this post was submitted on 10 Oct 2025
214 points (95.3% liked)
Mildly Interesting
23097 readers
327 users here now
This is for strictly mildly interesting material. If it's too interesting, it doesn't belong. If it's not interesting, it doesn't belong.
This is obviously an objective criteria, so the mods are always right. Or maybe mildly right? Ahh.. what do we know?
Just post some stuff and don't spam.
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Most maps in Asia are like this. That’s why growing up I was confused why the US was called the west and East/Southeast Asia was called the far east.
edit: Oops, didn't realize the credit wouldn't be obvious. It's xkcd #503.
I guess it kinda makes sense if you draw the line right down the middle of Germany. Weird, I wonder if there's any historical precedent for that...
Its almost as if some country thinks they are the center of the world.
Well, specifically a couple of countries on either side of the Atlantic.
It’s more like most countries. Maps like the one shown in this post that place Asia as a central focus are common in Asia.
Maybe it’s not national narcissism, rather just focusing on what’s most relevant to any one people.
I think putting the line down the Pacific makes the most sense in most cases. But the national narcissism has historically been a defining characteristic of the UK and the US