I really like the magnifying glass!

A comparison with much more recent history, OpenStreetMap in 2007 vs now: https://mvexel.github.io/thenandnow/#13/51.5/0.0 - London is where OSM started, so it was pretty well mapped even in 2007 (OSM started in late 2004). If you look at other parts of the world or even the UK, it's easy to imagine how almost everyone thought it was a crazy idea that would never get off the ground.

There are some rendering issues (like water missing) due to the OSM schema going through some significant changes over the years.