Maps found in an atlas only really tell us a couple of things. The first is where a country or continent is located, the second is some of the provinces or states, and cities found in specific countries. While these are important, there are other maps out there that tell us about all sorts of interesting things that were never taught in school. Here are some of the most fascinating maps ever made, that provide a whole new perspective on the world that was never featured in the textbooks.
Where Are The Most Photographed Places On The Entire Planet?
The world is full of beautiful cities, islands, and so much more. Every town, city, and country has something beautiful that is worth capturing on film, but there are some places that are better known than others. This map details the places in the world that get the most photos taken each year. It is important to understand that some of these places have a lot of photography because they possess UNESCO World Heritage sites and are areas where a lot of newsworthy events happen.
If you look closely, there is one area that sees a lot of photographic traffic and that is the entire continent of Europe.
These Are The Happiest And Unhappiest Places On The Planet
Every year some news service or magazine comes out with their happiest and unhappiest places on Earth. Sometimes these lists are broken down by country and sometimes by city. The metrics for how happiness and unhappiness are measured are never crystal clear, which means this map should be taken with a grain of salt. The one place that seems to be happy overall, is North America which consists of Canada and the USA.
The island nation of Australia also seems to be a happy place to live, as well as the Scandinavian countries.
Seasonal Weather Patterns Vary By Northern And Southern Hemispheres
Weather and its seasonal changes are not the same on every corner of the Earth. For example, most of North America experiences a cold winter with lots of snow, and a nice summer season that doesn't experience heat waves unless you are in the Southern USA. This map shows how snowfalls across the Northern Hemisphere which is the upper half of this map. It should be noted that the seasons are flipped.
This means that summer in the Northern Hemisphere is when winter occurs in the Southern Hemisphere and vice versa. Summer in the Southern Hemisphere typically means very high temperatures and little rainfall.
Where The Most Conventionally 'Attractive' Women Are Found By Country
The world is full of beautiful people. What one person finds attractive can be vastly different from what another person sees as beautiful. It is important to remember when looking at a map that displays the most attractive women by country, that beauty is completely subjective and the standards found in one country may be completely different from another. According to this map, all of the countries highlighted in green are where the most attractive women are found.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so don't let this map influence how you look at the people around you in your own country.
Red Hair Is Rare According To This Map Of Europe
Red hair comes in a variety of shades ranging from a dark auburn to a strawberry blonde. Most of the population on the planet has some variation of brown or black hair, which is one of the reasons red hair is special. In Europe, there are a number of countries where red hair is more common, and this map details where the red hair hotspots are. Most of these are in Western Europe.
The United Kingdom also has a number of red hair hot spots where more than 10 percent of the population has some shade of red hair.
An Analysis Of Bra Sizes Across The Globe
Everyone's body is built differently, and for women, that means different bra sizes. There are a number of factors that affect this, and this map may not be as representative of those as one might think. For example, countries that have an increased level of obesity may report on average, larger bra sizes. It's still fascinating, though! One part of the world, in particular, seems to have won the prize for the buxomest population and that is Eastern Europe which includes Russia.
We would really love to know what metrics were used to create this map. What kind of research was done and how to arrive at these conclusions?
Good Things Come In All Different Sizes And Packages Worldwide
With this map here, we head to the nether regions of the male population. Apparently, no list would be complete without taking a look at the size of men's packages across the globe. The dark green countries are the ones that have the larges packages, and the red countries have the smallest. Like everything though, there are exceptions to the rules and in this case, the statistics for anyone that is wondering.
The grey countries are ones that don't have any data, which may make them ones to watch out for in the future once that data has been collected.
How Many Beers Can Minimum Wage Buy In Different Parts Of Europe?
Most countries in Europe have a minimum wage that all workers in legal jobs must make. Going off of that minimum wage, which does vary by country, this map was created to show roughly how many beers could be bought with a monthly minimum wage. Some countries certainly have more bang for their buck. Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands appear to have the most beers available which makes us think they might pay a higher minimum wage.
