odyssey is a Small Town .

[Trent DeWhite]

I've always thought of Odyssey as a small town that just so happens to have had some very influential characters in it.

[Angel]

Yes, I have often thought of this myself. I even mentioned this in my interview. It's amazing how so much happens in Odyssey. You'd think they should be in the heart of a city or something. But then again, all those characters that you mentioned (and others that you didn't) are very humble about their successes. Which, is the reason why people haven't moved into the town to see all these amazing people.

Let's look at Whit and Wooton.

Not everyone (most of the kids) knew that Whit owned an encyclopedia company. They had to ask him about it, and get him to tell them about it, he doesn't just say it right out to anyone.

Only a few choice people know that Wooton is the creator of the comic. Which, is because he doesn't want everyone to know.

If these characters were to tell everyone about their great accomplishments, I'm sure Odyssey would be a much more popular place.

[J-man]

I guess maybe it might seem small townish to people who live in a city, but it sure doesn't seem small to me. Doesn't the original official guide say that Odyssey has 34,000 people? That's not what I call a small town..

[JD]

But if you listen to Rights, Wrongs, And Winners if you haven't heard it don't read the TINY so just a warning SPOILEReverone knows he writes it know And beside what about all of those Villains.

[King Butter Turtle]

This is a very debatable/debated topic. It is probably the number one way Adventures in Odyssey is unrealistic. When they need it to seem like a small town, they make it seem like a small town. When they need it to seem like a larger city, they make it seem like a larger city. (much like how the busyness of Whit's End depends on the sceene) I think a common complaint of the NovaCom saga is that it's too big for Odyssey. Also it has changed over the years. In the early days of Odyssey, it was very much a small town, there wasn't any question about it, but in modern episodes, Odyssey seems to be a city. The population of thirty four thousand doesn't prove anything though. It's all based on location. For example; Juneau, Alaska (the capital and third largest city in the state) has a population of about twenty-five thousand but is looked upon as a big city because there's no other city close to it's size near it. While, Wall Township, New Jersey has about the same population, it is thought of as a small town because it's in a densly populated area and there are much larger cities within driving distance. We don't know if Odyssey is a suberb of Clevland or out in rural southern Indiana.There is definetly evidence to back up both sides though.
list of things Odyssey has that resemble a big city;
airport
shopping mall
quite a few schools
several radio stations
at least one TV station
a hospital, animal hospital and veteran's hospital
at least two senior living centers (counting Hillingdale Haven, which might go under hospitals)
more than one little league team (that shows how it has changed, it used to just be the coyotes, now we have the panthers)
speedy package express
Campbell County Community College
Golden Glass company
four newspapers (including a tabloit)
two summer camps/retreat centers
Andromada
FBI
NSA
Many villans
NovaCom
the chairman of an encyclopedia company
the writer of a succesfull comic book series
CITY council
10 computer stores
a lot of contruction/demolition going on at any given time (The Perfect Witness)
The crowd of people waiting for Whit's End to open when they first find out about NovaCom
(there's more)
list of things Odyssey has that resemble a small town;
not too many (if any) chain stores
everbody knows everbody
Main street
all things trace back to Whit's End
one library
The mayor is not a celebrity
500 signatures on a petition is enough to justify a town vote
a pallet of lunch boxes is enough to give one to each kid in Odyssey
As I made these lists I found it a lot harder to find things that resembled a small town than a big city and the city list is significantly larger, so maybe I didn't prove my point very well, but it being a big city is a matter of proof and what they have where as it being a small town is just the feel so it would naturally be harder to make that list.
(If people like this post maybe I'll publish it as a book, it's certanly long enough.)

[Boswell]

Maybe to the people in Colorado Springs or Pomona Odyssey is a small town. But when the Washingtons moved across town to shave half-an-hour off Ed's commute time, that tells me that it's NOT a small town at all, unless it's just a very spread-out town.

I prefer to think of it as around the population 10,000 mark. Anything bigger than that isn't a small town at all.

[Mrs Jason Whittaker]

First of all, it does depend on where you're from as to what constitutes a small town. I live in a city of almost 3 million, so it doesn't take much to convince me that Odyssey is a small town.

Normally I campare Odyssey to my hometown, a town of 25,000. Generally, this would be considered a small town. It might seem big if you're from a smaller town, but just about every person in my hometown would agree that 25,000 is small.

Regarding King Butter Turtle's list:
Almost everything you listed as traits of a "big city" are in my little hometown--

The only thing we don't have that you listed:
a TV station (but we do have 4 radio stations)
Speedy Package Express (though this is the Odyssey version of UPS or FedEx, both of which are in my little town)
Golden Glass, Andromeda, NovaCom (my hometown does have several local companies--a billboard company, a steel plant, a trucking company, etc.)
four newspapers (we only have one) -- But does Odyssey have 4 papers? Unless you're counting the school newspapers, in that case my hometown has at least 4 papers
FBI, NSA -- these aren't actually in Odyssey, some of their agents have lived in Odyssey
Villians -- those aren't really in big towns, either, they are for the sake of the fictional plot
the owner of an encyclopedia company -- Whit isn't the owner, he's the chairman, and keep in mind the Universal Press Foundation is located in Chicago (the town of almost 3 million)

Most of those things don't neccessarily mean it's a big town. The fact that there's only one or two of each type of business is really what makes it seem like a small town. Basically, when we see businesses in Odyssey competing, it's only between two. In a big town you have 50 similar businesses competing, and they all have plenty of customers.

