The misperception of the sizes of countries on maps is a common phenomenon that can be attributed to the Mercator Projection. The task of transforming a three-dimensional planet onto a two-dimensional plane posed a considerable challenge for early cartographers, which prompted Flemish geographer and cartographer Gerardus Mercator to devise a solution. In 1569, Mercator created a map that was accurately usable for navigation, but the downside was that his system resulted in distorted sizes of objects based on their positions relative to the equator. This distortion causes landmasses, such as Greenland and Antarctica, to appear much larger than they actually are.

To illustrate the flawed nature of our understanding of country sizes, a website named thetruesize.com allows you to move landmasses to different locations. Bored Panda conducted an experiment on this website, which resulted in some intriguing findings.

US Moved Down Next To Australia Looks Unbelievably Small

Russia On The Equator Is Not A Giant Bear Anymore

If Romania Was An Island In The Arctic Ocean

Australia Is Way Bigger Than You May Think – It Covers Almost The Whole Of Europe

If Brazil Was In Asia It Would Be Massive

Indonesia Would Spread Almost Across The Whole Of Russia

Greenland Is Not So Big When Compared To USA And Brazil

China Placed On Top Of Russia

When You Move Canada To South America

California Moved Onto The UK Shows They’re Quite Similar In Size

Australia Moved Onto North America Becomes REALLY Big

Japan Can Stretch Almost Across Canada

Antarctica Is Not So Much Larger Than Brazil

This Is How India Changes As You Move It North

Canada Moved Down Onto The US Reveals That Both Countries Are Pretty Much The Same Size