[oldmapgallery]

Yes, Tufte did much to popularize the Minard map related to Napoleon, but there were map dealers that had been intrigued by it and discussing it for quite a while prior to that. Those discussions can leak into academia and pollinate a whole new batch of discussions.

Virality as part of the ebb and flow of popular culture is interesting. But, we find it as interesting when an old map will somehow drift through the pace layers of culture and become a discussion point. That resurfacing of an older map could allude to deeper issues and mechanisms that are ongoing.

Have been intrigued to watch Hornaday's Bison extermination map surface in discussion. https://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~3...

You see those dwindling circles of Bison population and it hits you that not only could this be reoccurring, but perhaps the disappearance of other species could have similar cascading reactions. Some have pointed out that with the loss of the primary food source of the Bison, friction with settlers escalated quickly. It also had huge impacts in the soil of the West. Maybe the dust bowl wouldn't have been as cataclysmic. ---- Unfortunately we're concerned that even viral maps can be lost over time. They become dead links. And somehow even the wonderful people at Internet Archive can't save everything. This is part of why we push cartographers we know to print something they've done at the end of each year. Paper is astoundingly enduring. If there was one map that you did and it resonates with you, please print it out. Build a small portfolio of hard copies over the next few years. Your work is worth printing!