Mercator Trap
Two countries, drawn at the same scale the way most web maps draw the world. Tap the one that is really bigger. Then watch them redrawn at their true size. Ten a day.
Which is really bigger?
As Mercator draws them
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Practice ten more
Back to today's
The Mercator projection keeps shapes but swells area away from the equator: at 60° every country is drawn four times
its size. Most web maps use it. Seven of each day's ten are traps, where the one drawn bigger is really smaller; three are not.
Outlines: Natural Earth 1:110m (public domain). Both areas are measured
from the outline shown, so they are rounded to two figures; far-off islands (Hawaii, French Guiana) are left out.
The 150 countries of 20,000 km² or more. A new ten every day at your midnight; everyone gets the same ten.
Nothing leaves your browser. Also: Which Country? , the daily ten from Our World in Data.
matmat202 ·
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