There's an argument to be made that France's natural geography make for some of the best borders. Well, except for that one giant chink in the armor.
I had already, in my heart, given up on Google. It's just not worth it. Let me outline the reasons.
The oceans cover around 70% of the Earth's surface. What would the topography of Earth look like then if we drained our planet of all that water?
The United States is the largest consumer of coffee in the world, but the location of the biggest coffee chains differ greatly depending on which part of the country you're in.
It's never been easy to design a map of the city's underground transit network. But soon, critics say, legibility concerns will demand a new look.
Google Maps looks different based on your location due to disputed borders and other complicated diplomatic issues.
The level of taxation is surprisingly uneven across the country, so if taxation is an important factor in your decision-making about where to live, here is a graph that ranks the best and worst states for taxes.
When it comes to English-speaking countries, the popular conception is that Smith is the most common last name, but is that conception really true?
In this interactive feature, we look at the retail outlay for six of America's coffee chains.
Some states require over $1 million in savings to retire comfortably, while some states require much less.
If you've ever lived in or driven through a sparsely populated rural area, you've probably thought of it as "the middle of nowhere." But it was likely far from being truly remote, in the grand scheme of things.
Cyclist Davis Vilums got tried of always biking down the same streets, so he embarked on an ambitious project to cycle through every street in London.
Frisland never existed, however, cartographers believed that the island was real because of a map published in 1558 known as the Zeno map.
Here's how airline flight maps have evolved over the past century, from exoticizing to stylish to more basic.
Beautiful and insightful, the illustrations of the German naturalist helped shape a new understanding of the world
As a child, I loved the fantastical lands from "The Phantom Tollbooth." As a troubled college student, I used them as a roadmap to self-acceptance.
Instead of laughing at how dumb people are, we're going to take a different tact — this illustrates how key orientation can be in the human brain recognizing and processing information. Ok, fine. Some of these people are dumb.
A large swathe of the country doesn't have the luxury of seven hours of sleep at night.
"Washington, DC will feel more like the middle of Mississippi."
There are many regions where the networks of roads are incredibly long and dense. Turns out a great part of the west is not one of them.
The red dots indicate photographs taken by tourists, while the blue dots show images taken by local residents.
A century before Einstein radicalized science by exposing the single entity of spacetime as the elemental fabric of the universe, Emma Hart Willard depicted space and time in a unified image in her work.
Greenland and Africa are not the same size. Not by a long shot.
When I think of Apple Maps, no matter how improved they might be, all it does is remind me of Bing — an also-ran that can never catch up to Google.
Instead of calling countries names like "Canada" and "Spain," let's just call it as it is and refer to them as "The Village" and "Land of Many Rabbits."
They are not bridge-and-tunnel North Jerseyans. They are not cheesesteak-eating Philadelphians from South Jersey. So what exactly are they?
It's a project that seems like it could be greatly helpful not only for hikers but also for search and rescue teams.
Our unshakeable faith in maps — digital or otherwise — has its roots in the cartographic revolution.
Who's the most famous person (or at least the person with the most Wikipedia traffic) from your hometown? This extremely detailed map from The Pudding has your answer.
Who's the most famous person (or at least the person with the most Wikipedia traffic) from your hometown? This extremely detailed map from The Pudding has your answer.
It's a big world out there and as you can see, not every country and place is evenly populated.
Beyond simply showing where passengers could fly, route maps made travel look easy, appealing and luxurious. Geographic barriers? Long distances? No problem. Sit back and enjoy this complimentary beverage while fantasizing about your next journey.
A quick-witted explanation of the long and winding history of trap streets and other deliberately incorrect map features.
They're both important global metropolises, but if you thought the two were comparable in size, you'd been dead wrong.
It's fascinating to see how geological formations from 100 million years ago can hold effect on the politics of today.
Now you finally know why they call it The Great Plains.
Many of these communities are in places like the Bay Area and other cities with very high costs. At the county level, high housing burdens also stand out in rural parts of the South and California.
Since the end of the great recession, home prices in America have rebounded substantially. This is great news for homeowners whose homes may be worth more than their pre-recession values, but less great news for homebuyers who can afford less house for the dollar.
Epidemic Tracker lets you see the latest outbreaks of diseases that might pose as health risks across the globe.
After you're done visiting "Bear Lean," you might want to check out "Pa Ree" and "I'm Stir Dumb."
No, we're not talking about those contentious, controversial places in China, like Taiwan or Tibet. We're talking about an active decision by the Chinese government to make all maps inaccurate.
If your bracket is busted, you might as well keep things close to home.
Created around 1300, it is the largest surviving map from the Middle Ages and offers a glimpse into the mindset of the ancient Christian world.
When the earthquake begins the ripple will continue to move down the fault, radiating energy from each spot it crosses, creating an earthquake that lasts for a minute or more and a magnitude that grows to 7 or even 8. So we wait for that big earthquake. And wait.
For those of us who are complaining that Starbucks seems to be everywhere, this map will only confirm your worst suspicions.
It's easy to lose sight of how subway lines navigate the terrain of our metropolises because, well, many of them are literally underground. But thankfully images like these can help us peel back the mystery a little bit.
Over the millennia, city-states have driven culture forward, facilitated global commerce and charged ahead of their nation-bound peers. What would an America of city-states look like?
In some states, people are spread out more or less evenly among a number of cities and towns. In other states, the geographical distribution of the population is way more lopsided.
Looking for a green job? You might consider becoming a solar panel installer, which is the fastest-growing job in eight states.
Please be sure to bring enough food, water and medicine if you decide to try to sail this route yourself.
Across most of the Southern US, and in much of California, a mere dusting of snow is sufficient to close schools.
Goodbye, Mary and Linda, it's been real. And hello there, Olivia and Emma, your time has just begun.
