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
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
Strange Maps
Huge color-coded map shows the world’s most ancient and recent borders
No international borders, no international order—and yet, most land borders are not very old: more than half were drawn after 1900.
Frank Jacobs
Strange Maps
These maps show how much range America’s wild animals have lost
These maps offer a glimpse of what’s been lost – or rather, destroyed – by previous generations.
Frank Jacobs
Strange Maps
A man, a van, a GPS tracker: This Brit is writing ‘STOP BREXIT’ across Europe
Englishman Andy Pardy is traveling 18,000 miles (30,000 km) across Europe this summer to make a continent-sized political statement
Frank Jacobs
Strange Maps
Just 10 streams carry 95% of all river-borne plastic into the ocean
Just ten rivers are responsible for up to 95% of all river-borne plastic trash that ends up in the sea. Silver lining: cleaning them up would have a huge positive impact.
Frank Jacobs
Strange Maps
The U.S. is Cow Country, and other lessons from this land use map
America's corn syrup fields are big enough to cover all its airports and railroads, and other surprising lessons from a 'tidied-up' map of America's land use zones
Frank Jacobs
Strange Maps
Turkish province wants its borders to look like Batman logo
More than 20,000 people have signed a petition for Batman, one of Turkey's 81 provinces, to be re-shaped so its borders resemble the Bat-Signal.
Frank Jacobs
Strange Maps
Sierra Leone is the world’s roundest country (and Egypt the squarest one)
Mind-boggling as it is, some of the world's roundest countries are also some of the most rectangular ones.
Frank Jacobs
Strange Maps
Meet the joke party that wants to ‘Make Hungary Smaller Again’
Hungary's Two-Tailed Dog Party campaigns on an 'anti-anti-immigration platform, with slogans such as: “Sorry about our Prime Minister”, and “Feel free to come to Hungary, we already work in England anyway!”
Frank Jacobs
Strange Maps
Street grids matter more to your commute than you might think
Simple diagrams reflect straightforward grids that make navigation easy. Complex diagrams equal ‘messy’ street grids, making it harder to find your way.
Frank Jacobs
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