Mapmaker, Mapmaker, Make Me a Map!

An outstanding article on Wyld's Great Globe. I'd have loved to have seen this. It's a 60 foot tall model of the Earth, built as a side-attraction to the Crystal Palace Exhibition (another one I'd like to have seen). Wyld's globe had the features of the Earth on the inside, along with an ever-changing assortment of mini exhibits about the various places in the world, and who lived in them. The inside was lit with gaslight, which seems claustrophobic and suffocatey, but there seem to have been no problems.

I love that when you exited the exhibit, you did so through a souvenir shop selling a selection of Wyld's globes and maps. He was apparently the first one to think of that. The name makes me think of Nick Wyld, too.

*****

Oh, this is fun!! Various sorts of graphic representations of data, primarily as maps. It seems to be mostly (perhaps entirely) the work of one man, but is fascinating nonetheless.

*****

An Ex-Woodpecker

So, something ate part of one of my Downy Woodpeckers. The amount that was eaten was sufficient to render the entire Woodpecker a writeoff. I don't think it was the Hawk, since the feathers weren't plucked. Hawks tend to leave a huge mess behind as though the victim had exploded. I have to suppose it was either the Raccoons, or else one of the stray Cats that I occasionally feed. On reflection, I think Raccoon, as Cats are pretty efficient at rasping all of the meat off the bones. I can't imagine how a Raccoon caught him.

*****

Counterfeits

No mention of this on any of the big news outlets that I can find, but the Ukraine seems to be flooding us with counterfeit money. Be especially careful of your change.