> I have a very longvery colorful graphic print in my house, not unpleasant as wall art, kinda swirly like a tie-dye. Called The Histomap, 4000 years of history

https://x.com/BeineckeLibrary/status/17 … 2183184840

Now I didn’t buy this print for the info, mostly liked the graphic & it was different than other “maps” I’ve collected. It’s printed on nice toothy paper.
Well Fuq Me = it’s way too long (6 feet or more) to get this framed without a serious $$$$ investment, and too nice to slap on the wall with thumbtacks, so it stays flat on a table for me to stare at. It came delivered in a tight scroll years ago and took a long time to flatten out.

It is long because it goes through 4000 years of human civilization & power, starting with the Egyptians & Minoans.
The “swirls” are the various civilizations ebbing & flowing, some we’ve never heard of lasting a very long time and reaching large blocks of power. Some “swirls” are flash-in-the-pan & burned out thousands of years ago, and lots in between. Very few (maybe 2) who ebbed & flowed meekly for thousands of years, and still show some existence today.

Then near the very bottom of all, you can see the recent flash-in-the-pan civilizations that we are used to: the British Empire, Spanish Empire, and United States. The first 2 started recently from nothing, became mildly wide starting in the 16th century showing world power very, very briefly, then fizzling out by today’s time to near nothing again. As good as dead, like many other civilizations came and went quickly. The US is near the end, its entire history barely a pimple on the map’s behind. Nothing at all like the Roman or Mongolian cultures, or Babylon or Egypt or other world powers who no longer exist.