Web site that allows you to overlay two maps while keeping the scale the same. No detail in the maps, just a shaded outline. See how big Italy is compared to Texas, or compare the city of Chicago with Martha's Vineyard.-- blahginger, Oct 13 2002 Good place to start http://lcweb2.loc.g..../temp/~ammem_XqA6:Different scales, though [thumbwax, Oct 13 2002, last modified Oct 04 2004] It's the most fun you can have with your clothes on.-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Oct 13 2002 [Tufries Shypak] Didn't you recently suggest a voice activated pc so you could bake from the bathtub...?-- hollajam, Oct 13 2002 This would be especially neat if you could animate them with population, demographic, or other data over several weeks, days, or years.-- bulgy bear, Oct 13 2002 [blahinger] I would be especially interested if it had a feature to select land areas that a program would then animate in a 'likely' representation of geological drift. I would like to use this on smaller scales than "Pangea". An example would be Canada's Northern Islands. The representation could operate as a do-it-yourself puzzle or display the programs' gif of such. Technically this feature wouldn't always represent geological 'drift' but the investigative puzzle work would still be enjoyable.
Lots of settings to tweak the effects. - Observe the placement of land before it folds at the base of mountains, then watch it squish a millenia's worth in a few seconds. Eeew fun...-- hollajam, Oct 13 2002 I like this idea. Fun, educational and creative. Croissant.-- IVnick8or, Oct 13 2002 And I thought this might be about very nice but very dominant maps. Ho hum.-- PeterSilly, Oct 14 2002 Silly, that's a whole 'nother allegory...-- hollajam, Oct 14 2002 /hollajam/ Well so I did, looks like were just heading towards a clothing optional kinda world. But about the idea, This would be a great educational tool, allowing kids to "play" with geography. Got my vote. +-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Oct 14 2002 Interesting concept; not quite as trivial as it sounds, given that unless the two regions were at the same latitude the map would almost certainly distort them differently. I would guess that the preferred method of superimposing would be to rotate the globe so that the second place was on top of the first, and then project the second place onto the map as though it were under the first. The place should probably be rotated so that the north/south direction remains the same (if possible), even though east/west on the two places might not match. Even matching north/south may not be possible if one were trying to show e.g. how Antarctica compared in size to the Arctic Ocean.-- supercat, Oct 14 2002 You're right supercat, the idea is attractively plausible. For total area comparison I don't think the geography has to be any more accurate than a regular flat map. For animating drift and other phenomenon it would be a tad more complicated.
The geologic forces animations don't *have* to be realistically true in every detail since the effect is in the child's play of developing 'visual speculation'.
I can't tell you how many times I have spied a lovely map and thought to myself, "If I just had my exacto knife I could be done with all one hundred islands in no time and all pieces returned, no one the wiser, urrr..."
Tufry //...heading towards a clothing optional kinda world// ...am waiting...-- hollajam, Oct 14 2002 So Rods, effectively your saying that the data input is already waiting for retrieval and programming design?-- hollajam, Oct 14 2002 Whadya got against Belgians? Make great chocolate.-- TwoSheds, Oct 15 2002 Non-computer idea: superimposing GLOBE. A clear plastic globe with contenents/countries on it, with a nested globe inside. The inner globe could be rotated in any direction relative to the other one using magnets.-- supercat, Oct 15 2002 Howabout a 3D globe puzzle? Plug in the countries where they belong onto the magnetic globe sphere there.-- RayfordSteele, Oct 16 2002 And test the continental drift theory by making the globe vibrate like those cheesy electric football games?-- half, Oct 16 2002 [Rods Tiger] Thanks for the two great links to blahginger's idea. Whether I can pull off the tricks I'm hoping for is yet to be seen. I tried a couple links within but I'm going to have to tweak things around first. - Funny the graphics came up layered on my browser, but the sites holds much promise regardless.
[thumbwax] If you get back to this perhaps you could check on the link you added. I'm unable to link it but I am still interested in it.-- hollajam, Oct 17 2002 random, halfbakery