From the earliest days of human exploration we’ve made progressively more accurate and sophisticated maps. Maps help us find our way around the world we live in. Maps help us get to our destination. Maps keep us from becoming lost.
But what if you have no destination? What if becoming lost is the point? Well, there’s a map for that. Lots of them, actually.
Here are four other maps you can thoroughly lose yourself in.
The Atlas of True Names. Have you ever heard of the Mountain by the Noisy Lake? Or traveled through the Land of the Palefaces? Or visited the town of Sibling Love? The Atlas of True Names reveals the etymological origins of the names for places we see on today’s maps.
Bob Dylan’s World. Every place mentioned in every Bob Dylan song, mapped. Each pinned location contains a corresponding lyric, song and album — and is guaranteed to get a song running through your head.
Countries invaded by the British. Sir Ken Robinson, in his talk at our TED Talks Education PBS special, joked that the British have invaded every country they’ve ever visited. Was he exaggerating? This map suggests not so much.