# Beautiful Public Data > A curated selection of visually interesting datasets collected by local, state and federal government agencies. By Jon Keegan. Public Ghost content for AI and LLM tooling. This file includes a bounded export of public pages first, then recent public posts. Append `.md` to any post or page URL to get the content in Markdown (for example, `/example-post.md`). ## Pages ### About this site URL: https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/about/ Last updated: 2026-09-22T15:23:35.000Z ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2026/09/export_d5f9e048-1.jpg) Hello! My name is Jon Keegan and I'm an [investigative data reporter ](https://jonkeegan.com/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)with a background in visuals. My work has appeared in [The Wall Street Journal](https://www.wsj.com/news/author/jon-keegan?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [The Markup](https://themarkup.org/people/jon-keegan?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [MIT Technology Review](https://www.technologyreview.com/author/jon-keegan/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), and [Sherwood News](https://sherwood.news/author/jon-keegan/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). With each issue of **Beautiful Public Data**, I take you deep into the archives of government agencies and surface visually interesting datasets. I explain the nature of the data, who collected it and why. I look for the unusual details, and present the images for your delight and illumination. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/11/bpd-dem-header.jpg) ## Sign up for Beautiful Public Data A curated selection of visually interesting datasets collected by local, state and federal government agencies. By Jon Keegan. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. We've covered license plates, nuclear weapons, moon rocks, highway signs, volcano drones, undersea surveys and prescription pills.If you like this post, you will enjoy this newsletter. ### "A cornucopia of delights" The Washington Post columnist [**Philip Bump**](https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/philip-bump/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) wrote about **Beautiful Public Data** recently in his excellent “[How to Read This Chart](https://www.washingtonpost.com/newsletters/how-to-read-this-chart/?method=SURL&location=PER&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)” newsletter: > *“But as I explored that great article, I wound up discovering that the entire site is an absolute gem of content. Called Beautiful Public Data, it does what it says on the tin: takes government data and shows it to you. And it is just a cornucopia of delights that I can only assume was created specifically to appeal to my preferences.* > *Perhaps afraid that I would be insufficiently enthusiastic about the project, Keegan also includes snippets of explanation about how the visualizations were made and where the data came from. It really is an entirely terrific project.”* ### Some of the beautiful public data we have covered [The United States Frequency Allocation ChartThis crazy, beautiful chart illustrates the incredible complexity of managing one of our nation’s most crucial – and invisible – national assets: the radio spectrum.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/size/w256h256/2023/01/Artboard-4.png)Beautiful Public DataJon Keegan![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-04-at-11.48.50-PM.png)](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/the-united-states-radio-frequency-allocation-chart/) [The Style Guide for America’s Highways: The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control DevicesDriving across America, you will encounter a wide variety of cultures, landscapes, people and animals. But the one consistent thing that will stay the same from Maine to California are the signs you pass on the highway. That is because America’s roads and highways have a big, fat style guide.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/size/w256h256/2023/01/Artboard-4.png)Beautiful Public DataJon Keegan![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/01/CRASH_HEADER-3k-2.jpg)](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/the-style-guide-for-americas-highways-mutcd/) [The Mirror Fusion Test FacilityA decade-long effort to build a machine to unlock the promise of nuclear fusion fell victim to budget constraints and competing science, and was shut down the day it was dedicated. It was never turned on.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/size/w256h256/2023/01/Artboard-4.png)Beautiful Public DataJon Keegan![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/03/fusion-header-6.png)](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/the-mirror-fusion-test-facility/) [The Pillbox DatabaseThe National Library of Medicine’s Pillbox dataset contained 8,693 photographs of pills, with an accompanying database of drug information. It was built to help with the identification of unknown pills.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/size/w256h256/2023/01/Artboard-4.png)Beautiful Public DataJon Keegan![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-24-at-11.29.58-PM-2.png)](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/the-pillbox-database/) [Special Database 18: 3,248 Mugshots Used for Training Image Recognition SystemsThe National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has maintained a dataset of mugshot photos of 1,573 people for decades, including 175 minors, until we asked about them.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/size/w256h256/2023/01/Artboard-4.png)Beautiful Public DataJon Keegan![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/03/nist-mugshots-header.png)](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/nist-special-database-18-3-248-mugshots-used-for-training-image-recognition-systems/) [Highway PhotologsThe highway departments of almost every state in the U.S. ran “photolog” programs, some dating back as early as 1961\. Specialized vans with cameras documented each mile of roadway in their states.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/size/w256h256/2023/01/Artboard-4.png)Beautiful Public DataJon Keegan![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/08/CT_ROUTE_1985_1NF_11724_11724-2.JPG)](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/highway-photologs/) If you know of any other cool visual information that your government collects, let me know (📫 [beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com](mailto:beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com)) and I’ll try to get a hold of it via public records requests where possible (like I did for many of the things you see here). Thanks! 