Where would we be without maps? After all, they don’t just exist to help us find directions, although that is an important and noble task, they can also be used to help contextualize important details about the world around us. Data can appear dry, boring and downright painful to look through until it is “mapped” onto a place our brains can understand.
This page shares interesting, cool and novel maps that might just teach you something new about the world. We got in touch with Richard Layman, a urban/commercial district revitalization, transportation advocate and consultant in Washington, DC to learn more. So get comfortable as you scroll through, upvote your favorites and comments your thoughts below.

#1 Authentic Geological Map Of Scotland

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#2 How Safe Do People Feel To Walk Alone At Night In Europe (2024)

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#3 Home Ownership In European Countries (2022)

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Bored Panda got in touch with Richard Layman, a urban/commercial district revitalization and transportation advocate and consultant in Washington, DC to learn more about city planning and the data needed to make good decisions. First and foremost, we wanted to hear some common misconceptions he has encountered as part of this role.

“People often don't understand the difference between capital and operating funding. The solution to homelessness is actually simple. Build more housing and provide support services as needed. What the problem is is coming up with the money. E.g. Salt Lake County needs at least 2 billion to build what is required and 150 million per year for services, for 5,000 people. But the population is not static, demand will only grow. Plus that people don't want housing for severely needy people to be located nearby.”

#4 A Map Of Europe By Each Nation's Most Iconic Artwork

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#5 Percentage Of Children Born Out Of A Registered Marriage

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#6 One Party States

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He also had some suggestions for urban development advocates. “When advocating, don't use examples from Europe or Portland/far away states. The elected have a hard time with that. Use best practice examples closer to home. Relatedly, while every place is unique, few are so exceptional that they can't be compared to and learn from other places.”

#7 Gay Travel Index 2024

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#8 Average Number Of Sexual Partners By Country

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#9 Friendly Reminder Of How Ridiculously Big The Pacific Ocean Is

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“I argue that the point of planning and zoning is to improve quality of life. When it doesn't do that routinely it's an indicator that the processes are flawed. And, developers are the leads, not planners. Plans shape what can be done, but only with vision. And elected officials listen to developers a lot more than planners.”

#10 Witch Hunt Victims

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#11 How Many Years An Area Has Been Rules By The Roman Empire

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#12 Earthquake Risk In Europe

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“The land use bar has a lot of power. Plans are usually based on past conditions so they build for yesterday when today and tomorrow have different demands. Most zoning is use based, and "matter of right" meaning as long as it meets minimum requirements it has to be approved. Lots of crap is approved and built. And not coordinated with other nearby build out opportunities. Losing the opportunity for multiplicative benefits.”

#13 Average Speed Of Trains In Europe

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#14 Crazy To Think How Popular European Cities Are

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#15 How Is Petrol Pumped Into Your Car Across Europe?

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City planners spend a lot of time looking at maps, but we wanted to hear, in his words, what are the things they aim to accomplish. “Stephen Semes writes about the importance of "the architecture of the ensemble." Our planning and zoning processes aren't designed to produce or maintain "nice” places.”

#16 As An American In The Netherlands, 3 Kisses Is A Nightmare

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#17 Map Shows Europe Is Divided Into 4 Regions Based On Origins Of The Word Beer

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#18 Which Countries Have Been Female LED?

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“This is true for both residential and commercial areas. Developers only have to care about their lot. Not connecting to and strengthening the broader district,” he shared. If you want to see more of his work, you can explore Richard’s blog where he writes about his thoughts and experiences.

#19 U.S. Counties Where The African American Population Is 25% Or More

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#20 The World According To Google Street View (May 2024) (4k)

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#21 Brazil Overlaid Onto Europe

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#22 Families Needs Over $270k Annually To Live Comfortably In Top 5 States

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#23 Eurovision - "Who Gave Us The Most Points In The Last 20 Years?"

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#24 Which Countries Has The Most Vegetarian In Europe?

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#25 Colombia Is The Wettest Country On Earth,egypt Is The Driest

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#26 New York Reclaims #1

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#27 When/Where Can You Legally Drink In India?

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#28 In Red Is Every County Where The Median House Selling Price Is >$350k

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#29 Climate Of Australia Compared To The World

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#30 Countries With Most Unesco World Heritage Sites ?

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#31 People With Double Jobs In The European Union

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#32 Price Of Bottled Water Around The World

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#33 First World War Casualties Mapped

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#34 The Word “Soda” Takes Over

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#35 Between U.S. States,there Is Huge Variance In Spending Per Prisoner

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#36 World Leader's Current Age

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#37 How Old Are Americans When They Get Married?

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#38 Lithuanian Presidential Election Map. Orange- Current President, Blue-Current Prime Minister, Green- Pro-Russian Candidate

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#39 Global Leaders Approval Rating

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#40 Explaining Polish Borders

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#41 Distance To The Nearest Abortion Clinic In USA (Includes Clinics In Canada & Mexico)

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#42 Top Countries With Most Gold Reserves

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#43 The Average Temperature Of The Coldest Month In Each European Capital City

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#44 Map Of Armenian Genocide And Deportation From The Ottoman Empire. It Started 109 Years Ago Today

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#45 % Of Population Of South American Countries That Live In The Capital City

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#46 Countries Where Portuguese Is Spoken

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#47 Number Of Referendums Held In Each Country's History

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#48 Distribution Of Radiation In Europe After The Chernobyl Disaster (April 26 1986)

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#49 Newborn Circumcision Rates By State - 2022

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#50 Luxembourg, Ireland, And switzerland Are Europe's Richest countries

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#51 Where Gender-Affirming Care For Minors Is Being Outlawed (USA)

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#52 Minimum Voting Age In Europe

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#53 National Television Broadcaster Of European Countries

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#54 Irish Population In 1841 vs. Now

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#55 Child Marriage Laws In The Us

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#56 Felon Voting Rights By State

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#57 Ethnic Map Of Poland 1914

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#58 Seven Deadly Sins As Us Maps

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#59 People’s Common Reaction When You Start Speaking Their Language

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#60 The Official Situation In Ukraine, According To The Russian Federation [oc]

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#61 Is Egypt Ruled By Egyptians? [oc]

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#62 Countries That Have Similar Gdps To Each Region Of Germany (2022)

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#63 Peak Of The Largest Empires In History

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#64 Distribution Of Ticks Infected With Lyme Disease In The Us

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#65 If 100 People Lived In The UK, Where Would They Live?

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#66 Map Of Land Quality Of The World

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#67 Provinces By The Number Of Chinese Emperors Born There

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#68 (Almost) Every North American Nhl Player's Birth City (Map Link + Info In Comments)

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#69 If 100 People Lived In The Eu, Where Would They Live?

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#70 Dunkin Locations Per State

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#71 Using Square Feet, The Average Home Size By State In The Us And How It Compares To The Average Home Size In Western European Countries

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#72 Map Of Africa But All Countries Have Sea Access

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#73 Ban Of Communist Symbols In Europe

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#74 Male Circumcision Rate By Country

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#75 USA And Australia Fit Together Almost Perfectly

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