A list of curious facts
One: The greatest challenge in creating a world map lies in depicting a spherical object as a 2D graphic. The maps we see were created using a technique invented by Gerardus Mercator back in the 16th century. It was great for ship navigators but the Mercator projection pumps up the sizes of Europe and North America.
This gif below shows countries shrinking to their true size. To see something even more astonishing, head over to TheTrueSize website, search for a country and then drag and drop it anywhere on the map to see its, well, true size. Visual Capitalist has more on the problems with the Mercator system.
Two: Speaking of changing your perspective, here’s an amazing time-lapse video that demonstrates the daily rotation of Earth. Most time-lapse videos show the stars and sky moving above a fixed Earth. Here it is the camera that rotates so that the sky remains fixed—while the Earth rotates. The result is uncanny and amazing!
Three: Inventing stuff can be hazardous business—and has often led to the death of the inventors. For example, Henry Smolinski, who smushed together the rudders and wings from a Cessna aircraft onto the back of a Ford Pinto. It crashed and burned on the test flight, taking Smolinski with it. Gizmodo has an excellent list of nine inventors who died thanks to their madcap designs.
Four: Chinese researchers have created plastic from strands of DNA extracted from… salmon sperm! They mixed it with chemicals from vegetable oil to create a gel-like substance that can then be formed into a mold and freeze-dried—to create a cup like below! What’s good about this: It can be easily broken down unlike real plastic—and has a much smaller carbon footprint. (Smithsonian)
