ADVERTISEMENT

When most of us think about the word “data'' our eyes glaze over as a million Excel cells appear in our minds, putting us to sleep. So clever folks out there rolled up their sleeves and got to work, making visual depictions of data that help us better understand the world.

This online group shares various cool and interesting maps that help put all sorts of facts and figures into context. So get comfortable, prepare to brush up on some geography, and get to scrolling. Be sure to upvote your favorite posts and share your thoughts and observations in the comments section below. 

#1

Good Political Maps Of Oceania Are Hard To Come By

Good Political Maps Of Oceania Are Hard To Come By

RecordingFancy8515 Report

Add photo comments
POST
tucker_cahooter avatar
Tucker Cahooter
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Kiwis breathe a sigh of relief that they are not being overlooked for a change

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#2

The Literal Meaning Of Every Country's Name In Africa

The Literal Meaning Of Every Country's Name In Africa

Homesanto Report

#3

Endings Of Places In Poland

Endings Of Places In Poland

DaveBensonPhilips Report

Add photo comments
POST
zeljkoklaric78_1 avatar
Bernd Herbert
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is the result of an old dialectal boundary. and another fun fact: In Northeastern Germany you will find lots of places that end in -ow, showing that the old Slawic Tribes were living in that area, way before any of today's national borders.

View more commentsArrow down menu

If you have ever taken a casual look at an average map of the world, you have no doubt been struck by the sheer size of Russia and, to a lesser extent, Canada. This does make sense, as these are the largest countries on the planet, however, did you know that a little feature of mapmaking called Mercator projection makes them look significantly larger than they really are?

This comes from the Flemish geographer and cartographer Gerardus Mercator, who created a “cylindrical” map to represent the world in 1569. After all, unless you are looking at a globe, most maps are drawn, painted, or printed on a rectangular surface. Imagine the tube-like maps pirates are always dragging around and you have a pretty good depiction of an early Mercator map. 

#4

Average Color Of US State Based On Satellite Imaging

Average Color Of US State Based On Satellite Imaging

SnooMacarons8038 Report

Add photo comments
POST
ccat avatar
C Cat
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This needs a title change to include the fact these are from summer time... otherwise northern states would be much lighter/snow 😄

lynngrant avatar
EarthGrowl
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The fact that so many people misunderstand this map shows that people don't get out of their house enough. Looking at this map you can tell where the deserts are and where the Mississippi River and Missouri Rivers run. Not everything is about American politics. Political parties should be classified terrorist organizations. Except they spread fear to manipulate voters to vote for them.

sylvia-wachs avatar
FaceTime Audio
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

As someone from a tan/brown state, being in a green state is such a culture shock. People actually see that beauty all the time? My state is beautiful, but our beauty is very different.

bryana-cross avatar
Bree
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I really relate to that. I grew up in Arizona but moved to Washington State. Huge difference!

Load More Replies...
heavy-sand2923 avatar
MaximumKarmaSaint
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Covering up a bad comment! Do me a favor and don't view the one at the bottom. Also my state is greyish-green! Would you look at that!

sarah_a_tate avatar
Upstaged75
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

All you're doing when you post a comment like this is drawing more attention to it. Please don't! Just downvote and report.

Load More Replies...
laurennewman_1 avatar
ladyowen0410_1 avatar
Linda Owen
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You might be color blind if you see purple. It's the average color of the land from the sky.

Load More Replies...
purpler7355 avatar
Squishy
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I would love to know how they managed to determine this

oldmanfl01 avatar
beckisaurus avatar
Astrophile
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The greener states have more forest/vegetation, the browner states are more arid/desert/plains :) it’s just showing the average colour of the terrain from each state. You could call it “mildly interesting.”

Load More Replies...
seanalammers avatar
seana lammers
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Color by what definition? Vegetation, hydration, precipitation?

rickyw avatar
Richard Wilcox
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Satellite imagery. It says in the description, if u actually read it (so yes, vegetation, which is a function of hydration/precip)

Load More Replies...
cirran avatar
Christof Irran
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Coming from Washington State - "The Evergreen State" - I was very pleasantly surprised during a recent visit to (northern) Alabama by how green it is. The landscape is heavily forested with oak trees and pine, and in light of that I can clearly see why Alabama on this map is greener shaded than Washington State.

suzl_shum avatar
sarah_a_tate avatar
View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#5

What’s The Most Popular Sport In Each Country?

What’s The Most Popular Sport In Each Country?

geographyfacts Report

Add photo comments
POST
tobb-1 avatar
WindySwede
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Correct usage of football ⚽️ /s ☺️ not that I care about sports, just find the wordusage peculiar..

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
#6

Time Needed To Earn 1€ Million Earning On Average Wage

Time Needed To Earn 1€ Million Earning On Average Wage

karinasnooodles_ Report

Add photo comments
POST
teepussi avatar
Tee Pussi
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sure, if you can manage not to pay taxes or rent and don't eat for a few decades.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu

After all, the real landmasses on the planet, which are spherical, don’t translate 1-to-1 on a rectangular map. Certain sections end up stretched and, as a result, appear to be a lot larger than they actually are. Mercator chose to “focus” the map on the northern hemisphere, where locations closer to the “top” of the map would end up seeming larger. Hence Russia and Canada being absolutely gigantic on so many maps. 

#8

How Many % Of People Would Not Want To Live Next Door To Lgbt People?

How Many % Of People Would Not Want To Live Next Door To Lgbt People?

theworldmaps Report

Add photo comments
POST
salamedipere avatar
Sarinz
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I wouldn't want to live next door to people who "Would Not Want To Live Next Door To Lgbt People"...

