Visualization shows Europeans knew 7% of Earth's surface in 1321, 46% by 1608
randal_olson · x · 2026-11-03
Data scientist Randal Olson shares a historical visualization project estimating that Europeans knew about 7% of Earth's surface in 1321 and 46% by 1608, with the animation ending in 1968 when the Apollo 8 crew saw the whole Earth from space. He notes some bugs, e.g. inland Finland and northern Sweden, but finds it an interesting project overall.
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