Wiki - Well to Hell

 An urban legend about a very very deep well.

Wiki - Landlocked countries

Wikipedia has a lengthy entry on landlocked countries. It includes basic "records" like largest (Kazakhstan) and most populous (Ethiopia). Less basic, like the fact that Kyrgyzstan is the farthest landlocked country from any ocean. And a little odd was a list of countries that are landlocked by exactly two other countries.

But the truly unexpected section was about "double-landlocked" countries, which are countries surrounded by landlocked countries. In all the world, there are only two of these exist: Liechtenstein and Uzbekistan.

Wiki - Immortal jellyfish

When immortal jellyfish get older they just get younger again. 

August quote

I should post this every year...

"When the first of August came round, the Professor realized he had pleasantly trifled away nearly two months at a task which should have taken little more than a week."

-Willa Cather (from The Professor's House, 1925) 

Wiki - Binondo

Binondo - I had not heard of the "oldest Chinatown in the world" but here it is. Founded in 1594. By the Spaniards, in the Philippines.

August with Wikipedia

 As I travel down rabbit holes and (re) discover curiosities and interesting tidbits, I sometimes end up with some bookmarks for Wikipedia that might be interesting to others. In August, I will post a link to a curious Wikipedia entry each day. Some are more about the content, while others are more about the entry itself. Either way, I encourage a quick click on the link before you decide which it is.

Wikipedia's entry on Wikipedia is a good place to start. Or, you can skip directly to the Wikipedia Controversies page.

Hexmap

The political news site Downballot has developed a hexagon-based cartogram for reporting congressional district data. Since we talk about approaches like this in our GIS classes, it is interesting to see one in such a prominent use.

Mapless fair housing in Oregon

Oregon tried to solve its fair housing problems without maps, and that is a problem: "In 2019 and 2023, Oregon passed two laws requiring city housing plans to affirmatively further fair housing. But rather than using maps to inform policy, many Oregon cities are refraining from mapping to avoid confronting patterns of segregated housing."

NJ Green Acres

 New Jersey has released the list of recommended Green Acres projects (PDF).