The world is shrinking. Okay, not really – the size is more or less the same as it was a hundred years ago. But looking at this map shows just how much easier it is to get somewhere WAY more quickly than before.
It is not just that far more of the map is dark red and far less is blue. It is also the change in scale. Of course, this change is a necessity in the era of air travel. Without changing the scale everything in the new map would be the dark red of less than 5 days travel used int he 1914 version. Today’s version shows the max travel time as anything greater than 1.5 days, not 40+ days from a century ago.
And, while this is amazing, I cannot help but wonder what a similar map will look like in 25, 50 or 100 years (though unlikely I’ll see that last version). I’ll bet against a quick return to supersonic air travel and hyperloop isn’t going to work across the ocean, at least not for a long, long time. But there are also a lot of people working on incredible projects right now. Things could change much faster than I’m expecting. And a large part of me hopes that’s the case so that I can enjoy those experiences, too. Because going around the world in a week – with time to stop and work on the other side – is amazing. But I certainly wouldn’t mind other ways to have that experience.
Thanks to DF for sharing that link with me.
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Wow that really puts things in perspective. It will be fun to see how things change in the future. I imagine some things will change faster than we think and others more slowly. But I hope to be around to experience whatever it is!
Great maps. Thanks.