{"id":1844815,"date":"2025-08-05T18:13:51","date_gmt":"2025-08-05T22:13:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/?p=1844815"},"modified":"2025-08-05T18:13:53","modified_gmt":"2025-08-05T22:13:53","slug":"how-xkcd-does-maps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2025\/08\/how-xkcd-does-maps\/","title":{"rendered":"How xkcd Does Maps"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Randall Munroe, author of the <a href=\"https:\/\/xkcd.com\">xkcd<\/a> web comic, posts a surprising amount of map-related content, which I invariably end up linking to here. With some exceptions, they fall into one of two categories, each of which has a recent example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The first category is a hand-drawn infographic map showing, in earnest, some interesting or surprising information. See, for example, <a href=\"https:\/\/xkcd.com\/3118\/\">this map showing the most observed animal or plant in each U.S. state<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/xkcd.com\/3118\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"702\" data-attachment-id=\"1844816\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2025\/08\/how-xkcd-does-maps\/xkcd-inaturalist\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/xkcd-inaturalist.png\" data-orig-size=\"1850,1269\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"xkcd-inaturalist\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/xkcd-inaturalist-300x206.png\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/xkcd-inaturalist-1024x702.png\" src=\"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/xkcd-inaturalist-1024x702.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1844816\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/xkcd-inaturalist-1024x702.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/xkcd-inaturalist-300x206.png 300w, https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/xkcd-inaturalist-150x103.png 150w, https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/xkcd-inaturalist-1536x1054.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/xkcd-inaturalist-940x645.png 940w, https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/xkcd-inaturalist-583x400.png 583w, https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/xkcd-inaturalist.png 1850w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Randall Munroe, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/xkcd.com\/3118\/\">iNaturalist Animals and Plants<\/a>,\u201d xkcd, 21 Jul 2025.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Other maps of this ilk include <a href=\"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2023\/06\/xkcds-drainage-basin-deep-cut\/\">drainage basins<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2021\/06\/xkcd-no-the-other-one\/\">lesser-known towns sharing a famous place name<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2019\/03\/xckds-least-informative-google-trends-maps\/\">least informative Google Trends maps<\/a>, and maps of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2018\/01\/xkcds-2016-election-map\/\">2016<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2018\/11\/xkcds-2018-midterm-challengers-map\/\">2018 (challengers)<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2018\/11\/xkcds-2018-midterm-challengers-map\/\">2020<\/a> elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The second category is where Randall chooses the path of violence, with maps clearly designed by Black Hat Guy to hurt our brains. These include a series of maps that mangle U.S. state borders (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2016\/03\/xkcds-united-states-map\/\">1<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2020\/12\/the-contiguous-41-states-wait-what\/\">2<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2023\/12\/xkcds-geography-challenge\/\">3<\/a>). But the most insidious are his Bad Maps Projections series, the most recent of which projects continents onto their own globes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/xkcd.com\/3122\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"794\" data-attachment-id=\"1844817\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2025\/08\/how-xkcd-does-maps\/xkcd-interrupted_spheres\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/xkcd-interrupted_spheres.png\" data-orig-size=\"1480,1147\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"xkcd-interrupted_spheres\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/xkcd-interrupted_spheres-300x233.png\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/xkcd-interrupted_spheres-1024x794.png\" src=\"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/xkcd-interrupted_spheres-1024x794.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1844817\" style=\"width:740px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/xkcd-interrupted_spheres-1024x794.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/xkcd-interrupted_spheres-300x233.png 300w, https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/xkcd-interrupted_spheres-150x116.png 150w, https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/xkcd-interrupted_spheres-940x729.png 940w, https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/xkcd-interrupted_spheres-516x400.png 516w, https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/xkcd-interrupted_spheres.png 1480w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Randall Munroe, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/xkcd.com\/3122\/\">Bad Map Projection: Interrupted Spheres<\/a>,\u201d xkcd, 30 Jul 2025.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Thing is, this one isn\u2019t as brain-curdling, because similar globes\u2014globes that depict a <em>portion<\/em> of the world on an <em>entire<\/em> sphere\u2014<a href=\"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2020\/09\/these-globes-are-uncanny\/\">exist in the real world<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Randall Munroe, author of the xkcd web comic, posts a surprising amount of map-related content, which I invariably end up linking to here. With some exceptions, they fall into one of two categories, each of&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2025\/08\/how-xkcd-does-maps\/\">More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"link","meta":{"autoblue_enabled":true,"autoblue_custom_message":"","autoblue_shares":[{"did":"did:plc:hhxrnk4vub7jtlcl3ve26kjo","date":"2025-08-05T22:14:04+00:00","uri":"at:\/\/did:plc:hhxrnk4vub7jtlcl3ve26kjo\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3lvoq7gdkn42v","response":"{\"uri\":\"at:\/\/did:plc:hhxrnk4vub7jtlcl3ve26kjo\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3lvoq7gdkn42v\",\"cid\":\"bafyreifrdt3upq5m3scpq6jurkp6lkebeqtb7hr33wnbbcx7z26tzfut5m\",\"commit\":{\"cid\":\"bafyreigndbxyt2tihkmpojppsr2caismiojpkyatggqbjmxkqaxm6rbqna\",\"rev\":\"3lvoq7gdqim2v\"},\"validationStatus\":\"valid\"}"}],"autoblue_post_url":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49,173],"tags":[378,274,936,192,158,273],"class_list":["post-1844815","post","type-post","status-publish","format-link","hentry","category-art","category-wildlife","tag-cartoons","tag-comics","tag-fun","tag-funny","tag-usa","tag-xkcd","post_format-post-format-link"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1822446,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2023\/12\/xkcds-geography-challenge\/","url_meta":{"origin":1844815,"position":0},"title":"xkcd&#8217;s Geography Challenge","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"18 December 2023","format":"link","excerpt":"Stare at this map for a while until you figure out what Randall Munroe has done in last Friday\u2019s xkcd. Then scream. (Kottke says: \u201cThis is evil.