Tuesday, November 5, 2013

THIS MAP IS LYING!!!


The map above is a really common world map. You can find it in almost every school (At least in Indonesia, I don't about other countries). It shows you every details of the globe. Such as, the Oceania, tiny islands in the Pasific Ocean, or the gigantic Russia, or the seemingly edgeless Antarctica, or the largest island in the world, Greenland, that is bigger than ... Austra... whoa wait the minute!!!!

This map is made through cylindrical map projection. Cylindrical projection is basically printing the surface of the earth into the surface of a cylinder, and then the cylinder is cut vertically so that it becomes a rectangle.
Cylindrical projection is basically like this picture.
This kind of map projection is good, until you find several problems. The most notorious one is that the north pole and the south pole of the earth look bigger in map than in reality. This is possible because cylindrical projection projects the poles, which have smaller area than other parts of the earth, as two regions that has the same area as the other regions. That's why Greenland and Antarctica look way bigger in this map than in reality.

If you observe the first picture in this post, you will see that Australia, the smallest continent, is smaller than Greenland, the largest island. You will also see that Antarctica looks like an gigantic edgeless continent.
In reality, Greenland is only about a third of Australia.
Beside of cylindrical projection, there are other kinds of map projection, such as:
1. Pseudo-cylindrical projection
2. Conic projection
3. Azimuthal projection



So, what's the point of this post? 
I just want to show you that Greenland is definitely smaller than Australia...
and that the map in your school is lying.

Thank you for reading.
Follow @Globe_Facts too.

P.S. I'm considering to change the twitter's username and create a tumblr account.

Thursday, September 12, 2013

This is also my personal blog.

Yeah, from now on, I will also post personal stuff in this blog.

By personal I mean my personal opinion about current world's political, cultural, and economical condition brought to you through academical language.

And I will also brag about myself.

Today, my comment on a Youtube video reaches 'Top Comments'. Yeeeeaaahhh!!!! *ihavenolife*


Tuesday, August 20, 2013

10 Facts that You MUST Know about AFGHANISTAN

1. Its national anthem is the only one in the world that mention the word 'Asia'. (Note: Afghanistan is a South or Central Asian country.)

2. Its national anthem mentions all of its ethnic groups: Baluch, Uzbeks, Pashtuns, Hazaras, Turkmen, Tajiks, Arabs, Gojars, Pamiris, Nuristanis, Brahuis, Qizilbash, Aimaqs, and Pashai.

3. There are flags inside the flag of Afghanistan (flagception)

4. Its citizen isn't called 'Afghani'. The citizen of Afghanistan is called 'Afghan', while 'Afghani' is its currency.

5. Taliban, an extremist religious group, has not been the government of Afghanistan anymore since 2001.

6. Afghan women, during Taliban rule, was forced to cover their body, including their face entirely.

7. It's the world largest producer of opium. The opium is used to make both legal drugs and illegal drugs.

8. Its official languages are Dari Persian and Pashto. Both have relation with Persian language.

9. Some Bollywood film stars have roots in Afghanistan. Shahrukh Khan's grandpa is from Afghanistan.

10. Buzkashi is its national sports. It's basically like polo, but the 'ball' is a headless body of a goat.

Saturday, August 10, 2013

HAPPY NATIONAL DAY 2013, SINGAPORE! (Interesting Fact: Singapore is the only country that gains independence against its own will.)

On 9 August 2013, Singapore celebrated its 48th birthday with an annual National Day Parade. I, as a citizen of the globe, joined their celebration by tweeting about the history of Singapore from colonial era until its expulsion from Malaysia. These are the tweets...

Singapore has been a strategic place for trading station. It's situated in the southern tip of Malay peninsula. 

Because of the expansion of trading between British India and China, the British need to build trading post between them.

On 29 January 1819, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles landed in Singapore. After negotiation with local rulers, the British established Singapore as a trading station in 1819. Then, Singapore, along with Penang and Malacca, became part of the Straits Settlement, which became a British Crown Colony in 1867. After mid-1860s, when telegraph and steamship became mainstream and Suez Canal was opened, Singapore became an major port for ships between Europe and Asia.

This success attracted many immigrants. So many immigrant, it's number exceeded the number of the native Malay.

In 1942, Singapore fell under Imperial Japanese authority. In 1945, Singapore became part of British administration again. The post-war Singapore was administered by British Military Administration. In 1946, Straits Settlement was dissolved, Penang and Malacca became part of Malayan Union while Singapore became a Crown Colony by itself. In 1959, Singapore were granted full internal self-government by the British and had its first general election. People Action Party won the majority of government seats in Singapore and Lee Kuan Yew became Singapore's 1st prime minister. 

