Mercator projection map distortion - Wow!
 

I knew there was some distortion... necessary to portray a 3D world on a flat plane, but wow, I had no idea the distortions were this dramatic.

Check it out: Africa on the world map: What's the real size? - CNN.com

The left/right wipe maps are amazing. This totally just blew my perception of the world out of the water. Now, I'm gonna have to go back and visit a lot of places.

Some inaccuracies in the CNN article (typical). But, the overall point that Africa is larger than we imagine is true.
A more representative 2D map :
http://www.geek.com/wp-content/uploa...projection.jpg

The size of the Sahara is mind boggling!
Almost the same surface area as the USA (9 million sq. km)

I believe all rain on the planet contains saharan dust particles as a component?

Over exaggeration of Greenland, Russia and Canada really struck me.