2999: Bad Map Projection: The United Stralia - Revision history

81.179.199.253: /* Transcript */

2026-05-19T13:55:11Z

‎Transcript

YZ100 at 03:27, 19 May 2026

2026-05-19T03:27:24Z

Jkshapiro: /* Explanation */ Omit needless words

2025-10-13T19:15:46Z

‎Explanation: Omit needless words

FaviFake: goe in the trivia!

2025-09-07T13:17:59Z

goe in the trivia!

2600:6C48:6C7F:5B90:CD26:DA2:5B6B:6596: /* Geographical relationships */

2025-09-05T16:20:48Z

‎Geographical relationships

82.132.244.75: /* Explanation */

2025-07-31T17:24:56Z

‎Explanation

FaviFake: /* Explanation */

2025-07-31T14:56:59Z

‎Explanation

Kynde: /* Explanation */

2025-07-31T07:52:26Z

‎Explanation

207.195.86.248: /* Explanation */

2025-07-31T01:34:16Z

‎Explanation

NiceGuy1: It's idiotic to declare "last" in any ongoing thing. Once Randall makes another one someone will have to know/remember to come back here and change it.

2025-03-22T05:22:39Z

It's idiotic to declare "last" in any ongoing thing. Once Randall makes another one someone will have to know/remember to come back here and change it.

@@ Line 102: / Line 102: @@
 ==Transcript==
-[A map whose left side looks like that of Australia and whose right side looks like that of the United States, with Tasmania swapped out for a supposed island that looks like South Florida. The modified subdivisions of Australia are bordered with black with their names also black, while those of the United States are bordered with the same grey the city names are written with, with the US state abbreviations being a brighter one. Above the map reads:]:
+[A map for which some edges look quite like that of Australia and others look more like that of the United States, but still with general similarity to the other, with such features as Tasmania swapped out for a supposed island that looks like a disconnected South Florida. The modified subdivisions of Australia are bordered with black with their names also black, while those representing the suitably adjusted United States state-boundaries are bordered with the same grey the city names are written with, with the standard US state abbreviations being a marginally lighter shade still.]
-Bad Map Projection #102:
+:[Above the map reads:] Bad Map Projection #102:
-[In larger letters than the first or the third paragraph]: The United Stralia
+:[In larger letters than the first or the third paragraph]: The United Stralia
-A 50/50 US/Australia blend
+:A 50/50 US/Australia blend
 ==Trivia==

@@ Line 102: / Line 102: @@
 ==Transcript==
-{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
+[A map whose left side looks like that of Australia and whose right side looks like that of the United States, with Tasmania swapped out for a supposed island that looks like South Florida. The modified subdivisions of Australia are bordered with black with their names also black, while those of the United States are bordered with the same grey the city names are written with, with the US state abbreviations being a brighter one. Above the map reads:]:
-[A map whose left side looks like that of Australia and whose right side looks like that of the United States, with Tasmania swapped out for a supposed island that looks like South Florida. The modified subdivisions of Australia are bordered with black with their names also black, while those of the United States are bordered with the same grey the city names are written with, with the US state abbreviations being a brighter one]:
+Bad Map Projection #102:
 ==Trivia==

@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 The geographically relative climate of the states of the USA is broadly opposite of Australia's. Australia's north is closest to the equator but the USA's north is farthest from the equator. Thus, if Australia's climate were literally applied to the US, Florida would be relatively cold while Maine would be hot. Likewise, applying USA's climate to Australia would make northern Australia unusually cold and southern Australia relatively hot.
-The map pokes fun at superficial and irrelevant similarities between features of the maps of the United States and Australia, such as the shape of the east coasts of {{w|New England}} and the {{w|Cape York Peninsula}}, and the distance to the southern tip of the island of {{w|Tasmania}} and the length of the {{w|Florida}} {{w|peninsula}}. The end result is to illustrate a fanciful place which does not actually exist and thus would have limited worth for navigating either Australia or the USA, although navigation between two listed locations/areas drawn from the same original continent would at least be broadly possible (with the possibility of a few 'surprises' en route). The blending features cities from both countries on the map, e.g., San Francisco and Los Angeles (USA) close to Perth (Australia).
+The map pokes fun at superficial and irrelevant similarities between features of the maps of the United States and Australia, such as the shape of the east coasts of {{w|New England}} and the {{w|Cape York Peninsula}}, and the distance to the southern tip of the island of {{w|Tasmania}} and the length of the {{w|Florida}} {{w|peninsula}}. The end result is to illustrate a fanciful place which does not actually exist and thus would have limited worth for navigating either Australia or the USA. The blending features cities from both countries on the map, e.g., San Francisco and Los Angeles (USA) close to Perth (Australia).
 The {{w|states and territories of Australia}} are depicted with black lines/labels, while the {{w|states of the United States}} and such cities as are taken from either nation are marked with gray. The Australian states are labeled with their full names, but the American states are given only their postal abbreviations. (Mississippi is mislabeled as MI, in addition to Michigan's own correct usage, instead of the official MS.) Western Australia is usually abbreviated to WA, but the convention here leaves that unambiguously assigned to the US state of Washington. Idaho, for some reason, is not labeled at all, and neither is the Australian island state of Tasmania.