🖖🏻 *Jon Keegan* ### Subscribe to Beautiful Public Data URL: https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/subscribe/ Last updated: 2024-02-07T18:10:07.000Z With each issue of **Beautiful Public Data**, I take you deep into the archives of government agencies and surface visually interesting datasets. I explain the nature of the data, who collected it and why. I look for the unusual details, and present the images for your delight and illumination. There's a fair bit of reporting, research and often a lot of work processing the visuals with code and graphics tools for each post, so I aim publish every two weeks or so. ### "A cornucopia of delights" The Washington Post columnist [**Philip Bump**](https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/philip-bump/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) wrote about **Beautiful Public Data** recently in his excellent “[How to Read This Chart](https://www.washingtonpost.com/newsletters/how-to-read-this-chart/?method=SURL&location=PER&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)” newsletter: > *“But as I explored that great article, I wound up discovering that the entire site is an absolute gem of content. Called Beautiful Public Data, it does what it says on the tin: takes government data and shows it to you. And it is just a cornucopia of delights that I can only assume was created specifically to appeal to my preferences.* > *Perhaps afraid that I would be insufficiently enthusiastic about the project, Keegan also includes snippets of explanation about how the visualizations were made and where the data came from. It really is an entirely terrific project.”* [Subscribe to Beautiful Public Data!](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/subscribe#/portal/) ### Some of the beautiful public data we have covered [The United States Frequency Allocation ChartThis crazy, beautiful chart illustrates the incredible complexity of managing one of our nation’s most crucial – and invisible – national assets: the radio spectrum.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/size/w256h256/2023/01/Artboard-4.png)Beautiful Public DataJon Keegan![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-04-at-11.48.50-PM.png)](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/the-united-states-radio-frequency-allocation-chart/) [The Style Guide for America’s Highways: The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control DevicesDriving across America, you will encounter a wide variety of cultures, landscapes, people and animals. But the one consistent thing that will stay the same from Maine to California are the signs you pass on the highway. That is because America’s roads and highways have a big, fat style guide.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/size/w256h256/2023/01/Artboard-4.png)Beautiful Public DataJon Keegan![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/01/CRASH_HEADER-3k-2.jpg)](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/the-style-guide-for-americas-highways-mutcd/) [The Mirror Fusion Test FacilityA decade-long effort to build a machine to unlock the promise of nuclear fusion fell victim to budget constraints and competing science, and was shut down the day it was dedicated. It was never turned on.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/size/w256h256/2023/01/Artboard-4.png)Beautiful Public DataJon Keegan![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/03/fusion-header-6.png)](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/the-mirror-fusion-test-facility/) [The Pillbox DatabaseThe National Library of Medicine’s Pillbox dataset contained 8,693 photographs of pills, with an accompanying database of drug information. It was built to help with the identification of unknown pills.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/size/w256h256/2023/01/Artboard-4.png)Beautiful Public DataJon Keegan![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-24-at-11.29.58-PM-2.png)](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/the-pillbox-database/) [Special Database 18: 3,248 Mugshots Used for Training Image Recognition SystemsThe National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has maintained a dataset of mugshot photos of 1,573 people for decades, including 175 minors, until we asked about them.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/size/w256h256/2023/01/Artboard-4.png)Beautiful Public DataJon Keegan![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/03/nist-mugshots-header.png)](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/nist-special-database-18-3-248-mugshots-used-for-training-image-recognition-systems/) [Highway PhotologsThe highway departments of almost every state in the U.S. ran “photolog” programs, some dating back as early as 1961\. Specialized vans with cameras documented each mile of roadway in their states.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/size/w256h256/2023/01/Artboard-4.png)Beautiful Public DataJon Keegan![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/08/CT_ROUTE_1985_1NF_11724_11724-2.JPG)](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/highway-photologs/) ### Thank you. URL: https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/thank-you/ Last updated: 2024-09-27T00:55:50.000Z _This page is for subscribers only._ ## Posts ### The Visible Human Project URL: https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/the-visible-human-project/ Last updated: 2026-10-13T14:12:21.000Z ![A collage of images from the visible human project showing human cadaver cross sections](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2026/10/Screenshot-2026-10-09-at-1.28.17---AM-1.png) Images from the Visible Human Project. Source: [The Visible Human Project / National Library of Medicine](https://www.nlm.nih.gov/research/visible/visible%5Fhuman.html?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) ***⚠️ Content warning: The images in this post could be upsetting to some readers.*** It’s really weird that we don’t know what is going on inside our bodies. Most of us don’t have a clear idea where our various organs are (let alone their actual functions). At the risk of grossing you all out a bit, let’s take a look deep inside the human body. The National Institutes of Health’s National Library of Medicine maintains a valuable and unique dataset that gives viewers an extremely clear picture of what lies beneath our skin. Created to “produce a system of knowledge structures that will transparently link visual knowledge forms to symbolic knowledge formats such as the names of body parts”, the [Visible Human Project](https://www.nlm.nih.gov/research/visible/visible%5Fhuman.html?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) is a public dataset that consists of thousands of color photos and scans of two sliced-up human cadavers — one man and one woman. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2026/10/a_vm1071.png) Cross section of the male cadaver's head. The note indicates that it is slice number 71 of the fourth block. Source: [The Visible Human Project / National Library of Medicine](https://www.nlm.nih.gov/research/visible/visible%5Fhuman.html?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) Starting in 1993, researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus froze the male cadaver, then sliced it up at intervals of 1mm resulting in 1,871 photos. The following year, they did the same with a female cadaver, but at a much higher resolution, slicing at 0.33mm intervals resulting in 5,189 slices. For viewers studying medicine, the frames hold valuable information, allowing granular inspection of how different organs appear in a real body. In addition to the photographs taken by a regular film camera, each body was also captured via MRI and CT scans. 0:00 /1:02 1× Animated sequence of the male cadaver from head to toe. Image source: [The Visible Human Project / National Library of Medicine](https://www.nlm.nih.gov/research/visible/visible%5Fhuman.html?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) The slices are axial in direction — looking top down on the body. The first images are the very top of the scalp, and the last are the toes and feet. When you watch these frames animated in sequence, the swirls of muscle, fat, and bone explode in abstract patterns. The images are a bit gross at first. Watching them, I feel a mix of fascination and confusion trying to figure out exactly what part of the body I am looking at. 0:00 /0:09 1× Source: [The Visible Human Project / National Library of Medicine](https://www.nlm.nih.gov/research/visible/visible%5Fhuman.html?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) Some parts are very recognizable — the symmetrical hemispheres of the brain are easy to spot, and occasionally you are surprised to recognize the eyes, the heart, or the fingers. The process was complex: each body was placed in a box, and surrounded with a fast-hardening foam for the scans. After scanning, the box containing the body was frozen. Then the body was cut into four equal-sized blocks. The hardened foam was removed, and each block was placed in a special mold, and filled with a solution of water and gelatin, then frozen to -70C. The frozen blocks were then placed in a custom-made “cryomacrotome” — a specialized device for cutting and imaging specimens slice-by-slice. After each cut, the block was moved to a photographic chamber where the new slice was imaged. A paper describing the process offers more detail: > “In the photographic chamber, each freshly cut surface of the block was flushed with compressed air and examined for defects. Uncut fragments of tendons, fascia, etc., were removed and exposed cavities (e.g. sinuses, trachea, and colon) filled with latex and uncut fragments of tendons, fascia, etc., were trimmed and removed. When the surface was judged to be suitable for photography, it was sprayed with absolute alcohol and surrounded with a black mask, slice number, and a calibrated grey scale.” – “[The visible human male: a technical report](https://doi.org/10.1136/jamia.1996.96236280?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)” \* When the slices are all stacked together, you can also generate a full-body “coronal” view showing slices from the front of the body to the back. This lets medical students examine the cadavers from more than one direction. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2026/10/Screenshot-2026-10-08-at-5.45.31---PM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2026/10/Screenshot-2026-10-08-at-5.44.56---PM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2026/10/Screenshot-2026-10-08-at-5.44.12---PM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2026/10/Screenshot-2026-10-08-at-5.48.39---PM.png) Stills from a video showing the process of preparing a cadaver for imaging. Source: [The Visible Human Project / National Library of Medicine](https://www.nlm.nih.gov/research/visible/visible%5Fhuman.html?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) # Who were these people? So after staring at every inch of the insides of these two humans, you might ask — who were they? The identities of the donors were meant to be kept private. But back when the project was announced, the identity of the male was quickly discovered: 39-year-old Joseph Paul Jernigan. Jernigan was a convicted murderer who was [executed](https://www.nytimes.com/1993/08/06/us/texas-is-executed-for-slaying-a-man-in-burglary.html?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) at the Huntsville Unit state penitentiary in Huntsville, TX on August 5, 1993 for killing Edward Hale, 75 of Dawson, TX during a botched robbery in 1981\. Jernigan reportedly decided to donate his body to science at the suggestion of the prison chaplain, but it isn’t clear if he knew how it would be used. ![Scan of a prison record document for Joseph Paul Jernigan, featuring his black and white mugshot. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2026/10/jernigan.jpg) Prison record for Joseph Paul Jernigan. Source: Texas Department of Corrections. Dr. Victor M. Spitzer led the University of Colorado team that created the images. In an 2017 [interview](https://archive.is/0UuId?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com#selection-9177.106-9177.113) with National Geographic, he described the two-year search for the male donor: > “We were looking for a normal body, less than six feet tall, with no trauma or previous surgery. The body had to be fresh. And what could be fresher than someone who is going to die on schedule? For this we needed a source. Which happened to be death row.” The identity of the woman remains anonymous, but it was reported that she was a 59-year-old white woman who died of a heart attack, who lived in Maryland. Reportedly, the woman’s husband made the decision to donate her body to the project. ![A black and white 3-D rendering showing head and shoulder views of the male and female donors ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2026/10/Screenshot-2026-10-08-at-10.55.31---PM.png) A 3-D rendering of the Visible Human Project's male and female cadavers reconstructed from slices. Data: [The Visible Human Project](https://www.nlm.nih.gov/research/visible/visible%5Fhuman.html?