Lee Kuan Yew supported the idea of creating a merger between Malaya and Singapore. In 16 September 1963, Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak, and North Borneo merged and formed Malaysia. Singapore's joining Malaysia marked the end of British colonial rule in the city-state. 16 September 1963 is also the 40th birthday of Lee Kuan Yew. So, we can say that he get a great 40th birthday present.

So, the merger between Singapore and Malaya turned out to be not really successful. The federal government of Malaysia decided to give people from ethnic Malay special privilege. The federal government of Malaysia is dominated by members of UMNO (United Malays National Organization). The government decided to do this so that Malay's economic condition could follow up the economic condition of other ethnic group. Lee Kuan Yew and his party, People Action Party (PAP) didn't like the federal gov. discriminating decision. To battle this discriminating policy, Lee and PAP created 'Malaysian Malaysia' slogan. 'Malaysian Malaysia' slogan means that Malaysia is not only for the Malays, but it's also for all Malaysian.

UMNO leaders were also afraid that the economic and political power in Kuala Lumpur would shift to Singapore. 

The tension between Malaysian federal government and Singapore grew more as racial riots erupted in Singapore in 1964. The tension between Malaysian federal government and Singapore grew more as racial riots erupted in Singapore in 1964.

Because of these, UMNO politicians decided that it would be best if Singapore get out of the federation. Lee Kuan Yew and PAP, of course, didn't like this decision. Lee has supported the merger of Malaya and Singapore since the beginning. So, whether Singapore stay in the federation or not is in the hands of the members of parliament of Malaysia. And all members of parliament, except all members from Singapore, decided that Singapore should be expelled from Malaysia. Hence, Singapore is the ONE & ONLY country in the history of the modern world to gain independence against its own will. So, when all the other nations fight for their independence, Singapore was FORCED to become independent.

On 9 August 1965, Singapore was officially separated from Malaysia. On that day, in a televised press conference, Lee Kuan Yew tearfully announced the independence of Singapore. And it's not a happy tear. He tearfully said, ""You see the whole of my adult life. I... I have believed in Malaysian merger and the unity of this two territories."

Singapore being an independent nation was a risky situation for a number of reasons. Singapore is the only Southeast Asian nations without any natural resource. All of its water supply is bought from Malaysia. At that time, Singapore had a lack of protection from outside threat, such as Indonesian military*.

*Indonesia at that time was against the establishment of Malaysia. So, the expelled Singapore could be a target of military action.

Fortunately, although it heavily rely on international trade to fulfill the citizens' basic need, Singapore as a major port for global trade is still really successful. The city-state has the highest GDP per capita in ASEAN. So, there is actually a bright side in the expulsion of Singapore from Malaysia.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SINGAPORE!



Thanks for reading!
Follow @Globe_Facts to eliminate ignorance.

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

PROPAGANDA: A Collection of @Globe_Facts' Tweets about Propaganda (WARNING: MAY CONTAIN PROPAGANDA)

Topic: Propaganda

Propaganda: information, ideas, opinions, or images, often only giving one part of an argument,...

... which are broadcast, published or in some other way spread with the intention of influencing people's opinions.

That definition is taken from Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

Propaganda typically took forms of poster, film, radio broadcast, or other media.

Example of propaganda poster: PRC encouraged people to destroy the Four Olds in 1960s.

Example of propaganda film: (Note: Propaganda targets everyone, including children and young people.)

Propaganda is used to promote one's ideology or criticize other's ideology.

Propaganda is also used to encourage or discourage people to do something.

(Note: The left image is from UK and the original one. The 'Uncle Sam' poster is the imitation one.)

Propaganda is also used to build cult of personality.

Propaganda sometimes contains offensive material in order to deliver its message.

Propaganda also contains achievement.

However, propaganda is not only used for political purposes.

If propaganda is used to encourage or discourage people to do something, is a simple anti-drugs banner a propaganda?

If propaganda uses achievements, is a simple ads about the success of the government in fixing the economy a propaganda?

Is the history lesson in your school a propaganda?

In a perspective, the answer to all of those question is yes, they are propaganda.

In other perspective, people will say that they are not propaganda, but public relation, or they are education.

Are propaganda, public relation, and education the same thing?

Edward L. Bernays said that the only difference between propaganda and education is the point of view.

When people promote something that you believe in, you call it education, or public relation.

When people promote something that you are against with, you call it propaganda.

What if propaganda doesn't only take forms of poster, film, or broadcast, but also advertising, TV show, or story about celebrities.

Company creates advert so that you want to buy their product. Advert *encourage* you to buy.

Advert only gives you one part of an argument (My product is the best!). Does that mean that advert is a form of propaganda?

