The Most Perfect US Map Ever

image via 17Apart

Located in elementary schools around the United States, maps have been as much a staple of the classroom as apples on teachers desks. But aside from most probably still listing the Soviet Union as a nation, there isn't much to be improved upon right? It's a map, draw some lines, slap some labels, and you're done right?

Wrong. Just ask David Imus who has created what is considered one of the best maps of the United States ever. And he did it all by himself meticulously over the course of two years.

image via Twitter

The man who makes World of Warcraft players even appear to have social lives.

In 2010 he won the prestigious "Best in Show" for the Cartography and Geographic Information Society for his map. He beat out such heavyweight competitors as the CIA Cartography Center, US Census Bureau, and three-time champion National Geographic.

In other words, one guy beat National Geographic at a task they're so damn good at they named themselves for it.

image via National Geographic

I imagine their facial expressions appearing something like this.

For those of you dying to know what his map looks like, well prepare to be amazed!

image via HCN

The glorious-ness you were deprived of in the third grade.

Ok, it doesn't look very different from your standard atlas map. So what makes Imus's so special? It's all in how the information is presented. Cartographers have to decide the precedence for what is shown. Where should the text be located? What size should it be? Should a road be shown? How should terrain be incorporated?

image via PensitoReview

Should Texas really be included?

This is where Imus spent the majority of his two years, tweaking every single detail down to deciding what landmarks for every city should be listed and ferry routes. He even managed to include the time zones. In the end the difference between his map and others is astounding.

image via Slate

On the left, Imus's perfection. On the right, finger painting. Probably.

Despite this, few will ever be graced with the presence of Imus's masterpiece. Map-making is an art-form that is going the way of the dodo. And with most school districts figuring that their circa 1980's Rand McNally projector screen covers aren't worth replacing, it's unlikely to make its way into many classrooms.

That being said, it's totally for sale here for between $12 for a folded copy to $2,300 for a framed canvas that presumably also includes a puppy for that price.