“Bob Dylan’s World”
Every place Bob Dylan ever sang about, from Oxford Town to Mozambique.
“My Kind of Town, Stink Onions”
Cartographers Stephan Hormes and Silke Peust labeled each state and city on this U.S. map with the literal meaning of its name, showing that some etymologies are best left forgotten.
“The 7,000 Streams That Become the Mississippi River”
The map, generated with an online tool released by the Department of the Interior, highlights thousands of streams that drain into the Mississippi River and serves as a disturbing reminder that the Mississippi River is like a nationwide public pool.
“Can You Name These Cities by Their Starbucks Locations?”
Is the ubiquitous coffee franchise Starbucks now so widespread that you can recognize a city based on the pattern of its coffeehouses? Pack your pumpkin spice lattes; we’re going on an adventure around the world!
“Can You Solve Slate’s Gerrymandering Jigsaw Puzzle?”
Slate’s Gerrymander Jigsaw Puzzle challenges you to put the pieces of heavily gerrymandered states—such as Florida, Pennsylvania, and Maryland—back together again. It’s harder than it probably should be.
“A Big, Beautiful Midcentury Map Celebrating American Folklore”
This 1946 illustrated map featured in The Vault showcases national folk story figures, such as Buffalo Bill, Paul Bunyan, General Custard, the “Celebrated Jumping Frog,” and … Mormons.
“This Amazing Map Shows Every Person in America”
A researcher at the University of Virginia used 2010 census data to plot each person as a dot and color each according to race, forming a detailed racial geography of the country that shows that de facto segregation continues.
“Here Be Duck Trees and Sea Swine”
Before this new Godzilla trailer, there was this annotated Renaissance-era map of nautical nightmares, which look just as terrifying as the supposed King of Monsters.
“The United Sports of America”
In the map that launched a thousand bar-room arguments, Josh Levin definitively declared every state’s official sport. To start, let’s assume hot-air ballooning and skateboarding are sports.
“A Lovely 1896 Cyclists’ Map of California Offered Advice to Intrepid Riders”
This map of the bike routes of Gilded Age California portrays an era when the biggest threats to bikers were “very poor, mountainous” roads instead of taxicabs.
“Every John F. Kennedy Street, Park, Airport, and School in the World”
This map of places named for John F. Kennedy across the world reveals the international influence of the president and captures the fixation Europeans had with naming roads after him.
“A Lynching Map of the United States, 1900-1931”
One of the most harrowing historical charts you’ll ever see, this map, dug up by The Vault, locates each lynching of the early 20th century.
See more of Slate’s maps.
