The True Size Of

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Impressions of the Tool

  • Many find the site “very nice” and “well made,” and several mention having used it for years.
  • People are repeatedly shocked by how large some countries are (Africa, Brazil, Algeria, Australia, Russia) and how small others feel in comparison (Belgium, European countries).
  • Users enjoy dragging long, thin countries like Chile and trying surprising overlays (e.g., Kiribati over the US, Antarctica in the Indian/ Pacific oceans).

Map Projections and Mercator Debate

  • Strong focus on how the Mercator projection distorts perception, especially inflating higher-latitude regions and shrinking much of the “Global South.”
  • Some argue these distortions have real sociopolitical meaning (over- vs under-representation); others claim no major decisions are made based on “Greenland looks big.”
  • Several point out that equal-area projections (e.g., Gall–Peters, other “size-accurate” options) and numerous alternatives already exist, but all projections involve tradeoffs (area vs shape vs angles vs continuity).
  • Mercator’s original purpose—navigation via preserved angles/rhumb lines—is noted, and some stress it’s still useful for online maps and small-area views.

Perceptions of Country Size

  • Repeated surprise at:
    • Australia ≈ contiguous US; Brazil and Russia being huge; China not much larger than the US; Greenland < Argentina; Russia ≈ South America.
  • Population density and “felt size” come up (e.g., dense Belgium feeling larger than it is; vast but empty areas in Canada, Australia).
  • Some say the hype about Mercator’s distortion made the actual comparisons feel underwhelming: big countries remain big even without projection bias.

Education, Globes, and Everyday Use

  • Several wish schools would rely less on Mercator for teaching world geography; others report their schools mainly used compromise projections like Robinson/Winkel Tripel.
  • A physical globe is strongly recommended as the best way to grasp time zones, seasons, and distances, though one commenter notes that mathematically, coordinate charts/projections are sufficient to understand curved spaces.

Feature Requests and Related Tools

  • Desired additions: cities; subnational units outside the US; provinces/states; continents; entities like the EU; large lakes and seas.
  • Some link to other comparison tools (mapfight.xyz, same-scale viewers) but note they often fail to correct for projection distortion, especially at high latitudes.

UI / Technical Issues

  • Users eventually discover rotation via the colored compass rose; several say this is non-obvious and should be documented.
  • A shading quirk near the South Pole can invert coverage visually.
  • The site’s use of URL history (hash changes per drag) frustrates people who must press “Back” many times to return to HN; opinions differ on whether this is a “hijack” or just a bug.

Meta and Humor

  • Numerous jokes about countries “going south/right,” C/C++ sizeof, and political satire (e.g., dividing Greenland).
  • Side discussions touch on what counts as “Europe” vs EU, counting continents, and how playing Geoguessr or long-distance driving also reshapes intuition for geographic size.