First of all, this is not an article about the True Size of the snake in my pants … which would be a very short article, indeed.
It’s about one of the coolest and most fun web sites I have been on in a very very long time. It’s about interactive maps.
If you don’t give a longitudinal flip about maps, then stop reading. But, I LOVE maps! Even did a Map Pictorial Essay a couple months ago; 150+ responses, so I’m guessing y’all love maps too. You folks will greatly enjoy this web site!!
I found it this morning as the result of replying to poster “Dan_of_Reason” regarding why Greenland looks so yuuuge on a map when, in fact, it’s not that big at all.
The reason is because two-dimensional maps flatten the globe by straightening the meridians (the imaginary lines encircling the globe and passing through both poles) and parallels (which run perpendicular to the meridians) … which is not so great for representing size and distance because the scale increases from the equator and becomes infinite at the poles.
Huh? What? That’s some boring shit there, Maynard.
What’s not boring is when you SEE what is happening. That’s why the Interactive Map is so much fun!
===========
It is incredibly easy to use.
–1) Enter a country name in the box. The country is then highlighted.
–2) Drag it anywhere on the globe, and watch it change size! That’s it!
When you right click, the country disappears. But, you can compare multiple countries simultaneously. Just keep typing in country names. That’s when the real fun starts. For example, I picked as many countries as I could to fit into Africa. I stopped at about 50 countries … Africa is really really huge.
Countries are their actual size (in terms of map representation) at the equator, and get bigger the closer you get to the poles. So, to compare any two countries, it’s best to drag them to the poles … and then drag them on top of each other. You can also zoom in and out to get very granular or overall perspectives, respectively.
Ok, I’m done. Just go use it! It’s just such an amazing tool. Hope you have as much fun as I did. And if you do have fun, and discover something interesting you did not know before …. share it with us.
THE END.
Stucky,
True size is very good. I tried Antarctica and that country is large. It does not look that big because it goes all the way around the south pole.
Huh! That’s what I’m talking about. I didn’t even consider playing around with Antarctica.
Yeah, it is big. Just about the same as the combined size of USA, India, France, and Germany. Never realized that ….
Antarctica is a continent … in fact, no countries are constituted within it …
Funny, you hate charts but love maps. Maybe find a fun website that explains charts!
Dammit Stucky, I LOVE looking at maps. Now I am not going to get anything done today!
It zooms in on little country roads. That’s a little scary.
I use mapquest satellite view to search for county roads around me to find new ways to get around
Missouri DOT has these for free. We printed several counties including ours at a print and ship store. We had to blow them up a bit to make them useful. Much more useful if the internet is down or you don’t want to be on the internet. See if your state DOT has something like this.
https://www.modot.org/county-maps
Stucky, I’m not into everything like this that you post but, I think it is a great contribution.
I’ll contribute by adding this mapping site. I think it could be quite useful to some TBPers.
https://www.indexmundi.com/facts/united-states/quick-facts/tennessee/black-population-percentage#map
Happy New Year!!
Glock – I like your map and it does have some very interesting breakdowns.
yes, this is a fun map, glad I have nothing to do today at work today.
so, state of NY is much bigger than UK,
but populations wise:
NY=20 million
UK=60 million
they are stuffed in like cockroaches over in EU land, no wonder everyone hates it over there.
Size does mater, especially when talking about POPULATION.