https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&feedformat=atom&user=Calvinoheath 2026-05-21T11:10:48Z User contributions MediaWiki 1.30.0 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1799:_Bad_Map_Projection:_Time_Zones&diff=135242 2017-02-15T06:36:04Z

<p>Calvinoheath: Explanation of China's thinness in the context of other nations' wideness, clarification of 'larger' to 'wider'.</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 1799<br /> | date = February 15, 2017<br /> | title = Bad Map Projection: Time Zones<br /> | image = bad_map_projection_time_zones.png<br /> | titletext = This is probably the first projection in cartographic history that can be criticized for its disproportionate focus on Finland, Mongolia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|First draft}}This comic shows a [[wikipedia:Map projection|map projection]] where countries are placed according to the [[wikipedia:Time zone|time zones]] they fall under. Based on the way the Sun shines on the Earth, these time zones, which are based on the sun's position in the sky, would best be divided by roughly longitudinal (North-to-South Pole) lines.<br /> <br /> However, this is not the case in practice, as the defined time zones tend to have very jagged boundaries. Since [[Randall]] knows he cannot fix the boundaries of the time zones, he instead &quot;fixes&quot; the world by making a map appear to match up with the ideal time zone system. This results in bizarre distortions such as the large, gum-like strands of Greenland and the split upper part of Russia.<br /> <br /> Due to the projection, small countries that happen to cross the boundaries of time zones appear as much wider than they actually are. Conversely, countries that choose to use less timezones, like China, appear far thinner than they are. Other map projections distort countries this way, too, but based on their actual physical location as opposed to their position on imaginary time zones. The [[wikipedia:Mercator projection|Mercator projection]] is infamous for distorting Greenland in this way, to the point that it appears to be larger than Africa despite being nowhere near this large size. The title text lampoons the fact that the same phenomenon occurs on Randall's bad map projection, but for countries that do not tend to experience this on typical projections. Much smaller, lesser-known countries such as Finland, Mongolia, and the DRC, which all appear much bigger than their actual size due to being stretched across multiple time zone boundaries.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript}}<br /> :Bad map projection #79:<br /> :'''Time Zones'''<br /> :Where each country should be, <br /> :based on its time zone(s)<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}</div>

Calvinoheath