Every Map Starts with a Lie

This map of the world published in 1961 by the U.S. Navy Hydrographic Office uses the Mercator projection. This projection distorts the shapes and relative sizes of the continents, enlarging them near the poles, but it preserves directions, making it useful for navigation at sea. It’s not often that a map projection makes headlines. I have tried and failed to convince editors they are newsworthy. So it’s honestly exciting to see so many stories about the United Nations’ decision to adopt a new map projection. When I heard the news, I thought, “YES! They are ditching the Mercator. Good riddance!” I was pretty sure I knew why. To understand this decision, it helps to know a little about map projections. Because the Earth is a three-dimensional, round object, all maps have to distort geography in some way to fit that information onto a two-dimensional piece of paper (or your computer screen). Think of cutting open a tennis ball and trying to lay it flat on a table. There are five…