How about reality show on this day? It shows you how rich people live their life or how people live freely.

Think about it. Reality show or other TV shows influence you to become consumerist, hedonist, or whatever they want you to be.

Story about what celebrities are doing makes you want to live like celebrity, right? Basically you are influenced to become a celebrity.

Does that mean TV shows are propaganda. Story about celebrity is propaganda?

Conclusion: Propaganda takes *many* forms and sometimes.. you don't realize it's a propaganda. -the end-

Friday, June 14, 2013

Heart-warming Joke #1

Person 1: Your washing machine is making a lot of smoke. Is it broken?
Person 2: No. It's electing a new pope.
Person 1: Geez, I'm just trying to start a conversation. You don't need to be such an-
(The smoke from the machine suddenly turns white.)
Washing Machine: 'HABEMUS PAPAM!'
Person 1: (O.o)

*********************************************************************************



*********************************************************************************
WHY MAGIC WON'T WORK IN ICELAND.
Magician: What's your full name?
Icelander: Jon Hermannsson.
Magician: Mmmphh... Your father's first name is Hermann.
Icelander: Well, duh!!!

If you don't understand this joke, you should do some research.

Please share and comment.
Thank you.
Follow @Globe_Facts on Twitter.



Monday, April 22, 2013

"I'm lazier than the person who designed the Japanese flag." What?!

People say that the one who created Japanese flag is lazy. Its design is too simple, they say.
If the person who made that flag is lazy, then..
 The one who made Libyan Arab Jamahiriya's flag must be the laziest person in the world
because the flag is frickin' simple!

Also, the people who made the flags below must be really lazy too.





Left to right:
First Top: Palau, Qatar, and Austria.
Second Top: Bahrain, Bangladesh, and Indonesia.
Center: Latvia, Nigeria, and Poland.
Second Bottom: Somalia, Ukraine, and Vietnam.
First Bottom: Monaco.

They only need two colors and a simple design to create one of those flags.

In addition, the people who made the flags below must be slightly lazy.




Left to right:
First Top: Mauritania, Denmark, and England.
Second Top: Finland, Greenland, and Scotland.
Second Bottom: Singapore, Sweden, and Switzerland.
First Bottom: Tunisia, Turkey, and People's Republic of China.

They only need to make star and crescent, or a plus symbol for one of those flags.

Epilogue:
What was written above is just a criticism or sarcasm towards the statement "I'm lazier than the person who creates Japanese flag."
It is wrong to judge that the maker of a flag is lazy.
Every simple flag or complicated flag has a great and powerful meaning.
And almost everyone is proud of his flag.
So, please, reduce the use of that statement.

Btw, it's not easy to draw a perfect circle like on the Japanese flag.

I appreciate every personal opinion and criticism from all of you.
Thank you.
Follow @Globe_Facts on Twitter

Friday, March 15, 2013

Memo

Possible Topics that will be discussed in the future on this blog:
1. List of National Anthems based on its melody, number of languages, etc
2. In theory, North Korea is led by three people. Who are they? What do they do? Which one of them is the most superior in practice?  CANCELED
3. Critics towards the statement "I'm lazier than the person who make the flag of Japan." POSTED (22 April 2013)
4. Cylindrical map is misleading
5. Compilation of Stereotypes Jokes, History Jokes, and Politics Jokes  POSTED (14 June 2013)

Added:
6. List of Hardest Flags to Make
7. Compilation of FML posts relating to stereotypes, knowledge about the world, etc from fmylife.com

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Why does Brunei celebrate its National Day every 23 February?


Brunei gained its independence from the British on 1 January 1984. Thus, 1 January is the Independence Day of the country, whose official name is Sultanate of Brunei, Abode of Peace or Negara Brunei Darussalam in Malay. However, that is not its biggest day. Brunei celebrates National Day every 23 February, almost two months after its Independence Day. What happens on 23 February?

1.
Although Brunei became an independent country on 1 January 1984, British control over the country was not fully eliminated until 23 February 1984.
2.
The National Day, which celebrates the independence of Brunei, was celebrated for the first time on 23 February 1984. Since then, it becomes a tradition to celebrate National Day every 23 February instead of the another day.

References:
http://publicholiday.org/calendar/brunei-national-day/
http://www.bt.com.bn/golden-legacy/2012/02/23/happy-national-day-everyone
Peter Haggett (ed). Encyclopedia of World Geography, Volume 1, Marshall Cavendish, 2001, p. 2913(http://books.google.co.id/books?id=u6LJ65K9DisC&lpg=PA2913&dq=brunei+abode+of+peace&pg=PA2913&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=brunei%20abode%20of%20peace&f=false)

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