The mind-blowing map quiz

[M. Robert Gibson]

Their title, not mine

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/z3ppm39

"We all know that the Earth is round, not flat. But our maps are flat.
If you can remove all the peel from an orange in one go (an impressive task in itself), try to lay it out flat like a piece of paper. You’re likely to have problems as it just wants to bend. That’s the exact challenge facing map makers. How do you draw something like a sphere on a rectangle?

They have to compromise.

Map makers use map projections to transform the Earth onto a flat surface. One of the most popular world map projections is known as the Mercator Projection. You’ll have seen it loads of times and likely thought it looked perfectly normal. It was originally invented by Gerhardus Mercator in 1569 to allow sailors to plot a straight course between ports.

So just how misleading can this map be? Take our quiz to find out."

I managed 3 out of 6

 

[AnRoinnUltra]

5/6 -kicking myself on the last one. EuroGeographics used to have a similar game where you had to identify a place with some of the manmade/ political features removed, but I think it's been taken down. Nice link -be fun to make one for Middle-Earth (don't have the time so just puttin it out there

 

[nixie]

Geography is not my strong point, 2/6.

 

[M. Robert Gibson]

Geography is not my strong point, 2/6.

I think the test is more likely pointing out the confusing nature of the Mercator projection

 

[HareBrain]

6/6!!!

You're allowed two goes, right?

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Yikes! I got ONE right!

Back to school!

 

[Bramandin]

The Earth is flat. I do acknowledge that it being wrapped around a big ball of goo does present problems.

 

[M. Robert Gibson]

I recently came across this argument against a flat Earth:
If the Earth is flat, where are all the selfies of people standing at the edge?

 

[Ursa major]

5/6. (I got the fifth** answer wrong).

I have to note that two of the questions seemed to have little to do with the projection, one of them using an iffy map (which, even if corrected, wouldn't have helped much), and the other where the correct answer could clearly be seen on the projection being used. The answer to a third question was also clear, but the nature of the overall quiz perhaps putting doubt put into the mind of the person answering the question (doubt that may have led to the wrong answer being given).


** - I had to edit this (from "sixth") because my hopeless short-term memory couldn't recall the order of the questions.

 

[Biskit]

I got 3/6, but since I was guessing most of the time that seems reasonable, especially since I gave up geography as a subject somewhere around the age of 14.

 

[THX1138]

3/6 for me. I know the Alaska-Russia one but...why did I answer 12 miles?
3/6 for being silly!
Very fun!

 

[Elckerlyc]

4/6. With 1 guessed wrong and 1 totally unnecessary mistake. (which isn't too bad considering the early [pre-coffee] time of the day)