Random pictures - Iceland

 

 

 

Source: 36 photos of beautiful places in Iceland Visit the link for the full, un-cropped pictures and many more...

Random pictures - here be dragons

"The fantasy of California as an island earthly paradise can be traced back to a 1510 book, Las Sergas de Esplandian which describes a land of Amazonian women without a single man. The women were of course beautiful, had weapons made of gold and tamed wild beasts..."

Source: The phantom atlas: Islands, seas and countries on the map that don’t really exist

Random pictures - maps

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Source: The David Rumsey Map Collection - The historical map collection has over 77,000 maps and images online.

Random charts - expectancy

 

Source: Mapping life expectancy

"To underscore the connection between neighborhood conditions and health, the VCU Center on Society and Health has created a series of maps that prominently display life expectancy values alongside common geographic landmarks such as subway stops and highway exits. The projected is support by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). The maps illustrate the vastly different health outcomes experienced by Americans living just a few miles apart and serve as a conversation starter about the social determinants of health..."

Random chart - India

Source: Understanding India’s economic geography

Random picture - maps

Source: Legendary Lands: Umberto Eco on the Greatest Maps of Imaginary Places and Why They Appeal to Us

Random charts - maps

Source: 38 maps that explain the global economy

The first map above demonstrates how big the issue of "open defecation" is and notes: "... Given India's dense population, open defecation is a major public health problem, with feces inevitably contaminating drinking water. This leads to intestinal disease and contributes to India's high rate of child malnutrition. This malnutrition problem is more widespread than you would expect given India's income level and, by stunting kids' development, contributes to slower economic growth in the future. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's budget calls for spending that will aim to eliminate open defecation by 2019..."  One can hope!  A lot more on this topic can be found here.

The second map above uses "... historical data to show the world's "economic center of gravity" over time. The map plots the center point in three-dimensional space, which renders the north-south aspect somewhat less interesting, but the east-west movement over time is fascinating. A thousand years ago, economic activity was centered near the middle of the Eurasian landmass. By the early 20th century, the Industrial Revolution in Europe and the growth of the United States pulled the center way to the west. But since 1980 or so, Asia has been growing faster than the US and Europe and dragging the middle back to where it was centuries ago. By 2025, McKinsey thinks the global economy will once again be balanced around the middle of Eurasia..."

Check out the other 36!

Random chart - Africa

Source: The True Size of Africa

Random pictures - globes

 

Source: Globes: 400 Years of Exploration, Navigation, and Power and  400 years of beautiful, historical, and powerful globes

Random pictures - maps

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Source: The History of Cartography