---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 24 Sep 1998 12:29:29 +1000
From: Brendan Whyte <[log in to unmask]>
To: Maps and Air Photo Systems Forum <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: Humor needed (fwd)
 
 
>I remember a story (it may have been from Lewis Carroll, the author of
>Alice in Wonderland) who wrote about a place that had a superb map of the
>countryside.  Unlike ordinary maps, which usually are one inch=one mile
>(or some other scale), this one had a scale of 1:1 (that's right...one
>inch=one inch).  However, they couldn't use the map very often, because
>the farmers complained that it blocked out the sun.
>
This was either Carroll, or Oscar wilde. I would like to know the exact
reference if anyone knows. It isn't in 'Alice' itself anyway.
If memory serves, it was a Brit and a German talking about which country
had the better maps. The Brit said they'd mapped the UK at an inch to a
mile, and the German said they'd done 4 inches to a mile. The Brit replied
they'd nearly finished 10 inches to the mile, and the german smiled, saying
they had a 1:1 map of all of germany. The Brit asked if they'd ever laid it
out, but the german said the farmers protested to much.
Something like that anyway.
 
Brendan Whyte