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Maps International’s Animal Map of the World has recently been featured in a picture of Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook co-founder) changing his baby daughter’s nappy.

Check out the animal map print here!

The CEO of Facebook showed his new life as a Dad by sharing this picture on his Facebook page with the caption, “One more down, thousands to go”.

I believe that every person needs to experience a classic summer road trip at least once in their lives, and with the help of Randy Olson you can ditch the atlas and get started, because he’s mapped out 50 notorious landmarks to visit across every U.S. state.

Source - http://bit.ly/1GhGDWT

This ultimate road trip map was created using an algorithm, by the doctoral computer science student who is studying at Michigan State University.

We've seen this map circulated across a lot of social media websites as of late, so it’s definitely something we thought we’d like to write about. The route itself is 13, 699 miles long, and it has been estimated that it would take 224 hours to complete the whole trip.

Olson really has included something for everyone, he’s also provided a city map if outdoor activities aren't really your thing, and you can also create your own custom road trip map here, so you can start planning your very own ultimate road trip.

Here is the list of the 50 landmarks that were chosen for Olson’s trip:

1. Grand Canyon, AZ

2. Bryce Canyon National Park, UT

3. Craters of the Moon National Monument, ID

4. Yellowstone National Park, WY

5. Pikes Peak, CO

6. Carlsbad Caverns National Park, NM

7. The Alamo, TX

8. The Platt Historic District, OK

9. Toltec Mounds, AR

10. Elvis Presley's Graceland, TN

11. Vicksburg National Military Park, MS

12. French Quarter, New Orleans, LA

13. USS Alabama, AL

14. Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL

15. Okefenokee Swamp Park, GA

16. Fort Sumter National Monument, SC

17. Lost World Caverns, WV

18. Wright Brothers National Memorial Visitor Center, NC

19. Mount Vernon, VA

20. White House, Washington, DC

21. Colonial Annapolis Historic District, MD

22. New Castle Historic District, Delaware

23. Cape May Historic District, NJ

24. Liberty Bell, PA

25. Statue of Liberty, NY

26. The Mark Twain House & Museum, CT

27. The Breakers, RI

28. USS Constitution, MA

29. Acadia National Park, ME

30. Mount Washington Hotel, NH

31. Shelburne Farms, VT

32. Fox Theater, Detroit, MI

33. Spring Grove Cemetery, OH

34. Mammoth Cave National Park, KY

35. West Baden Springs Hotel, IN

36. Abraham Lincoln's Home, IL

37. Gateway Arch, MO

38. C. W. Parker Carousel Museum, KS

39. Terrace Hill Governor's Mansion, IA

40. Taliesin, WI

41. Fort Snelling, MN

42. Ashfall Fossil Bed, NE

43. Mount Rushmore, SD

44. Fort Union Trading Post, ND

45. Glacier National Park, MT

46. Hanford Site, WA

47. Columbia River Highway, OR

48. San Francisco Cable Cars, CA

49. San Andreas Fault, CA

50. Hoover Dam, NV

What would you include on your ultimate road trip? Let us know!

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By Liam Smith 11/03/2015

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A new map, created by Climate Central, shows just how different winter has been for both the Eastern and Western sides of the country. 

Drawn to our attention, via Laist, the map shows how the winter weather has almost jumped over the Westcoast, and then taken a heavy toll on the Eastern side.

We all know, and it's expected that winter is warmer on the West Coast, however temperatures have been surprisingly warmer than usual, considering what weather the other half of the country has been experiencing.

To demonstrate the controvisty of the issues, you can see that temperatures in the west have been higher by 10 to 13 degrees. In contrast to this, states such as New England and Michigan are experiencing 13 to 16 degrees cooler temperatures on average.

This means that California is predicting to have thier warmest winter on record. Temperatures of about 5 degrees warmer on average have been reached, in contrast to the past several winters.

What state do you live in? How's the weather been this winter? Tell us in the comments below.

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 By Liam Smith 04/03/2015

With the use of data gathered by Yelp and Huffington Post, a new map showing the most popular type of store in each state has been compiled. 

The map reveals what types of businesses are ‘disproportionately common’ in relation to the national average.

Check out the map here, courtesy of The Daily Mail:

Source - http://dailym.ai/1GGGWuP

This map is really fascinating and it also highlights a few surprises. For example, car battery retailers are the store of choice in five different states! There is a vast range of types of stores, including hot tub pool all the way to brewing supplies. I was personally quite surprised by the popularity of vinyl stores in a few states. 

