January 21, 2011

#850: World According to Americans

The World

According to a group of

Americans

Who turned out to be unexpectedly good at geography, derailing our attempt to illustrate their country’s attitude toward the rest of the world.

((One big panel, a map of the world. Fairly accurate. Annotated in several different scripts of handwriting. These are transcribed in approximately left to right, top to bottom order. Some are written paired and appear as such.))

Hey so what projection should we use?

I’ll aim for “Robinson.”

Alaska

Canada

Hudson Bay

Québec

Greenland (still too big!)

Yeah but the Peters map is awful

United States

Did you know Maine is actually the US state closest to Africa?

Baja California (Mexico)

Mexico

Gulf of Mexico

Cuba

Hispanola

Bermuda (British!)

Central America

Jamaica

Do we have to label all the Virgin Islands?

Panama Canal

French, and I think Dutch and English

Brazil (Portuguese - speaking)

Rest of South America (Spanish-speaking)

Tierra del Fuego

Iceland

British Isles

Ireland

Gibraltar

Western Europe

Scandinavia

Eastern Europe

Black Sea

Middle East

Morocco

Algeria

Sahara Desert

West Africa

Sudan

So this is one of those things where you point out our ignorance and stereotypes?

Yeah - I mean I freely admit I don’t know the African map very well, which speaks volumes in itself.

Rainforest

DRC

Lake Victoria

Somalia

Angola

Mozambique

South Africa

Cape Horn

Madagascar

Russia

Kamchatka Peninsula but I admit I only know this one from Risk

Aral Sea (Gone)

Various former Soviet States

Mongolia

Afghanistan & Pakistan

India

Mostly Muslim

Mostly Hindu

Sri Lanka

Tibet (informal)

China

Southeast Asia

Koreas

Japan, duh.

Taiwan (actually called “The Republic of China” - it’s complicated

Phillipines

Malaysia

Boxing Day Quake

Wait, “Boxing day”? There’s no way you’re American.

I read BBC News, OK?

Indonesia

Sulawesi

Paupa New Guinea

Australia

Tasmania

New Zealand

Shall we include Antarctica?

Let’s not - these guys are looking impatient.