I'm not crying; it's just raining, on my face
April 23, 2018 5:20 PM Subscribe
I'm stymied by the ones that still manage to include Madagascar.
posted by elsietheeel at 5:32 PM on April 23, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by elsietheeel at 5:32 PM on April 23, 2018 [8 favorites]
Well, I get that being a couple of islands kiwis can easily spot when they're not on a map, but if you asked 100 random earthlings to point to, for example, where my own Chile was, I doubt you'd get more than 2 or 3 correct answers.
The Argentinian passport back cover used to have a drawing of South America with Argentina hatched in in gold ink, which made complete sense so when travelling and people said 'Argentina, what part of Africa is that in?' they could point at their passports.
posted by signal at 5:47 PM on April 23, 2018 [8 favorites]
The Argentinian passport back cover used to have a drawing of South America with Argentina hatched in in gold ink, which made complete sense so when travelling and people said 'Argentina, what part of Africa is that in?' they could point at their passports.
posted by signal at 5:47 PM on April 23, 2018 [8 favorites]
Mod note: Eh, kind of a double, but I'm gonna let it ride. The world needs to know about New Zealand being picked last for sports.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 5:52 PM on April 23, 2018 [34 favorites]
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 5:52 PM on April 23, 2018 [34 favorites]
It's actually a carefully orchestrated national conspiracy, kiwi's spreading disinformation globally - when civilisation collapses no one will know we're here and we can carry on like we do now (oblivious to change), so shhhh!
I was always picked last for sports too.
posted by unearthed at 5:54 PM on April 23, 2018 [16 favorites]
I was always picked last for sports too.
posted by unearthed at 5:54 PM on April 23, 2018 [16 favorites]
much of the geographic material being used/handed out in non-NZ classrooms around the world is so staggeringly awful I'm surprised kids are growing up with any spatial awareness at all.
I now live in the Niagara region of Southern Ontario Canada, but I grew up in Dallas, Texas. I can recall a 6th grade geography text book that had a map of N. America on it, it had the United States prominently displayed (all 50 states clearly labelled). Right above was a greyed out mass of land. It was not labelled.
Thankfully, an Aunt of mine had gifted me with a world globe and I was able to use it to learn many of the other countries that exist on our planet, Canada being one of them. It's nice that the globe I was gifted had this very important information. It's a shame that the school board for my city had elected to use a geography text book that lacked this key detail.
*sighs*
posted by Fizz at 5:58 PM on April 23, 2018 [9 favorites]
I now live in the Niagara region of Southern Ontario Canada, but I grew up in Dallas, Texas. I can recall a 6th grade geography text book that had a map of N. America on it, it had the United States prominently displayed (all 50 states clearly labelled). Right above was a greyed out mass of land. It was not labelled.
Thankfully, an Aunt of mine had gifted me with a world globe and I was able to use it to learn many of the other countries that exist on our planet, Canada being one of them. It's nice that the globe I was gifted had this very important information. It's a shame that the school board for my city had elected to use a geography text book that lacked this key detail.
*sighs*
posted by Fizz at 5:58 PM on April 23, 2018 [9 favorites]
I like to include NZ in most things, even when not entirely necessary
(I may be overcompensating)
posted by piyushnz at 6:07 PM on April 23, 2018 [8 favorites]
(I may be overcompensating)
posted by piyushnz at 6:07 PM on April 23, 2018 [8 favorites]
Eponysterical?
posted by Literaryhero at 6:14 PM on April 23, 2018
posted by Literaryhero at 6:14 PM on April 23, 2018
It was a tiny epiphany for me, travelling in NZ, to see the map of the world on the evening news that didn't have North America smack in the center. Prior to that point I had not seen a world map framed with New Zealand in the center.
posted by puddledork at 6:19 PM on April 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by puddledork at 6:19 PM on April 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
Better than Madagascar, the ones that have Tasmania are just an obvious middle finger.
posted by bongo_x at 6:41 PM on April 23, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by bongo_x at 6:41 PM on April 23, 2018 [9 favorites]
To help make up for this, I feel like every time I meet someone from Australia I should comment on their New Zealand accent.
posted by TedW at 6:41 PM on April 23, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by TedW at 6:41 PM on April 23, 2018 [12 favorites]
The one that actually includes New Zealand, but thinks that it is Papua New Guinea really made my blood boil. Handed out by a history teacher if Reddit is to be believed.
Also. Australia does not look like that, but points for remembering Tasmania exists.
posted by arha at 6:42 PM on April 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
Also. Australia does not look like that, but points for remembering Tasmania exists.
posted by arha at 6:42 PM on April 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
Also AFAICT New Guinea and the Philippines. Depending what the smears are in the Australian blob Indonesia might have been missed too.
posted by mark k at 6:55 PM on April 23, 2018
posted by mark k at 6:55 PM on April 23, 2018
A fifth of US students can't locate the US on a world map, so I'm not surprised that mapmakers could eventually decide to just shrug and throw some shapes on the paper; they're pretty sure almost nobody will notice.
As for why US students are so ill-informed... Miss Teen USA 2007 has some insights.
(Warning: Memetic toxin; you may need brain bleach after listening.)
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 7:38 PM on April 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
As for why US students are so ill-informed... Miss Teen USA 2007 has some insights.
(Warning: Memetic toxin; you may need brain bleach after listening.)
