Middle Earth Transit Map

Hard to believe that those dumb hobbits risked their lives walking all the way to Mordor when they could have just taken the Orange Line. 

Oh wait, the tunnel under the mountain is closed 

so they would have had to switch to the Red Line at Bree and then made another transfer to get to Mount Doom. 

Still that seems like a minor inconvenience when compared to risking imprisonment by nasty spider. The Middle Earth Transit Map ("One does not simply walk") was created by Don Wilde Art. He also has a nice set of travel posters.

You can explore the map on Reddit.

Radical Atlas of Ferguson, USA

Coming out this summer from Belt Publishing (publishers of the "50 Maps" book series on Cleveland, Detroit and Buffalo) is the Radical Atlas of Ferguson, USA.  

"Ferguson, Missouri, became the epicenter of America’s racial tensions after the 2014 murder of Michael Brown and the protests that followed in its wake. Though this suburb just outside St. Louis might have seemed like an average midwestern town, the activism that exploded there after Brown’s killing laid bare how longstanding municipal planning policies had led to racial segregation, fragmentation, poverty, and police targeting." - quoted from the press release.

Author Patty Heyda uses over 100 maps to illustrate the forces that have defined "inner ring" suburbs such as Ferguson. Beginning from the start of the development of the St. Louis region, here is part of a map showing the confluence of rivers and trade routes. The rivers are sized by flow.

NOTE: these maps are chosen from what has been shared with me in press releases.

 The above map shows how different neighborhoods gradually became more auto oriented and less pedestrian friendly in more recent eras. Area 2 is where Brown was killed. Here is the citywide map with areas 1-3 outlined.

There are some interesting maps illustrating how the lack of polling locations (orange dots) in primarily Black neighborhoods (those shaded with diagonal red hatch lines) help to decrease voter participation.

-via email from Publisher

Here is a recent (2018) voter participation map showing lower turnout in the lighter areas in the southern, more Black parts of the city.

 For more and to order see the page at Belt Publishing

German Food with Protected Geographical Origin

This map shows some of the 96 foods in Germany that have a protected geographic origin from the European Union. 

For example curry sausages must be produced within the city limits of Berlin or they can't be marketed as Berlin currywurst. Other geographically protected foods include Bavarian pretzels, Swabian spaetzle, Holstein carp, Frankfurter Grüne Sauce and Spreewald horseradish. Hovering over each place gives you the name of the protected food.

-via Deutschland National Atlas

 

Nicknames of the States

Here's a strange one: An 1884 promotional map for a company that manufactured hog rings (like nose rings for hogs, you can read more about those here, if you can stomach a little animal cruelty). 

Each state is shown with a representative ring-wearing hog.

Complete with a hog-clown in the margin.

Many of these nicknames are strange but Missouri wins for best.

The full map can be seen from the Cornell University Digital Collections.