The cost of beer also plays a factor here, with beer being much cheaper in certain countries, which means more can be bought if the minimum wage is decent.
The World's Population Is Mainly Concentrated In This One Circle
With nearly 7 billion people on the planet, you would think that the population might be evenly dispersed across the seven continents but it most definitely is not. According to the Washington Post, "There are more people living inside this circle than outside of it." That means there is a large concentration of the world's population in this one corner of the world, which is mainly comprised of Southeast Asian countries.
Many parts of the world remain sparsely populated due to a lack of food sources, extreme weather conditions, and lack of infrastructure in the form of roads, airports, and railways.
Heavy Metal Bands Per 100,000 People Are Concentrated In Scandinavia
Metal music is one of those genres that is very much an acquired taste. The music tends to be pretty loud and full of lyrics that are a tad hard to make out. Many people consider Black Sabbath to be one of the earliest examples of a metal band having gotten its start in the 1960s. Since then, a number of metal bands have popped up and it has become a popular genre in the music world.
This map shows which countries have the highest concentration of metal bands per 100,000 people and Scandinavia, including Greenland have some of the most bands. Is it the weather there?
Finish The Question, Why Is [Insert Country] So [Adjective]?
Google Autocomplete for questions might just be one of the best inventions of all time. As soon as the question, "Why is [a country of your choosing] so ___?" is typed in, an adjective will pop up to fill in the blank for the country Googled. The adjective provided is usually the one most commonly associated with the country, and it provides a good indication of what that country is like, or at least, the stereotype associated with it.
![Finish The Question, Why Is [Insert Country] So [Adjective]?](https://posts-cdn.kueez.net/BYLOe8vjoerkdgFc/image-21Nn37K12i5LVHok.jpg)
This map of Europe accurately sums up how many of these countries are viewed and all in one word which is pretty amazing.
It Is Time To Finish The Google Autocomplete Question For America
As one of the largest countries in the world, each state found within the United States of America, is almost a country unto itself. These states have their own culture, food, and of course, a word that sums them up perfectly. The same Google Autocomplete question can be asked like the country one above, but instead, the focus is specifically on an American state. For example, Alaska, which is next to Canada is known for being expensive.
Other states, like those found on the border with Canada, are known for being cold, while some in the Midwest are known for being very flat.
The Google Autocomplete Question For Asia Has Multiple Word Answers
Another Google Autocomplete search was done for the countries in Asia, but the results are a tad different. It would appear, judging by this map, that Asian countries cannot be summed up in one word, and instead need a couple or a whole phrase. For example, Russia is "so big" which is pretty accurate considering Russia is the largest country by landmass in the world, followed closely by Canada and China.
Other countries in Asia aren't known for their size, but instead for their political situation or how they may be affected by climate change.
Countries With The Most Emotional Populations Ranked Around The Globe
Humans in general tend to be pretty emotional, at least when you compare us to animals. We are able to articulate our emotions and share what we are feeling right as it is happening. How we share emotions, and what emotions are shared can depend on the culture in which you reside. This has led to some countries being considered as 'very emotional' and other countries being considered as 'less emotional.'
It may come as a bit of a surprise but the Americas as a whole were ranked as being more emotional than many other parts of the world.
Young People In The European Union Who Still Live At Home
Living at home with your parents in your 20s to 30s is becoming more and more common, and this map of young people aged 25-34 in the European Union only highlights this even more. Renting an apartment is expensive, and many young people live at home to save so that they can eventually own. Central Europe and Scandinavia seem to have the lowest concentration of young people living at home, which may be due to higher wages in their home countries.
Other countries, such as those in Eastern Europe, have a might higher concentration of young people living with their parents.