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 7:38 PM on April 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
Government of New Zealand, 404: New Zealand Not Found
posted by justkevin at 7:53 PM on April 23, 2018 [27 favorites]
posted by justkevin at 7:53 PM on April 23, 2018 [27 favorites]
We recently built a new office for my company’s global headquarters with a huge, beautiful stylized world map spanning an entire wall. The designers had included New Zealand, sort of - but put it on the wrong side of Australia. So, nice try? I made them move it.
posted by something something at 8:11 PM on April 23, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by something something at 8:11 PM on April 23, 2018 [14 favorites]
It's actually a carefully orchestrated national conspiracy, kiwi's spreading disinformation globally - when civilisation collapses no one will know we're here and we can carry on like we do now (oblivious to change), so shhhh!
Let's send one to Peter Thiel quick.
posted by Halloween Jack at 8:19 PM on April 23, 2018 [6 favorites]
Let's send one to Peter Thiel quick.
posted by Halloween Jack at 8:19 PM on April 23, 2018 [6 favorites]
Not really necessary. Thiel is obviously driving the stealthing of New Zealand.
If you're going to be a global supervillain, you need an invisible base.
posted by flabdablet at 9:43 PM on April 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
If you're going to be a global supervillain, you need an invisible base.
posted by flabdablet at 9:43 PM on April 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
[–]mrssupersheenSometimes reading the comments is worth it.
14 points 10 hours ago
I've ben subscribed here for a year and still don't think i could correctly place NZ.
[–]Raviolius
21 points 9 hours ago
I think I can tell you why
posted by Sequence at 9:57 PM on April 23, 2018 [6 favorites]
I note that many of the maps that are missing New Zealand also don’t have Iceland (examples: 1, 2, 3, 4).
A friend of mine was once playing a computer game where you would explore space. He found Earth and decided to land on Iceland and had his ship aim for the correct coordinates. The spacecraft landed on ocean and sunk. It was then that he realized he’d been playing for hours without saving. Lost lands sink ships.
posted by Kattullus at 10:39 PM on April 23, 2018 [12 favorites]
A friend of mine was once playing a computer game where you would explore space. He found Earth and decided to land on Iceland and had his ship aim for the correct coordinates. The spacecraft landed on ocean and sunk. It was then that he realized he’d been playing for hours without saving. Lost lands sink ships.
posted by Kattullus at 10:39 PM on April 23, 2018 [12 favorites]
> Let's send one to Peter Thiel quick.
It's too late, Thiel got New Zealand citizenship a few years ago.
posted by ardgedee at 2:07 AM on April 24, 2018
It's too late, Thiel got New Zealand citizenship a few years ago.
posted by ardgedee at 2:07 AM on April 24, 2018
the ones that have Tasmania are just an obvious middle finger.
Bad analogy, a map of Tasmania would be a folded palm, not an extended finger.
posted by Joe in Australia at 3:24 AM on April 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
Bad analogy, a map of Tasmania would be a folded palm, not an extended finger.
posted by Joe in Australia at 3:24 AM on April 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
This happened to my home state once.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:37 AM on April 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:37 AM on April 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
My home state too. (note it happened during the year of the Dakotas' centennial, so extra hurtful)
Maybe we should really just ask ourselves: are the people we trust to make our maps really worthy of that honor?
posted by AzraelBrown at 4:42 AM on April 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
Maybe we should really just ask ourselves: are the people we trust to make our maps really worthy of that honor?
posted by AzraelBrown at 4:42 AM on April 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
There was a thread I saw on twitter a week or so back, with a dozen or more maps shown on US cable news headed “Syria In Crisis!”, over an outline of Iran, and similar. One had resurrected Czechoslovakia, as a label, except it was actually Hungary. Whole countries in South America became labels on cities in other countries in South America. I wish I could search twitter effectively, I was crying.
posted by pompomtom at 5:05 AM on April 24, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by pompomtom at 5:05 AM on April 24, 2018 [5 favorites]
Bad analogy, a map of Tasmania would be a folded palm
Traditionally, the map of Tassie refers to a quite different body part.
posted by pompomtom at 5:14 AM on April 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
Traditionally, the map of Tassie refers to a quite different body part.
posted by pompomtom at 5:14 AM on April 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
Quite a few of these maps also omit Newfoundland, Canada :-(
posted by Paladin1138 at 6:29 AM on April 24, 2018
posted by Paladin1138 at 6:29 AM on April 24, 2018
Any of you folks remember when Google Maps thought Jessamyn’s town was at the bottom of a lake?
posted by matildaben at 8:56 AM on April 24, 2018
posted by matildaben at 8:56 AM on April 24, 2018
Any of you folks remember when Google Maps thought Jessamyn’s town was at the bottom of a lake?
That was just the AI planning ahead.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 9:05 AM on April 24, 2018 [2 favorites]
That was just the AI planning ahead.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 9:05 AM on April 24, 2018 [2 favorites]
If you enjoy this you will really enjoy checking maps ostensibly published after 2011 to see if they include South Sudan.
posted by everybody had matching towels at 9:22 AM on April 24, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by everybody had matching towels at 9:22 AM on April 24, 2018 [2 favorites]
To help make up for this, I feel like every time I meet someone from Australia I should comment on their New Zealand accent.
Be careful
posted by kersplunk at 4:22 PM on April 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
Be careful
posted by kersplunk at 4:22 PM on April 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
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posted by turbid dahlia at 5:28 PM on April 23, 2018 [5 favorites]