Photo: lev radin/Shutterstock
Your Map Has Been Lying About Africa Your Whole Life
Because the Earth is round, a flat map can never quite get the size of countries and continents right. The United Nations just decided to do something about it.
On September 4, 2026, the General Assembly voted 164 to 1 to adopt a resolution encouraging more accurate world maps, particularly when it comes to Africa, which the centuries-old Mercator projection has long shrunk. The United States was the only country to vote against it, with six others abstaining.
Here's what the new map actually looks like.
S E A S O N A L
The 14 Best Places for Fall Foliage in the United States
Photo: Kirk Wester/Shutterstock
Truth be told, the best place to catch the colors of the season is the one you can actually get to. But if you can reach one of these spots, you're in for a treat, from the trees to the food to the places to stay.
E V E N T S
Put These On Your Calendar
Here are some September things to do:
🇲🇽 El Grito (Independence Day) in Mexico City, Mexico (Sept 15–16): A night of fireworks, mariachi, and street food.
🇯🇵 Kishiwada Danjiri Matsuri in Osaka, Japan (Sept 19–20): A sacred ritual where teams sprint two-ton wooden floats through tight streets at full speed.
🇩🇪 Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany (Sept 19–Oct 4): The original beer festival returns for 16 days of steins, brass bands, and lederhosen.
🇰🇷 Chuseok in South Korea (Sept 24–26): Korea's harvest thanksgiving, marked by songpyeon rice cakes and folk games under the year's fullest moon.
🇪🇹 Meskel in Ethiopia (Sept 27): A UNESCO-listed celebration where towering bonfires, the Demera, blaze across Addis Ababa to mark the finding of the True Cross.
G U I D E
Whitewashed Houses and Adriatic Views: Quiet Luxury at Puglia's Vista Ostuni
Photos: Vicki Denig / zedspider/Shutterstock
With Europe's south buckling under record crowds and anti-tourism protests, Puglia's hilltop "White City" of Ostuni stays quiet, and Vista Ostuni sits just outside its old town in a 14th-century palazzo. It makes the case for a classic Euro summer without the clamor.
T R A V E L
A Weather Analysis Found the Sunniest Mediterranean Spots to Keep Summer Going Through Fall
Photo: Travel-Fr /Shutterstock
Labor Day is behind us, which means summer in the Northern Hemisphere is just about over. But if you're not ready for sweater weather and pumpkin-flavored everything, there's a way to stretch the sunshine without crossing the Equator: fly to the Mediterranean.
Here's where.
S T A Y S
This Treehouse Is the Perfect Upstate New York Getaway
Photo: Airbnb Photo Community
This treehouse pairs total forest seclusion with the comforts of a high-end Airbnb, plus a canopy perch that serves up a delicious view of nature.
Matador sat down with owner Avner Ronen to get the story behind how it came to be.
Travel Well
The Matador Editorial Team
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