I don’t know what it is with boys and digging holes in their parents’ yards, but it has to be something that is built into us. I know growing up my parents and the Chicago Water Company were not thrilled when one long summer I decided I would dig until I started hitting lava or China, but I hit Chicago sewers instead. Now kids won’t have to do the digging to find out where they would get if they when straight down with the help of Antipode Map.

Everyone in my life has been lying to me about this whole China thing it turns out. You know where American kids would get if dig? The boring Indiana Ocean! What other lies are we feeding the digging youth of America?

Filed Under: Laptop Landmark Tour of the World

No time to travel the world? No worries, with Google’s new Photo Tours feature in Google Maps, you can explore immersive 3D photo scenes at landmarks around the world—over 15,000 of them. The tours are created using public, user-contributed Picasa and Panaromio photos. Google explains the process:

We start by finding clusters of overlapping photos around major landmarks. From the photos, our system derives the 3D shape of each landmark and computes the location and orientation of each photo. Google Maps then selects a path through the best images, and adds 3D transitions to seamlessly guide you from photo to photo as if you’re literally flying around the landmark and viewing it from different perspectives.

We’ll be taking a Trevi Fountain lunch break!

It is always nice to see two design trends become one; namely the cartographer print trend and the floral print trend here in the duvet by DENY artist Bianca Green. Nothing says Spring like a world-over, technicolor flower-kingdom explosion!

Valentine’s Day in the era of Etsy and crafty bloggers has spawned a multitude of creative, unique gifts for your special someone. Personalized and witty? Even better! These prints from JHill Design commemorate the home states of each half of the couple.   Maps and geography are a hot design trend right now, and this perfect pairing of location + love is great for V Day, weddings, or housewarming gifts!

(Source: designsponge.com)

Maps continue to dominate the design landscape, and Etsy shop renklitasarimlar’s map-print tote let’s you carry the world in one hand.  

Those who know me, know that I have a minor obsession with maps. This is why the minute I saw them I started scheming of ways to get my hands on the Axis hand-printed typographic maps. (Picture elaborate miniature hotels built in my tiny Brooklyn courtyard out of snowballs and PBR cans.) Using nothing but print type, the maps accurately depict the cities—-meaning they work as art pieces and as actual maps for the occasional stranded tourist in all of us.

(Of course being a Midwestern gal I really want the Chicago one, but since I’m traveling in California the above San Francisco seemed more appropriate.)