Few things more useful in the world of general knowledge than an accurate representation of the world: a globe. Of course, every map is out of date shortly after it’s printed, but the physical form of a globe certainly helps reinforce the reality, even if the labels and colors and lines move over time.
I only wish I had room for the world’s largest globe somewhere in my life. Or even the slightly smaller versions — you can buy one! (Check for the link to a 10-page PDF at the bottom right of that page.)
However, before you whip out the credit card, the smallest Eartha globe (6.25m) is 2 million euros worth of custom-built cartographic splendor. (Why priced in euros when Delorme is a Maine, USA, company?) Since Google is telling me that each euro is 1.241 dollars, the price tag only get higher.
In other words, probably cheaper to visit Yarmouth, Maine for your globe fix, no matter where in the world you live. I do find it ironic that Delorme doesn’t have a map on either their Visit Us page or their Directions to Delorme page. Sure, they have their lat and long at the bottom of every page, but are they really going to make me go look up the location in Google Maps??? No, the actual street address (Two Delorme Drive) is on their Contact Us page. So here is the Google Maps link, or satellite version, though not of high enough a resolution to even guess which building houses the Eartha.
For someone who sells mapping software to not provide a map to their own location… can I get a link in This is Broken? (Am I missing something?)
But I still love their globe.