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
#9

World Map According To China In 1799

World Map According To China In 1799

Redstream28 Report

In fact, at the time, these maps were specifically created to aid in marine navigation. While it’s quite irrelevant to us, early seafarers could use a Mercator map to get a “straight” bearing when sailing to a new location. On a map that doesn’t use Mercator projection, the bearing would be a curve, representing the curve of the globe.

#10

U.S. States That Have Banned The Most Books (In Autumn 2022)

U.S. States That Have Banned The Most Books (In Autumn 2022)

GaffersB Report

Add photo comments
POST
tobb-1 avatar
WindySwede
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

At least it started backfiring in Utah, banning the bible from schools. For content of murder, violence, sexual things etc.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
#11

Percentage Of Population (25-64yrs) In Europe That Cant Speak Any Foreign Language

Percentage Of Population (25-64yrs) In Europe That Cant Speak Any Foreign Language

MardukSyria Report

Add photo comments
POST
d4rkpone avatar
TotallyNOTAFox
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

English is mandatory here in Germany, additionally there are usually choices for french and spanish on top

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu

This sort of map has simply stuck around for hundreds of years, leading many people to draw somewhat incorrect conclusions about the real size of things. We are lucky that Russia and Canada really are the two largest countries, so the distortions don’t seem as bad. Other examples of distortion are the similarity between the UK and Madagascar, despite the latter being nearly twice as large.

#13

Belief In Life After Death In Europe

Belief In Life After Death In Europe

cloudtdaz Report

#14

Average Money Spent On Weddings In US States

Average Money Spent On Weddings In US States

Starry_Night0123 Report

Add photo comments
POST
zeljkoklaric78_1 avatar
Bernd Herbert
Community Member
5 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is absolutely wild. Looking at California....this is more than I spent in the last 10 years for various vacations. I'm from Germany, and those vacations included USA & Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, the Seychelles, Mauritius and countless trips within Europe. (Yes, I'm counting my expenses.) I would never ever exchange these experiences with a one-time party. Absolutely absurd!

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#15

Roman Coin Hoards, From The 'Coinage In The Roman Empire' Project — 'Hoards Containing Coinage In Use In The Roman Empire Between 30 B.c. And A.d. 400.'

Roman Coin Hoards, From The 'Coinage In The Roman Empire' Project — 'Hoards Containing Coinage In Use In The Roman Empire Between 30 B.c. And A.d. 400.'

idonotknowtodo Report

Add photo comments
POST
sarah-jones avatar
sbj
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Those Romans were very careless with their loose change on their travels

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu

Even more comically, due to its northerly position, Alaska appears to be roughly the size of Australia, despite the fact that the land down under is almost five times larger. You can find an excellent gif depicting the presented and real size of various nations here

#16

When Is Weekend

When Is Weekend

two_plus_two_is_zero Report

ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#17

Asia's Counting System. How Do You Say The Number 57

Asia's Counting System. How Do You Say The Number 57

Mokkasakka Report

Add photo comments
POST
d4rkpone avatar
TotallyNOTAFox
Community Member
5 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Blue and yellow are reasonable, the rest seems overly complicated. Edit: Orange, not yellow ^^

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#19

Male Body Hair Distribution Of Indigenous Human Populations Around The World

Male Body Hair Distribution Of Indigenous Human Populations Around The World

Homesanto Report

Add photo comments
POST
eleanor-ahmed786 avatar
Tuesday
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

South Indians are hairy, didn't need a graph to tell me that, just a mirror... sigh. I'm a woman and I'm hairier than my North Indian father

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#20

Sex Ratio

Sex Ratio

Hockputer09 Report

Add photo comments
POST
wallicktn avatar
Tracy Wallick
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And yet, men are treated as the default despite being a smaller percent of the population in the majority of countries.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#21

Percentage Of Light vs. Brown Hair In European Countries

Percentage Of Light vs. Brown Hair In European Countries

Specific_Ad_097 Report

#22

Most Wasteful Countries In The World

Most Wasteful Countries In The World

flyingcatwithhorns Report

#24

Air Polution In Europe

Air Polution In Europe

therealcup_1 Report

Add photo comments
POST
simon-s94 avatar
Monstarr the Divisive
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Whoa... What's happening in nort Italy, Poland and around the Balkans? Why is it so bad there?

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#25

US States By Violent Crime Rate

US States By Violent Crime Rate

Specific_Ad_685 Report

#26

The Countries With The Most Island

The Countries With The Most Island

robertjan88 Report

Add photo comments
POST
drdlyamamoto avatar
BoredPossum
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The islands in Sweden are very very small but numerous. That's why they don't show up on most maps.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#27

The Most Consumed Type Of Meat By Country Including Fish & Seafood

The Most Consumed Type Of Meat By Country Including Fish & Seafood

giuliomagnifico Report

Add photo comments
POST
tobb-1 avatar
WindySwede
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Nope, according to 'The Swedish Board of Agriculture', it's poultry meat (when not including sausages, ham and kassler). When you include them (and assuming they are 100% pork meat, pork is #1 by approximately 3,5x compared to fish.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#28

The Most And Least Happy Countries In The World

The Most And Least Happy Countries In The World

Intelligent_Store0 Report

Add photo comments
POST
rl_2 avatar
R L
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think Israel's view may have changed somewhat in the past weeks.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#29

Projection Of Water Stress Level By Country In 2040

Projection Of Water Stress Level By Country In 2040

giuliomagnifico Report

#30

Highest Temperature Recorded In Europe Countries

Highest Temperature Recorded In Europe Countries

Redstream28 Report

Add photo comments
POST
vvmartin avatar
pep Ito
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

These maps are misleading. They should have shown the point where it was reached and the temperature by zones. As it appears on the map it seems that all of Spain reached 47 degrees when it was in the south of Spain and probably in the northern half the temperatures were. By far lower

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu

Note: this post originally had 54 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.