A friend of mine introduced me to a web-site that gives you a whole new view on the world we live in (http://www.worldmapper.org). They morph a map of the world's land area (such as that above) based on 366 (so far) individual variables, such as maternal mortality, cigarette usage, cell phone subscribers, and number of McDonalds outlets, bloating and shrinking various land masses accordingly. One example is shown below. This approach makes differences between the various parts of the world very "graphic."
GDP Wealth per person"This wealth map shows which territories have the greatest wealth when Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is compared using currency exchange rates. This indicates international purchasing power - what someone’s money would be worth if they wanted to spend it in another territory."
