Some funny/not so funny finds while looking at alternative cartography :P

This rather sinister image is one of the biggest mysteries in the history of western cartography. Most often referred to simply as theFool’s Cap Map of the World, it is unknown why, when, where and by whom it was made.

Eilert Sundt must have had a busy, happy week. As the president of the Norwegian Cartozoological Society, Mr Sundt probably is the world’s most prominent ambassador of the obscure discipline of cartozoology (1). This unlikely cross-breed of cartography, zoology and urban planning got a huge boost last week, when the government of South Sudan announced plans to remodel its 10 state capitals in the shapes of animals and fruit.

Under the proposal, the regional capital Juba would be laid out as a rhinoceros. Wau, capital of Bahr el-Ghazal state and South Sudan’s second city, is to be restyled as a giraffe. A third one would be transformed into a pineapple.