Monday, 15 August 2011

Cartography's Favourite Map Monster: The Land Octopus

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Over the centuries, the high seas have served as a blank canvas for cartographers' worst nightmares. They have dotted the oceans with a whole crypto-zoo of island-sized whales, deathly seductive mermaids, giant sea serpents, and many more - a whole panoply of heraldic horrors.

As varied as this marine bestiary is, mapmakers have settled on a single, favourite species for land-based beastliness: the octopus.

(via Dark Roasted Blend)

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