Cape Town – Whether you’d like to admit it or not, we all see the world through a rather subjective lens – often buying into certain stereotypes, especially about far-off places we’ve never visited ourselves. Slate reports that Martin Vargic, an amateur graphic designer from Slovakia, has compiled a satirical map of the world, exposing the most prevalent western stereotypes of other places and regions around the world. South Africa, for instance, has ‘Diamonds’ emblazoned all across it, with ‘Apartheid,’ ‘Cooked porcupine’ and ‘Hippo swamp’ making up some of the destinations within the country. Mozambique is apparently known for its ‘elephants,’ while China is just one big ‘Factory.’ While ones like ‘Holy Cow’ over India, ‘Maple Syrup’ over Canada and ‘King Julien’ over Madagascar make absolute sense, others like ‘Pubes’ over France and ‘Basketball’ over the Philippines are slightly more obscure (or maybe we just don’t get it). Inspired by Yanko Tsvetkov’s award-winning Atlas of Prejudice, the map will either leave you feeling amazed about the silly things people believe about other countries or completely shocked/pleased that your world view fits in so smoothly with the majority of western thinking. Check out the full resolution map here. What do you think of Vargic’s interpretation - accurate or over the top? Come join our travel community! Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, hang out with us on Google+, snap away on Instagram and share your inspiration on Pinterest.Or subscribe to our newsletter for weekly updates on the latest NB travel news.