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) Even though the dataset is over 30 years old, it is still widely used. The dataset has been licensed over 4,000 times, and has been incorporated into many teaching aids and training materials. # Willing donor In 2015, Spitzer’s lab received a new kind of donor. Susan Potter, an 87 year-old Colorado woman who sold flowers near the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center had read about the project, and volunteered her body to be part of the project upon her death. Her years of persistence succeeded, and she forged a friendship with Spitzer. Potter insisted that she inspect the tools and machines that would slice her body up. Potter had survived cancer and other serious illnesses, and her body offered the project a more realistic specimen of a human, complete with the scars and implants from nearly nine decades of a challenging life. ### Merch featuring data from our stories [ ![MUTCD highway signs shirt](https://shop.beautifulpublicdata.com/cdn/shop/files/unisex-garment-dyed-heavyweight-t-shirt-black-front-6a234276e9c6a.jpg?v=1780697108&width=1646) New MUTCD highway signs tee Source: FHWA Hundreds of the signs you drive past every day, straight from the style guide for America's highways. Get the shirt → ](https://shop.beautifulpublicdata.com/products/highway-signs-t-shirt?utm%5Fsource=newsletter&utm%5Fmedium=embed&utm%5Fcampaign=3-panel-ad) [ ![USGS geologic map shirt](https://shop.beautifulpublicdata.com/cdn/shop/files/unisex-garment-dyed-heavyweight-t-shirt-black-front-6a2396d1a3d07_1492f723-080d-439b-b744-ee5adf7390d5.png?v=1780973774) New New York USGS geologic map tee Source: USGS A beautiful map of New York's unqiue geology on a tee, featuring data from the USGS' most detailed visualization of the geology of United States to date. Get the shirt → ](https://shop.beautifulpublicdata.com/products/new-york-state-geology-map-t-shirt?utm%5Fsource=newsletter&utm%5Fmedium=embed&utm%5Fcampaign=3-panel-ad) [ ![AIS vessel tracks print](https://shop.beautifulpublicdata.com/cdn/shop/files/il_fullxfull.6328384598_5ljv.jpg?v=1780620416&width=1646) SoCal AIS vessel tracks framed print Source: NOAA A year of ship traffic on the U.S. coastline, accumulated into a single dense image. Features Los Angeles and the Southern California coastline. Get the print → ](https://shop.beautifulpublicdata.com/products/southern-california-ship-traffic-map?utm%5Fsource=newsletter&utm%5Fmedium=embed&utm%5Fcampaign=3-panel-ad) National Geographic followed Potter on her journey in the last 15 years of her life after she was accepted as a donor to the project, with a series of striking photos. Potter’s body bore the marks of a double mastectomy, twenty-six surgeries, and a hip replacement (which had to be removed before the slicing). You can watch a 2018 documentary about Potter and her donation here *Content warning: some of the photos in this video might be disturbing to some readers*. Potter has been immortalized in the project, and advances in technology since the start of the project allowed for each slice of her body to be thinner than a human hair, resulting in over 27,000 images. Extensive interviews with Potter are included as part of her contribution to the project, which will help medical students connect a real person to the images they will be learning from. In an interview for the project, Potter summed up what she hoped to achieve with her donation: > “It's easy to write a prescription. It's easy to give an injection, or to take you to the surgery and cut you up. That's all easy, there's more to it than that. And that is my project through the visible woman — to bring information and teaching to the medical profession, to the entire healthcare profession.” \*(*Spitzer V, Ackerman MJ, Scherzinger AL, Whitlock D. The visible human male: a technical report. J Am Med Inform Assoc. 1996 Mar-Apr;3(2):118-30\. doi: 10.1136/jamia.1996.96236280\. PMID: 8653448; PMCID: PMC116294*) 🙏🏻 ****Did you enjoy this post?** You can subscribe to our newsletter to get future posts delivered to your inbox for free. 👉🏻 📫 [Subscribe now](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/subscribe#/portal/). ****☕️ Buy me a coffee** Say thanks with a [one time tip](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/#/portal/support). ****Sharing is caring** 📣 If you think your followers or friends may like it, please consider sharing it. 👕🖼️ ****Buy Beautiful Public Data merch on our** [****shop**](https://shop.beautifulpublicdata.com/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)****.** Unique [t-shirts](https://shop.beautifulpublicdata.com/collections/t-shirts-hoodies?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) and [prints](https://shop.beautifulpublicdata.com/collections/framed-prints?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) inspired by our stories 🙋🏻‍♀️ If you have any suggestions, comments or requests, please email them to [beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com](mailto:beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com) Thanks for reading! \- Jon Keegan Bluesky: [@jonkeegan.com](https://bsky.app/profile/jonkeegan.com?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) 👨🏻‍💻 ****Nerdbox** For this post, I used Claude Code extensively to help download and process the imagery from the dataset. I grabbed all of the high-resolution frames from the NLH website, and created animations of them all in sequence using [ffmpeg](https://www.ffmpeg.org/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). I then generated a "coronal" animation showing the front-facing full-body view of the slices. I loaded up the STL files in [PrusaSlicer](https://www.prusa3d.com/p/prusaslicer/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) and took a screenshot of the models. To generate the 3-D models of the cadavers, the head and shoulder images were processed to remove the blue support material and generate geometry for 3-D models. Generating the models from the images is a perfect example of a complex image processing task that I would have previously dismissed as not worth the effort, but Claude Code was able to do this on the first try. You can download the python scripts I used for this post [here](https://github.com/jonkeegan/visible-human-tools?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). ### WWII Tank, Aircraft, and Ship Identification Guides URL: https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/wwii-tank-aircraft-and-ship-identification-guides/ Last updated: 2026-09-24T14:06:27.000Z ![a quilt of black plane and tank silhouettes against a white background](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2026/09/tanks-planes-header-1.png) Some of the vehicle silhouettes from WWII US War Department identification guide "FM 30-40 Recognition Pictorial Manual on Armored Vehicles." Source: [Archive.org](https://archive.org/details/Fm30-401943) In the skies, seas, and battlefields of World War II, hundreds of different vehicles of all shapes and sizes meant US soldiers needed a fast way to tell which side a tank, plane, or ship was fighting for. The US War Department published a series of pictorial identification guides to train soldiers to quickly distinguish friend from foe. “Before the outbreak of this war few realized the grave problems of recognition: Since then, mistakes in recognition, on the sea, on land, and in the air, have been too numerous to mention,” reads a 1943 “Recognition Pictorial Manual on Armored Vehicles.” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2026/09/Fm30-401943_p166.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2026/09/Fm30-401943_p157.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2026/09/Fm30-401943_p144.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2026/09/Fm30-401943_p090.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2026/09/Fm30-401943_p047.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2026/09/Fm30-401943_p109.png) Pages from WWII US War Department identification guide "FM 30-40 Recognition Pictorial Manual on Armored Vehicles." Source: [Archive.org](https://archive.org/details/Fm30-401943) The same guide explained why soldiers needed to study the distinctive characteristics of these vehicles: “What enables a person accurately and speedily to recognize a ship, a plane, or a tank? The process is no different from that of recognizing an automobile, a horse, a bird, or a friend. Ask yourself the question, ''When I see a friend walking down the street, do I look at every feature of him and, having gone through a process of analysis, I decide that it is Bill?" Obviously not. You know immediately that it is 'Bill" because you are *familiar* with his whole appearance, his various characteristics, and the way he stands or walks.” ### Tanks and Armored Vehicles Armored vehicles came in a crazy variety of shapes and sizes. The manual includes not only tanks, but armored personnel carriers and wheeled and tracked vehicles — sometimes combinations of both — equipped with weapons ranging from .50-caliber machine guns to massive 150 mm howitzers. Their distinctive combinations of angles, turrets, antennas, and gun barrels created silhouettes that could be recognized from a distance. Let’s look at an example page from an armored vehicle manual. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2026/09/Fm30-401943_p113.png) A page from WWII US War Department identification guide "FM 30-40 Recognition Pictorial Manual on Armored Vehicles." Source: [Archive.org](https://archive.org/details/Fm30-401943) Each page presents crisp black silhouettes rendered at a consistent scale: viewed from 5 yards away, a silhouette represents the vehicle as it would appear at 400 yards. Top, front, and side views are marked with measurements, alongside detailed statistics on the vehicle’s weapons, armor, and distinctive features. At the bottom, a diagram shows the vehicle’s top speed, bridge-crossing weight classification, the steepest slope it can climb, and the maximum width of a trench it can cross. ### Aircraft The task of identifying aircraft is complicated by the many angles that soldiers could be viewing an enemy plane from — is a pilot looking down on the plane parked at an airfield? Is it turning toward the viewer in a three-quarter view? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2026/09/Fm30-30_p009.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2026/09/Fm30-30_p010.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2026/09/Fm30-30_p145.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2026/09/Fm30-30_p021.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2026/09/Fm30-30_p183.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2026/09/Fm30-30_p157.png) Pages from WWI US War Department "FM 30-30 Aircraft Recognition Pictorial Manual" Source: [Archive.org](https://archive.org/details/Fm30-30/page/n7/mode/2up) One aircraft identification guide highlighted the unique challenges of identifying planes: “The Air Forces, both of the Army and the Navy, have even more problems to solve because the views from which crews may see the enemy are not confined to those from underneath. The fighter pilot may hope to dive on the enemy from above and behind, but to him the underneath view is important, too. The tail gunner needs the head-on view. All must know their aircraft well. In a completely different category are the photographic interpreters who have to recognize the top-plan views of aircraft dispersed on air-dromes or in ports.” If you thought the variety of tanks was wild, the mix of aircraft was even crazier. Troops peering through binoculars scanned the skies for fighters and bombers with distinctive wings, tails, fuselages, guns, and engines. Heavy bombers, transport planes, seaplanes, and single-engine dive bombers filled the skies, often leaving troops far less time to make an identification. And it wasn’t just soldiers who needed to identify aircraft. Civilian plane spotters watching the skies over England and the East and West coasts of the US also needed detailed information. ### Merch featuring data from our stories [ ![MUTCD highway signs shirt](https://shop.beautifulpublicdata.com/cdn/shop/files/unisex-garment-dyed-heavyweight-t-shirt-black-front-6a234276e9c6a.jpg?v=1780697108&width=1646) New MUTCD highway signs tee Source: FHWA Hundreds of the signs you drive past every day, straight from the style guide for America's highways. Get the shirt → ](https://shop.beautifulpublicdata.com/products/highway-signs-t-shirt?utm%5Fsource=newsletter&utm%5Fmedium=embed&utm%5Fcampaign=3-panel-ad) [ ![USGS geologic map shirt](https://shop.beautifulpublicdata.com/cdn/shop/files/unisex-garment-dyed-heavyweight-t-shirt-black-front-6a2396d1a3d07_1492f723-080d-439b-b744-ee5adf7390d5.png?v=1780973774) New New York USGS geologic map tee Source: USGS A beautiful map of New York's unqiue geology on a tee, featuring data from the USGS' most detailed visualization of the geology of United States to date. Get the shirt → ](https://shop.beautifulpublicdata.com/products/new-york-state-geology-map-t-shirt?utm%5Fsource=newsletter&utm%5Fmedium=embed&utm%5Fcampaign=3-panel-ad) [ ![AIS vessel tracks print](https://shop.beautifulpublicdata.com/cdn/shop/files/il_fullxfull.6328384598_5ljv.jpg?v=1780620416&width=1646) SoCal AIS vessel tracks framed print Source: NOAA A year of ship traffic on the U.S. coastline, accumulated into a single dense image. Features Los Angeles and the Southern California coastline. Get the print → ](https://shop.beautifulpublicdata.com/products/southern-california-ship-traffic-map?utm%5Fsource=newsletter&utm%5Fmedium=embed&utm%5Fcampaign=3-panel-ad) ### War and WEFT Developed in England, the “WEFT” system offered a framework for identifying aircraft based on four main components — Wings, Engine, Fuselage, and Tail. The system encouraged trainees to memorize the distinguishing features of each component. A series of training films with animated diagrams was made to help teach aircraft identification. ![Poster, Military Aviation, WEFT IS A SYSTEM FOR AIRCRAFT IDENTIFICATION. Features several aircraft and components like wings, tails and fuselage. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2026/09/NASM-A19960580000cp02.jpg) Source: [Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum](https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-media/NASM-A19960580000cp02?