A viral photo shows Australia smoldering like a piece of charcoal about to ignite. The composite image shows all fires over an entire month, which is not the same as all fires raging at the same time. That’s not to say the devastation isn’t …
Year: 2020
One map to translate them all
Google lets you translate text into one language at a time. This translator shows you one word in all languages – on one handy map. It’s simple, instructive, and fun (a.k.a. móka, Spaß and zábava). Whose booze? The optimist expects the best, …
Cyclist draws festive reindeer on map of London
Anthony Hoyte practises ‘Strava art’ – he uses the fitness app to draw pictures on maps. Two years ago, he started drawing festive images for the Christmas season. This year’s effort, a giant reindeer sprawled across London, took 9 h…
‘Squeaky Curtain’ divides Europe’s Eastern and Western mice
The house mouse diverged into two subspecies depending on which humans they followed. The Western and Eastern European house mice can interbreed, but the results are, well, mixed. The continent remains divided between Eastern and Western mice except for…
Gravity is not uniform. It varies geographically.
The law of gravity may be universal, gravity itself varies considerably across the earth. Most factors can be mathematically accounted for; local geology is the odd one out. Bouguer gravity anomaly maps like these show regional gravitational variation. …
Two-thirds of U.S. students attend diverse schools
In 2020, there will be more children of color than white children in the U.S. These maps indicate how racial diversity is changing the demographics of America’s schools Diversity has massively increased, but more so in the south and on the coasts …
These 9 U.S. biodiversity hotspots urgently need protection
Biodiversity is essential for ecosystems – and humanity – to survive These maps show the diversity of biodiversity itself: the hotspots are all over the place Compounding U.S. biodiversity data produces a list of 9 ‘Recommended Priority Areas&…
‘The West’ is, in fact, the world’s biggest gated community
Trump’s border wall is only one puzzle piece of a global picture. Similar anxieties are raising similar border defenses elsewhere. This map shows how, as a result, “the West” is in fact one large gated community. World-wide fence This …
Greater Adria, a lost continent hiding in plain sight
Following a 10-year survey, geologists discover a lost continent in the Mediterranean. ‘Greater Adria’ existed for 100 million years, and was probably “great for scuba diving”. Most of it has been swallowed up by Earth’s ma…
Behold Sicily’s Mount Etna — its volcanic summit is the world’s only decipoint
For millennia, Etna has been Europe’s most active volcano. The Sicilian mountain is also the world’s only decipoint. Ten municipalities meet at its summit — at least on a map. Geological hotspot Mount Etna, in eastern Sicily, almost never …
The utopian 1920s scheme for five global superstates
Unity is strength: This 1920s map divides the world among just five superstates. The map was produced by count Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi, who devoted his life to European unity. This utopian map may have inspired George Orwell’s dystopian wor…
7 Russian museums that uploaded huge collections online
One of the biggest and most famous museums in the world is impossible to tackle in one visit, even if you spend the whole day there. So, instead of trying to, take a “walk” down its seemingly endless halls step by step with the Google Art project gu…
Brighton And Rottingdean Seashore Electric Railway
Two children looking up at the car of the Brighton and Rottingdean Seashore Electric Railway. Photo: Hemmings Motor News For five years towards the end of the 19th century, there was a peculiar seashore attraction at Brighton, on England’s south coast…
Peter’s Café Sport: The Post Office in The Middle of The Atlantic
The Azores in the North Atlantic is one of the most remote archipelago in the world. Situated about 1,500 km from the west coast of Portugal, their location almost mid-way between North America and Europe, makes them an ideal stopover for yachts crossin…
Australia bushfires unearth a 6,600-year-old Indigenous fish-trapping system
The Australian bushfires have unearthed parts of a 6,600-year-old indigenous fish-trapping system in southwest Victoria. Flames swept through the state earlier in the season, unveiling new sections of the structure previously hidden by vegetation in the…
Which are the oldest cities in the world?
Of all the sorts of travel available these days – slow, fast, staycation, voluntourism, and the rest – there remains one format all but out of reach. Time travel. It will likely never be possible in the HG Wells sense – turning back …
The Million Yen Temple Experience: Kyoto’s Ninnaji
In the spring of 2018, the Kyoto temple Ninnaji announced its entry into the tourist lodging industry with a single, and singularly expensive, plan: a ¥1 million per night package. Targeting mainly affluent tourists from abroad, the plan accommodates o…
Russia’s mysterious ‘City of the Dead’
Just outside the remote Russian village of Dargavs lies a medieval necropolis fittingly called the “City of the Dead”. This ancient burial ground holds the remains of more than 10,000 people – many of whom lie eternally with their clothes and belo…
Love Le Corbusier? Now you can build like him—out of paper
Chandigarh, India, is a city known for its clean streets, green spaces, and numerous monuments. One sculpture, an 85-foot-tall symbol known as “Open Hand,” was designed by Swiss-French architect, designer, and urban planner Le Corbusier. The pioneer…
Kisumu woos tourists for Unesco-listed Kit Mikayi rock
The Kisumu administration has begun a campaign to market the Kit Mikayi rock, which received the Unesco world heritage site status in December last year. Kisumu Governor Anyang’ Nyong’o announced Kit Mikayi’s listing as a world cultu…