It can be a lot of fun to find an old map and try to determine its date by the place names on it. North Vietnam and South Vietnam? Obviously between 1954 and 1976. East Germany? Between 1949 and 1990. But getting a precise year may take some further sleuthing. Luckily, we have a chart from Replogle Globe to consult. If your world globe has Southwest Africa on it instead of Namibia, but also has Zimbabwe instead of the older name Rhodesia, you can narrow it down to the 1980s. Using the chart, you’ll know to then look for the Leeward Islands, or St. Kitts & Nevis, as they were renamed in 1983. Outside of dating globes and maps, this can be a really handy chart for teaching your kids the history of world geography. Or yourself, for that matter. -via Digg
Here’s a joke from the last time we posted this link years ago:
My globe is so old...
HOW OLD IS IT?
My globe is so old it still says "here be dragons." On France.
(Image credit: Petar Milošević)