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."
featured
U.S. vs. Canada: five modern-day territorial disputes
All of these conflicts have a long history. They may also have a long future.
Did dark magic conjure up the British Empire?
Esoteric evidence points to a ritual performed by Queen Elizabeth's court magician John Dee.
Europe’s oldest map shows tiny Bronze Age kingdom
Discovered in 1900, the Saint-Bélec slab languished unrecognized in a castle basement for over a century.
Peak foliage map: where and when are leaves changing color?
Starting just about now, leaves start changing color from north to south, high to low, light to dark.
German street names still echo Nazi, Communist, and even Roman past
Even 1500 years after the fall of Rome, its western border can still be seen on German street maps.
Does Tristan da Cunha have the world’s weirdest place names?
The world's most isolated inhabited island also has some of the world's strangest toponyms.
Cyclist draws festive reindeer on map of London
Giant Christmas image took 80 miles and nine hours to make
London’s a shallow Christian sea with islands of other faiths
Although London is predominantly Christian, this map shows an archipelago of different faiths throughout the city.
Highest resolution of any continent: A stunning new map of Antarctica
Not so long ago, we had better maps of Mars than of Antarctica. Now, Antarctica is the best-mapped continent in the world.
Does this world map finally tell the truth (or just lie a little less)?
Three scientists have produced a map of the world which accurately reflects the size of all the continents. They're calling the Equal Earth Projection.
In 1921, Canada developed a secret plan to invade the U.S.
America's fear of an Anglo-Japanese alliance led Canada to worry about a U.S. attack—and in the end, devise a scheme for a 'pre-emptive invasion' of its southern neighbor.
Dutch Golden Age wasn’t all that Dutch
By the late 18th century, up to 70% of the soldiers manning the ships of the Dutch East India Company came from outside the Netherlands
China and Europe stand out on world map of atheism
Faith is in retreat, atheism is on the march. But only in China does a majority positively state they don’t believe in God.
Huge color-coded map shows the world’s most ancient and recent borders
No international borders, no international order—and yet, most land borders are not very old: more than half were drawn after 1900.
These maps show how much range America’s wild animals have lost
These maps offer a glimpse of what’s been lost – or rather, destroyed – by previous generations.
A man, a van, a GPS tracker: This Brit is writing ‘STOP BREXIT’ across Europe
Englishman Andy Pardy is traveling 18,000 miles (30,000 km) across Europe this summer to make a continent-sized political statement
Just 10 streams carry 95% of all river-borne plastic into the ocean
Just ten rivers are responsible for up to 95% of all river-borne plastic trash that ends up in the sea. Silver lining: cleaning them up would have a huge positive impact.
The U.S. is Cow Country, and other lessons from this land use map
America's corn syrup fields are big enough to cover all its airports and railroads, and other surprising lessons from a 'tidied-up' map of America's land use zones
Turkish province wants its borders to look like Batman logo
More than 20,000 people have signed a petition for Batman, one of Turkey's 81 provinces, to be re-shaped so its borders resemble the Bat-Signal.
Sierra Leone is the world’s roundest country (and Egypt the squarest one)
Mind-boggling as it is, some of the world's roundest countries are also some of the most rectangular ones.
Meet the joke party that wants to ‘Make Hungary Smaller Again’
Hungary's Two-Tailed Dog Party campaigns on an 'anti-anti-immigration platform, with slogans such as: “Sorry about our Prime Minister”, and “Feel free to come to Hungary, we already work in England anyway!”
Street grids matter more to your commute than you might think
Simple diagrams reflect straightforward grids that make navigation easy. Complex diagrams equal ‘messy’ street grids, making it harder to find your way.
How Asia is pivoting away from the U.S.
The current U.S. Administration seems happier to pursue fleeting photo ops with strongmen than to cultivate long-standing alliances. Where does that leave American influence in Asia?
The multiculturalism of World Cup teams
The fans supporting their teams at the World Cup in Russia are overwhelmingly white. Their teams? Not so much.
Why Danes are so eager to fly the nest (and Slovaks aren’t)
Virtually all young Danes have left the parental home by the time they're 34. Yet in Slovakia, almost 57% of young adults still reside in the Hotel of Mum and Dad.
UK heatwave reveals unknown archaeology sites
The heatwave scorching Britain is revealing the outline of ancient buildings – some previously unknown to archaeologists
Travel the world without ever leaving Maine
There's a reason why all the world seems to be hiding within the borders of Maine.
Despite what Trump suggests, America still is an export superpower
America is the world's #2 exporter - and that makes trade wars everything but "good and easy to win"
Map identifies 1,700 public memorials to the Confederacy
Three years after the Charleston massacre, the 'Lost Cause' is still honoured throughout the South – and beyond
France has just one Riviera, but 36 coasts
Name one French coastline. Great. Now name another. Can't? Here are all 36.