The Onion: “Touting the new feature as yet another innovation to help every traveler get where they’re going, Google Maps on Thursday began offering crawling directions for cyclists who have been hit by a truck.”
Month: September 2026
The UN Is Voting on Whether to Phase Out the Mercator Projection
The Correct the Map campaign (previously) has come to the United Nations. The Guardian:
The UN general assembly will vote on Friday on a resolution for the world to formally phase out the traditional Mercator map of the globe in favour of one that more accurately displays Africa’s size.
Robert Dussey, Togo’s foreign affairs minister, said the resolution was sponsored by Togo and backed by countries including the African Union’s 54 other member states. He did not specify the total number. […]
UN resolutions are non-enforceable but if the vote passes, it could lead to an update of classroom curriculums and everyday technology, given the wide usage of the Mercator projection in education, technology and governance.
I’m still confused about the so-called “wide usage” of the Mercator projection, given that I see so little of it myself—even Apple and Google zoom out to a globe if you have reasonably new hardware and in the latter case have globe view checked—that when I do see it (usually choropleth maps embedded on web pages) I’m kind of shocked. But I’m Western and English-speaking, I have up-to-date tech and I know where to find the good maps, and I haven’t been in a classroom in decades; I can’t rule out that Mercator is still turning up where I don’t see it.
Previously: In Case You Thought the War Against the Mercator Projection Was Over Long Ago.
Update: The resolution passed 164 to 1 with 6 absentions. The U.S. was the only country to vote against—I can’t imagine why.
You Probably Shouldn’t Use Google Maps for Hiking
The Narwhal’s Michelle Cyca on the risks of relying on Google Maps and AI-generated recommendations when planning to hike trails that can be fairly gruelling and take far longer than expected. “Google Maps showed the hikers their trip would take 5 hours and 13 minutes. […] In fact, the hike can be an 8- to 14-hour trip and is often done as a two- or three-day backpacking adventure. The hikers were rescued successfully, but it’s not the first time this sort of incident has occurred.” Google’s estimates are based on urban walking (which in my own experience is two to three times faster than mountain hiking); they recommend using dedicated maps and trail apps (the article has some suggestions that are B.C.-specific), but as the article points out, it’s not like Google Maps won’t generate a hiking route or offer a disclaimer when doing so.
Canadian School Notebook Covers Omit Newfoundland and Cape Breton
Usually when an island gets left off a map of Canada, it’s Prince Edward Island. Not this time. CBC News: “Hilroy Canada exercise books are known for the map of Canada on the cover. The design for a glossy version of the notebook also features the map but it’s missing some of Canada’s geographical features—namely Newfoundland and Cape Breton.” ACCO Brands, which owns Hilroy, blames a printing error: they’ve stopped distribution and are offering replacements.
Lake Ontario
Here we go again.
Last week the U.S. president did to Lake Ontario what he did to the Gulf of Mexico a year and a half ago: rename it after America. This was part of an ongoing hissy fit against a country—my country—for walking away from trade talks due to demands from the U.S. side that were literally unacceptable.
It was meant to bait us, and in general Canadians have not taken it well (responses ranging from can you believe this doofus to it’s fucking go time). Doug Ford put up a big sign. Blue Rodeo fans screamed the lake’s name at a concert. Our prime minister, Mark Carney, refused to take the bait, issuing the following statement via social media channels:
The name Lake Ontario comes from the Wendat word Ontari’io, which, appropriately, means “the lake is beautiful, the lake is big”.
The name is more than 400 years old, predating both the Confederation of Canada and the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America.
We know that America is changing. Their trading relationships, their foreign policies, their national monuments, their hydronyms.
Canadians also know that naming reality means calling it Lake Ontario—then, now and always.
That’s dry enough that my country’s entire vermouth supply spontaneously combusted. (And yes, we have a leader who can use the word “hydronym” in a social media post.)
Continue reading “Lake Ontario”