Mapkini and Curtain

Today I received several photos from a Carto-friend who must remain nameless. The first one I'll show you is the shower curtain from his bathroom. I'm showing this one first as your warning. The rest of the photos are probably safe-for-work... unless you work for a very prudish employer... We'll get back to shower curtains in a moment...



This Carto-friend sent me these photos of his fiancé in the best bikini bathing suit ever.

Now, he tells me that she said it was OK for me to post these. He'd better be right, because he's getting married next week. Congratulations!

Strictly for geographic study purposes, I think we need to take a closer look at this mapkini...

This mapkini is made up of a map of United States. I think it very appropriate that the top is pieced together with Western states:



Out west, they have huge... tracts of land!



The mapkini bottom is made from Southern states...



But most interesting is the back of the mapkini bottom, with its fascinating mash-up of Montana, Kansas, Idaho and the Baja Peninsula!



This mapkini is (or was) from Victoria's Secret. However, after an extensive search of their website (again, strictly for geographic purposes) I have been unable find it available.

So, back to my Carto-friend's shower curtain. He tells me that he is pleased with the accuracy in detail of the map. Not only is it up to date with all of the changes in Eastern Europe over the last few years, it even shows Cyprus in its current divided state.



However, for some inexplicable reason, Tasmania is shown in a different color than the rest of Australia. Is there something Taz trying to tell the rest of Oz?



Thanks again, Carto-friend. Happy wedding and good luck!

Maps on Flags

Josh Parsons is not happy with the poor design of some of the world's nation flags. "Some are good, some are bad. Some countries have clearly taken care in the choice of colours, layout, and design. Others have been lazy, stolen the flags of their neighbours, or just designed flags that are clearly supposed to cause pain to those who look at them." Rather than stew in silence, he did something about it. He ranked all of the flags of the world and gave them a score based on their overall aesthetic value.

In his Flags of the World Given Letter Grades he give high marks for simple design with a pleasant choice of colors. Ugly flags, with garish colors are sent to the corner with a dunce cap.

What does any of this have to do with maps? Parson's Rule 2: Do not put a map of your country on your flag. "When someone is travelling around your country, where do you think they will look if they need a map? Bzzt! No, they won't look at the flag." The worst offender is Cyprus. "Quite apart from the total uselessness of having a map on your flag, it really shows that a country hasn't gone to any effort if that's the best they can think of." While Cyprus has a distinctive shape, so do many other countries... but they can do better. Flags should be iconic, not literal. Grade D

He gives kudos to the nation of Gambia. "Great design and colour choice. Also represents the geography of the country (without being a map)." Grade A+

Gambia is a tiny nation hugging either side of the Gambia River, but surrouned by the nation of Senegal. The map design suggests this, without being too obvious. Clever map design.

Thanks to Gadling for bringing this to my attention, here and here. In addition, they pointed me to this interesting flag related site, Flags by Colours.

Cyprus: Divided Island

Situated in the eastern Mediterranean, Cyprus is the third largest island in that sea. Its distinctive shape is immediately recognizeable on maps, map stamps and map postcards.

Here are several postcards from my collection:









Interestingly, Cyprus is divided into not two, but four jurisdictions:

• the area under the effective control of the Republic of Cyprus in the south of the island;
  
• the Turkish occupied area in the north, calling itself the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (recognized only by Turkey);
  
• the United Nations-controlled Green Line, separating the two; and
  
• two Sovereign Base Areas (Akrotiri and Dhekelia), over which the United Kingdom retained jurisdiction after Cypriot independence.

From Wikipedia: