S07 → N400
The Spike of Fascinating & Unexpected
SPIKE 55
→ CARTOGRAPHY.
© 1. Nick Yapp/Fox Photos/Getty Images — A woman studying a map in the giant book loaned by the Ordnance Survey Department for an exhibition at the Manchester Central Library (1937) / 2. unknown — A design bureau before the use of computers to assist engineering (1950) / 3. unknown / 4. unknown / 5. Roger Rössing/Deutsche Fotothek — Portrait of a draftsman at the drawing board (1954) / 6. Bettmann Archive/Getty Images — In Walthamstow Air Raid Precaution school, a gas-masked student keeps track of the various ARP stations using pins on her map, London, UK, 16th May 1940 / 7. unknown / 8. Robert W. Woodruff collection in the Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library — Researchers proved their epidemiological chops by mapping the incidence of malaria in Baker County / 9. New York Public Library — cartouche from John Speed's America with those known parts in that unknowne worlde... published in 1627 / 10. Google Maps via Wikipedia — Argleton, appearing on Google Maps (2009) .
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Throughout history, cartography has been indispensable, fostering exploration, trade, communication, and the evolution of nations and cultures. From ancient clay tablets to today’s digital maps, cartography has adapted to meet the world’s evolving needs. Cartographers strive to produce accurate, visually appealing maps for diverse users, from governments and businesses to educators and the public. An intriguing facet of cartography is the art of map embellishment, known as “cartouches”. These decorative elements, often found in historical maps’ margins, feature elaborate designs, illustrations, and typography. Cartouches serve aesthetic and practical purposes, providing details about the map’s creator, publication date, and symbolic representations of depicted regions.
Early cartographers also included mythical creatures and sea monsters in uncharted areas, filling gaps and warning sailors of potential hazards. Additionally, fictitious towns, mountains, or entire islands were sometimes inserted as “copyright traps” to detect unauthorised copying. If another map reproduced these fictitious features, it suggested plagiarism from the original mapmaker. Copyright traps could take several forms. They could consist of purposefully misrepresenting the shape and curviness of a road, or inventing one altogether. Ideally, these “trap streets” would be small enough to not have an impact on those actually using the map. Google Maps originally relied on data from the Dutch mapping company TeleAtlas. Their database was peppered with copyright traps that made their way into the original maps of the search giant: Take Moat Lane, in London, or Oxygen Street, in Edinburgh. Google would erase them as soon as notified. In 2010, for example, the fake town of Argleton, England, disappeared from the system. The name was, according to some, an anagram of “Not real G[oogle].”
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→ Sourced from: SYSTEM 02 (Altanube Pando)
→ Stored online: N400 Spikes Repository
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→ Search log: Google images / Elements of Cartography
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