Observed arrival · 2026-09-10
Why Size Matters: the map that argues with your eyes
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An interactive map-literacy project compares Africa’s actual size with the distorted visual proportions familiar from Mercator maps.
Field notes
The project combines a visual comparison with a historical essay about why Mercator became familiar: navigation, publishing, education and state power helped turn one practical projection into a default portrait of the planet. Its numerical framing is unusually concrete, contrasting Africa’s stated 30.37 million km² with Greenland’s 2.17 million km² and noting that 54 sovereign countries are highlighted. The page also attributes Equal Earth to three named cartographers and presents a claimed 164-to-1 UN vote as a contemporary turning point.
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