Frank Jacobs

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Frank Jacobs

Journalist, writer, and blogger

strange maps

Frank Jacobs is Big Think's "Strange Maps" columnist.

From a young age, Frank was fascinated by maps and atlases, and the stories they contained. Finding his birthplace on the map in the endpapers of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings only increased his interest in the mystery and message of maps.

While pursuing a career in journalism, Frank started a blog called Strange Maps, as a repository for the weird and wonderful cartography he found hidden in books, posing as everyday objects and (of course) floating around the Internet.

"Each map tells a story, but the stories told by your standard atlas for school or reference are limited and literal: they show only the most practical side of the world, its geography and its political divisions. Strange Maps aims to collect and comment on maps that do everything but that - maps that show the world from a different angle".

A remit that wide allows for a steady, varied diet of maps: Frank has been writing about strange maps since 2006, published a book on the subject in 2009 and joined Big Think in 2010. Readers send in new material daily, and he keeps bumping in to cartography that is delightfully obscure, amazingly beautiful, shockingly partisan, and more.

Everything Videos Articles
Strange Maps
You can now drag and drop whole countries to compare their size
TheTrueSize.com offers hours of fun while you stretch and shrink countries and states all over the globe.
Frank Jacobs
Strange Maps
Even these Terrible Maps can teach us something
Despite itself, this collection of awful cartography may just make a few useful observations.
Frank Jacobs
Strange Maps
Map shows homicide hotspots in medieval London
Interactive map reveals the horror — and the patterns — of murder in 14th-century London.
Frank Jacobs
Strange Maps
This amazing map of Lake Michigan was made entirely by typewriter
As this typewritten map shows, constraints can be freeing.
Frank Jacobs
Strange Maps
22 months of Syria’s civil war condensed into a 1-minute video
No, the Syrian civil war is not over. But it might be soon. Time for a recap.
Frank Jacobs
Strange Maps
How to split the USA into two countries: Red and Blue
Progressive America would be half as big, but twice as populated as its conservative twin.
Frank Jacobs
Strange Maps
A.I. turns 57 million crop fields into stunning abstract art
Detailed (and beautiful) information on 57 million crop fields across the U.S. and Europe are now available online.
Frank Jacobs
Strange Maps
The most culturally chauvinist people in Europe? Greeks, new research suggests.
Meanwhile, Spaniards are the least likely to say their culture is superior to others.
Frank Jacobs
Strange Maps
Map shows U.S. effort to feed Europe after WWI
This 100-year-old map, originally made for American consumption, highlights the famines that swept across Europe after WWI.
Frank Jacobs
Strange Maps
Take hope: This Fukushima disaster map is a fake
The greatest danger to our planet is not pollution or climate change, but our own despair.
Frank Jacobs
Strange Maps
How the Smiths took over Europe
In more than a dozen countries as far apart as Portugal and Russia, 'Smith' is the most popular occupational surname
Frank Jacobs
Strange Maps
These cities are the hubs of Africa’s economic boom
South Africa is no longer the only place on the continent that has urban wealth clusters
Frank Jacobs
Strange Maps
Why is Le Guin’s hand-drawn map not as famous as her book?
Like Stevenson, Tolkien and other creators of fantasy worlds, Ursula K. Le Guin was a cartographer as well as a writer
Frank Jacobs
Strange Maps
Finally, a world map that’s all about oceans
The Spilhaus Projection may be more than 75 years old, but it has never been more relevant than today.
Frank Jacobs
Strange Maps
London’s a shallow Christian sea with islands of other faiths​
Although London is predominantly Christian, this map shows an archipelago of different faiths throughout the city.
Frank Jacobs
Strange Maps
Highest resolution of any continent: A stunning new map of Antarctica
Not so long ago, we had better maps of Mars than of Antarctica. Now, Antarctica is the best-mapped continent in the world.
Frank Jacobs
Strange Maps
Does this world map finally tell the truth (or just lie a little less)?
Three scientists have produced a map of the world which accurately reflects the size of all the continents. They're calling the Equal Earth Projection.
Frank Jacobs
Strange Maps
In 1921, Canada developed a secret plan to invade the U.S.
America's fear of an Anglo-Japanese alliance led Canada to worry about a U.S. attack—and in the end, devise a scheme for a 'pre-emptive invasion' of its southern neighbor.
Frank Jacobs
Strange Maps
Dutch Golden Age wasn’t all that Dutch
By the late 18th century, up to 70% of the soldiers manning the ships of the Dutch East India Company came from outside the Netherlands
Frank Jacobs
Strange Maps
China and Europe stand out on world map of atheism
Faith is in retreat, atheism is on the march. But only in China does a majority positively state they don’t believe in God.
Frank Jacobs
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