Maps are awesome. And you can’t convince us otherwise. The obsessed, always-curious cartographer inside us gets excited every time they spot something new to ogle and analyze. However, not all maps are made equal. Some of them lean so heavily into comedy that we can’t help but spread the fun vibes.
The brainchild of Michael Howe, ‘Terrible Maps’ is a wonderfully witty social media project about nonsensical, semi-useless, and hilarious maps. They’re so ‘bad’ they’re good, and they help you look at the world from perspectives that you’ve never quite seen before. Scroll down to enjoy the latest batch below. We hope these maps make you as happy as they did us.
More info: Book | Facebook | Instagram | X | Linktree
#1 How To Build A T-Rex
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#2 A World Map Centred Around Antarctica
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#3 Average Size Of A Pizza
Image credits: Terrible Maps
Making a map look good isn’t enough. Just like when you’re designing anything else, you have to find a delicate balance between function on the one hand and form on the other.
The former means that whatever you’re creating actually does what it’s supposed to. In the case of a map, this might mean giving a person clear instructions on the geographical locations, educating them on a specific issue, or making them laugh.
#4 Well, That’s One Way To Do It
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#5 The Human Race Never Ceases To Amaze
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#6 Countries Mentioned In The Bible vs. % Of Population Practising Christianity
Image credits: Terrible Maps
Function aside, the form of what you’re designing matters a lot, too. Like it or not, human beings are drawn to beautiful things. When you make something aesthetic, it captivates people.
Naturally, if you’ve spent a lot of time working on a map, making it the best it can possibly be, you want it to end up being seen by the biggest number of people possible. So, you need to spend some time refining the visuals to make it pleasant to look at.
#7 States That Are Clearly In The Midwest
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#8 Scandinavia Swapped With The Mediterranean
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#9 Road Trip, Anyone?
Image credits: Terrible Maps
All that being said, if you veer too much in either direction, prioritizing form over function or function over form, you might end up pushing people away.
For example, if your map looks absolutely divine, full of artistic flourishes, gorgeous fonts, and well-coordinated colors, but your audience gets lost among the details, you’ve failed as a cartographer.
Often, less is more.
You need to use the visuals to make it clear what the most important information on your map is.
#10 2,066 Americans Were Asked To Locate Ukraine On A Map
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#11 How Hard It Is To Understand Spanish Accents
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#12 European Countries And Their National Animals
Image credits: Terrible Maps
On the other side of the scale, you have maps that are incredibly accurate and informative, but they lack that spark that would otherwise make them stand out from the crowd.
So, they fulfill their function well, but their form falls short of good design principles. A bit of imagination and soulfulness can really make your map sing.
People are very visual creatures. You need to know how to get their attention instantly as they’re scrolling through their social media feeds.
#13 Countries Where It’s Illegal To Pee In The Sea
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#14 The Country Each European Nation Jokes About Most
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#15 When You’re In Charge Of Naming Scottish Lochs And It’s 4:59pm
Image credits: Terrible Maps
People’s attention spans are short enough as they are right now. Based on recent research, the average person spends just 47 seconds using an electronic device before shifting their focus to something else.
This used to be 2.5 minutes back in the early 2000s.
So, the competition between digital creators for your attention on social media is even more intense.
#16 Countries Where The National Anthem Mentions Blood
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#17 Japanese Stereotypes Of Europe
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#18 India As Seen By Indians
Image credits: Terrible Maps
As per Geography Realm, something to keep in mind when making a map is that you should only picture the area that is relevant to the data.
That sounds like common sense, but it’s fundamental.
What’s more, any data that you choose to include on the map itself should be relevant. “Cluttering the map with too much background data can lead to excess noise and dilute the actual message of the map.”
#19 The Nearest Country To Each Portuguese Region
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#20 Eurovision: The Country Each Nation Received The Most Points From Over The Last 20 Year
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#21 “Coma” (Medical Term) In European Languages
Image credits: Terrible Maps
Meanwhile, you should put a lot of care into the symbology of your map. Some of the most important things that affect the readability and message of your map are:
The color choices you makeThe widths of your linesThe icons you useThe labeling
Of course, no proper map is complete without a legend. It allows your audience to decipher the symbology of the map. In a nutshell, the legend has to be legible and easy to understand.
