Contact:
Kate Larson
For Immediate Release
MIND-FLIPPING GIFT
TO
KEEP GRADUATES AMAZED AND THINKING:
ODT’S
HOT NEW WHAT’S UP? SOUTH! MAP
AMHERST,
Mass., May 12, 2010 – ODT Maps, one of the nation’s most
respected publishers of innovative world maps and related
products, has transformed its most popular map – What’s
Up? South! – into a new smaller, poster size, creating a
sensational high-school or college graduation gift to keep
young minds amazed and thinking .
“This poster-size format is perfect for a
small room or apartment,” said Bob Abramms, founder and
publisher of ODT. “It’s a mind-bending tool that definitely
gets your attention and your friends arguing. In these
turbulent times and uncertain job market, every graduate
needs to find new ways to break out of conventional
thinking. Besides, it’s a lot of fun.”
ODT’s What’s Up? South! map turns the world upside
down, presenting Africa and South America at the top and
Europe and North America at the bottom, startling viewers,
challenging their assumptions, and jogging them into seeing
that mapmaking – flattening a three-dimensional globe onto a
two-dimensional surface – is a highly subjective endeavor,
one that requires choices especially about shape, size and
position, each of which affects perceptions of power and
value. The impact of alternative views is reinforced by
seven full-color comparison panels at the bottom of the map,
each showing a different way of mapping the Earth.
The new size can be purchased in standard or acid-free
archival paper stock. Available in several formats: flat
paper, folded paper, or laminated and shipped in a plastic
tube with a detailed 4-page explanation.
"What's Up? South!" World Map
(laminated and tubed)
$28.95
ISBN# 978-1-931057-29-5
(for 2’ x 3’ size)
Larger format (36” x 56”)
map available for $1 additional
The full color map can be viewed and purchased at On-line
at:
http://www.odtmaps.com/detail.asp_Q_product_id_E_WUS-36x56-LT
.
It is also available at local book and map stores, and many
Fair Trade stores throughout the U.S and Canada.
“Most of us don’t recognize the bias of the maps we use,”
said Abramms. “ODT maps are designed to provoke people to
question assumptions – about maps, the nightly news,
advertising, or whatever. What smart young graduate –
whether from high school or college – doesn’t love to
challenge old ways of thinking? This view of the world will
literally flip their notions about the world and its
possibilities.”
About ODT Maps, Inc.
ODT Maps, Inc., based in Amherst, Massachusetts, has been
publishing innovative ways to view the world for over 20
years. Their products include equal-area world maps, world
population maps, and an entire series of “South-on-top”
maps, including a jigsaw puzzle. In 2001, ODT gained
international fame after having its Peters equal-area map
featured on an episode of the hit TV show “West Wing.” In
2002, former President Jimmy Carter used ODT’s Hobo-Dyer map
in his media materials when accepting the Nobel Peace
Prize. The company’s products have been praised by late
historian Howard Zinn, author of A People’s History of
the United States, and have been purchased by the
National Council for the Social Studies. Most of ODT’s maps
are sold through map and book stores as well as Fair Trade
stores like Ten Thousand Villages, which focus on providing
a living wage for farmers and artisans around the world. In
addition, corporations and religious groups use them for
training sessions.
ODT's mission is to honor differences and teach people to
see the world from a broader, more inclusive perspective;
this remains at the core of all ODT activities. In addition
to publishing new maps and resource materials and updating
previous material, the Company is initiating extensive
in-service teacher training and train-the-trainer workshops
to expand the reach of its message. For more information,
please visit
www.ODTmaps.com.