What do you think about the map? Tell us in the comments below.

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By Liam Smith 25/02/2015

National Public Radio (NPR) have drawn our attention to this fascinating interactive map of the United States, which shows what the most common occupation in every state is.

Data was collected from the Census Bureau, which has two catch-all categories: "managers not elsewhere classified" and "salespersons not elsewhere classified." These categories were excluded from the map as they are both extremely vague.

Check out the map below, which shows what the most common job in every state was in 2014, but click here to see the full interactive map, which highlights how the commonness of occupations have changed since 1978.

Source - http://n.pr/16mbxR3

But what does this map show?

Truck drivers have dominated this map for many years

The fluctuation of secretaries 

Manufacturing jobs have completely disappeared

There are less and less farmers

This map is great for observing how America's job roles have changed over the years, and you can see just how important some jobs really are. So take some time to study this interactive map and you can make your own conclusions from the trends it shows. What do you think about the map? Tell us in the comments below.

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By Liam Smith 18/02/2015

In today's article, I wanted to try something slightly different. My thinking process was to find somewhat of a more unusual map, which you wouldn't find in your everyday textbook, and Time Inc. Network have gave me just that. And hey, it’s halfway through the week, and we could all use a little something to brighten up our spirits right?

Whether you might love your state, or long to live somewhere else, there’s always something that we can all be proud of. We've all heard the negative stereotypes before, so lets put things right, and amend these hurtful allegations.

Source - http://ti.me/1A28MAB

The creator of the map, blogger Ilya Gerner, devised this map in counter of the United States of Shame map that you may have seen floating around the internet. I'm all for this map, It gives a bit more of a cheery vibe towards highlighting what each state really wins at. It’s rightfully titled the United States of Awesome.

What does your state do well? Let us know!

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There’s been a lot of talk recently about how America has grown in terms of diversity. Fast Company have raised our awareness to the fact, that the population of the U.S. is predicted to get even more diverse in coming decades. An ageing population is also predicted, and most of the greater population is taken up by the elderly, and Hispanic population.

Urban Institute have created a fascinating interactive graphic, which will give readers an insight of how things are predicted to change. You can use this interactive graphic to look at criteria such as birth rates, death rates, and even migration levels.

How is your state predicted to change? Check out the map and see the changes that may affect the United States in 15 years time.

Source - http://bit.ly/1DEQ8QL

It’s extremely surprising how much some areas may age, and even average birth, death, and migration rates may see a dramatic twist. Take Raleigh, North Carolina for example, it’s 65-and-over population is expected to rise by 151%!

These diversity changes may have an impact on the way that planning decisions are made within regional populations. Fewer people residing in a specific areas may lead to less housing demand and other recurring effects. In contrast to this, a higher population density can put a strain on water, road, electricity usage etc. A higher demand of health care may also be a direct result of the aging population.

When the year 2030 makes an appearance, the U.S. could be quite a different place than what it is now. How do you predict Americas diversity will change? Tell us in the comments below.

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By Liam Smith 04/02/2015

NPR have drawn our attention to a map we've seen circulated around a lot of our social media feeds lately, with an interesting article. Reddit user TeaDranks has created a cartogram which scales each country’s geographic region in relation to its population.

We know for a fact that world maps distort, and trying to represent a usually spherical object such as the earth, and making it flat, is going to stretch certain parts out. In general terms, most maps usually distort countries like Canada, or Russia, whereas, countries which reside along the equator tend to shrink.

This map is truly fascinating, and very interesting when looked at in detail. TeaDranks has resized countries on the map based on their current population, with each square representing 500,000 people. He named the map “magnum opus” when it was posted on a map lovers discussion on Reddit on January 16th.

Source - http://n.pr/1zenioA

With population being the main attribute for this cartogram, here are some of the conclusion we've been able to drawn from the map:

The U.S. makes up less than 5% of the worlds population

Cities like Shanghai, and Delhi have a larger population than some European countries

Nigeria is Africa’s most populated country, with more than twice as many inhabitants as any other country in Africa

India has climbed up the ladder to meet China as being the most populated country in the world

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By Liam Smith 28/01/2015

The morning commute to work is different for everyone. For some it might be somewhat of an enjoyable experience, whilst for others it's something that is rather dreaded. Some individuals may be more lucky, and work within a short distance of their home, and unfortunately others may have to endure a lengthy commute.

There are many modes of commuting to work, and FlowingData have created an interactive map, which shows the percentage of people that use particular modes of transport to commute to work in each U.S. city. Using the interactive map, you can look at individuals modes of transport at any one time, or you can even compare multiple ones to see which is the most common in your country.

