# Did you spend time just looking at maps as a kid? Anyone else still do it as an adult? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 21, 2018, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-spend-time-just-looking-at-maps-as-a-kid-anyone-else-still-do-it-as-an-adult/818320 "2018-07-21T11:51:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-spend-time-just-looking-at-maps-as-a-kid-anyone-else-still-do-it-as-an-adult/818320/61 "2018-07-22T04:55:26Z")
> [@Mr\_Downtown](#): > > So much that I became a cartographer. Oh shit; that’s cool! Thanks for the link, too! ---
**Author:** ![flip-68](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e99b99/32.png) [@flip-68](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flip-68)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-spend-time-just-looking-at-maps-as-a-kid-anyone-else-still-do-it-as-an-adult/818320/62 "2018-07-22T05:46:34Z")
> [@Terminus\_Est](#): > > I love maps and am fascinated by weird borders and geographic anomalies. The Northwest Angle. Point Roberts, WA. Ellis Island, NY/NJ. Baarle-Hertog/Baarle-Nassau. Kaliningrad. Cyprus. The mess between India and Bangladesh. Great stuff to me. have you heard of Wendover Productions? - they do interesting videos on lots of subjects including those 2 topics. here is a link to one of them [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/v_iaurPRhCs/maxresdefault.jpg "TWL #2: Bir Tawil- The Land Without a Country") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_iaurPRhCs) ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-spend-time-just-looking-at-maps-as-a-kid-anyone-else-still-do-it-as-an-adult/818320/63 "2018-07-22T08:45:40Z")
I went through a period of loving to look at maps of places I already knew, and drive alone. I also liked the scaling. I went to a Montessori School, so we had these giant puzzle piece maps, and one thing you were allowed to do was trace them and color them in. I did that quite often. I even actually once made a full world map by tracing all the continents and taping stuff together. They weren’t perfectly to scale, but surprisingly close, once I used a smaller 8.5"x11" map of Europe. I also did the same with the US and Canada, so I’d have the states and provinces. There was also a period where I liked using a compass and lining up with a map, but it lasted maybe a summer. Now, I have very occasionally looked at Google maps and “driven” down places I know. But I’d say the main maps I look at now are fictional. I like looking at and getting an idea of where things are. ---
**Author:** ![anomalous1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e56c9b/32.png) [@anomalous1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anomalous1)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-spend-time-just-looking-at-maps-as-a-kid-anyone-else-still-do-it-as-an-adult/818320/64 "2018-07-22T09:15:00Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > I especially love ancient maps that show how much or how little the mapmaker knew of the world. It’s interesting to follow the accuracy of the Americas over the centuries. This! It’s honestly the best part of maps. Sometimes it’s startling how relatively accurate they can be given the limited directional and cartographic tools of yore. I’d love to have one scribbled on a huge piece of parchment. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-spend-time-just-looking-at-maps-as-a-kid-anyone-else-still-do-it-as-an-adult/818320/65 "2018-07-22T10:09:37Z")
Yes, and yes. I’ll go over a trip with a map the way that other people do it with a photo album. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-spend-time-just-looking-at-maps-as-a-kid-anyone-else-still-do-it-as-an-adult/818320/66 "2018-07-22T11:36:02Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > I knew y’all were my kinda people. > > Thanks for the world light map, **Bullitt**. I am most astounded by the number of lights in west central Australia. > mmm Those lights in west central Australia–that can’t be right, can it? ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-spend-time-just-looking-at-maps-as-a-kid-anyone-else-still-do-it-as-an-adult/818320/67 "2018-07-22T11:57:56Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Whenever I hear a news story and am not familiar with where it happened, I have to go and pinpoint it on a map. Me 3, I’m baffled by people don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-spend-time-just-looking-at-maps-as-a-kid-anyone-else-still-do-it-as-an-adult/818320/68 "2018-07-22T12:33:41Z")
