How BIG is Europe?
 

Europe is adding 10 new member states this week.

Czech Republic
Hungary
Poland
Slovenia
Slovakia
Malta
Cyprus
Lithuania
Latvia
Estonia

Here's a map.

Yes, we're (Poland) going to join EU this week :)

well, it's getting bigger for sure |jester|

Where were all these countries before?

Funny you should ask :) And this has nothing to do with your question. But, looking at a map, Europe is as big or bigger than Africa. And yet, Africa is really almost 10 times the size. Same thing with Greenland. Many people don't know that the map we use today was made as a guide for sailers many years ago. And yet is far from being to scale. Germany isn't even in the right place :)

They were on the dark side of the moon :D

Jim, I'm sorry, but for me that map looks like OK. I compared it to my own map book and for me Germany looks like to be where it should be.

I have travelled many times in Paris Express that starts from Stockholm, Sweden, and next country is Denmark and then Germany and then it goes to France.

Congratulations to all webmasters who are from countries that join to EU this weekend.

Finns are travelling to Estonia this weekend. I just read that every hotel in Tallinn is booked, no free rooms.

Actually it has to do with the fact that the Earth is round :)

The surface of a globe does not transform into a flat 2 dimensional drawing. So distorsions will occur. But you are right... if you see a map that has the true scala among you will see Africa and South America are huuuuuge.

Take a look at this site. Is it wrong? Or is Greenland the same size as China?

Sorry, here is the URL
http://www.petersmap.com/

Now I feel even more little with all these countries that are joining and are bigger in size than Belgium

Anyway..
a few stats..

- we have the biggest network of highways compared to country size in Europe
- together with Germany we feel the most hate against jews in Europe
- and we suck at football (soccer for you US people) :)

ok, sorry for wasting your valuable time :)

Great point Jim not many know reality.... I always asked what is biiger Greenland or africa.

BTW... you watch West Wing? |potleaf|

Ya Greenland is a big Mutha.

And don't mess with Canada, we're the biggest country in the world. (Since the breakup of the ussr) Of course we couldn't defend our way out of a wet paper bag with 1 10th the population of the US.

I think we should let all the countries outside of North America join Europe. It would save me time going through customs :D

Torn
I get my best material from West Wing :) But I actually learned about the map racism back in 94 when I was in college. I took 4 years of English and the last class was about racism within words and for some reason the map came up. It was a really strange class where some of he answers on tests were "fuck, cocksucker and cunt" :)

I remember way back when in my early years of school with the teacher showing us the map and telling us it was wrong in size since Greenland was so much smaller then Africa. I asked why not have a map that shows that? She tapped danced her way around answering it. Until West Wing I didn’t know they actually have a map showing the relative sizes.

I also remember asking how Columbus could "discover" America when it says the Natives where there to greet him.

I stirred a lot of shit back then.... well maybe I should say EVEN back then. |bananna|

That class sounds really cool; we have read some books and such on many things concerning racism. It’s amazing how much racism is in TV and books and most just ignore it or don’t even think about it since “that’s how things are”

$0.02
|peace|

Flat map may not be 100% accurate as world is round - or so they want us to believe. I just meant that all european countries in that map was appr. in right places, if I think about it based on faq that I have been there, and how I have travelled criss cross Europe by train.

What is this West Wing thing? That soap runs here but I have never watched...

West Wing is a TV show based on the US President and his staff.

In one episode the staff had to meet with a lot of "lesser important" people on “lesser issues” and one of them was a group of cartographers wanting racial justice.

They explained in a very informative and very humorous way what most think is real and what reality is concerning maps.

As I said, not many really know the size and locations of countries so when Jim said that it made me think of West Wing.

great site Jim, thanks for posting it.

This thread is causing my sides to split from laughter. |jester|

When I was in Brussles they assured me that there were more breweries per capita then any place in the world. I know I certainly beers from many differenent breweries while there.


I remember seeing a map that has all the cut out at the top and bottom and supposedly if you were to lay it on shpere it would actually be pretty close.

It seems like this must be an exciting time Europe. It is a shame that our (U.S.) desert shit storm is all we seem to hear about.
I keep threatening my wife that I am going to leave here and move to Germany, but she doesn't think they'll take me.

Natives lived here so he did Discover a new land, it just had people on it already. Well actually the Vikings did long before Columbus ever discovered it but they didn't really care to tell anyone. Many remnants of the Vikings were found on Newfoundland proving the Vikings were there long before 1492.

The Knights Templar were the first in the continental U.S. among scholars.

And Chinese (or was it Japanese?) boat anchors that have been found off the California coast that have been dated to be long before the Vikings =o)

To the victors go the spoils...

Back when I had an office in Tallinn, Estonia, I found an old map of Tallinn, made in Soviet time. It was some propaganda thing or something. All the streets were in wrong places and had wrong names.

We just thought that why would someone do all that work when the whole town is so small that you can walk thru it in 15 minutes? I think I still have that map somewhere...