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) While the US armed forces embraced WEFT as a training tool, researchers also experimented with systems based on the psychology of visual perception. Samuel Renshaw, a psychologist at Ohio State University, developed a radically different approach to rapid aircraft recognition. The Renshaw method, later known as the “Flash System of Instant Recognition,” used a tachistoscope — a device that displayed images for precisely controlled periods of time. In the case of Renshaw’s research, images of planes were shown to subjects for as little as 1/100th of a second. According to a 1968 George Washington University [report](https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/676791.pdf?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) on aircraft-identification training, Renshaw believed repeated flashes encouraged trainees to memorize the plane’s overall shape rather than WEFT’s individual components. Renshaw’s method was adopted by the US Navy in 1942, but questions lingered about the best way to teach this kind of rapid identification. Eventually studies showed that Renshaw’s method was less effective than longer exposures, and hybrid methods of training were adopted, to be followed later by competing approaches such as the [Sargeant System](https://archive.org/details/DTIC%5FAD0758875/page/24/mode/2up), which used books of aircraft photographs grouped by visual similarity for self-directed study. Ships posed a different recognition problem. ### Ships “With planes, all three views are of nearly equal importance for correct identification, but in ship recognition, the use of the beam, or side view silhouette, is by far the most important. If the beam silhouette is thoroughly known, the ship can be recognized from either the surface or the air.” East Carolina University Digital Collections has a rich collection of naval vessel identification cards from the US Navy’s Division of Naval Intelligence. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2026/09/default--1-.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2026/09/default--3-.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2026/09/default--17-.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2026/09/default--10-.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2026/09/default--14-.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2026/09/00011462_0557.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2026/09/00011462_0314.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2026/09/00011462_0515.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2026/09/00011462_0450.jpg) United States War Department Recognition pictorial manual. Jun. 1943\. Robert L. Ghormley Papers. 1153-s7-ss1-b26-fc. [East Carolina University Digital Collections](https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/6346?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). The [collection](https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/6346?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) includes American, British, German, Japanese, Siamese, and Italian vessels ranging from small transport craft to massive aircraft carriers. Many of the included photographs show ships painted with “dazzle” camouflage – bold geometric patterns designed not to hide a ship but to break up its outline, making the vessel's range, speed, and heading hard to judge. The cards are beautifully designed and cram a huge amount of data onto each page, complete with detailed illustrations from the top and from the side. ![A ship identification card for a Japanese Nachi-class ship, showing schematics and different views of the ship. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2026/09/00011462_0353.jpg) United States. War Department. Recognition pictorial manual . Jun. 1943\. Robert L. Ghormley Papers. 1153-s7-ss1-b26-fc. [East Carolina University Digital Collections](https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/6346?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). Diagrams show the placement and caliber of each ship’s armaments, along with its “density of fire” — the angles from which the ship could bring the greatest amount of firepower to bear. Other diagrams detail the vessel’s armor, engine speed, and overall dimensions. 🙏🏻 ****Did you enjoy this post?** You can subscribe to our newsletter to get future posts delivered to your inbox for free. 👉🏻 📫 [Subscribe now](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/subscribe#/portal/). ****☕️ Buy me a coffee** Say thanks with a [one time tip](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/#/portal/support). ****Sharing is caring** 📣 If you think your followers or friends may like it, please consider sharing it. 👕🖼️ ****Buy Beautiful Public Data merch on our** [****shop**](https://shop.beautifulpublicdata.com/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)****.** Unique [t-shirts](https://shop.beautifulpublicdata.com/collections/t-shirts-hoodies?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) and [prints](https://shop.beautifulpublicdata.com/collections/framed-prints?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) inspired by our stories 🙋🏻‍♀️ If you have any suggestions, comments or requests, please email them to [beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com](mailto:beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com) Thanks for reading! \- Jon Keegan Bluesky: [@jonkeegan.com](https://bsky.app/profile/jonkeegan.com?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) ### 50,000 boat names URL: https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/boat-names/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T12:00:09.000Z ![A colorful visualization of dozens of boat names in ship shapes against a blue background](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2026/08/boat-names-header-4.png) A smattering of boat names found in NOAA's Marine Cadastre data set. Source: [NOAA](https://hub.marinecadastre.gov/pages/vesseltraffic?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). Visualization: Jon Keegan/Beautiful Public Data. In the vast ocean of government datasets that I trawl through, I am always on the lookout for moments where people express themselves, leaving behind their own little datum of personality. These tiny expressions of creativity show up all over public datasets. Air traffic controllers choose [funny names](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/trump-naughty-faa-waypoints/) for airplane navigation waypoints. [Rejected vanity](https://nypost.com/2026/01/10/us-news/dmv-shared-list-of-rejected-2025-personalized-plate-requests/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) [license plate](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/all-of-the-license-plates-in-the-united-states/) registrations turn up in state motor vehicle databases. The names we pick for our dogs appear in local [licensing databases](https://data.cityofnewyork.us/Health/NYC-Dog-Licensing-Dataset/nu7n-tubp/about%5Fdata?