Map #3: August 29, 2016

Difficulty Level: 5

Click here for a full-size version of this week’s map. Note that this week’s map is animated; if you cannot see the animation, please try a different browser.

This map is an animated dot map. (Do you need a refresher on what a dot map is? Visit our “Basics” page for a quick primer.) On this map, each dot represents one specific thing. Your job for this week: figure out what the dots on this dot map represent. Obviously, you will quickly see that the dots are not placed in precisely the right place; whenever a particular city gets its second dot, the dots start to spread out a little. Try not to worry about that!

Stumped? Check back Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday for hints about where to focus your investigation. The answer will be posted on Monday, September 5. Good luck!

Tuesday’s hint: The first thing to do to solve this map is to make a list of the places in the United States where you see dots. When the map begins, there are some dots in New York City. Some other cities where you see dots get added to the map include Chicago, Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, Seattle, and Los Angeles. Make a list of what years these dots get added. What happened in those cities in those years?

Wednesday’s hint: Let’s pay attention to some of the places where you don’t see any dots. Some of those places are relatively poor: the entire continents of Africa and South America, for example. But other places with no dots are quite rich, including all of Western Europe—minus one lone dot that appears in London in 2013. Find some photos of cities in Western Europe. What do you notice about these cities? Does anything strike you as unusual about them?

Thursday’s hint: You have probably noticed a proliferation of dots in a few particular cities in the Middle East and East Asia. These cities include Hong Kong, Shanghai, Seoul, and Dubai. Dubai is a particularly interesting case, since its dots are added quickly and all in very recent years. Do you know anything in particular about Dubai? Look up the city and see what you can learn about its economy. Look at photos of the city and see if they can give you any hints about how best to answer this question.

Friday’s hint: Only in one year on this map can you see dots get taken away. Can you find which city and which year? What very famous event happened in that city and in that year?

Answer: Click here to see an explanation of the answer to this week’s map question.

Next map: Click here to try out our newest map question.