Something Fun

So it's a Monday in the middle of August with little news out there to comment on so it's time for something fun.  Well, something fun if you into history.  Here from the website Visual Capitalist {Posted from Sasha Trubetskoy's original work} is a map of the ancient Roman road system in transit form.  That is when you're looking at this, you're reading a roadmap just like you would the subway system in New York or Chicago though hopefully with less graffiti.  Why is this interesting you say?  Read below:

"At the height of the Roman Empire, there were approximately 250,000 miles (400,000 km) of roads, stretching from Northern England to Egypt and beyond. This impressive network is what allowed Rome to exercise control and communicate effectively over such a large territory.....

.....London, Paris, Barcelona, and countless other major cities sprang from Roman settlements along the road network, and even as Europe descended into the Dark Ages (476-800 CE), Roman roads remained as one of few functioning modes of movement and communication. A recent study even points out that proximity to that foundational network of roads even has a strong correlation with economic activity today.

Beyond mere curiosity or entertainment, looking back at Roman ingenuity allows us to see the impact their road network had on today’s world. That enduring influence is one of the reasons ancient Rome still fascinates us to this day.}

None of this will make you any money today but I thought we needed a break from the usual routine here.  Besides I thought this was cool and frankly wanted to keep the map for future review.  We often think of people in earlier times as superstitious, cruel and lacking in technology, but when you look back on ancient civilizations like Rome or China you can tell they were pretty ingenious in using what they had and taking their technologies to the absolute limits based on what they knew.

Back tomorrow.  Also you can double-click on the map to make it larger.

Link:  Visual Capitalist:  "The Roman Empire's Roads in Transit Map Form."