Advertisement

We need your help now

Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.

You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.

If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.

Why do map makers create fake towns?

Very sneaky cartographers. Very sneaky.

Argleton_-_Google_Maps_1257569106217 Wikimedia Wikimedia

IF YOU EVER meet a map-maker (there are still plenty of them), ask them have they ever been to Argleton.

If they say yes, have them hauled to the nearest court to answer copyright charges. Or whatever the punishment du jour is for map makers.

The reason for this is that Argleton simply isn’t real.

But, you say, “I can see it on the map right there”. That’s because it is believed to be a copyright trap and has since been removed.

The idea stretches back as far as map-making itself. Cartographers, wary that their work was being copied, would add fake towns to their map. They would then scan competitors’ maps to see if others had ripped them off.

Agloe

In later years, Agloe, New York, began popping up on Esso maps. It became so popular that people began visiting it and someone built a shop there. And so it became a real town. It is a focal point of the John Green book Paper Towns.

agloe

The official state map of Michigan featured two fake towns, both celebrating the University of Michigan Wolverines: Beatosu (Beat OSU – rivals Ohio State University) and Goblu (Go Blue – the colour the team wears).

Jakob Maria Mierscheid

Germany Reichstag Michael Sohn Michael Sohn

Jakob Maria Mierscheid MdB has been a fictitious politician in Germany since 1979. He has been on the official list of members of the Bundestag since 1979. It appears to be a joke going back to the 1920s, when Weimar Social Democrats would use the name to avoid paying taxes.

Lillian Virginia Mountweazel (1942–1973)

Hotels-Record Fees She probably didn't design this one. AP / Press Association Images AP / Press Association Images / Press Association Images

The 1975 New Columbia Encyclopedia contains details on the fantastical life of Lillian Virginia Mountweazel. Her biography claims she was a fountain designer and photographer, best known for Flags Up!, a collection of photographs of rural American mailboxes. There was an exhibition in 2009 in Dublin on her (made-up) life.

Esquivalience

The 2005 New Oxford American Dictionary contains this word, defined as “the wilful avoidance of one’s official responsibilities,”. Rumour circulated that the dictionary had a fake word beginning with E and a man, presumably with too much time on his hands, examined all 3,200 E words and isolated six words that it could have been. Six of a panel of nine linguists picked esquivalience, which the editor admitted was true.

No trivial matter

peter_falk_columbo_2 Wordpress Wordpress

What is Columbo’s first name? If you said Philip, you’ve played a defective game of Trivial Pursuit.

In the 1970s, Fred L Worth published an encyclopedia of trivia questions. He slipped in the erroneous fact about the Lieutenant’s first name to catch anyone who might copy his book.

In 1984, he filed a $300 million lawsuit against the makers of the Trivial Pursuit board game. He referenced the fact that a question in the game gave Philip as Columbo’s first name. Trivial Pursuit’s makers didn’t deny using the facts, but said that facts are copyrightable. The judge threw the case out.

Read: Pharrell Williams and other mega music stars threaten to sue YouTube for $1 billion

Read: Google was asked to remove 345 million ‘pirate’ links in 2014

Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.

Close
17 Comments
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute tom
    Favourite tom
    Report
    Mar 21st 2015, 9:22 PM

    I’ve spotted this trap on an Irish map where Kilkenny was shown as a city and we all know it’s a little town.

    104
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Michael Sands
    Favourite Michael Sands
    Report
    Mar 22nd 2015, 2:19 AM

    Many villages in N. Ireland are classed as cities and some do not even have 1 hotel?

    9
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Murphy's Law
    Favourite Murphy's Law
    Report
    Mar 21st 2015, 6:25 PM

    Sure not copyrightable was meant?

    84
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Daniel Wilson
    Favourite Daniel Wilson
    Report
    Mar 22nd 2015, 12:03 AM

    Yes, god I read that four times and it still didn’t make sense :)

    42
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Mick
    Favourite Mick
    Report
    Mar 21st 2015, 5:40 PM

    Frank Columbo

    74
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute James Regan
    Favourite James Regan
    Report
    Mar 21st 2015, 8:04 PM

    Found this strangely more interesting than I should have!

    68
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Packie O'Sullivan
    Favourite Packie O'Sullivan
    Report
    Mar 21st 2015, 9:17 PM

    Change Wikipedia all the time to see if my students are taking info from one source!

    28
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Joe
    Favourite Joe
    Report
    Mar 21st 2015, 5:45 PM

    OS do similar with false landmarks etc.

    26
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Ben Hemmens
    Favourite Ben Hemmens
    Report
    Mar 21st 2015, 10:21 PM

    It works the other way round too! e.g. the Bielefeld conspiracy.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bielefeld_Conspiracy

    7
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Ronan McDermott
    Favourite Ronan McDermott
    Report
    Mar 22nd 2015, 1:51 AM

    Bielefeld is an airport in Berlin lol

    1
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute William Willis
    Favourite William Willis
    Report
    Mar 21st 2015, 11:07 PM

    The same traps are written into software code and called Easter eggs. A line of code that has no purpose.

    6
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute John Murphy
    Favourite John Murphy
    Report
    Mar 22nd 2015, 8:05 AM

    How about real towns that are not on the map? Once we discovered Finny, Ireland, and it was not on the map. Moreover, all roads led back to town and we thought we were captured.

    5
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Page Carl
    Favourite Page Carl
    Report
    Mar 22nd 2015, 8:32 AM

    Finny is in Co. Mayo near ! Lough Mask

    7
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Monstertruck Dublin
    Favourite Monstertruck Dublin
    Report
    Mar 21st 2015, 7:11 PM

    The exhibition was at the Monster Truck Gallery http://www.monstertruck.ie/projects/the-life-and-times-of-lillian-virginia-mountweazel/ ‘The Life and Times of Lillian Virginia Mountweazel’ Curated by Davey Moor

    5
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Sean J. Troy
    Favourite Sean J. Troy
    Report
    Mar 21st 2015, 7:52 PM

    Hmmm, I should be doing this on my geological maps.

    3
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Michael Sands
    Favourite Michael Sands
    Report
    Mar 22nd 2015, 2:16 AM

    What about haunted ghost towns that are still abandoned to this day?

    3
Submit a report
Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
Thank you for the feedback
Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.
JournalTv
News in 60 seconds