@@ Line 90: / Line 90: @@
 * Georgia
 ** {{w|Canberra}}, and presumably the rest of the {{w|Australian Capital Territory}}, is located in southeastern Georgia.
-* Mississippi (incorrectly labeled MI instead of MS)
+* Mississippi
 * South Carolina
 ** {{w|Sydney, Australia|Sydney}} is located along the coast of South Carolina, near the location of {{w|Charleston, South Carolina|Charleston}}.
@@ Line 111: / Line 111: @@
 ==Trivia==
-The use of "Stralia" in the title echoes a common Australian verbal abbreviation for the country, often styled something like ''<!--note the difficulty of 'nicely' quoting a single single-quote!-->'Stralia'', in casual speech or sometimes {{w|Elsa Stralia#Stage name|more formally}}. This is a convenient punny replacement of the word "States" in "The United States", as it starts with the same two letters.
+*In the New South Wales region, Mississippi is incorrectly labelled MI instead of MS. This error was never fixed.
-On the day this comic was released, the xkcd homepage changed to show a [[:File:xkcd_homepage_strip_harris_for_president.png|strip]] showing [[Cueball]] installing a "Harris For President" sign in some grass, presumably on his lawn. This relates to the upcoming 2024 US presidential election.
+*The use of "Stralia" in the title echoes a common Australian verbal abbreviation for the country, often styled something like ''<!--note the difficulty of 'nicely' quoting a single single-quote!-->'Stralia'', in casual speech or sometimes {{w|Elsa Stralia#Stage name|more formally}}. This is a convenient punny replacement of the word "States" in "The United States", as it starts with the same two letters.
 {{comic discussion}}

@@ Line 32: / Line 32: @@
 ** {{w|Perth, Australia|Perth}} appears on the California coast, about halfway between {{w|Los Angeles}} and {{w|San Francisco}}.
 * Colorado
-* Idaho
+* Idaho (unlabeled)
 * Montana
 * Nevada
@@ Line 90: / Line 90: @@
 * Georgia
 ** {{w|Canberra}}, and presumably the rest of the {{w|Australian Capital Territory}}, is located in southeastern Georgia.
-* Mississippi
+* Mississippi (incorrectly labeled MI instead of MS)
 * South Carolina
 ** {{w|Sydney, Australia|Sydney}} is located along the coast of South Carolina, near the location of {{w|Charleston, South Carolina|Charleston}}.

@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 ==Explanation==
-This is the eighth comic in the series of [[:Category:Bad Map Projections|Bad Map Projections]] displaying Bad Map Projection #102: The United Stralia. It follows [[2951: Bad Map Projection: Exterior Kansas]] (#45), released about three and a half months earlier, and was followed nine and a half month later by [[3122: Bad Map Projection: Interrupted Spheres]]. In this addition to the Bad Map Projections series, Randall has blended two different countries — the United States of America and Australia — into one.
+This is the eighth comic in the series of [[:Category:Bad Map Projections|Bad Map Projections]] displaying Bad Map Projection #102: The United Stralia. It follows [[2951: Bad Map Projection: Exterior Kansas]] (#45), released about three and a half months earlier, and was followed nine and a half months later by [[3122: Bad Map Projection: Interrupted Spheres]]. In this addition to the Bad Map Projections series, Randall has blended two different countries — the United States of America and Australia — into one.
 As with a number of Bad Map Projections, the primary joke is the naming of this ''as'' a "map projection". Its depiction is particularly similar to [[2807: Bad Map Projection: ABS(Longitude)]], in which geography is overlaid upon other geography. It also follows the practice of [[2256: Bad Map Projection: South America]], in which a general continental shape is forced upon other areas, with the general geographical outline of the 48 contiguous US states being merged with the political boundaries of Australia (with exceptions, most obviously Australia's Bass Strait being retained in lieu of the US's central Florida). At a further level of merging, the US states are repacked as subdivisions within the various Australian ones; as with the likes of [[2394: Contiguous 41 States]], it also takes some liberties with the relative neighboring positioning of some of these, although not by totally removing any of the actual {{w|contiguous United States}}. Alaska and Hawaii aren't included, likely because the 48 contiguous US states better match the shape and size of Australia. Australia also has no territories that would make a good match in size or shape for Alaska and Hawaii.