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Culture / 1 week ago
What countries celebrate on their National Days
National days are more than holidays as they reflect how nations define their own identity. A new world map breaks down the reasons countries celebrate their national days, whether it’s independence, revolution, unification, the founding of government, or even a saint’s feast. Red marks countries that commemorate independence (the largest category). Orange shows nations that mark the formation of government. Yellow indicates unification moments, green reflects revolution, blue for saint days, purple for discovery, and pink for other reasons or when the reasoning doesn’t fit neatly into those categories. The striped pattern indicates where no data is available.
Culture / 1 week ago
Did your country ever host a 'Human Zoo'?
Between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, several European countries hosted what were known as “human zoos.” These were public exhibitions where people from colonised regions — particularly Africa, Asia, and the Pacific — were displayed for entertainment under the guise of education or anthropology.
Culture / 2 weeks ago
U.S. states that require background checks before handgun purchases
A newly released map illustrates which U.S. states require background checks or purchase permits for handgun buyers, underscoring the uneven nature of gun regulation across the country. According to the visualisation by World Visualized, only 22 states and the District of Columbia currently mandate such measures, leaving most of the nation without uniform safeguards for firearm purchases.
Culture / 2 weeks ago
What the new IQ map really tells us about America
A new map ranking the average IQ scores of U.S. states in 2025 has reignited the national conversation about intelligence, education, and opportunity in America. Created by Maven Mapping in collaboration with The World in Maps, the visualisation claims to show how the average cognitive scores of residents vary across the country, but experts urge caution before drawing sweeping conclusions.
Culture / 2 weeks ago
Eastern Europe leads global alcohol consumption
The highest per-capita alcohol consumption in the world is concentrated in Eastern Europe. According to data from World Population Review (2022), Romania tops the list at 17.1 liters of pure alcohol per year, followed by Georgia (15.5 L), Latvia (14.7 L), Moldova (14.1 L), Czechia (13.7 L), Lithuania (12.2 L), Namibia (12 L), Poland (11.9 L), Austria (11.8 L), and Bulgaria (11.5 L).
Culture / 3 weeks ago
Do people still eat dogs?
For many across the world, the idea of eating dog meat is repulsive and taboo. However, while the vast majority of countries discourage or prohibit the practice, a minority, primarily across parts of Asia and Africa, still report dog meat consumption. The underlying story involves tradition, changing attitudes, public health, and activist pressure.
Culture / 3 weeks ago
The countries that look, feel, and act most like the United States
When people talk about America’s closest allies, they often focus on politics, trade, or military partnerships. But what about cultural DNA, the deep similarities in demographics, politics, infrastructure, and everyday life? According to the Country Similarity Index, a data-driven ranking that compares nations across five major dimensions, the United States’ closest cultural cousin is its neighbour to the north, Canada, with a striking similarity score of 79.2.
Culture / 4 weeks ago
Ireland’s Irish: A language of identity but not always of daily life
Despite being the Republic of Ireland’s first official language, Irish (Gaeilge) lives unevenly in daily life outside classrooms. The map above, based on the 2022 Census, shows how in many areas fewer than 5% of people speak Irish daily, while only pockets reach 20–60%. According to the Central Statistics Office’s Census 2022 Profile 8: The Irish Language and Education, nearly 1,873,997 people aged three or older declared they could speak Irish, about 40% of that age group. But of that number, only 71,968 said they spoke Irish daily outside the education system — a slight drop from 2016.