Countries Where Being LGBTQ+ Has Extreme Legislation Around It
While we would all like to imagine that we live in a world full of equality, this is simply not the case for LGBTQ+ communities in certain countries. This map highlights the countries where it is still considered a crime to practice homosexuality. These laws are in place for a number of reasons, and many advocates around the globe continue to try and change these to reflect other countries that have different legislation.
Anyone who wants to travel, and wants to know which countries are friendly to LGBTQ+ people should do their research before traveling to these places.
An Index Of Countries Where It Is Good To Be Born
Each country has its pros and cons, but when it comes to living in certain countries, there are some that have better access to things like healthcare, basic infrastructure, and other social programs designed to benefit their citizens. While it is impossible to choose where you are born, this map does highlight the areas that are considered the 'best' and the 'worst; according to whatever metrics they designed for measurement.
However, there are many grey countries on the map, which means that there is not enough data to accurately assess all of the countries on the planet.
Countries That Have A Gross Domestic Product Of $1 Trillion
What makes each country unique, besides the people and the history, of course, is their sources of income. The gross domestic product or GDP is the monetary measurement or value of goods and services that a country produces. This is typically measured annually and reported to agencies like the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development or OECD. This map divides the world into regions that have a GDP of $1 trillion.
This map is particularly interesting because some countries are further broken down by state or other smaller regions that produce $1 trillion in their own right.
Most Of Australia's Population Lives Along The Coastline
Australia, which is both an island state and a continent always appears pretty small on maps, but it is a vast country. However, just because it has a lot of land does not mean that it is fully inhabited. In fact, the majority of the population is concentrated around the coastline, and on the island of Tasmania. This map shows that barely any of the population lives in the interior.
Only 2% of the entire Australian population lives in the yellow zone highlighted on the map, with the rest preferring the sunny shores.
American States And Their Highest Paid Public Office Employees
In the United States of America, each state has public offices that list the salaries of the employees employed by them. Some of the salaries are quite low, and not worth noting, but the highest-paid ones are definitely something to take a look at. It might come as a surprise to find out that football and basketball coaches are some of the highest-paid in the country, but that is what this map shows.
There are some other high-paying positions, like physicians working in the medical field, but it would appear that sports are better paid as a whole.
World Leaders And The Educational Backgrounds Which Helped Them Into Office
The path to politics isn't the same for every politician. Some people know from a young age that they want to serve their people, and others simply want to pursue art or research. There are certain backgrounds that are common for world leader's like public administration, law, and international relations. However, looking at this map that details the educational backgrounds of various world leaders, it shows that there are a wide variety of disciplines that led to the world stage.
The best leaders are the ones that can look at a problem from every angle, and do what is right, not what is necessary the best according to public opinion.
What The World Would Look Like Flipped Upside Down
Have you ever seen a map that is south-up? Pretty much all of the modern maps we have access to today, are oriented to be north-up. It is uncommon to see maps oriented any other way, but it is important to have an understanding of the world from different perspectives. Take a look at this map, and see what it would look like if we viewed everything from the direction of Antarctica.
One of the first countries you would see is Russia, followed by Canada and the autonomous territory that is Greenland.
Alcoholic Drinks That Are The Most Popular By Region
With so many different alcoholic beverages to choose from, it should come as no surprise that certain regions have a preference for certain alcohols. Beer, wine, and spirits are the most commonly drunk choices, and this map shows which regions prefer which ones. Certain countries are also known for their alcoholic beverage production, which also contributes to an increased preference for local beverages. For example, Russia produces a lot of vodkas, and thus, has a preference for spirits.
Much of North America prefers beer, and with the uptick in microbreweries all of Canada and the USA this also doesn't come as a surprise.
Countries Around The World And What Americans Think About Them
Stereotypes are widely held beliefs about certain places, and they tend to stick around because people fixate on them and continuously share them. In 2012, this map was shared and it showed all of the American stereotypes that are believed for various places around the world. Some of them are pretty funny, and some of them definitely stem from a lack of understanding about certain countries. Even the oceans have new names, which are pretty hilarious.
