Although the phantom territory known as Sandy Island was officially removed from French and Australian maritime charts in the
Chapter 1

Cartographic tricks and phantom places

Chapter 2

Legendary kingdoms that shaped history

Chapter 3

Pop culture nations and political satire

Chapter 4

Masterpieces of fantasy cartography

Ch 1 · Cartographic tricks and phantom places
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Quiz

Although the phantom territory known as Sandy Island was officially removed from French and Australian maritime charts in the late 20th century, how did it manage to persist on digital platforms like Google Earth and National Geographic maps until its official 'undiscovery' in 2012?

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schopenhauer
Quiz

Originally invented in the 1930s as a 'copyright trap' to catch map plagiarists, the phantom settlement of Agloe, New York, is famous in cartographic history because it eventually...

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schopenhauer Martin Coles Harman established a self-proclaimed kingdom on Lundy Island.

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schopenhauer A cartographer sneaked a fictional mountain onto official government maps

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schopenhauer Agloe, New York is a famous paper town.

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schopenhauer Lundy Island

Buy the island, crown yourself King, pay with puffins!

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Mount Richard's peak of deception
BETA

schopenhauer Spot fake landmarks to discover how cartographers use fictional geography to trap copycats.

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The paper town of Agloe

schopenhauer In the 1930s, Otto G. Lindberg and Ernest Alpers invented Agloe to catch copycats, but a store later opened at those coordinates.

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schopenhauer
Quiz

What real-world landmark was built at the coordinates of Agloe, New York, because it appeared on maps?

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schopenhauer
Quiz

Which mapmaking company's founders invented the fictional town of Agloe, New York, as a copyright trap?

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What we treat as real, we eventually make real.

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Sandy Island the phantom land

schopenhauer The whaling ship Velocity first charted this phantom Pacific island in 1876

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Quiz

Which ship first recorded the existence of the non-existent Sandy Island in 1876?

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Quiz

In which body of water was the phantom Sandy Island mapped for over a century before being disproven in 2012?

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Fun Fact

Agloe's surprise: A fake town created by cartographers actually became a physical place with a general store because people believed the map [1].

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schopenhauer
Quiz

In which US state did a cartographer sneakily add the fake Mount Richard to an official map in the 1970s?

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Quiz

Who was the fake Mount Richard named after when it was sneaked onto an official USGS map?

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Glossary
paper town (noun)
A fictional town or settlement added to a map by cartographers to detect copyright infringement. Otto G. Lindberg and Ernest Alpers created the fake settlement of Agloe, New York, in the 1930s.

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schopenhauer
Quiz

What bird was featured on the unauthorized coins issued by Martin Coles Harman on Lundy Island?

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schopenhauer
Quiz

In which body of water is the island of Lundy located?

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