Editor Megan here to show you the ins and outs of dating… globes and maps, that is.

Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve had a fascination with globes and maps. I’ve always had multiples scattered across the walls and shelves of my bedroom and apartments. I even have a transit map tattooed on my arm — we get it, she studied abroad.

When I got to college and started studying history, I developed a deeper appreciation for historical maps and what can be learned from them. Please enjoy this aggressively 2016 apartment decoration:

And yet, I’m not good at geography in the slightest. I contain multitudes.

I’ve been running the official Trivia Mafia TikTok account for the last two years. Did you know Trivia Mafia has an official TikTok account? We do! Check us out! The most fun thing I’ve been able to do on this account is use geopolitical context clues to date some of my maps and globes. The highlight of my trivia career has to be figuring out the three-day window during which my favorite globe was created.

Dating a globe may seem daunting, but it’s actually quite simple (and very fun) when you have the tools.

The Tools

I’m far from the first person to enjoy this activity, so there are plenty of guides and timelines that others have created to determine the date of globes. All you really need are lists of when and how the names of countries have changed, when they’ve gained independence, and when borders or control of territories have shifted. These three break it down pretty nicely.

The official websites of countries can also be very helpful to understand name changes and dates of independence. When I get stuck between a few dates, I usually turn to these more official records, as they go into more detail than the globe guides and timelines can.

Unlike globes, most maps include their dates of publication, although it is possible you may happen upon one without. If your map is hyper-specific, say Central Europe, this Wikipedia article is a helpful guide of cities and towns that you may be able to find in the details of your map.

The Classics

These are the heavy-hitters that can immediately start narrowing down the timeframe.

Are Russia and the former Soviet states labeled as USSR? If yes, we’re looking between 1922 and 1991. That’s a pretty big span, but it helps to start somewhere.
Istanbul was Constantinople until 1930 (now it’s Istanbul, not Constantinople).
Does it show South Sudan? If so, your globe is from July 9, 2011 or later, when it gained independence from Sudan.

The Process

It really is as simple as starting at the chronological top (or bottom, depending on how you prefer your narrowing down) of one of these lists and cross-referencing your globe. For example, if you look to South America and see Suriname (not Dutch Guiana), we’re after November 25, 1975. But, if Czechoslovakia is in Europe (instead of Czech Republic/Czechia and Slovakia) it was made before January 1, 1993. Then, just keep narrowing down that timeframe by looking at the geopolitical changes between those dates. I’m extra, so I like the suspense of starting with a large timeframe and whittling it down one by one. If you find yourself within a few years simply by using the lists I linked, these Wikipedia pages (sue me, I love Wikipedia) can help determine a more exact date, or at least a smaller window. Sometimes you get lucky and narrow the timeline to three days, sometimes the window is bigger. The fun part is being a detective.

Let’s Practice

For this next activity, I’m going to give you a few identifiers from a globe I borrowed from my friend. See if you can narrow down the window during which it was created.

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics exists.
Present-day Myanmar is still called Burma on this globe.
What was formerly known as Ceylon is now called its current name of Sri Lanka on the globe.
In Africa, the independent country Djibouti exists.
Present-day Zimbabwe is still referred to as Rhodesia on this globe.
Tuvalu is an independent country.
However, the Gilbert Islands has not yet become part of Kiribati.

Try to determine the window! To see if we came up with the same answer (and to see a bonus theory I have) watch our latest TikTok here or down below:

I hope I’ve inspired you to dust off your old globes and read the fine print!

(By the way, I was inspired to date my first map from @jakie62 on TikTok, who has accomplished way more dating than I will ever have the time to do.)