The Suez Canal appears to be a whole lot bigger than it is shown on other maps, and located smack dab in the Atlantic Ocean.
What European Countries Are Known For According to The USA
There are 44 countries in Europe, which many people don't realize considering how small it is. Some of these countries are tiny like San Marino, while others are quite big like Spain. In 2012, another map was released showcasing what European countries are known for according to Americans. Many stereotypes were shared once more, and for Romania, apparently, it is still remembered as being the birthplace of the vampire Dracula.
Many of these stereotypes stem from film, television, and books, which is what has made certain cultural elements widely known and perhaps misinterpreted.
The Seven Regions Where A Billion People Reside In Each
With seven billion people on the planet, it is pretty amazing to think about everyone spread out across the seven continents. It can be difficult to visualize what the world looks like, and how all of the seven billion people are spread out across the planet. This map has broken down the world into seven regions, and each colored region contains one billion people. As you can see, three of the continents contain a billion people only.
These are the Americas and Australia combined. Other much smaller regions are much more densely populated and cover a much smaller landmass.
The World According To English Invasions Through The Centuries
Colonization was and still is a very real thing for many parts of the world. The British Empire was incredibly active in the 1800s when it came to invading different nations around the world, and if you chart all of these invasions it shows that the Empire really did try to take over the world. This map shows that only 22 countries on the planet were never invaded by England.
The rest of the countries had an English presence at some point in their histories, and the countries that belong to the Commonwealth still have ties to the United Kingdom.
Countries With The Greatest And Lowest Racial Tolerance
No two countries are the same, even if they speak the same language. Each country has its own slang, and beliefs, which is also reflected through how the citizens tolerate different ethnicities. Some countries have a higher tolerance for different groups than others, which is what this map reflects. Like some of the other maps on this list, certain countries simply do not have enough data to measure to see how they rank on this scale.
According to this map, the countries in blue are more tolerant than the ones that are light pink or red. This is good for travelers to note before heading off the beaten track.
Countries That Have Birthright Citizenship And Countries That Do Not
Citizenship is a tricky thing. Some places consider you a citizen if you are born there, and others base citizenship on where your parents are from or your permanent address. In many countries found in North and South America, if you are born there, and there is a record of your birth then you automatically gain citizenship. For the rest of the world, it appears that you do not if your parents or other family members are not from there.
Most likely there are some exceptions, as the map does not confirm birthright citizenship for a few African nations.
The Cigarettes Smoked Per Person According To Different Countries' Statistics
Measuring on average, how many cigarettes a person has smoked per country sounds like a very big undertaking. Many medical records and files would need to be poured over and analyzed to come to any sort of conclusion. Some scientists managed to do that to create this map, which shows the countries where many of its people smoke cigarettes. Russia and some countries Eastern Europe are highlighted in red, which has the highest number of cigarettes per person.
Countries in purple are the ones with the lowest number, but there are many other countries in grey which have yet to be analyzed.
Countries Around The Globe Which Still Have An Active Monarchy
Back in the days of Kings and Queens, and the rise and fall of empires, monarchies were considered to be one of the more stable forms of leadership. Formal government structures like we know now were not the same as the ones 200 years ago. Now, there are very few active monarchies, especially ones that are the head of state. Most monarchies are ceremonial or simply used as a figurehead for countries that once belonged to their empire.
The Commonwealth is a good example of this, as the Queen of England is still the figurehead for a number of countries that were part of the British Empire.
Atheists Around The World And Where They Are Mainly Concentrated
An Atheist is someone who does not believe in any form of deity associated with many modern religions. Studies have been done to see where atheists are distributed across the world's population, and this handy map shows where they are all dispersed. The level of measurement used was how closely one agrees with the sentiment that they consider themselves a "convinced atheist." Interestingly, the highest number of convinced atheists are found in Asia.