I’m not _quite_ the map nerd some of you are, but I still take paper maps on road trips. When I go someplace new I try to locate a paper map of it. I used to to pull out the National Geographic maps and look them over as lovingly as the lush photos in the magazine. In 2009 I got to do map updates for the US Census! That was _cool!_ And, like a bunch of you, I like the on-line map stuff, too. When I go someplace new I like to map it out first, maybe tweak the given route. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-spend-time-just-looking-at-maps-as-a-kid-anyone-else-still-do-it-as-an-adult/818320/69 "2018-07-22T12:42:25Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > I’m not _quite_ the map nerd some of you are, but I still take paper maps on road trips. When I go someplace new I try to locate a paper map of it. I used to to pull out the National Geographic maps and look them over as lovingly as the lush photos in the magazine. > > In 2009 I got to do map updates for the US Census! That was _cool!_ > > And, like a bunch of you, I like the on-line map stuff, too. When I go someplace new I like to map it out first, maybe tweak the given route. I stopped bringing paper maps a long time ago. These days I bring downloaded Google Maps Offline on my tablet and phone. When you guys travel, do you bring soft-maps offline, and if so, which ones? An offline soft topo map would be great to have, is there a good one? I’ll be traveling to some remote(-ish) places in Alaska next spring and that would be handy. ---
**Author:** ![dogbutler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogbutler/32/428_2.png) [@dogbutler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dogbutler)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-spend-time-just-looking-at-maps-as-a-kid-anyone-else-still-do-it-as-an-adult/818320/70 "2018-07-22T13:18:50Z")
When I was a kd, I had an entire wall of my room covered with _National Geographic_ maps. I still have some on my walls, including an old IFR flight map of N.C. And I love Google Maps, > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Awesome to peruse the responses! > > Quick show of hands: how many of you, like me, get a little thrill when you open a new book and discover that there are maps before the story starts? 😃 : raises hand, Horshack style : ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-spend-time-just-looking-at-maps-as-a-kid-anyone-else-still-do-it-as-an-adult/818320/71 "2018-07-22T14:06:57Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > I stopped bringing paper maps a long time ago. These days I bring downloaded Google Maps Offline on my tablet and phone. You do realize that some of us still don’t have smartphones yet? 😉 Even if I did, I’d probably still have a paper map as backup - paper doesn’t require batteries. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-spend-time-just-looking-at-maps-as-a-kid-anyone-else-still-do-it-as-an-adult/818320/72 "2018-07-22T14:30:05Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Awesome to peruse the responses! > > Quick show of hands: how many of you, like me, get a little thrill when you open a new book and discover that there are maps before the story starts? 😃 _Raises hand_ When a place is mentioned in the story I often go back to the map to where they are/going Brian ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-spend-time-just-looking-at-maps-as-a-kid-anyone-else-still-do-it-as-an-adult/818320/73 "2018-07-22T14:34:02Z")
One quarter of my office wall-space is nothing but maps. While I appreciate the convenience of digital maps on the phone, I dislike the frequency of errors in the digital maps, for example where they have incorrect boundaries between listed areas. Paper maps are still the most trusted for me because they are usually made by people who care about accuracy. Usually. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-spend-time-just-looking-at-maps-as-a-kid-anyone-else-still-do-it-as-an-adult/818320/74 "2018-07-22T15:08:57Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > When you guys travel, do you bring soft-maps offline, and if so, which ones? An offline soft topo map would be great to have, is there a good one? I have “You Need A Map”, which takes up about 4.4Gb. It is only US+edges as I have it, but it may be possible to load more. Many, many layers. I was using it on the train to see where we were, and it was drawing out our path. I like it a lot – but it may be iOS only. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-spend-time-just-looking-at-maps-as-a-kid-anyone-else-still-do-it-as-an-adult/818320/75 "2018-07-22T15:23:27Z")
