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Kitchen Table Kibitzing August 30, 2026 [1]

['Side Pocket', 'Rob In Vermont', 'Chitown Kev']

Date: 2026-08-30  

KTK Kitchen Table Kibitzing

Maps

Paper maps shaped human navigation for thousands of years starting with early Babylonian clay tablets in 2300 BCE. In our era, every (middle class) home had an atlas, and many had globes. Navigation was accomplished with the use of paper maps, available at every gas station, usually for free. It was to oil company’s advantage to encourage travel. Many a kid spent time in the back seat attempting to properly fold up maps which their parents had used.

With the advent of satellites and GPS, maps could appear on computers and phones. I wouldn’t be surprised that some kids nowadays have never seen a paper map. These maps are dynamic and can show up-to-the minute conditions. Traditional place names can be changed easily, say by google, from Ontario to America. This seemingly lacks the stability important in today’s world.

To my knowledge, paper maps never run out of power. Many maps are valid for years. Our atlas, for example, is over 50 years old. We especially like this aspect: paper maps offer an unmatched broad view of geographical areas helping you develop better spatial awareness. You can see entire regions cities or countries at once without zooming or scrolling. We tried visualizing our coming Viking River trip on line, and ended up ordering large paper maps showing many features and enhancing our trip fantasies and hopes.

Knopfler covered mapping the Mason Dixon line.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/8/30/800091588/community/kitchen-table-kibitzing-august-30-2026/

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