The Americas have a relatively low percentage of people that would consider themselves true atheists, which one could infer means they belong to organized religions.
Love Is All Around Us, Especially For These People
Love is not easy to quantify, and the definition of what love is, varies from person to person. The love shared between two partners is also different from the love shared between a parent and a child, yet these are still all forms of love that people feel. This map shows all of the people that felt love in a 24-hour period of time, and if that love was "a lot."
Some countries reported relatively low levels of love, and we hope that everyone in those eventually gets the love they deserve. Love is all around us if you look hard enough.
Sunshine Hours Per Year For The USA And European Nations
First off, the United States of America and many European Nations are not in the same area. This means that many countries like Norway, Denmark, and Sweden are much closer to the Arctic than the USA. If you know anything about how sunshine works in these locations, then you will understand that Scandinavian countries receive close to 24-hours of sunlight in the summer, and very little sunlight in the winter.
Thus, it makes sense that most American states experience lots of sunshine, and the states closest to the border with Mexico experience the most days of sunshine.
Lactose Intolerance Population Averages Around The World
Cheese has to be one of the most delicious dairy products in the world, but many people, experience symptoms of lactose intolerance. Anyone who is lactose intolerant knows that there are some pretty undesirable effects associated with eating or drinking dairy that is best avoided. Some parts of the world are more lactose intolerant than others, and this might be attributed to the fact that dairy products are not as common.
The countries in the Northern Hemisphere like Russia and Canada have a long history of drinking milk, making cheeses, and other dairy-related products. In contrast, many Asian countries do not have a focus on dairy in their diets in the same way.
The Most Popular Countries In The World For Traveler's To Visit
While every country has something to see, there are certain countries that have a bit of a monopoly on the tourism industry. These countries are known for their natural wonders, great cuisine, relative safety for tourists. You might be wondering what one of the top destinations is, and it is the United States of America, as well as China and a few European countries. These are the places highlighted in red.
The purple countries see far viewer visitors, but that isn't a bad thing. It means that there is more natural beauty to see and likely it is more often the beaten track compared to more popular destinations.
Favorite Musical Talent By State In The United States of America
With music apps like Spotify and Apple Music, it is easier than ever to listen to your favorite artists and songs. All of that data is stored and analyzed though, which makes it easy to see who the top musical artist is in each state. Take a look at this map to see which artists are the most popular, and to gain some insight into the genre of music that is listened to.
Jay-Z and Drake are the most popular across multiple states, but this might have changed in 2021 because world music has become a lot more popular.
Famous Brands And The US States That They Come From
The USA has a ton of different brands, and brand recognition is everything for companies that want to stand the test of time. Each state has a certain brand that was created in them, and these brands have gained national and international recognition. For instance, Dr. Pepper was created in Waco, Texas, and that delicious soda is one that is enjoyed all around the world. Apple is another big name brand out of California.
Each state has a brand that is instantly recognizable by its logo and this map details all of them which is pretty neat.
This Is Officially The Longest Walk On The Entire Planet
Reddit users love to take a look at maps and find out different routes for travel. One user did a bit of sleuthing and discovered the longest continuous walking round around the world which does not require any ocean travel. It stretches a total of 22,387 kilometers and begins in Cape Town, South Africa. After walking across the continent of Africa, through the Middle East, and up through Europe and Asia you arrive at the final destination.
The final destination is Magadan, Russia and you have to walk through a total of 16 countries before you finally get there. Walking around 8 hours a day, with zero break days, it would take about 562 days to complete the trek.
Antarctica And All Of Its Time Zones Across The Continent
Antarctica is one of the most mysterious places on Earth. Very few people get to step foot on it, as it is primarily full of scientists and researchers who want to learn more about it. There are some cruises that go to the area, but most people don't get to spend a night on the continent. Another interesting thing about Antarctica is that it technically stretches across all time zones.
However, because the continent is subject to extremely long days and nights depending on the season, not all time zones are adhered to.