\u201d) It\u2019s not the first time that xkcd has committed mischief and violence on an outline map of the contiguous United States: see, for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Unusual Maps&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Unusual Maps","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/unusual-maps\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"An xkcd comic by Randall Munroe called Label the States","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/imgs.xkcd.com\/comics\/label_the_states.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/imgs.xkcd.com\/comics\/label_the_states.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/imgs.xkcd.com\/comics\/label_the_states.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/imgs.xkcd.com\/comics\/label_the_states.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1791423,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2021\/07\/xkcd-the-greenland-special\/","url_meta":{"origin":1844815,"position":1},"title":"xkcd: The Greenland Special","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"16 July 2021","format":"link","excerpt":"At some point, xkcd cartoonist Randall Munroe is going to put out a book focusing on his map-related cartoons, isn\u2019t he. The latest in his \u201cBad Map Projection\u201d series (previously: All South Americas, Time Zones, Liquid Resize) is The Greenland Special, an equal-area projection except for Greenland, which uses Mercator.\u00a0And\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Unusual Maps&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Unusual Maps","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/unusual-maps\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"xkcd: Bad Map Projections: The Greenland Special","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/xkcd-greenland-special-1024x895.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/xkcd-greenland-special-1024x895.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/xkcd-greenland-special-1024x895.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/xkcd-greenland-special-1024x895.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1813026,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2023\/03\/xkcd-island-storage\/","url_meta":{"origin":1844815,"position":2},"title":"xkcd: &#8216;Island Storage&#8217;","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"3 March 2023","format":"link","excerpt":"The xkcd from last Friday, \u201cIsland Storage,\u201d is the most recent map-related way that Randall Munroe has hurt us in the eyes.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Art&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Art","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/art\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"xkcd #2742, 'Island Storage' (24 Feb 2023)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/imgs.xkcd.com\/comics\/island_storage.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/imgs.xkcd.com\/comics\/island_storage.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/imgs.xkcd.com\/comics\/island_storage.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/imgs.xkcd.com\/comics\/island_storage.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1834522,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2024\/10\/a-50-50-us-australia-blend-from-xkcd\/","url_meta":{"origin":1844815,"position":3},"title":"&#8216;A 50\/50 US\/Australia Blend&#8217; from xkcd","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"17 October 2024","format":"link","excerpt":"Randall Munroe, \u201cBad Map Projection: The United Stralia,\u201d xkcd, 16 Oct 2024. Morphing maps of the U.S. and Australia into one hot mess is more of a Star Trek transporter accident than a map projection, if we\u2019re being nitpicky; what\u2019s surprising is that the result is almost viable. Almost.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Unusual Maps&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Unusual Maps","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/unusual-maps\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/xkcd-united-stralia.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/xkcd-united-stralia.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/xkcd-united-stralia.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/xkcd-united-stralia.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/xkcd-united-stralia.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/xkcd-united-stralia.png?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1832472,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2024\/06\/xkcd-exterior-kansas\/","url_meta":{"origin":1844815,"position":4},"title":"xkcd: &#8216;Exterior Kansas&#8217;","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"28 June 2024","format":"link","excerpt":"Randall Munroe, \u201cBad Map Projection: Exterior Kansas,\u201d xkcd, 26 June 2024. In the latest iteration of xkcd\u2019s series of bad map projections, Randall puts Kansas\u2014the putative centre of the contiguous 48 states\u2014at the edge of the map.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Unusual Maps&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Unusual Maps","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/unusual-maps\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"xkcd:","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/xkcd-exterior-kansas.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/xkcd-exterior-kansas.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/xkcd-exterior-kansas.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/xkcd-exterior-kansas.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/xkcd-exterior-kansas.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/xkcd-exterior-kansas.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1805995,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2022\/02\/xkcd-the-goode-homolosine-to-the-rescue\/","url_meta":{"origin":1844815,"position":5},"title":"xkcd: The Goode Homolosine to the Rescue!","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"6 February 2022","format":"image","excerpt":"Randall Munroe\u2019s map projection humour is increasingly on point, as last Friday\u2019s xkcd demonstrates. (The mouseover text is even better: \u201cThere are two rules on this ship: Never gaze back into the projection abyss, and never touch the red button labeled DYMAXION.\u201d) Previously: xkcd: The Greenland Special; xkcd: All South\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Art&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Art","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/art\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/imgs.xkcd.com\/comics\/sea_chase.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/imgs.xkcd.com\/comics\/sea_chase.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/imgs.xkcd.com\/comics\/sea_chase.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/imgs.xkcd.com\/comics\/sea_chase.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1844815","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1844815"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1844815\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1844822,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1844815\/revisions\/1844822"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1844815"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1844815"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1844815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}