Earth:Phantom settlement
Phantom settlements, or paper towns, are settlements that appear on maps but do not actually exist. They are either accidents or copyright traps. Notable examples in the English-speaking world include Argleton, Lancashire in England, and Beatosu and Goblu, Ohio in the United States.[1]
Phantom settlements often result from copyright traps, also known as mountweazels, which is when a false entry is placed in literature to catch illegal copiers.[2] Agloe, New York, was invented on a 1930s map as a copyright trap. In 1950, a general store was built there and named Agloe General Store, as that was the name seen on the map. Thus, the phantom settlement became a real one.[3]
There are also misnamed settlements, such as the villages of Mawdesky and Dummy 1325 in Lancashire on Google Maps.[4]
There is a satirical conspiracy theory that the German city of Bielefeld is a phantom settlement, despite its population of over 300,000.[5] Another example is Leiria, Portugal, (pop. 128,640),[6] which even gave rise to a song "Leiria não existe".[7]
See also
- Paper Towns, a novel where phantom settlements become plot points
- The 2015 film of the same name, based on the novel
- Paper township
- Phantom island
- Fictitious entry
References
- ↑ Punt, Steve (18 September 2010). "BBC Radio 4 – Punt PI, Series 3, Episode 1" (in en-GB). BBC. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00trzfl.
- ↑ "mountweazel" (in en-GB). 26 February 2020. https://emmawilkin.com/words-of-the-week-2/2020/2/26/mountweazel.
- ↑ Krulwich, Robert (18 March 2014). "An Imaginary Town Becomes Real, Then Not. True Story". NPR. https://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2014/03/18/290236647/an-imaginary-town-becomes-real-then-not-true-story. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
- ↑ "See the new villages of Mawdesky and Dummy 1325 on Google Maps". 20 November 2009. http://www.southportvisiter.co.uk/news/southport-news/see-new-villages-mawdesky-dummy-6618605.
- ↑ Connolly, Kate (5 September 2019). "German city offers €1m for proof it doesn't exist". The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/sep/05/german-city-bielefeld-offers-1m-for-proof-it-doesnt-exist.
- ↑ Nenhum (2024-01-23). "Leiria não existe" (in pt-PT). https://www.regiaodeleiria.pt/opinioes/leiria-nao-existe/.
- ↑ INÊS APENAS (2023-11-21). INÊS APENAS – LEIRIA NÃO EXISTE. Retrieved 2024-10-06 – via YouTube.
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