Did you dig the third grade? We did. Tetherball. Multiplication tables. Salsberry steak for lunch every Wednesday. Heads of 7-Up. You should’ve seen our science project – blue g-d ribbon.

Those were the terrific times. And, we all should commemorate them. Remember that world map hanging from the front of your classroom? We’ve got one adorning our living room wall. We stole it. Well, not quite, we bought one.

Admittedly, our purchase was not inspired by elementary school. We bought the wall map because it’s awesome. We continue to exhibit it because it’s the greatest conversation starter—ever. It entrances visitors. They spend hours sharing where they’ve been and where they want to go. They converse about geopolitics, the Louisiana Purchase, and the best route from Portland, Maine to Portland, Oregon.

Like your old classroom map, it flips. People flip from the United States to the world to Alaska. Then, often, they query, “Why the *$&@ does Alaska get a sheet all to itself?” We don’t know. Surely, Rand McNally had his reasons.

We found our map on Etsy for $100. We’ve also seen them on eBay and at resale shops. We’re glad ours is topographical. It’s educational and fun to hunt down famous mountains. Our only regret: it’s post-1991, so no USSR.