Americans probably have a lot to apologize to Canadians for, but one of them is this: Most of us have very little idea about Canada's most basic geography. Ottawa? Vancouver? Ontario? Those places, for many of us, could be anywhere.
Turns out that Apple, the company that praises itself for its ability to connect people across geographies, has the same confusion. Earlier this week, Canadians, like the residents of many other countries, went to Apple's website to pre-order the iPhone 6. Unlike the residents of other countries, they were treated, after ordering, to the map pictured above. This map contains the following errors, as enumerated by The Canadian Press:
Apple appeared to have mixed up the nation's capital and Ontario's capital, and placed Ottawa roughly where Toronto should be on the map.
Edmonton is also seen to be northwest of Calgary, instead of northeast.
And Quebec City is mistakenly labelled as Quebec.
This is roughly the equivalent of Apple confusing, say, New York and Washington D.C., or New Orleans and Louisiana. But our northern neighbors have borne the mixup with equanimity as usual. As The Canadian Press put it, understatedly: "Apple seems to be a little confused when it comes to Canadian geography."
This article was originally published at http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/09/apples-latest-map-doesnt-know-the-difference-between-toronto-and-ottawa/380130/
