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A Straight Dope Classic from Cecil's storehouse of human knowledge
24-Apr-1987
Dear Cecil:
Why is north up? Did the early explorers, mapmakers, astronomers, and the like get
together and vote, or did it just sort of happen? Does everyone on earth think of north as
up, or could a Northern Hemispherian like myself travel south of the equator and buy a
globe with Antarctica on top? --David J., Chicago
Cecil replies:
By cracky, David, I think you're on to something here. With a few minor exceptions, which
we shall get to directly, mapmakers throughout the world invariably put north on top, even
if they were born and raised in Tierra del Fuego. What we are dealing with, in other
words, is a case of blatant directionism, the unfairness of which cannot help but rankle
any right-thinking person. Why should the big N always be on top when there are hundreds
of other directions--thousands, if you get down to seconds of arc--that have an equally
legitimate claim on our affections? I grieve to think of the shattered dreams of, say,
south southeast.
People who live in the southern hemisphere, notably our friends the Australians, like to
give the impression they could care less about how maps are oriented. But don't be
deceived. An Aussie friend of mine once showed me a world map printed up by her countrymen
that had south on top, thereby putting Australia, as she rather ominously phrased it,
"in its rightful place." Mark my words, someday the slogan "Down with
Yankee imperialism" will have shocking new meaning.
But getting back to your question. The notion that north should always be up and east at
the right was established by the Egyptian astronomer Ptolemy (90-168 AD). "Perhaps
this was because the better-known places in his world were in the northern hemisphere, and
on a flat map these were most convenient for study if they were in the upper right-hand
corner," historian Daniel Boorstin opines. Mapmakers haven't always followed Ptolemy;
during the Middle Ages, Boorstin notes, maps often had east on top--whence the expression
"to orient." But north prevailed over the long haul. By the time Southern
Hemispheroids had become numerically significant enough to bitch, the north-side-up
convention was too well established to change.
--CECIL ADAMS
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