What Got My Attention
Lately I've been digging into places changing their names and the maps we use... I'll give you a hint why:
- Lake Ontario/Lake America: What happens when a place has two different names? [BBC]
- MapQuest refuses to rename Lake Ontario as App Store downloads surge [Travolution]
As this drama unfolded, I was thinking more about the names we see on maps. For the past few winters I've been heading to a town called San Pancho in Mexico, but on the map it's called San Francisco. There's no lake scandal here, it's just the nickname the locals use. But it is worth thinking about the places you're going and what name is useful vs official.
It's not just the smaller towns and lakes, this week the UN reminded us that the world map as we know it is not a photograph but an interpretation. We tend to think of maps as fixed, but the current view designed with sailors in mind isn’t necessarily the best way to picture the world today.
Then there's the country of Nauru, which has set about officially changing its name to the traditional name the people there already use.
I started out wondering who actually decides what goes on a map officially and if there was any process for changes, and learned there are formal ways, but there's not one universal process. Governments, international bodies, mapping companies and tradition all play different roles. In reality, it depends on who you ask and what you need the map for.
Worth Reading...
- When a mountain falls: How ice and rock triggered Nepal’s catastrophic flood—and why climate change is raising the risks [Adventure]
- Rome2Rio Is Releasing a New Connector in Claude [Rome2Rio]
- How we listed 10 Downing Street as a holiday home on Booking.com [Which?]
- Snackpacking: the food-first travel trend, explained [WeRoad]
- The invisible price of travelling safely as a woman [BBC]
- Not Sure What to Tip? Find Gratuity Guidelines for 140 Countries with This Free Online Tool [Frommer's]
- Why you now need to budget for tourist taxes [Which?]
...And Things Around the Edges of Travel
- Who are the world’s most polite tourists? [Euronews]
- These Travelers Are Vacationing in Countries the State Department Warns Are Too Dangerous to Visit [Fodor's]
- How ‘Ted Lasso’ turned a charming London suburb into a tourist hotspot [CNN Travel]
- These Are the World’s Most Extreme Hotel Stays — and Some Are Truly Horrifying [Fodor's]
- Travelers Trusted AI With Their Trips. Then Rangers Were Called, a Mayor Got Involved – And Things Got Stranger [Earth's Attractions]