Thanks eschereal, I’m iOS and the reviews look decent so I’m downloading and will give it a try. Downloaded offline map are the real deal. I’m from SF CA USA, and once in Barcelona I rented a motorcycle. With a carabiner and some 550 cord I hung my iPad from the handlebars, and navigated much of the city with an offline map. A little crude and clunky perhaps, but it was effective enough. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-spend-time-just-looking-at-maps-as-a-kid-anyone-else-still-do-it-as-an-adult/818320/76 "2018-07-22T15:26:54Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > You do realize that some of us still don’t have smartphones yet? 😉 > > Even if I did, I’d probably still have a paper map as backup - paper doesn’t require batteries. Hey, that works too! That’s how we all did it, back in the day. I used to have quite a collection of AAA map, but sadly, alas, I sent them to the recycling bin a few years back. I still lament that unwise decision! ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-spend-time-just-looking-at-maps-as-a-kid-anyone-else-still-do-it-as-an-adult/818320/77 "2018-07-22T16:07:21Z")
True story: I just returned from Costco about an hour ago. While there, I walked by the book section and noticed a large atlas on display. I stood there mindlessly thumbing through it for several minutes, completely forgetting that I was on a time-sensitive mission to buy party-type food because guests are coming over soon-ish. And the fact that I had started this thread never crossed my mind; I was too busy seeing how far the Pyrenees Mountains extended. 😉 mmm ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-spend-time-just-looking-at-maps-as-a-kid-anyone-else-still-do-it-as-an-adult/818320/78 "2018-07-22T17:55:13Z")
Ya know, **Mean Mr. Mustard’s Map Mercantile** has a nice ring to it; perhaps you could open a shop? You could even partner with **Mr Downtown** : he makes the maps and you sell 'em! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-spend-time-just-looking-at-maps-as-a-kid-anyone-else-still-do-it-as-an-adult/818320/79 "2018-07-22T18:12:45Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Ya know, **Mean Mr. Mustard’s Map Mercantile** has a nice ring to it; perhaps you could open a shop? You could even partner with **Mr Downtown** : he makes the maps and you sell 'em! 😃 The episode I was hoping to find appears to have gone away, but this synopsis > **["Saturday Night Live" Fred Willard/Devo (TV Episode 1978) - Plot - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0694930/plotsummary/?ref_=tt_ov_pl)** > > "Saturday Night Live" Fred Willard/Devo (TV Episode 1978) - Plot summary, synopsis, and more... Saturday Night Live (TV Series) Fred Willard/Devo (1978) might provide some accuracy for the memory I have of an SNL sketch about a “Scotch Tape Boutique” which was about as specialized a concept as your shop! ---
**Author:** ![Hopeful\_Crow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/da6949/32.png) [@Hopeful\_Crow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hopeful_Crow)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-spend-time-just-looking-at-maps-as-a-kid-anyone-else-still-do-it-as-an-adult/818320/80 "2018-07-22T20:09:10Z")
I just mentioned to the Big Crow the other day that I wondered what had happened to our family’s old Hammond World Atlas. I loved that thing as a kid, traveling from town to town, up and down rivers and coasts, and hopping from island to island. I’m pretty sure Pops still had it before he passed and I’m hoping now that one of my sisters has it in her possession. But we allowed a brother-in-law to start cleaning Pops’ apartment while we were at the hospital during Pops’ final days and I suspect he threw it out. Gosh, I hope not, though. I still have a love for maps and can get lost in any that I find. Sometimes I like to draw my own maps (just got some new very fine line pens for that purpose) or imagine them in peeling paint, coffee stains or in the random patterns on stone tiles. On Google Maps I like to find a river and follow it to its headwaters, stopping off at various towns or areas of interest when it so suits me. A big thanks to those who provided map-related links. It’s going to be fun checking those out. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-spend-time-just-looking-at-maps-as-a-kid-anyone-else-still-do-it-as-an-adult/818320.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-spend-time-just-looking-at-maps-as-a-kid-anyone-else-still-do-it-as-an-adult/818320.md?page=5)