Award Winning Map of the World by H. Narukawa

From My Readings This Morning

The above map is the Award Winning Map and Most Accurate Picture of Earth Ever Created:

"We've been viewing the world incorrectly for 500 years. The traditional world map, first designed by Gerardus Mercator in 1569, has long been criticized for its significant distortions.

It exaggerates the size of regions in the northern hemisphere, such as Europe and North America, while diminishing those closer to the equator. Greenland, for example, appears the size of Africa on many maps, despite being 14 times smaller.

In the 1970s, German journalist Arno Peters publicly denounced the Mercator projection, highlighting its role in perpetuating a Eurocentric worldview. Even modern alternatives often fail to accurately represent landmasses like Antarctica.

Now, Tokyo-based architect and artist Hajime Narukawa won Japan's prestigious Good Design Award for developing the AuthaGraph World Map, a groundbreaking projection that preserves the true proportions of continents and oceans.

By dividing the globe into 96 triangles, then transferring these to a tetrahedron and unfolding it into a rectangle, the AuthaGraph map eliminates the distortions found in both the Mercator and Dymaxion maps.

Remarkably, it also allows for seamless tiling, enabling users to reposition regions at the center while maintaining accurate geographical relationships.

The creators of the AuthaGraph map argue that, while traditional maps prioritized land, today’s global challenges demand a broader focus on oceans and polar regions. Issues such as melting glaciers, rising sea levels, and the territorial claims over marine resources require an accurate and unbiased representation of the Earth.

By offering a fresh perspective, the AuthaGraph map aims to help users better understand the interconnectedness of our planet's land and water systems. Imagine, too, how this innovative map could reshape our view of 600 million years of continental drift.

Meanwhile, Did you Know That...

In 1867, the U.S. bought Alaska from Russia for just $7.2 million—about 2 cents per acre!

At the time, many Americans mocked the deal, calling it “Seward’s Folly” and “Seward’s Icebox”, believing it was a worthless frozen wasteland. But the joke was on them—Alaska turned out to be rich in gold, oil, and natural resources, making it one of the best land deals in history! Today, it contributes billions to the U.S. economy.

Lastly, Did You Know That...

Gough Island is a remote and rugged volcanic island located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Tristan da Cunha archipelago, which belongs to the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha. Gough Island is uninhabited except for a small team of meteorologists who maintain a weather station operated by South Africa. The island is renowned for its dramatic cliffs, lush vegetation, and unique biodiversity, including numerous bird species found nowhere else on Earth.

Situated approximately 2,700 kilometers (1,700 miles) west of Cape Town, South Africa, and about 3,200 kilometers (2,000 miles) east of South America, Gough Island is one of the most isolated places on the planet. Its isolation has allowed it to become a critical breeding ground for seabirds such as albatrosses and petrels. The island is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its ecological significance.

Access to Gough Island is extremely limited, typically only available by ship, and only a handful of people visit each year for scientific research. The island's harsh weather and steep terrain make it challenging to explore, but its untouched ecosystems remain a vital refuge for wildlife in the South Atlantic. Gough Island serves as a stark reminder of the importance of conserving remote and fragile environments.