As far as the great number of "famous" or influential people we see coming from Odyssey there are two reasons:
1. Small towns make a big deal about any famous person they have. In a big city, it's just not that big of a deal.
2. As listeners, we have a very narrow perspective of the people of Odyssey, there may be just as many famous people from Connellsville or Odenton, but we don't hear about them because the show is about Odyssey and its people.

[King Butter Turtle]

Yes, I counted school newspapers, but still they have two not-school newspapers. I'm not sure about the FBI, but I'm pretty sure the NSA has an office in Odyssey. Wasn't there a time when Jason was working for them and lived in Odyssey? Good point about Universal press though, I changed my list.

P.S. Mable, What town are you from that has 10 somputer stores and an airport? The reason I ask is that I know your from NE and so am I.

[Reddo]

I'm from a town of about 1750 people so i've always though of Odyssey as rather large

[Mrs Jason Whittaker]

P.S. Mable, What town are you from that has 10 somputer stores and an airport? The reason I ask is that I know your from NE and so am I.

I'm from Norfolk. We sometimes like to pretend that it's a big town, but the truth is: it's small.

OK, so I was stretching it a little with the airport. Norfolk has an airport, but it's not really for commercial flights, more for private planes to fuel up, etc. Not exactly the Odyssey airport we see pictured in "Gone..."
http://www.norfolkairportservices.com/

I thought I might have exaggerated about the 10 computer stores, but google shows there are at least ten in town. And that's not counting places like OfficeMax and Radio Shack that would have computer parts and expertise.
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl

[Smaug the Dragon]

My town is fairly small, about 3,000 people, but I've always thought of Odyssey as being small.

Maybe to the people in Colorado Springs or Pomona Odyssey is a small town. But when the Washingtons moved across town to shave half-an-hour off Ed's commute time, that tells me that it's NOT a small town at all, unless it's just a very spread-out town.

There could be a lot of traffic. It takes about 20 minutes to drive across my town and, like I said, it's farily small.

[JD]

i guess Odyssey could be a small town to some more than others i use to think Odyssey was like where i live the newest building we have had was a ice cream shop and it was built like 2-3 yrs ago. and also we have a parade every yr and Odyssey has a couple like the one's i can think of off the top of my head would be the sixties parade in Sixties-Something and the one from the cover of Vol. 50.

[King Butter Turtle]

P.S. Mable, What town are you from that has 10 somputer stores and an airport? The reason I ask is that I know your from NE and so am I.

I'm from Norfolk. We sometimes like to pretend that it's a big town, but the truth is: it's small

Norfolk is not a small town!

[Amethystic]

I think that Odyssey has about 10,000 people.

[Mrs Jason Whittaker]

Norfolk is not a small town!

Oh, yes it is!!!

It may not be a small town compared to the rest of Nebraska, but it certainly is compared to the rest of the country!

There's a difference between a small town and a rural town. If you think Norfolk is big, you may be thinking of a rural town.

[Over the Rainbow]

Early in the series, Odyssey felt like a small town where mostly everybody knew everyone else and in some way, had a connection with about everyone in town.

However, as the series progressed, it feels as though the town is growing more and more, both in population and size. Judging by the description of the town, I think it currently has a population of 15,000.

[Jessicado]

While Odyssey is supposed to be a small town...it simply isn't. Odyssey has an airport (enough said right there). They have at least 3 electronic stores. The school is large enough to have 2 newspapers, while many small schools can barely keep one up. The town is large enough to have not only a normal newspaper, but a tabloid newspaper as well, plus as a shock jock--which again are not found in small towns. It has an actual mall, complete with specialty stores that sell only one item such as pianos.

I grew up in a small town of 1000, and there is no way that all of these businesses could survive. Basically all of the businesses in my hometown struggled to survive. Main street was a joke. I have also lived in a town of 20,000 and our "mall" had a few clothing stores, Sears, etc, but there is again no way a specialty store like a Piano store could survive. And an aiport? Ha! The additional businesses in Odyssey simply require a larger demographic that a small town could supply.

I understand it is supposed to be a small town, because a cute quaint town where everyone knows eachother is much better for us to imagine Odyssey (and how I would like to picture it personally), but the added elements of Odyssey that have acquired over the years as storylines have needed has built up a city...not a town.

[JD]

well the Electric Palace is a Chain store. And i live in a small town and people r still talking about the pothole that was filled on Main Street jk.

[jelly]

ha ha i totaly see that lol. that's exactly where i live, the kind of small town where the biggest event is that a sign got blown down last week.
we have like, 40 people living here. that's a small town. maybe it's just in light of where we live that i've always laughed at the idea of odyssey being a small town.