Clever Maps That Teachers Never Showed Their Students

In school, students are often shown maps of the world with just names of locations listed. However, maps can be a useful tool to explore all kinds of data. Whether it be the most popular sports around the world or the countries that have McDonald's, here are some of the most unique maps that aren't shown in schools.

The Number Of People Who Have Red Hair In Europe

map infographic showing the frequency of red hair in Europe
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Something that people probably don't think about too often is the frequency of red hair in Europe. This map shows the commonality of redheads.

Some places where red hair is highly prevalent include Scotland, Ireland, and parts of the United Kingdom. As the map goes southeast, it starts to become less prevalent.

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How Lightning Effects The World

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map of the world with levels of lightning intensity
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Lightning can be a bit frightening to see in person and can be more intense depending on where someone lives.

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This map shows how strong lightning is around the world. Black is the highest level, which can be seen mostly in central Africa. The countries that seem the least effected include Australia, New Zealand, Russia, and Canada.

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The Most Popular Sports Around The World

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map with different colors showing popular sports
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Sports are one of the few things that can bring a large group of people together. However, different sports are favored in various countries around the world.

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It looks as though football (soccer) is considered to be the top choice in continents such as Africa, South America, and Europe. The U.S. clearly favors the American version of football.

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Which Countries Have McDonald's

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map of the world showing which countries have a mcdonald's
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McDonald's is the most popular fast-food restaurant around the world. While it started in the United States, it has become a favorite among 120 other countries.

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Those traveling to Greenland, most of Africa, Mongolia, or Norway won't find a McDonald's. Also, different countries tend to have menu items that match local favorites such as Singapore's Samurai Burger or Australia's Bubblegum Squash McFlurry.

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What The World Looked Like 300 Million Years Ago

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all the world countries pushed together as the Pangea 200-300 million years ago
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It may be a little confusing at first, but those familiar with world history should know about the Pangea.

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About 200 to 300 million years ago, the continents were all pushed together and looked like the map that is pictured. As years started to go by, the continents began to separate to what they look like today.

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Map Of The World In Proportion To Population

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This world map may look a little different than most are used to and that's because it's based on proportion to population.

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Since countries such as China and India have some of the largest populations in the world, they are shown as being the biggest on the map. Coming in close are the United States, Brazil, and Mexico.

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These Countries Don't Use The Metric System

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map of the world showing which countries use the metric system
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Goran tek-en/Wikimedia Commons
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Americans may not think that others use the metric system, but they would be wrong. The United States, Liberia, and Myanmar are the only countries in the world who don't use the metric system.

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However, there are some instances where it pops up. U.S. coins and currency are produced using metric specifications and metric units are used on packages to provide health information.

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The Average Number Of Children Per Household

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map of the world showing how many children per household are common in each country
Korakys/Wikimedia Commons
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This colorful map shows the total fertility rate across the world. Africa has one of the highest with some of its countries having an average of seven to eight children per household.

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The United States, Greenland, and New Zealand have an average of two to three children per household. Finally, Canada, Australia, and Russia have the lowest fertility rate of no more than two children per household.

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The Most Common European Surnames

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Surnames can say a lot about a person's ancestry and they vary depending on the country.

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Italy has the most Rossi family members, Greece has a bunch of people with the last name of Papadopoulos, and Martin is most commonly seen as a French surname. Not only is Smith common in the U.S., but it's also the most popular surname in the U.K.

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The Most Attractive People In Europe, According To Reddit

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map of europe showing which countries have the most attractive people
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In July of 2013, Reddit users voted to see which countries in Europe had the most attractive people and it seemed as though there was a clear winner.

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Out of a possible 518 points, Sweden earned the top spot for having the most attractive citizens. France came in second place and Spain came in third.

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The Friendliest Countries For Tourists

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map of the world based on which countries are welcoming to foreigners
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Before traveling to a new country, it can be helpful to learn which ones are more welcoming. This map by The Washington Post shows that countries such as Canada, Mali, Australia, and Brazil tend to be more welcoming.

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The attitude of locals to foreign visitors is more negative in countries such as Russia, China, and Venezuela.

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Which Countries Have Freedom Of The Press?

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freedom of the press according to different countries around the world in a map
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Freedom of the press is extremely important no matter where someone is in the world. People need to get unbiased reports on what is really going on in the news.

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According to Reporters Sans Frontieres, countries such as Canada, Norway, and Iceland are in a good situation. The countries that have almost no freedom are China, Sudan, and Saudi Arabia.

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What World Land And Sea Would Look Like Inverted

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The earth is made up of about 71 percent water, which means that almost three-quarters of the planet is made up of oceans.

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This map shows what it would look like if the continents were strictly water and the space between them was land. If the earth was really this way, all vegetation would soon die out.

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Map Of The Earth With A New Perspective

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map of the earth with mercator projection using a different centerpoint
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Mercator projection is a cylindrical map that was first presented by geographer and cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569. This soon became the standard with having north as up, south as down, west as left, and east as right.

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The map shown in the photo shows the earth at a different projection and center point.

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What Time Zones Look Like In Antarctica

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time zones in Antarctica shown on a map
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Antarctica is the least populated continent in the world, but there are still varying time zones depending on what part of the continent someone is on.

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The continent sits on every line of longitude because the South Pole is on it, so Antarctica would be located in all time zones.

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Barbenheimer On Opening Week Compared To The Electoral Map

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Weirdly enough, the opening weekend of Barbie and Oppenheimer looks similar to the electoral map.

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Looking at the blue and pink colors, Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer was trending more in the traditionally blue states, while Greta Gerwig's Barbie was trending more throughout the traditionally red states.

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How Other Countries Write The Date

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map of the world with only the us highlighted
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As indicated by this map of the world, the United States is the only place that writes the date in the month, date, and year format.

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For example, this would look something like 02/22/2022 for February 22, 2022. The international standard is YYYY-MM-DD, so February 22, 2022 would look like 2022/02/22.

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The Age Europeans Leave Home

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european map showing age people leave home
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In the United States, the majority of the people leave home at age 18 when they go off to college. That age is quite different around the world.

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In Europe, the age people leave home is more common when they get to their mid to late 20s. Even countries such as Serbia, Italy, and Montenegro don't have people leave home until their 30s.

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A Trip From Liberia To China Without Touching Water

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map of the world with a line going from Liberia to China
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While water takes up almost three quarters of the earth's surface, there are some instances where it doesn't need to be crossed when going to another continent.

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If someone was making the almost 8,400-mile journey from Liberia to China, they could do so without crossing the ocean or any major body of water.

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Sunshine In The U.S. And Europe

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map of the united states and europe showing how much sunshine they get
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The West Coast of the United States shouldn't take their sunshine for granted. This part of the world gets the most annual sunshine compared to the rest of America and Europe.

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As the world heads east, the amount of sunshine starts to dwindle with very little annual sunlight in countries such as Iceland and Russia.

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Abandoned And Out-Of-Service Railroad Lines In The U.S.

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map of the united states showing abandoned railroad lines
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Traveling by railroad used to be the preferred choice for transportation before cars and airplanes became the norm. Now, there are several abandoned and out-of-service railroad lines across the United States.

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California actually has the most abandoned lines and has lost roughly 3,500 miles since the 1920s. In total, there have been 1,768 abandoned lines in the county.