This weekend I woke up with a map thought in my head: what if Middle Earth, but with mass transit? And here it is (with intentional typos): subway maps for The Hobbit & LoTR. If you want to buy them, they're available through Etsy (w/o typos): surprisedeelmaps.etsy.com

Some of you have asked about the Middle Earth transit maps on mugs, so here you go! They're available through my Etsy store, along with prints of the maps. surprisedeelmaps.etsy.com

Once a month, for my patreon subscribers, I write about historical maps. This month I look at the one medieval dude who believed in a flat earth. Along the way, I write about bouncing unicorns & Justin Timberlake. It's free to sign up, so give it a read! patreon.com/posts/world-in…

Good morning, friends. I've got a rather busy day, so I'm afraid I must be quick with the eel post. But don't worry, friends...I won't leave you eel-less. Please enjoy this wonderful interlinear eel and heron. Perhaps they're having a conversation about the evils of lightning.

In 1544 an English merchant in Calais named Otwell Johnson wrote to his brother John, & asked him to remind their sister to buy some eels in London for Lent. Which is basically the 16th C. version of texting someone to stop by the store on the way home.

I've been drawing desert spaces this week, and I took a few minutes to write about it this morning on my patreon. It's free and publicly available. patreon.com/posts/desert-l…

I just got an email from the University of Michigan’s business office about a payment they’re processing for me. And their email handle is “Wolverines BO.” Because I am 8 in some ways, I cannot stop laughing.

So you've got a fishpond, & you love eels. Should you put eels in your fishpond? The Fleta, a 13th C. book on English common law, says NO. They'll eat the other fish, then eat each other. Then the remaining ones will just leave overland for a better home. Don't do it, friends.