The True Size of Africa An Erroneous Map Misled Us For 500 Years

What's the deal with the flipped map? Are they saying that we are really upside down instead of right side up, as represented on all maps? That would put almost everyone in different hemispheres.

You can't do that, it's freaking me out.

I have also heard that the UK is much larger on maps than it actually is, I would assume this it true for most maps?

Wheres that guy who said New Zealand was in the wrong place? perhaps he has some ideas?

Damn Russia is huge. Amazing that the largest nation on Earth has half the population of the US.

Originally posted by mr10k
Damn Russia is huge. Amazing that the largest nation on Earth has half the population of the US.

It's because lots of people want to live in the US, but few (Snowden excepted) want to move to Russia. Not to mention the Soviets had a habit of keeping the population low due to Stalins habit of (er) moving whole populations around and making a mockery of agricultural policy leading to starvation of millions.

Regards

Originally posted by mr10k
Damn Russia is huge. Amazing that the largest nation on Earth has half the population of the US.

Yeah, Russia is huuuge, so much uninhabited wilderness there too, and we complain about a global population crisis...well theres plenty of room really, we just need to wear some thicker socks.

Also who decided which way up globes and maps should be?

Originally posted by doorhandle

Originally posted by mr10k
Damn Russia is huge. Amazing that the largest nation on Earth has half the population of the US.

Yeah, Russia is huuuge, so much uninhabited wilderness there too, and we complain about a global population crisis...well theres plenty of room really, we just need to wear some thicker socks.

Also who decided which way up globes and maps should be?

I'd imagine it has a lot to do with North being considered up, and south being down. Not that it is, but you know what I mean. I'm sure if the other needle on a compass was painted red, maps would be flipped.

reply to post by borracho

the area of Africa is 11.67 million square miles where North America is a t 9.54 million. Africa is larger, but not quite on the scale presented. Russia is at 6.6 million, so just combining North America and Russia makes a lrger land mass than Africa.

Just curious...are the numbers taking account for land elevation or taken as a flat plane?

Originally posted by predator0187

The map shows how Africa (30,3 million km²) is larger than the combination of China (9,6 million km²), the US (9,4 million km²), Western Europe (4,9 million km²), India (3,2 million km²) and Argentina (2,8 million km²), three Scandinavian countries and the British Isles (map gives no surface for these last two areas).

The Peters Projection World Map is one of the most stimulating, and controversial, images of the world. When this map was first introduced by historian and cartographer Dr. Arno Peters at a Press Conference in Germany in 1974 it generated a firestorm of debate. The first English-version of the map was published in 1983, and it continues to have passionate fans as well as staunch detractors.

Anyway, I hope I taught you something today, because I just thought this information was crazy.

Any thoughts?

Pred...

Can you explain why did he turn the world upside down and claimed that the northern hemisphere is actually on the bottom and if that's true, why do they call it northern hemisphere and not the southern hemisphere? and how come airlines pilots all over the world aren't speaking out because it would be impossible to travel and navigate an airlines based on a wrong map and not knowing it.

On the The Peters Projection World Map America look's like it's has lost a few pounds, it look's anorexic.. And the UK look's pretty much the same.

Originally posted by borracho
the area of Africa is 11.67 million square miles where North America is a t 9.54 million. Africa is larger, but not quite on the scale presented. Russia is at 6.6 million, so just combining North America and Russia makes a lrger land mass than Africa.

I believe you have your miles and kilometers mixed up.. It states that Africa is 30,3 million km² and the US is 9,4 million km².
By my maths, that makes Africa 3x larger. Oh and Russia is roughly 17 million km².

Originally posted by paraphi
It's because lots of people want to live in the US, but few (Snowden excepted) want to move to Russia. Not to mention the Soviets had a habit of keeping the population low due to Stalins habit of (er) moving whole populations around and making a mockery of agricultural policy leading to starvation of millions.

I think you'll find its much more to do with the huge variances in weather conditions and the topography of the country, combined with its sheer size than it is to do with any BS propaganda you have been fed as a child or continue to accept from a westernised view of the world.

I would actually like to thank the OP for showing me the light. I never knew that Africa was that big or that the world maps I have seen have been so intrinsically flawed.

Originally posted by BristolStew
Can you explain why did he turn the world upside down and claimed that the northern hemisphere is actually on the bottom and if that's true, why do they call it northern hemisphere and not the southern hemisphere? and how come airlines pilots all over the world aren't speaking out because it would be impossible to travel and navigate an airlines based on a wrong map and not knowing it.

It's completely arbitrary. I guess north is up because a lot of the best, early mapmakers where European. So they put Europe in the upper, middle part of the map and this became standard all over the world. But there's no up or down in space.

But yeah, Africa is pretty big.

I never could find the 57 states Obama says he's visited. Maybe some of them are hidden in Africa?

This is a fascinating thread ... thanks for it. My consideration is I wonder what is the significance of comparing the misunderstood size of a continent with (potentially misunderstood ideas of the geographical size of) various countries?

I wouldn't have supposed that, for example, the United States or India, were larger than Africa. On the other hand, surely the totality of Asia is. Things are sometimes larger, or smaller, than other things.

For the purposes of only informing people of the distorted geographical viewpoint of traditional representations we see in common maps, though, these images are very interesting and informative.

reply to post by predator0187


heard about this back in the early 90s. Many people that I know linked it to racism and white supremacy.

OP, thanks for reminding me why West Wing is the best show ever.

Now I want to see a map with Antarctica front and center. Antarctica always gets dissed.

reply to post by Hadrian


The world may have been a very different place had equal projection been taught all these years.

Its certainly a more humbling view of the world when we see things on an equal footing and maybe geopolitical sensibilites and world politics would be shaped differently.