Strange Maps — July 23, 2010

7 – Greater Albania

The Albanians are descendants of the Illyrians, an ancient Balkan people who preceded the Slavic populations surrounding their native territories. They presently have an independent nation – Albania, in their own language ‘Shqipëtar’, meaning ‘Land of the Eagles’ – but are also the majority in Kosovo, nominally still a part of Serbia but de facto a semi-independent state under UN tutelage. There are other significant Albanian populations in Montenegro, Serbia proper, Macedonia and Greece. This map shows the maximum extent of Albanian territorial ambitions – ‘Greater Albania’.

http://www.decani.org/galbania.gif

a computer generated image of a human brain.

Thinking

The great free will debate featuring Michio Kaku and Steven Pinker

Who — or what — really controls your mind?

Building destroyed by the Halifax Explosion. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.

The Past

The largest accidental explosion of all time

More than a century ago, Halifax suffered an accidental blast one-fifth the size of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

a collage of photos of a man with a hat and a book.

High Culture

6 great books with wildly unreliable narrators

Dive into the twisted truths and concealed realities told by literature’s most unreliable narrators.

a group of five matches on a pink background.

The Well

Signs you’re burned out — and how to bounce back

If you don’t feel better after the weekend, the “burnout paradox” could explain why.

▸

7 min

—

with

Laurie Santos

Starts With A Bang

The trick to instantly identifying JWST images

If you can identify a foreground star, the spike patterns are a dead giveaway as to whether it’s a JWST image or any other observatory.

Up Next

Guest Thinkers

Alarms on BP’s Deepwater Horizon Disabled to “Help Workers Sleep”

BP/Transocean’s concern for rig workers is touching. Key alarm systems on the Deepwater Horizon were disabled to “help workers sleep”: Vital warning systems on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig were […]