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The World Map Is a Lie: How the Mercator Projection Warped Our Minds | Make This Make Sense

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November 11, 2025

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The world map you grew up with is wrong. A 16th-century map designed for sailors ended up shipwrecking our minds, and shaping global superpowers, for centuries. The Mercator projection hugely distorts reality — making countries like Greenland and Europe look massive, while Africa and South America shrink.

From the controversial Peters Projection sparking outrage in the 1970s to the African Union’s current "Equal Earth" campaign, it's clear that humans still don't agree on what the world even looks like.

#makethismakesense #worldmaps #maps

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Guests & Subjects Covered

The World Map Is a LieThe MercatorSouth AmericaPeters ProjectionAfrican UnionsEqual EarthThe New York PostNew York

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The World Map Is a Lie: How the Mercator Projection Warped Our Minds | Make This Make Sense · New York Post · Sentinel