#22 South Korea Takes The Idea Of Political Left vs. Right Very Seriously (2025 South Korean Presidential Election Results)
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#23 If You Laid The Great Wall Of China Around Europe’s Coastline
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#24 Percentage Of People That Can Hold A Conversation In Icelandic
Image credits: Terrible Maps
‘Terrible Maps’ has become so popular that Howe even ended up publishing a book—‘Terrible Maps: The stupidly funny illustrated gift book perfect for geography lovers’—full of the most hilarious ones he’s crafted. According to the author, the book is a celebration of “pointless cartography in all its glory.”
Bored Panda has reached out to Howe via email to learn more about the entire project, and we’ll update the article as soon as we hear back from him.
#25 Map Showing The Average Number Of Bowel Movements Per Week
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#26 Map Of Countries That Lost Both World Wars
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#27 How People React When You Try To Speak Their Language
Image credits: Terrible Maps
The ‘Terrible Maps’ project has seen incredible success over the years. For example, on Facebook alone, the project’s account has garnered 1.2 million followers and 882k likes.
Meanwhile, even more people follow its account on X (formerly Twitter): 1.7 million people from around the globe are fans of the page there. And on Instagram, a further 382k people follow ‘Terrible Maps.’
#28 Top-Selling Musical Artists From Each English County
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#29 San Diego Looks Like A Flooded Melbourne
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#30 France Pizza Map
Image credits: Terrible Maps
What are your thoughts about ‘Terrible Maps,’ dear Pandas? Which of the maps that we’ve showcased here today amused you the most? Which ones did you find surprisingly informative, despite the witty ideas behind them?
On a scale of 1 to 10, how big of a cartography and geography fan would you say you are? We’d like to hear from you. Share your thoughts below!
#31 Dividing The World By Nearest Australian Capital City
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#32 Would It Be Socially Acceptable To Name Your Child After This State?
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#33 Europe If Europe Had Colonised Europe
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#34 Believe It Or Not, Portugal Is Actually Smaller Than Spain
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#35 Prisoners Per 100,000 People
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#36 Europe If Sea Levels Went Up 100m
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#37 Nordic Map: Cat Edition
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#38 World Map According To The Brazilian Government
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#39 Countries That Have Eaten Their Prime Minister
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#40 Distribution Of Lighthouses In Africa
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#41 How Many Skyscrapers Are In Each Us State
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#42 Interestingly, Egypt Is Smaller Than The United States, Russia, And China Combined
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#43 The Us, China, India, Canada, Brazil, And Australia Can Fit Inside Europe
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#44 Public Toilets In The United Kingdom In 1540
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#45 Nature Is Amazing. Here’s An Image Of The Carina Nebula From The James Webb Space Telescope — It Matches The Eastern Coast Of Algeria
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#46 Map Of The Shrek Republic
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#47 Ancient Grease Map
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#48 Map Showing The Hairiest Countries In The World
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#49 I Enjoyed My Secondment Last Month
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#50 If You’re Asked To “Put Your Hands Up” And You’re Not Sure Why
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#51 Can You Legally Own A Monkey?
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#52 Europe’s Most Famous Composers
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#53 World Map Of Borders
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#54 The Top 5 States In India
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#55 How Far Are You From India, Measured In Units Of India?
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#56 Map Of Dandelion Distribution In The UK
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#57 Participants Were Asked To Find Iran On A Map
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#58 The U.S. Map With Between 3 And 500 Edges
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#59 European Countries With Names Ending In ‘Ia’
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#60 Here’s A Map You Didn’t Know You Needed
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#61 Europe With Every Island And Peninsula Removed… Except Cyprus
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#62 Which Way Do Windows Open In Europe?
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#63 Which Is Your Favourite Mexican Country?
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#64 Is Your Country Closer To South Africa Or Lesotho?
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#65 Map Showing The Australo-Hungarian Empire In 1783
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#66 Really Pleased With My New IKEA Globe That Shows Earth At Night Time
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#67 Europe’s Most Famous Leaders
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#68 Without Touching A Single Piece Of Land, You Can Sail From India To The USA In A Completely Straight Line
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#69 Mapping Spanish Stereotypes
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#70 A Map Of Sunken Japanese Ships From World War II
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#71 European Places With More Sheep Than People
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#72 The Most Commonly Spoken Language Besides Spanish In Each State
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#73 U.S. States, But With Some Letters Missing For Your Amusement
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#74 Burn It With Fire
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#75 Us States If They Were All Named Like West Virginia
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#76 Seems Legit
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#77 Eye Colour Of Us Governors
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#78 Getting His Steps In
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#79 A Useful Map For New Yorkers In La
Image credits: Terrible Maps
#80 Most Frequently Used Words In Dating Profiles, By State
Image credits: Terrible Maps