The other day, J.K. Rowling released an official map of the locations of all the Wizarding Schools in the world. I have always had a passion for history, maps, random information, and generally being a nerd, so here is my list of the 16 maps that you didn't know you needed to see.

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1) Wizarding Schools

So I'm actually going to begin this article with the map that started this idea: the map of the locations of the Wizarding Schools in the world. Of course, there is Hogwarts in Scotland, Beauxbatons in France, and Durmstrang in Russia (Well, most people say Sweden or Norway, but the map clearly places it in the Finno-Russian region). In addition, there are four new schools: Ilvermorny in the Eastern United States, Castelobruxo in the Amazon, Uagadou in the heartland of Africa, and Mahoutokoro in Japan. It's the map that every Harry Potter nerd needs.

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2) Hypothetical Completion of Middle Earth

Continuing with the literary theme, I have always wondered what Middle Earth would look like had Tolkien illustrated a complete map of the continent. This map I found comes from the 1984 board game Middle Earth Role Playing. Although not officially created by J.R.R. himself, it was approved by Tolkien Enterprises, the company that manages all his copyright materials.

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3) Hand-drawn map of Hobbiton

Now for a little detail in the world of Tolkien. This map is a close-up look at Hobbiton, but what I found most special about it is the fact that someone actually hand drew it. It's incredible how talented some people can be.

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4) Lands of Narnia and Surrounding Kingdoms

Again with a literary map, this is an extremely detailed portrayal of the world in which the characters created by C.S. Lewis reside. It includes the Kingdom of Narnia, as well as Calormen, the Wild Lands on the outskirts of the territory, and the Great Eastern Ocean.

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5) Dante's Inferno

This is something straight out of your high school English Literature course, and quite frankly would have been helpful then to pass the class. It gives a very detailed portrayal of each circle, and the corresponding punishments, as well as some famous people found in the circles.

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6) Tamriel from the Elder Scrolls

The final fantasy realm map, Tamriel is the map from the Elder Scrolls series of video games. This map helps gives a greater picture of how all the regions fit together as a whole, from Skyrim in the north, Morrowing in the east, and the Summerset Isles in the southwest.

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7) Portuguese Cold War Satire

Now for some real world maps. This one is a satirical look at Europe during the Cold War, as seen in a Portuguese magazine. It gives a rather comedic view from a western nation during the time of the Eastern Bloc.

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8) Most Common European Surname

This one is fairly self-explanatory by the title of the map itself. It's a map of the most common surname in each European country. It is interesting to see the trends, most prominently the variants of "Johnson", as seen in the Faroe Islands (Joenson), Sweden (Johansson), Belarus (Ivanov), Denmark (Jensen), and The Netherlands (De Jong); as well as the variants of Novak seen in the Slavic countries in central Europe, including Poland (Nowak), The Czech Republic (Novák), and Slovenia (Novak)

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9) Most Common Immigrant Country in Europe

This one, like the last, if fairly self-explanatory. It catalogues the countries of immigration for European immigrants in each of the other European countries. Something interesting to point out is the large number of Russian immigrants in their border countries, many of which are from the former Soviet Union. In addition, the Balkans are a mess of immigrants from their own powder keg of a region, and many of the large colonial empires, including Portugal, France, and the United Kingdom, all have non-European immigrants as its most common type.

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10) Most Famous Brand from Each State

Now to our great Untied States of America. This one could be debated for what is "famous", but it generally does a good job categorising the states. Of course, California is Apple, Washington is Starbucks, and Pennsylvania is Hershey's. My home state of Maryland is GEICO, whose headquarters is actually a mere 2 minutes from my house. Some surprising ones include Tabasco from Louisiana, Hooters from Florida, and Taco John's from Wyoming. (Side Note: I've never even heard of Taco John's, but if you have, and if it's good, hook me up with some.)

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11) Religion of the US Representatives

This one shows how American politics is so heavily dominated by Christianity. Scanning the map, I couldn't even find someone who isn't Christian or Jewish in origin. I know that Christians founded the nation, all that blah blah blah, but at the same time, I think the politician who can most efficiently run the country should be elected to office, and that their religion should not play as large of a role in the election process.

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12) Top Google Search Autofill

This one shows the Google autocomplete for the phrase "Why is [state] so ______". Some of my favourites include Alaska's "expensive", which I feel is not the case, given how barren it is up there; Pennsylvania and Connecticut's "haunted", which I need to now research to see why; Ohio's "important", because the short answer is: they aren't; Georgia's "backwards", because I don't know; and Utah's "Mormon", because, well I mean the centre of the Mormon church is kinda in your state so it makes sense.

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13) Price of Weed by State

Marijuana. Weed. Pot. 420. Whatever other names it goes by, here are the prices that correspond by state for one ounce. The cheapest is the $204 in Oregon, incrementally growing in price as you go east, becoming second most expensive in Vermont, at $367. An anomaly to this pattern are the Dakotas, which come in at a record high (get it) $387 in the North, and $360 in the South.

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14) Upside Down Map of the World

So the world is Euro-American-centric, I get that, but do we have to stick to those traditions always? This map kinda breaks from that, providing an upside-down map of the World. We just assume that the map is the way that we view it, because it centres Europe. This gives a new perspective on the world.

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15) Flag Map of the World

One of my favourite type of maps, this map overlays the flags of every country in the world upon their corresponding territory. Yes, I realise that there are huge chunks of land in the Pacific, those denote the Equatorial borders of islands. It's also interesting to see colour and stylistic patterns by region, especially around Europe and Africa.

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16) Each Country's Leading "Product"

And finally, a semi-comedic map of what each country leads the world in. China has its CO2 emission lead, Canada has its Maple Syrup, Brazil and its World Cup Titles. And Germany, my favourite International Football Club, has its Almost World Cup Titles lead. Savage. Just savage.