How distorting are map projections? Here’s what four commonly used systems of projection do to a human head. From the 1921 publication Elements in Map Projection comes this striking demonstration of ...

But the size, shape, and distance of all the continents and oceans on a rectangular world map are actually distorted by design. These distortions affect the way we view geography, culture, and the ...

The most widely used map in the U.S. today is the Mercator projection map. Mercator maps often appear in businesses, in libraries and in classrooms where geography is taught. This popularity is ...

The map of the world as you know it – the Mercator projection – isn’t totally accurate. And Africa is leading the charge to get rid of it for good. Last week, the African Union, a continental union of ...

"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." Here’s what you’ll learn when you read this story: The African Union has started an effort to oust the ...

MR. STEERS's useful little book on map projections, the third edition of which has recently been issued, is written for those students of geography who have only the most elementary knowledge of ...

Image Credit: Gene Keyes Winner of the Buckminster Fuller Institute's 2013 map contest, by Nicole Santucci and Woodcut Maps. (Buckminster Fuller Institute) Finalist in the Buckminster Fuller Institute ...

The Mercator map, created in 1596 to help sailors navigate, is also why so many people think Greenland is larger than China. Now you can better appreciate how two-dimensional maps mess with geography, ...

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. World maps distort size and shape by design. Learn why projections matter and how they shape global understanding. (CREDIT: ...