Maps and perceptions...

The world is an amazing place. There are so many different ways to think about it. I've been looking at a bunch of maps, and I thought I'd share a few I personally find very interesting. For the full set, see this site.



First, the writing systems used around the world:

map-of-the-writing-systems-of-the-world
 This is one reason I am fascinated by the languages in India - check out the range of fascinating scripts they have developed!

Then, this one to show maps by country:

Flag-Map-denmark-puerto

Very colourful!

And one I find quite amusing: Can you tell what these countries have in common?

map-of-countires-that-use-metric-system-vs-imperial

They are the only countries in the world NOT using the metric system!

And then the places where you are more likely to get hit by lightning:

frequency-of-lightning-strikes-in-the-world

For those who are not familiar with Australia and our population distribution:

where-2-percent-of-australia-lives
2% of our population live in the shaded area (ie. the yellow) - the other 98% live in the white area.

And finally, because 'north = up' is completely arbitrary:

map-of-world-upside-down-south-pole-on-top

Who is 'down under' now? Candidates I suggest: Canada, Greenland and the Russian Federation. I personally think Greenland would win - but then again, New Zealand is technically further south than Australia, so maybe one of the other two could claim it. I wonder how much it would change the song by Men At Work? I'd love to hear your suggested lyrics for any of these three countries!

And in case you have never heard that song, check it out here:


If you are having trouble following the lyrics, you could watch this version instead. I take absolutely no relationship to the grammatical errors on the video, though!


Hope you found something in this post which made you smile!












Comments

  1. Keith Simkin17 August 2013 at 21:43

    That's pretty interesting Sharna! Never seen a world map upside down like that before

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sharna18 August 2013 at 15:30

      I've seen upside-down maps before, but they make me smile every time! Love seeing Australia up the top!

      Delete

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