# “Terrible Maps” **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 31, 2020, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-maps/916946 "2020-07-31T22:40:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2020, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-maps/916946/61 "2020-09-21T14:41:52Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > Is it just me or do most of these maps suck? Well, they are called “Terrible Maps”, after all. ---
**Author:** ![Dandan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@Dandan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dandan)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2020, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-maps/916946/62 "2020-09-21T14:48:41Z")
“Countries that use the metric system” was part of the joke. Dan ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2020, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-maps/916946/63 "2020-09-21T22:55:42Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > Is it just me or do most of these maps suck? They came up with a gimmick each and half the time the gimmick is wrong. > > There’s literally a map that has COUNTRIES THAT LOST TO VIETNAM with America being the only country said to have lost, except for you know, France maybe? That’s what is known as a “joke.” Also, the world is not really a cat playing with Australia, and the Americas aren’t a duck. ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2020, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-maps/916946/64 "2020-09-21T23:21:14Z")
“Why a duck?” ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2020, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-maps/916946/65 "2020-09-22T21:41:03Z")
“I’m all right. How are you?” ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2020, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-maps/916946/66 "2020-09-22T23:53:57Z")
“Because it’s deep water. That’s why a duck.” ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2020, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-maps/916946/67 "2020-09-22T23:58:43Z")
🦆 ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2020, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-maps/916946/68 "2020-09-23T00:10:10Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > “Because it’s deep water. That’s why a duck.” Cold, too. ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2020, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-maps/916946/69 "2020-09-23T01:13:28Z")
“Now look, alright, I catch ona why a horse, why a chicken, why a this, why a that…I no catch ona why a duck.” ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2020, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-maps/916946/70 "2020-09-23T01:37:20Z")
They also don’t label the other two countries who use the Imperial system which makes me think the map is coming from weird ignorance than anything else. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2020, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-maps/916946/71 "2020-09-23T02:01:59Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > They also don’t label the other two countries who use the Imperial system which makes me think the map is coming from weird ignorance than anything else… That just makes it certain that they were just making a joke. None of the other maps is actually presenting serious information. If they are accurate, it’s in a trivial way. Do you think every African country except Togo orders their meals “for here”? Do you think that they assigned the US to the Russian Empire as of 2017 out of ignorance? Is the map of geopolitical relationships in the Middle East accurate based on careful research? Do you think they think Scarborough Reef is actually a country, in their list of roundest countries? If France were a pizza, shouldn’t it have some pepperoni on it? There’s such a thing as overthinking a joke, and that’s what you’re doing. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2020, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-maps/916946/72 "2020-09-23T02:19:57Z")
Steady on, next you’ll be telling me that Jerk Chicken isn’t the national dish of the Mexican Archipelago… ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2020, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-maps/916946/73 "2020-09-23T03:46:25Z")
Just because something conforms to your pre-existing beliefs doesn’t mean it’s a funny joke. There’s people on this board think that African slavery is okay because “The United States is worse”, does that make it actually true? Does Canada suddenly not have a racism problem because a certain Canadian poster proclaims it true and everyone is too afraid to call him out? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2020, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-maps/916946/74 "2020-09-23T03:50:32Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > Just because something conforms to your pre-existing beliefs doesn’t mean it’s a funny joke. There’s people on this board think that African slavery is okay because “The United States is worse”, does that make it actually true? Does Canada suddenly not have a racism problem because a certain Canadian poster proclaims it true and everyone is too afraid to call him out?.. I have no idea what this has to do with what I posted. And actually, I don’t want to know. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2020, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-maps/916946/75 "2020-09-23T13:26:59Z")
Canada has many racism problems. They are pernicious, poisonous, systemic and widespread. Which Canadian poster are you referring to? Please cite examples. In a separate thread, please. This one is about maps. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2020, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-maps/916946/76 "2020-09-23T13:36:41Z")
“Mexican Archipelago”: (q.v. map #6 (of 30), based on Fox News). ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2020, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-maps/916946/77 "2020-09-23T21:52:32Z")
Typical map of Europe: [![](https://preview.redd.it/0ymr392vmxo51.png?width=960&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=b0850d8f713001f2668dcea00cf59a85ae6d22d4) ](https://preview.redd.it/0ymr392vmxo51.png?width=960&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=b0850d8f713001f2668dcea00cf59a85ae6d22d4) ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2020, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-maps/916946/78 "2020-09-26T13:09:02Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > Does Canada suddenly not have a racism problem because a certain Canadian poster proclaims it true and everyone is too afraid to call him out? Huh? Who’s that? ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2021, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-maps/916946/79 "2021-05-04T01:03:44Z")
I’m bumping this thread after following the link from the other map thread. Map #5 seems odd to me. It’s called the Spilhaus projection, and shows all the world’s oceans as one body of water. Antarctica is in the center. Australia, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Greenland, the southern part of Asia, and the Indonesian Islands are all easily identifiable. But the Americas and northern Asia seem like distorted blobs. Am I just missing something, or do the Americas and northern Asia just not show up “normally” on this projection? I don’t think that it’s distorting the northern areas, as Greenland and Northern Europe show up normally. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2021, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-maps/916946/80 "2021-05-04T01:11:31Z")
There’s nothing abnormal about how they appear but they are surrounded by oceans so their coastlines have to be laid end to end. They are jobless distorted than Antarctica is in a Mercator projection. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-maps/916946.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-maps/916946.md?page=5)