Strange Maps
A special series by Frank Jacobs.
Frank has been writing about strange maps since 2006, published a book on the subject in 2009 and joined Big Think in 2010. Readers send in new material daily, and he keeps bumping in to cartography that is delightfully obscure, amazingly beautiful, shockingly partisan, and more. "Each map tells a story, but the stories told by your standard atlas for school or reference are limited and literal: they show only the most practical side of the world, its geography and its political divisions. Strange Maps aims to collect and comment on maps that do everything but that - maps that show the world from a different angle."
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All Stories
This shell is not just a symbol, but also a map
Scallop shells have accompanied pilgrims to and from Santiago de Compostela for centuries, for more than one reason
One ship in two centuries: the strange tale of the SS Warrimoo
On New Year's Eve 1899, the captain of this Pacific steamliner sailed into history. Or did he?
Map of global emotions shows the world is more stressed out than ever
If you want to escape the negativity, head to Kazakhstan.
America’s early love affair with Antiquity still shows on this map
There are nearly 100 towns named "Troy."
Nuke maps show what a nuclear bomb would do to your city
Total annihilation is a permanent threat.
Step aside, Dutch people. Montenegro is the tallest nation on Earth
Thanks to genetics and improving nutrition, denizens of the Western Balkans have surpassed the Dutch in height.
Europe’s dry rivers reveal creepy “hunger stones”
"When you see me, weep." When rivers dry up in Central Europe, "hunger stones" with ominous inscribed warnings from centuries past reappear.
To learn psychogeography, take a strange, circular walk around London
Break into London Zoo? Illegal, but it would improve the London Circle Walk
Which alt-fuel is right for you? That depends on where you live
EV charging stations are the most widespread alternative to gas and diesel pumps. Each alternative has its own hotspots and "deserts."
Turns out most famous people aren’t that famous at all
An interactive “globe of notability” shows the curious correspondences and the strange landscape of global fame.
How Europe’s newest bridge unites (and divides) the Balkans
A new bridge joins a divided Croatia, but it cuts Bosnia out of Europe — literally and figuratively. A bridge meant to unite also divides.
Umami: You never say its name, yet you taste it every day
Sweet, bitter, salty, sour. These are the four basic tastes we were taught in grade school. But there is a fifth: umami. And it's everywhere.
Bus driver, magician, terrorist, and other “first jobs” of world leaders
"Politics is weird. It’s the only business in the world in which you take a really, really important position, and you give it to someone with no qualifications." —Tony Blair
Fernanda, the Galápagos tortoise that came back from the dead
Genetic analysis reveals that a specimen collected in 2019 is the same subspecies as one caught more than a century earlier.
No, the Yellowstone supervolcano is not “overdue” for an eruption
Here's why mega-eruptions like the ones that covered North America in ash are the least of your worries.
The loneliest roads in America
If you find yourself on one of these roads, it might be a while before you see another fellow traveler.
Lol, jaja, xaxa, and all the other ways people laugh around the world
This world map shows how the rest of the world LOLs. In France, you MDR; in China, you 23333.
What do entrepreneurs dream about in Czechia? A world map of start-up ambitions
In New Zealand, ambitious Kiwis want to launch a lawn mowing business; in South Africa, it's cooking gas refills. Start-up dreams vary widely.
On tiny Hans Island, Denmark and Canada create world’s newest land border
A dispute marked by flags and booze has been replaced with an official land border.
Why 21 severed human feet washed ashore in Canada and the U.S.
The weirdest thing about the 21 feet found near Vancouver since 2007? Foul play has been ruled out.
World map reveals wind and solar power winners (and losers)
Best in class: Denmark and Uruguay. Worst in class: Papua New Guinea, Venezuela, and Russia.
U.S. road deaths far outnumber those in Europe. Why?
Wyoming's roads are nine times deadlier than Ireland's. California's road safety is on par with Romania's.
If the ancient Romans had Google Maps
OmnesViae is a modern route planner based on the roads of the Roman Empire.
25-26° N: the world’s most perilously populated parallel
In 100 years, perhaps this map showing humanity clustering around the equator will seem “so 21st century.”
The strange plan to fight nuclear bombs with giant rubber fortresses
Cold War meets Star Wars in this cut-away of a 1950 “rubber bubble,” the first line of defense against nuclear sneak attack.
Russia’s embassies are being relocated to “Ukraine Street”
Diplomacy is war by other means.
This map shows all 39 U.S. Presidential gravesites
Presidential gravesites are spread out “democratically” — but this is more by accident than design.
Satirical cartography: a century of American humor in twisted maps
Satire and an inflated sense of self-importance collide in a series of maps that goes back more than 100 years in American history.
How Njoya the Great put his African kingdom on the map
This representation of the Bamum kingdom is a rare example of early 20th-century indigenous African cartography.
Maps of Great Lakes shipwrecks detail one of North America’s biggest graveyards
There have been some 6,000 Great Lakes shipwrecks, which have claimed an estimated 30,000 lives. These maps show some of them.