Cartocacoethes

Steve, the best maintenance man ever employed by my library, is currently repainting my department. The walls in this room have not been painted since the department was created, nearly twenty years ago. That dark red, dark blue and grey have always seemed a bit gloomy and we are being cheered by the fresh shades of blue and green on our walls. First, he works around the trim before attacking the larger areas with the roller... but wait! Is that a map of Ohio I see?



Cartocacoethes is a word coined to describe "a mania, uncontrollable urge, compulsion or itch to see maps everywhere." Yeah, that sounds like me.

I don't know if it is a real word. I cannot find it in the Oxford English Dictionary. The only reference I can find to it is on other map blogs, and has been discussed, at length, on Making Maps and Strange Maps. If someone has a citation to an actual medical dictionary reference to this word, please send it my way.

Map of Staines

Do you see maps wherever you go?

Just like some religious folks see Jesus or the Virgin Mary in their cheese sandwiches, I see maps in cloud formations, rug patterns and mud puddles... is there a scientific term for this psychosis?

Here is an example of a bored restaurant host finding a map in the coffee staines of their seating chart!



From the Hand Drawn Map Association, previously mentioned here.