History - Chart Porn

History Archive:

1 Nov 2011

This is a strange little compendium of symbols. Half of these symbols are completely obvious, and I was ready to dismiss the whole thing as link-bait, but then there are a number of little gems that I never would have guessed. Also, when was the last time you saw a mono-spaced courier font used? It sort of works here, though overall there are a few too many different fonts strewn around. I also have to give credit that the source links at the bottom do indeed lead to more interesting information on the subject.

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The Road to 7 Billion

In: Global Economy History Interactive Maps Source: FT

27 Oct 2011

The Financial Times has pulled together some interactive visualizations of world demographics as we approach 7 billion people. I would have liked to see the population pyramids for more countries. The fertility/education graph is a bit shocking.

Note: Some FT features require a subscription.

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Scary Movies (1933-2006)

In: Culture History

20 Oct 2011

Halloween is next week! This graphic compares budget, box office revenue, and rotten tomatoes ratings of most of the classics.

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Life Expectancy (1960-2009)

In: History Interactive Science

15 Oct 2011

Highlight by region, roll over for individual country info. The interface is a little janky – you can join the discussion over at FlowingData if you have any suggestions.

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Leader Timeline

In: History Innovative Politics

3 Oct 2011

Interesting photo timeline design idea. To be fair, they should have used a linear scale. (via; thanks to David Cramer for the link).

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Airline Timeline

In: History US Economy

22 Sep 2011

The good people over at HistoryShots created this beautiful geneology of airline companies. It’s interesting to note how many airlines disappeared right around the time of industry de-regulation in the late 1970s.

(4) Comments

Newspapers (1690-2011)

In: Culture History Interactive Maps

16 Sep 2011

Much like the post office timeline movie I posted last month, below we have the history of newspaper expansion across the USA. Interestingly, this movie is actually an extraction from a very well done interactive visualization of the Library of Congress’s newspaper database. You can even drill down to individual towns and see information about each newspaper. (via)

Original interactive version:

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Pandemics

In: History Science

16 Sep 2011

Not much to say about this one. Interesting perspective information, and typical Good aesthetics. (via)

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The Cost of 9/11

In: History Interactive US Economy

11 Sep 2011

NYT presents a graphical breakdown of some cost estimates for 9/11:

You can drill down into the different categories:

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Not Your Parents’ Economy

In: Employment History Innovative Source: NYT US Economy

9 Sep 2011

An elegant multi-indicator graphic from the NYT on income inequality and jobs. It’s disappointing that it took so long for the story of these trends to get traction in the media. (related article)

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Post Offices 1700-1900

In: History Interactive Maps

10 Aug 2011

Derek Watkins created this beautiful animated map proxying the expansion of “civilization” across the United States during the 18th and 19th centuries. I particularly like the running timeline at the bottom.

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College Grade Inflation (1960-2008)

In: Culture Employment History Source: NYT

15 Jul 2011

There’s a new study on the history of collegiate grade inflation. Fascinating stuff – particularly the difference in giving As in private vs public schools. Thanks to David Cramer for passing on the link!