“I was watching TV and noticed an informercial for cure-all vitamin supplement with a unique map background,” writes John Deal, who immediately grabbed a camera and took a few shots for Strange Maps. Good reflexes, John!
“It kind of remembers your Larry King map (#242) – but worse. Australia is still drifting north and Africa has moved into position between Europe and North America. There are two Asias but South America has sunk into Atlantic. Sad. All those poor Brazilians, gone forever.”
A map in a TV studio background performs the same function as a diploma on a professional’s consulting room: it lends an aura of respectability and believability to what goes on there. Maybe putting a really awful map like this in a TV studio background is a subconscious, subliminal way of conveying a message to the viewing public: don’t believe a word we’re saying!
I don’t know… Maybe they’re just trying to line up the continents side by side rather than making an accurate world map. They really seem to have mixed up South America with a second Asia though.
Comment by thatdudeyouknow — July 29, 2008 @ 10:25 am
Perhaps it’s their version of Wegener’s drift. I notice, for instance, that Britain, Cuba and Japan have been linked to the nearest land masses, Madagascar seems to be undergoing the same process, the Baltic has turned into a lake, and the Iberian peripheries on both sides (ouch) have been eclipsed in favor of the central Castilian meseta.
Comment by Antonio S. Marques — July 29, 2008 @ 10:45 am
Seems like the U.S. has annexated Cuba! :)
Comment by Bernard — July 29, 2008 @ 10:48 am
these things can’t be accidents, after all, it’s not like somebody’s drawing the shapes from their mind… there are tons of ready-to-use free maps…
Comment by pascal — July 29, 2008 @ 10:48 am
At least Cuba is there. I always thought it odd how so many TV maps used to pretend that Cuba didn’t exist.
Comment by ATOMISCHE — July 29, 2008 @ 11:11 am
Could be that South America has drifted to the South Pole. Rio’s carnival will never be the same.
Comment by Antonio S. Marques — July 29, 2008 @ 11:18 am
It’s not all bad. The continents are much closer witch could save us all a lot of fuel ..
Comment by Björn — July 29, 2008 @ 11:30 am
Maybe they used their own pills before making the maps.
Comment by Peter — July 29, 2008 @ 11:51 am
Another of these mashed together composite maps which bugs the hell out of me is on my blackberry. The little globe icon has Australia just off the coast of Peru. I have to look at it every day. Will somebody buy me an iphone?
Comment by rob — July 29, 2008 @ 11:52 am
Specially when South America seems to have simply evaporated. Or maybe they put it down the table?
Comment by Fabián Fucci — July 29, 2008 @ 12:41 pm
Ahh. Baffin Island FINALLY devoured Greenland… I’ve been wondering how long that was going to take!
Comment by Benjamin Allison — July 29, 2008 @ 12:46 pm
What gets me is the use of the word “Smart” in the bottom left corner of the screen. I’m sure glad they told me they’re smart. I wouldn’t have known it otherwise.
Comment by Aramink — July 29, 2008 @ 2:39 pm
Not only are they trying to gain map-respectiability, I’d lay odds they’re trying to gain Larry-King-on-CNN respectibility in particular. For this purpose it was *necessary* to have a horrible map. Maybe it had to be even more horrible than usual, to avoid getting sued.
Comment by Niel — July 29, 2008 @ 2:44 pm
Hah, it’s like they wanted all of the continents on one map, so they just lined them up anyway that they could just to fit them on there.
Comment by Alan — July 29, 2008 @ 3:01 pm
map crimes. cartografeebs. hurts to look at.
Comment by diembe — July 29, 2008 @ 3:04 pm
I think they wanted to show all existing continents, but they have made a mistake with forgetting South Amerika. Same also happens in German TV.
Comment by Scipio — July 29, 2008 @ 3:34 pm
I’m not sure, but I think I can see Absaroka in there.
Comment by Terry — July 29, 2008 @ 3:54 pm
Gosh, somebody was paid to design that…
Comment by Atka Kevlarsjal — July 29, 2008 @ 9:02 pm
I guess this is what they mean by “reuniting Gondwanaland”.
Comment by kc — July 29, 2008 @ 9:38 pm
Oh, my God, where is the South America? I think we’re under the table… ¬¬
Comment by Mateus — July 29, 2008 @ 11:37 pm
united nations
Comment by leon2654 — July 30, 2008 @ 1:31 am
I’m sure residents of Cairo would not be happy to suddenly share the same latitude as Iqaluit, the capital of Nunavut. But it might be fun to ski down the Pyramids.
Comment by Andrew — July 30, 2008 @ 2:25 am
Yeah, they’re trying to make the set look like Larry King’s, and therefore deliberately imitating Larry King’s bad map.
Comment by Matt McIrvin — July 30, 2008 @ 12:03 pm
HOW did they do it? It seems easier to make a “good” map than this garbled one. Did they take a good map, then cut it up, open a bottle of their pills, swallowing them with a bottle of home-distilled alcohol, and play “pin the tail on the donkey” (electronically or in paper)?
Comment by Bernard Massé — July 30, 2008 @ 11:59 pm
@Andrew – maybe it’s the other way around and all the continents are in the tropics (except South America, exiled to the polar regions). Take a beach vacation in Alaska!
Comment by James — August 1, 2008 @ 1:43 am
Africa has been reduced to half size!
Comment by Samuel — August 1, 2008 @ 9:18 am
Some other bad ones are on Bill Maher (what are the lights in the US states corresponding to), and Saturday Night Live.
Comment by jb — August 1, 2008 @ 12:12 pm
It’s just the projection they use xD.
