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Finally stopped ignoring those old maps of California as an island
I found a 1650 map at an estate sale showing California as an island and always thought it was just a dumb mistake. Then I read that Spanish explorers actually believed it was separate for over 100 years because of fog and currents, which honestly makes more sense now. Has anyone else here changed their mind about a map they used to laugh at?
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uma_wilson7927d ago
That's actually a really cool perspective shift. The fog thing makes total sense when you think about how the coastline is shaped and how currents work. It's wild that entire generation of mapmakers just went with it because they couldn't verify it themselves. Btw, some old maps are actually super detailed and accurate for their time, just not about California. Makes you wonder what modern stuff we're dead wrong about.
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the_hugo27d ago
The whole California thing reminds me of how people still believe the "Five Second Rule" for dropped food even though science has proven bacteria transfers instantly. We just repeat stuff we heard without checking because it sounds reasonable and nobody pushes back on it. What other common "facts" do you think we're all just nodding along to without questioning?
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