Source - http://bit.ly/1yGPtwd

How individuals each commute to work each morning may say a lot about how an area is made up. For example, areas with a high share of individuals who provide or use carpool services rather than driving alone, and take other forms of transport (e.g. walking or cycling), may be more sustainable when compared to areas with a high drive alone percentage of commuters.

Using this estimate data from the United States Census Bureau’s 2013 American Community Survey, we can understand a little more about the trends of commuting that are spread across the country.

Distributions for the mode of transportation rates at the country level. Source - http://bit.ly/1yGPtwd

It’s clear from the interactive map that the leading method of commuting is to drive alone, which is highlighted by the brush of aqua green over the country. 

The conclusions you can make from this map are fascinating, and you can also explore a lot of comparisons by viewing it for yourself. Click here for the interactive map.

How do you get to work in the morning? Tell us in the comments below!

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How has diversity changes in your local area?

Diversity is defined as the ‘the state or quality of being different or varied’, it can also mean ‘a point of difference’. In recent years there has been a heave of increased diversity, and this is expected to continue to grow. Using National Data, USA Today have looked at Race breakdown, and Hispanic share as indicators to measure the country’s diversity.

The 2010 U.S. census data reveals that the Diversity Index is 55, which has rose from 20 in 1960. The surge in U.S. diversity could be contributed by a number of different factors, which might include:

Adjacent countries

The variation in the pace of change

Changing attitudes

A record influx of immigration

(Photo: Veronica Bravo, USA Today)

Click here to view and explore this interactive map, which gives a country-by-country look at how your areas changed in regards to diversity.

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By Liam Smith 08/01/2015

As you may have already guessed, English is the most influential language in the world. English, however, does not have the most native speakers in the world, Chinese does. Although English doesn't have the most native speakers worldwide, it is important to the global language as it possesses the ability to connect speakers of different languages.

Researchers at MIT Media Lab have created a graphic which helps to visualize and demonstrate the linguistic link between people all over the world, and highlight how influential the English language really is.

Through looking at the translation of books, tweets, and various Wikipedia edits, MIT Media Lab’s Global Language Network  attempt to quantify the influence of languages globally.

This web visualization, which can be found on the Global Language Network’s Site, makes this idea even easier to understand. You can see how English is strongly linked with other major languages such as Chinese, Arabic, Spanish, and Russian.

Each circle represents a different language, and the size of the circles are according to either:

It’s number of native speakers

The GDP per capita of that language’s speakers

Or it’s measure of influence within networks

The color of the circles are color-coded according to each language family. For example, English is an Indo-European language etc.

Mapping these paths of communication between different languages, for example, through Wikipedia users that edit articles in multiple language editions, or tweets sent out in two different languages - shows that "certain languages are disproportionately influential because they provide direct and indirect paths of translation among most of the world’s other languages," the researchers write.

Check out the full study here. Also, be sure to look at this infographic on the Global Language Network Site.

(H/T: IFLScience & Fastcodesign)

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By Liam Smith 18/12/2014

Christmas is now only a week away and we’re starting to find ourselves getting more and more in the festive spirit each day. Some of us might associate a white Christmas as part of Christmas tradition, whereas for others, snowfall may be something of a rare occurrence come December 25th.

The Daily Mail have provided us with a NOAA graphic which reveals the likelihood of seeing snowfall for each US state this Christmas.

The dark grey shades indicate the states where there is less than a 10% probability of a white Christmas, whilst the blue shades depicts where the chance is around 50% likelihood, and the white areas show the probability of at least a 90% chance of states seeing snowfall this Christmas.

Source - http://dailym.ai/1wOS6JR

Areas like Minnesota, Maine, upstate New York, Idaho, West Virginia and the Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania are almost certain to experience a white Christmas this year. In contrast to this, more southern states in the bottom half of America have a significantly less chance of seeing snowfall. These areas include Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Georgia.

This map was posted on the administration’s website, and research has been conducted into the historic probability of there being at least one inch of snow on the ground in each US state upon December 25th.

This graphic also illustrates around a dozen locations in the Northwest where there is a historic probability of 100% chance of seeing snow on Christmas day. For example, Aspen, Colorado. Despite these predictions you can never be fully certain of what the weather will turn out like, so it’s always best to be prepared for an unexpected turn.

This is based on ‘climate normals’ provided from NOAA’s National Climatic Data Centre, from 1981-2010.

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