Maps

World Map Shows the Distribution of Big Cats Around the World

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Hey all you cool cats and kittens! Have you ever wondered where in the world big cats can be found? Aside from Joe Exotic’s animal park from the Netflix Tiger King series, of course. One Reddit user, u/apyrrypa, made it their mission to bring us this information by creating a color-coded map of the distribution of big cats throughout the world. This map highlights where ten different cat species can be found in the world today. It was originally shared in the /r/MapPorn subreddit and was later updated on apyrrypa’s profile to include even more big cat species. Eight of the ten are considered to be ‘Big Cats’, with the addition of the Mountain Lion and the Bobcat. Check it out here:

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Even though the Mountain Lion has a Big Cat-sounding name it is actually the biggest of the small cat species, considered so because it purrs instead of roars. The Mountain Lion goes by different names depending on the region it can be found in, and with it spanning the entire Western Hemisphere through North and South America it goes by a lot of names. Puma, Cougar, and Panther are some of its more well-known aliases. The Lynx rules the northern hemisphere and is the only cat species to be found on multiple continents that span the ocean, from North America to the northern end of Asia and into the northern part of Europe. The lion may be known as the King of the Jungle, but it looks like that only applies to the land in Africa. Interestingly, the one area of the world that doesn’t seem to have any indigenous big cats, yet is generally stereotyped as having the scariest animals on Earth, is Australia. In fact, none of the countries in the Oceania region can claim to have any species of big cat.

Which member of the cat family were you surprised to find lives in your area of the world?

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Charts

Mapping Rates of Drowsy Driving

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This map from NapLab highlights the locations with the highest instances of drowsy driving. This is such an important topic to study and gather data on. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that in 2022, 693 people died in drowsy-driving-related crashes. Many people push their limits behind the wheel when they’re tired. After all, if you’re exhausted while traveling, nothing sounds more appealing than hurrying home to your warm, familiar bed. But maps like this one illustrate just how risky this decision can be.

The team at NapLab studied fatalities in drowsy driving accidents, adjusted rates by population density and then mapped out the locations that had the most accidents. Here are their findings.

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For counties with 150,000-500,000 residents:

  1. Bastrop County, TX: 20.72 fatalities per 100,000
  2. Coconino County, AZ: 13.19 fatalities per 100,000
  3. Midland County, TX: 20 11.63 fatalities per 100,000
  4. Hunt County, TX: 10.16 fatalities per 100,000
  5. Liberty County, TX: 9.80 fatalities per 100,000

For counties with 25,000-150,000 people:

  1. Gillespie, TX: 40.03 per 100,000
  2. Milam, TX: 1039.02 per 100,000
  3. Walker, AL: 2132.64 per 100,000
  4. Cass, TX: 931.54 per 100,000
  5. Sweetwater, WY: 31.44 per 100,000

For counties with populations of 5,000 to 25,000:

  1. Pecos, TX: 190.02 per 100,000
  2. Reeves, TX: 178.23 per 100,000
  3. Madison, TX: 157.23 per 100,000
  4. Refugio, TX: 150.78 per 100,000
  5. Winkler, TX: 150.56 per 100,000

Texas counties topped most of the of the lists, which might be due to dark, quiet rural highways lulling drivers to sleep.

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Maps

Mapping the Drunk Driving Epidemic

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It’s illegal to drive if your blood alcohol content is over .08%. Even so, every year Americans have too much to drink and choose to get behind the wheel anyway causing traffic accidents across the country that can cause injury and even death. Drunk driving is clearly an epidemic. According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving, car crashes are the leading cause of death among teenagers and 1 in 4 of those crashes involve an underage drunk driver. The facts are clear. Drunk driving is rampant and can claim lives or grievously someone no matter their age.

The team at van der Veen, Hartshorn, Levin & Lindheim created a map that highlights the severity of the drunk driving problem and examines a specific aspect: location. They used data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to calculate which cities had the highest numbers of drunk driving fatalities per 100,000 people. They created a map that shows areas where drunk driving occurs the most and may even help us reach new conclusions about why some places are more at risk of drunk driving and others. Is your city highlighted?

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The map is the best way to look at these trends, but here’s a quick list of their top ten results:

  1. Odessa, TX: 27.46
  2. San Bernardino, CA: 18.15
  3. Pueblo, CO: 17.94
  4. Corona, CA: 15.04
  5. Hartford, CT: 14.91
  6. Midland, TX: 14.13
  7. Dallas, TX: 13.93
  8. Chattanooga, TN: 13.58
  9. Detroit, MI: 13.22
  10. Charleston, SC: 13.01

 

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Charts

The 50 States Ranked by How Appealing They Are for Boating

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Boat lovers have a new way to pick their dream destination with this chart ranking states by how desirable they are for boaters. The SI Yachts team used a detailed scoring system to rank these states. The system considers some of the major factors important to boaters like average temperatures, number of sunny and cloudy days, amount of coastline, lakes, and rivers, hurricane risk, number of boats owned in the state, and the average cost of boater’s insurance. All these factors, averaged together, created the team’s ultimate list of boating states.

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Despite the hurricane risks, Louisiana still comes out on top as the best state for boating. Miles and miles of coastline and waterways, low swampy areas, and a fishing legacy make boating a way of life in the Bayou State. As for the bottom of the list, New York was not the Empire State for boating. Expensive boater’s insurance and few days of ideal weather meant that despite this state’s abundance of lakes, rivers, and coastline, it just wasn’t an ideal place to own a boat.

Every boater has different priorities to guide where they want to set sail, but this chart is a great way to consider where you’ll find a boater’s paradise. There’s a great diversity of regions in the top states on this list so East or West, North or South, you’ll find the perfect boating destination.

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