Comment by Antón — August 1, 2008 @ 7:09 pm
They are Americans- what did you expect?
Comment by EJ — August 2, 2008 @ 4:05 am
Wow…strange interpretation of the world, indeed
Comment by Lauren — August 2, 2008 @ 3:42 pm
I find this map less bad than the Larry King Map.
The Larry King map tries to have things both ways by showing a relatively exact layout of the world; this one goes for a more iconographic feel. I can handle the iconography better than the “have it both ways (I’ll be as accurate as I feel I need to be) of Larry King’s “map.”
As for the SNL map…It’s Saturday Night Live. Do you really WANT exacting accuracy in a comedy show?
Comment by Don H. — August 3, 2008 @ 2:31 am
ignorance is bliss
Comment by samuel — August 5, 2008 @ 11:45 pm
I sent the figure so when I saw the dumb program on TV again I set through it, well most of it. It was a painful experience but because we love maps we have to put up with a little suffering for a good cause. There were a few long or wide angle shots that showed more of the map on the back wall.
There is a South America figure on the background, to the left of the left Asia. It gets worse, there is another Asia to the left of South America, so that makes 3 Asias.
No Antartica, but maybe it is off on the far right, out of sight.
John D.
Comment by John Deal — August 7, 2008 @ 3:12 am
Hi. Could be the world AFTER those vitamins. Maybe Asia took too much of.
Comment by Tuqui — August 8, 2008 @ 9:42 am
[...] Recentemente, eu troquei idéia com o autor e no meio da breve conversa ele me perguntou se há algum “strange map” aqui no Brasil. Afinal, ele tinha poucos mapas da América do Sul no seu blog. E quando ele apresentava algo a respeito, corria-se o risco de até não aparecer o nosso querido continente, como nessa postagem. [...]
Pingback by » Strange Maps — August 10, 2008 @ 3:18 pm
looks ugly
Comment by mr soup — August 13, 2008 @ 10:11 am
[...] Afrika liegt im Atlantischen Ozean zwischen den Staaten und Europa? Australien vor Los Angelos? Hier gesehen und dadurch [...]
Pingback by Strange Maps « Sprechblase — August 22, 2008 @ 9:48 am
haaa..best)
Comment by stilllway — August 30, 2008 @ 5:57 pm
[...] habe ich bei Strange Maps eine ziemlich, sagen wir einmal, eigentümliche Sichtweise auf die Kontinente [...]
Pingback by Amerikanische Weltordnung | Blafasel bloggt — September 1, 2008 @ 1:11 pm
In clear weather you have a good view from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Barrier Reef ;-)
Comment by Blafasel — September 1, 2008 @ 1:21 pm
Comment by we — September 3, 2008 @ 6:48 pm
thanks for all
Comment by الوليد — December 16, 2008 @ 7:50 pm
At least they got Alaska right next to Russia. (S)omeone’s gonna be mighty (P)leased!
Comment by Anil Garg — February 12, 2009 @ 6:34 pm
http://h88h.blogspot.com/
ZIONISTS AND THE COMPANIES THEY OWN CAUSED THE GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS
TWO ISRAELI PRIME MINISTERS HAVE BEEN IRREVERSIBLY (FINALLY) CONVICTED OF COMMENTING MASSACRES AGAINST CIVILIANS
IN AN ATROCIOUS VIOLATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL UN LAWS AND RESOLUTIONS
ISRAEL TORTURED 864,396 {CLOSE TO ONE MILLION} CIVILIANS TO DEATH INCLUDING :
UN EMPLOYEES WHILE IN THERE UNIFORMS IN DUTY INSIDE UN MARKED BUILDINGS
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CHILDREN WHILE IN THEIR UNIFORMS INSIDE (UN) MARKED ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
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OCCUPYING ARABIC LANDS FOR DECADES
********BOYCOTT ISRAEL AND THE SUPPORTING COMPANIES********
Comment by m m — March 13, 2009 @ 1:48 am
thank you
Comment by Tony — May 4, 2009 @ 3:45 am
thanks for this map
good
luck
….
Comment by Solomon — May 11, 2009 @ 9:01 am
merci
Comment by aspicco . — May 17, 2009 @ 6:43 am
[...] 302 Really Awful TV Studio Background Maps Part II Strange Maps Posted by root 8 minutes ago (http://strangemaps.wordpress.com) Comment by benjamin allison july 29 2008 12 46 pm what gets me is the use of the word smart in the bottom left un employees while in there uniforms in duty inside un marked buildings injured civilians in hospitals and medical doctors and nurses too powere Discuss | Bury | News | 302 Really Awful TV Studio Background Maps Part II Strange Maps [...]
Pingback by 302 Really Awful TV Studio Background Maps Part II Strange Maps | Uniform Stores — June 1, 2009 @ 12:44 pm
[...] 302 Really Awful TV Studio Background Maps Part II Strange Maps Posted by root 6 minutes ago (http://strangemaps.wordpress.com) Comment by benjamin allison july 29 2008 12 46 pm what gets me is the use of the word smart in the bottom left un employees while in there uniforms in duty inside un marked buildings injured civilians in hospitals and medical doctors and nurses too powere Discuss | Bury | News | 302 Really Awful TV Studio Background Maps Part II Strange Maps [...]
Pingback by 302 Really Awful TV Studio Background Maps Part II Strange Maps | Uniform Stores — June 1, 2009 @ 1:33 pm
Vielen Dank
Comment by moon — July 3, 2009 @ 5:19 am
Muchas gracias
Comment by sun — July 4, 2009 @ 7:42 am