40 maps they didn't teach you at school (but should have) | Hacker News Reader

40 maps they didn't teach you at school (but should have)

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43 pointsJamesCRR22 comments

I'm pretty sure that:

1) They should not teach these maps in school

2) All of these were taken from http://reddit.com/r/mapporn

Interestingly, according to this data, the country with most attractive citizens is Norway, which is also one of the countries with bigger breasts, and also on the second category regarding IQ. Also happens to be near the top countries most welcoming to foreigners. It is also one of the 22 countries never invaded by England.

Brit here. Just been convinced to invade Norway for my next holiday.

I think you got it confused with sweden

Yep, I meant Sweden

It's welcoming to foreigners? I thought the Scandinavian countries were famously xenophobic.

Also, as opposed to what the map shows, the Netherlands wasn't invaded by England, it was the other way around. William II of England was Dutch (aka William of Orange).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glorious_Revolution

Also, according to the maps, the Dutch enjoy greater freedom of press and possess larger penises than Americans. Having lived in both countries, it rings true to me. Not sure whether we can chalk it up as a pro for the Dutch though. As for penis size: we all know it’s about girth, not length. As for freedom of speech: the Netherlands has politicians like Geert Wilders, who continues to utter hate speech in public. Dutch courts seemingly have no way to convict him.

The Netherlands and England fought several wars in the 17th Century.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Dutch_Wars

On sea. Nowhere in that article did I read that England invaded the Netherlands. The inverse did happen, as stated previously.

> and possess larger penises than Americans. Having lived in both countries, it rings true to me. Not sure whether we can chalk it up as a pro for the Dutch though. As for penis size: we all know it’s about girth, not length.

I never would have thought that I would see a literal dick measuring contest on HN.

Hehe, the article started it! Also, having been born in the Netherlands and having lived in the US for a long time and having been in locker rooms on both sides of the pond, I felt I was in a unique position to comment.

The size of flaccid penises (locker room) aren't really comparable, since they don't all grow uniformly relative to their flaccid size.

How about during World War II? Quite a few Brits (and a lot of Canadians) died to liberate the Netherlands. That's technically an invasion, isn't it?

No, it’s not. The Netherlands had been invaded by Germany. Canadian forces liberated the Netherlands. The Dutch royal family stood behind the allied forces (Canada, USA, UK) to take the land back, it wasn't an invasion (Only in the minds of Nazis, I guess). Also, most of the members of the Dutch royal family were living in London at that time. At no time during or after WWII did the UK or any of the other allied forces rule the Netherlands.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands_in_World_War_II#Lib...

> the country with most attractive citizens is Sweden

According to a vote on /r/europe, ie. probably according to the "blond beautiful Swedish women" trope I bet. I don't see how anything but confirmation bias would cause such a landslide victory.

Regarding map No. 1: Saks isn’t based in Alabama, but in NY.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saks,_Inc.

I’d also say that Microsoft is a more famous brand from Washington than Starbucks is, but I could be wrong.

Saks, originally Proffitt's Inc., was founded in Alabama. They acquired a NYC-based company called Saks Fifth Avenue in 1998, and renamed the company to Saks Inc.

Yes, but they moved to NY in 2007. It’s not an Alabama business. And of course, the name ‘Saks’ comes from the company founded in 1867 in New York City. There isn’t even a 5th Avenue in Birmingham, Alabama. (There's a 5th Avenue in Birmingham, England though)

That map was made up. Most states would have the same most popular brands. Advertising is national.

Read the post again. It displays, for each state, the most popular brand that originated in that state. Not which national brand is the most popular in that state.

I found the original: http://steve-lovelace.com/the-corporate-states-of-america/

“For each of the fifty states (and the District of Columbia), I selected a corporation or brand that best represented the states. My criteria are subjective, but in each case, I picked a brand that a) has ties to that state and b) is still in business (as of 2013).”

Of course, Saks doesn't have any ties anymore to Alabama, so it doesn't even fit the author’s criteria.

I think it's trying to depict the most popular brand that originated in that state. I.e. out of all the brands that started in Pennsylvania, Hershey's Chocolate is the most popular worldwide. It's not saying that people in Pennsylvania are crazier about Hershey's than about any other brand.

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