iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 4h

How far can you get in 8 hours of driving starting from 6 South American capitals? Source: buff.ly/I7MjTNq

Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 8h

How the American life changed from 1995 to 2026 is wild. More concerts, more exercise, more video games. Fewer books, less church, not staying at work longer (I guess you leave on time and continue work at home?). Source: buff.ly/QkmYfkv

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 12h

The share of US Americans who hosted friends or family at their home at least monthly has declined by 71 percent in the last 50 years. Other activities declined too. This week invite a friend or two over for dinner. The next day recover from the socialising by reading a book. Source: buff.ly/7GaA1ZS

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 15h

Across the globe, people increasingly say social media is harming democracy. In rich countries this opinion is more common than in poor countries. Source: buff.ly/Hg2ArGl

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 19h

The chart shows 2.87 Manhattans ($2.89T GDP, 4.7M people) match Africa's economic output (1.5B people). Criticisms: it uses nominal GDP not PPP, ignores Manhattan's 1.6M daily commuters, and counts global corporate revenue booked in NYC. Still a stark contrast.

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 22h

This map shows the islands with more than 1 million residents. Source: buff.ly/a5n8v6b

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Astana (Kazakhstan) throughout the year. Lovely visual.

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Just a dumb little joke for the AI users in the workforce 😉

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

I’m not a doctor but this one checks out…

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Map shows the radioactive fallout from the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. Source: buff.ly/2z39vI9

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

What if the largest countries had the largest population? Australia would move to Spain and Pakistan to Australia. buff.ly/2yvHaej

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Finland gets the “ways to divide a country” treatment.

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Just a little joke for the history buffs out there...

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

This is one of my all time favorite history maps! Pigeon postal communication routes in the defense system of Moscow in 1941. Source: buff.ly/2pSCTeK

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Cool history map shows the approximate dates (BC) of the adoption of the spoke-wheeled chariot. Source: buff.ly/2PPtgdl

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

So much history in a single map. Even the "no data" part tells a story of westward expansion. A cool dataviz worth studying for a bit. Also, it must be hard finding foreign born folks in Alabama.

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

The spread of the Industrial Revolution across Europe. While a map like this will be able to exactly capture a momentous historical development, it is immensely helpful in understanding the geographic spread and reading local history in context. Source: buff.ly/3qR4rUs

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

This journal article on ancient trade networks connecting Roman and Asian empires features a cool map showing the trade routes between China and Rome. I love history maps like that! Source: buff.ly/3movjV8

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Weird #geography and #history trivia: #Kazakhstan was the last Soviet Republic to leave the #USSR (4 Days After #Russia). This means that for 4 days this was what the Soviet Union looked like. Source: buff.ly/2JAvKq8

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

If cost of living goes up while confidence into the future of your country and your earning potential go down, this map is the result. Sure more flows into lower fertility rates but these factors are huge.

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

China certainly picked the right flag…

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Jupiter’s Great Red Spot is a storm bigger than Earth that has been raging for centuries. Astronomers have observed this enormous vortex continuously since at least the 1800s - likely much longer. One hell of a weather system.

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

This animated map by @AaronJBecker shows the average colour of Europe from September 2024 to September 2026 based on satellite images. It's fun to look at your region changing colour through the seasons.

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

In the US data centres are booming while all other private construction is shrinking. HT @SteveRattner

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

This animated map by @milos_gis shows how firey and smokey the last three months in Europe were. We see wildfires and aerosol spread over the last 3 months.

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

A classic map-themed cartoon by the one and only Gary Larson. What’s your favourite cartoon featuring or displaying a map?

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

The history of accuracy in world maps. Amazing work. Source: buff.ly/2K6mGtD

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

New Zealand superimposed on Japan. 4.9 million people vs 126 million. Source: buff.ly/2ZLxp4e

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

I believe that a lot of the anger in the US population is rooted in these two charts. How and where this anger is channelled to determines the future of the nation. Different groups offer different solutions, different paths. What solution will win out in the long-run is still undecided.

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

You read a lot about The South China Sea as a current geopolitical hotspot. Have a look at this 1944 map from the US Navy to see that this isn't a new development at all. Really interesting map. Source: buff.ly/3EuXeLO #mapmonday

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

This map is a clever new way of displaying data about the Ottoman Empire. It shows how man years areas in the Western Balkans spent under Ottoman control. I really like this map! Source: buff.ly/2XJTBvu

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

This is another nice size comparison map. While New Guinea and the UK appear to be of the same size on a Mercator map, NG is three-times the size of the UK. Source: buff.ly/3kx978C

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

This map by @econovisuals shows the global migration hotpots. Migrants flow towards economic opportunity in high income nations. Pretty obvious... Source: buff.ly/WwpC7aG

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Every glaciated region on the planet lost ice for four years in a row now. From 2023–2025 alone, glaciers lost around 1,400 gigatonnes of ice, equivalent to roughly 560 million Olympic swimming pools (the official weird measure for anything water related). Source: bit.ly/WMOStateofWa...

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Cool visual of a hot planet by @RyanWeather. Watch the Bell Curve slowly wobble from the left of the chart to the right side and think about what this means for your region (glance at the map too). Source: buff.ly/lgXQKFA

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

When plotting the divorce rate against years of marriage a relatively stable curve emerges. Watch out if you've been married for exactly five years!

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

In this animated map @milos_gis (a must follow account!) shows us the temperature anomalies across Europe in August 2026. Relive your sweaty August in just 30 seconds!

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

I’ve shared several versions of this before but I just love historical demographic data too much. Nice version by @civixplorer.

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Today @Atlasova_world kindly helps the historically inclined traveler to plan the next adventure. Whjch ancient world wonder is located closest to you?

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

While we are waiting for club football to resume, here is a map showing the founding year of the oldest football club in each European country. Source: buff.ly/2W2miIv

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Number of football fields per 1000 inhabitants across Europe. The motherland of football offers its citizens fewer football fields than most of central and northern Europe. Source: buff.ly/3eEJqmhl

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

In 2025 most (88%) of the coastal bathing sites in the EU had excellent water quality. Perfect scores for Cyprus, Lithuania, and Slovenia. Source: link.europa.eu/NnDpTK

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Messico? Makes sense considering how Italian Argentina is 😉

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

This map shows the "Francosphere". What share of the population is capable of holding a conversation in French?

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Busy Asia vs Empty Asia. Source: buff.ly/CZlUpP1

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Neil and Buzz didn't go very far. Map overlays the path traveled by the first men on the moon 50 years ago on a standard football pitch. A small step indeed... Source: buff.ly/2Yr2zgF

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

For the first time since at least 1982, deaths now outnumber births in reliably Republican counties across America. This demographic shift may already be reshaping US voting patterns. bit.ly/4hpvwUK

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