Heartening stat of the day: Gallup finds that support for marriage equality has doubled since 1996, with approval now surpassing disapproval. Also see this animated GIF map of the geography of marriage equality since 1970 and the seminal 1993 essay instrumental in shifting the paradigm.

And don’t miss the most beautiful meditation on the issue yet – from a politician, no less.

Mapping LGBT rights by country. Also see this map of LGBT rights in the American workplace and the Guardian’s stellar visualization of LGBT rights by state.

Pair with The Politics of Homosexuality, the seminal 1993 article that turned the tide. 

Remarkable animated visualization of every meteorite since 861 AD from The Guardian.

(ᔥ Open Culture)

The length of the average dissertation from the top fifty majors, visualized. The humanities and social sciences – anthropology, history, and political science – clock in longest, whereas “hard” sciences like economics, mathematics, and biostatistics tend to be shortest.

By mapping income versus self-described happiness in several countries worldwide, the study’s authors found that the more money people had, the happier they tended to be. The trend was clear across the board, leading the economists to conclude that there’s “no evidence of a satiation point,” a theoretical level of contentment past which more cash doesn’t translate into more happiness. 

Contrary to previous research suggesting happiness levels out after a certain point of income growth, new study suggests money can buy you happiness. Still, philosophy might still have a better answer than science.

Jarring visual timeline of America’s addiction problem. Pair with this 1951 animation on how different drugs work.

Mapping the recognition of same-sex unions in Europe.

Navy = same-sex marriage legal; dark blue = other type of domestic partnership; light blue = unregistered cohabitation; grey = unrecognized; red = constitution limits marriage to opposite-sex couples.

Also see maps of other LGBT rights in Europe, marriage equality around the world, LGBT rights in the American workplace, and rules about sexual orientation and military service.

At the end of the day, it’s a pretty simple proposition. 

A jarring look at how quickly the U.S. got fat between 1985 and 2010. To put things in perspective, see this visual tour of how the world eats.

This heartwarming infographic annual report from The New York Public Library shows that 18 million people visited the library’s 91 branches in 2012 – more people than ever before – turning to NYPL for such diverse needs as books, computer workshops, kids programs, job-search help, free English classes, and more.

NYPL is supported by patron donations – make yours here.

Tweets sent by the same person within a 4 hour time-window were used as samples of speed and direction. These samples were used to construct a vector field representing the average flow of people within the area. The vector field and total tweet density over the space were then used to simulate the movement of people. Particles, representing people, were released at locations where actual tweets were recorded and their subsequent movement was determined by the flow field. The particles start out blue and gradually change through purple to red over time so each trace shows the direction of movement. Locations where there is little movement will have blue dots or very short blue traces. Longer traces with more red show a greater speed at that point.

Movement in Manhattan based on tweets. Complement with some deliciously analog, subjective, hand-drawn maps of Manhattan. 

The Facebook data team maps support for marriage equality based on the geography of those who changed their profile pictures to the Human Rights Campaign’s pink-on-red equal sign. 

Juxtaposed here, for some striking correlations on the geography of open-mindedness, with a map of passport ownership. 

Body mass index around the world, visualized. Pair with What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets.

The rise of open access and the true cost of science publishing

Genius, in its writings, is our best path for reaching wisdom, which [is] the true use of literature for life.

Harold Bloom’s 100 geniuses of language and literature, visualized

Literature Map by Marek Gibney displays the constellation of literary kin around an author whose name you search. Depicted here, Susan Sontag. 

Also see a much less algorithmic take in Circles of Influence.