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It’s not the size that counts, it’s how many spiders you can fit!

This multi-panel meme demonstrates the common misconception that Australia is much smaller than it actually is, compared to the contiguous United States. The top panel shows a political map of the contiguous US with a small inset map of Australia placed over the western US, captioned 'HOW BIG PEOPLE THINK AUSTRALIA IS'. The bottom section shows Australia's actual size: the bottom left overlays Australia (to real scale) over the entire contiguous US, showing Australia covers almost the entire area of the US mainland. The bottom right panel zooms in to reveal that all 48 contiguous US states fit entirely within Australia's borders, proving Australia is nearly the same size as the contiguous US, much larger than most people expect. The meme's title adds a joke referencing the popular stereotype that Australia is full of dangerous spiders.
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HOW BIG PEOPLE THINK AUSTRALIA IS
HOW BIG AUSTRALIA ACTUALLY IS!

Overview

This multi-panel meme demonstrates the common misconception that Australia is much smaller than it actually is, compared to the contiguous United States. The top panel shows a political map of the contiguous US with a small inset map of Australia placed over the western US, captioned 'HOW BIG PEOPLE THINK AUSTRALIA IS'. The bottom section shows Australia's actual size: the bottom left overlays Australia (to real scale) over the entire contiguous US, showing Australia covers almost the entire area of the US mainland. The bottom right panel zooms in to reveal that all 48 contiguous US states fit entirely within Australia's borders, proving Australia is nearly the same size as the contiguous US, much larger than most people expect. The meme's title adds a joke referencing the popular stereotype that Australia is full of dangerous spiders.

Origin notes

This is a viral geography meme originating from Reddit, as noted in the source information. It jokes about widespread underestimation of Australia's geographic size, and leans into the popular internet running joke that Australia is overrun with dangerous wildlife, especially spiders.

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