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), and the Social Security Administration even publishes the most [popular names](https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) we give our children. And if you own a boat, you get to name that too. I went through several years’ worth of NOAA vessel traffic data and pulled a sample of more than 50,000 boat names that were broadcast via Automatic Identification System (AIS) transmitters, which are typically found on larger and commercial vessels. The collection of names is chock full of clever puns, dirty jokes, and references to TV shows, movies, songs, and mythological figures. These names also offer glimpses of the wealth and professions of the people who own a boat. **⛵️🔎 Search all 50,000 boat names, browse by category, or hit random and see what floats to the top 👇🏻** Most commercial vessels 65 feet and over are required to broadcast their precise location and identity using AIS (which lets me make these [cool maps](https://shop.beautifulpublicdata.com/collections/framed-prints?utm-source=boat-name-post&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)), but plenty of recreational boaters broadcast anyway, by choice. These names were collected from NOAA’s Marine Cadastre “[broadcast points](https://hub.marinecadastre.gov/pages/vesseltraffic?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)” vessel traffic data. NOAA captures AIS data from terrestrial stations along US waterways, so any boat transmitting AIS within range of those stations may show up in the data may show up in this data, though the vast majority don’t transmit a vessel name. Boat owners don’t necessarily have to submit these names to NOAA — AIS vessel names aren’t a comprehensive government registry of boat names. Out of roughly 150,000 unique boats I sampled, only about 50,000 had names. There are a lot of different kinds of boats in this data, but recreational “pleasure craft” make up about 43% of the boats, followed by cargo ships at 14%. There are also fishing boats, tugs and towboats, passenger ships and ferries, as well as military and search and rescue vessels. About 12% of US households — roughly 14.5 million — were estimated to own or co-own a recreational boat in 2018, according to a [US Coast Guard survey](https://uscgboating.org/library/recreational-boating-servey/NRBSS-Exposure-Survey-Final-Report-20201130-v3.0.pdf?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). So who owns boats in the US? The latest edition survey of this survey, from 2018, tells us more about this group. Of boat-owning households, 82.9% were white, while 0.8% were Black or African American. Boat owners’ lives are reflected in their vessels’ names. Owning a boat is not cheap — yearly expenses can run between [$15,000 and $40,000](https://www.boattrader.com/research/the-cost-of-boat-ownership-planning-your-budget-for-the-year/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). That leads to plenty of names your favorite hedge fund manager might slap on a yacht: LIQUID ASSETS, BLUE CHIP III, PORT FOLIO, TRADE DESK, RISK & REWARD, MUTUAL FUN, 401(PLAY). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/11/bpd-dem-header.jpg) ## Sign up for Beautiful Public Data A curated selection of visually interesting datasets collected by local, state and federal government agencies. Totally free! By Jon Keegan. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. We've covered license plates, nuclear weapons, moon rocks, highway signs, volcano drones, undersea surveys and prescription pills. If you like this post, you will enjoy this newsletter. Lawyers and judges at sea might use these names: LAW DAWG, PRO BONO, MOTION GRANTED, CASE CLOSED, OVERRULED, TESTIMONY, NAUT2GUILTY, and DUE DILIGENCE. And plenty of names your doctor or surgeon might pick: The CADUCEUS is a well-known symbol of medicine (though the traditional medical symbol is the Rod of ASCLEPIUS). A neurologist probably used SPIKE AND WAVE, then there’s SEROTONIN and the fisherman’s favorite feel-good hormone, ENDORFIN. If you call the DOC ON THE BAY, always remember to follow your DOCTOR’S ORDERS. ## Feeling Knotty There’s no shortage of spicy boat names. You’ll find lots of naughty-nautical wordplay like NAUTI-BOY and GET KNOTTY. There’s LOVE MACHINE 7, SEA SLUT II, and SCREAMING O. Maybe you’ll see HOOTER PATROL III, FRISKY LADY or THICK CHICK looking for some AFTERNOON DELIGHT. You can also find WET DREAM, WETTER THE BETTER and WET TUSH. ## Books Some captains draw inspiration from a more highbrow source like classic literature: the protagonist of Hemingway’s *The Old Man and the Sea*, SANTIAGO, Don Quixote’s GOOD OL SANCHO, Mark Twain’s TOM SAWYER (or a [Rush](https://youtu.be/7hCUZZmEbCI?si=-VZGOrTxlN7dz5sk&t=59) reference?) and HUCK FINN II, the Soviet sub in Tom Clancy’s *The Hunt for* RED OCTOBER, Dickens’ *A Christmas Carol* gives us MARLEY'S GHOST, *Beowulf*’s monster GRENDEL, a nod to Steinbeck’s *East of Eden*: TIMSHEL, Pushkin’s *Eugene* ONEGIN, and King Arthur’s ship PRYDWEN. As a Tolkien fan, I wasn’t surprised to see lots of references to *The Lord of the Rings*: Your favorite wizard GANDALF (aka MITHRANDIR) and his horse SHADOWFAX, and from the realm of the elves LADY GALADRIEL II, RIVENDELL, ARWEN, and IDRIL. And don’t forget the HOBBIT’s hero, BILBOAT BAGGINS, and his PRECIOUS. ### Merch featuring data from our stories [ ![MUTCD highway signs shirt](https://shop.beautifulpublicdata.com/cdn/shop/files/unisex-garment-dyed-heavyweight-t-shirt-black-front-6a234276e9c6a.jpg?v=1780697108&width=1646) New MUTCD highway signs tee Source: FHWA Hundreds of the signs you drive past every day, straight from the style guide for America's highways. Get the shirt → ](https://shop.beautifulpublicdata.com/products/highway-signs-t-shirt?utm%5Fsource=newsletter&utm%5Fmedium=embed&utm%5Fcampaign=3-panel-ad) [ ![USGS geologic map shirt](https://shop.beautifulpublicdata.com/cdn/shop/files/unisex-garment-dyed-heavyweight-t-shirt-black-front-6a2396d1a3d07_1492f723-080d-439b-b744-ee5adf7390d5.png?v=1780973774) New New York USGS geologic map tee Source: USGS A beautiful map of New York's unqiue geology on a tee, featuring data from the USGS' most detailed visualization of the geology of United States to date. Get the shirt → ](https://shop.beautifulpublicdata.com/products/new-york-state-geology-map-t-shirt?utm%5Fsource=newsletter&utm%5Fmedium=embed&utm%5Fcampaign=3-panel-ad) [ ![AIS vessel tracks print](https://shop.beautifulpublicdata.com/cdn/shop/files/il_fullxfull.6328384598_5ljv.jpg?v=1780620416&width=1646) SoCal AIS vessel tracks framed print Source: NOAA A year of ship traffic on the U.S. coastline, accumulated into a single dense image. Features Los Angeles and the Southern California coastline. Get the print → ](https://shop.beautifulpublicdata.com/products/southern-california-ship-traffic-map?utm%5Fsource=newsletter&utm%5Fmedium=embed&utm%5Fcampaign=3-panel-ad) ## Das Boot Some famous vessels from film make appearances: *Alien*’s space freighter NOSTROMO, Steve ZISSOU’s research ship BELAFONTE in *The Life Aquatic*, and Jack Sparrow’s BLACK PEARL. Spielberg’s JAWS gave us the famous line “you’re gonna need A BIGGER BOAT.” And someone decided to name their boat after the German submarine film DAS BOOT (German for “the boat”). There’s also Kubrick’s STRANGELOVE, Christopher Nolan’s INCEPTION, Miyazaki’s SPIRITED AWAY, Dorothy’s RUBY SLIPPERS, and *Citizen Kane*’s ROSEBUD. Movie quotes make appearances, too: *The Princess Bride*’s INCONCEIVABLE, Ice Cube’s line BYE FELICIA from *Friday*, and *Star Wars* fans will recognize ALMOST THERE. Names from the *Star Wars* universe are everywhere, with THE MANDALORIAN, KESSEL RUN, Wedge Antilles’ RED TWO, THE DARKSIDE, and many characters like CHEWBACCA, YODA, and LANDO. ## A three-hour tour Seafaring nerds of all stripes have also tapped into their favorite sci-fi titles for nautical inspiration: *Doctor Who*’s THE TARDIS, *Star Trek*’s IMPULSE POWER, HOLODECK 3, and Captain Picard’s famous line MAKE IT SO. *Gilligan’s Island* featured the boat behind that ill-fated three-hour tour — the S.S.MINNOW. Other favorite TV shows popped up as well including PARTY OF FIVE, THE OFFICE, UGLY BETTY, HAPPY DAYS, and FANTASY ISLAND. ## Festivus for the rest of us The TV show I found referenced most often was *Seinfeld*: You can find boats named after *Seinfeld* characters ELAINE, KRAMER, and THE “HELLO NEWMAN”. Deeper cuts include NO SOUP FOR YOU, MARBLE RYE, Frank Costanza’s SERENITY NOW and FESTIVUS, and MASTER OF MY DOMAIN, a nod to one of the show's best episodes. 👨🏻‍💻 ****Nerdbox** For this post, I processed a small sample of broadcast point data from NOAA's [Marine Cadastre](https://hub.marinecadastre.gov/pages/vesseltraffic?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) Vessel Traffic dataset. There are 17 years worth of daily AIS broadcast point data (about 300 GB per year). I thought 50,000 was a large enough sample to capture the range and variety of names in this data. I built a Jupyter notebook (Python) to process the data and analyze the names, and I used Claude Code to help categorize the names and build the interactive data browser. You can download the data used for this project [here](https://github.com/jonkeegan/boat-names-50k/tree/main?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). 🙏🏻 ****Did you enjoy this post?** You can subscribe to our newsletter to get future posts delivered to your inbox for free. 👉🏻 📫 [Subscribe now](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/subscribe#/portal/). ****☕️ Buy me a coffee** Say thanks with a [one time tip](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/#/portal/support). ****Sharing is caring** 📣 If you think your followers or friends may like it, please consider sharing it. 👕🖼️ ****Buy Beautiful Public Data merch on our** [****shop**](https://shop.beautifulpublicdata.com/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)****.** Unique [t-shirts](https://shop.beautifulpublicdata.com/collections/t-shirts-hoodies?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) and [prints](https://shop.beautifulpublicdata.com/collections/framed-prints?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) inspired by our stories 🙋🏻‍♀️ If you have any suggestions, comments or requests, please email them to [beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com](mailto:beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com) Thanks for reading! \- Jon Keegan Bluesky: [@jonkeegan.com](https://bsky.app/profile/jonkeegan.com?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) ### The footprints of every building in NYC URL: https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/the-footprints-of-every-building-in-nyc/ Last updated: 2026-07-21T12:41:26.000Z ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2026/07/footprints-header-1-1.jpg) Visualization: Jon Keegan / Beautiful Public Data. Data: [New York City Office of Technology and Innovation](https://www.nyc.gov/content/oti/pages/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) I can't believe this is the first time I am writing about an NYC dataset. The scale of New York City can be overwhelming. Over 8.5 million people are estimated to live in the five boroughs of NYC, squished into [300 square miles](https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/newyorkcitynewyork/POP060220?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com#POP060220), making it the most densely populated major city in the US. All of those people live and work in buildings of vastly different sizes and shapes — soaring skyscrapers, 200-year-old brownstones, single-story houses, and everything in between. As of July 13, 2026, there are 1,082,974 buildings that New York City tracks. Anyone who has spent any amount of time in NYC knows that the city is under a permanent state of construction, and demolition — massive new buildings just pop up out of nowhere all the time. The pace of change is so rapid in fact, that the [New York City Office of Technology and Innovation ](https://www.nyc.gov/content/oti/pages/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)(OTI) publishes *weekly* updates to one of its most fascinating datasets – the [footprints of every building in New York City](https://github.com/CityOfNewYork/nyc-geo-metadata/blob/main/Metadata/Metadata%5FBuildingFootprints.md?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). The OTI says that its accurate basemap provides “the foundation upon which virtually all other geospatial data within New York City government is registered.” ![blue building footprint shapes on a white background. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2026/07/wide-chinatown-bare.jpg) The bare shapes of the building footprints in the dataset. Data: [New York City Office of Technology and Innovation](https://www.nyc.gov/content/oti/pages/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) # What’s included in this data? Like I said — this dataset has all buildings in NYC. The OTI says it counts every building greater than 400 square feet, and taller than 12 feet. The items that aren’t counted: temporary trailers, tents, movable jet bridges, awnings, scaffolds, sidewalk sheds, and any backyard storage sheds. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2026/07/red-hook-alt.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2026/07/rikers-island.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2026/07/worlds-fair-queens.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2026/07/randalls-island.jpg) Clockwise from top left: Red Hook and Sunset Park, Brooklyn; Rikers Island; Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens; Randalls and Wards Islands, Manhattan. Visualizations: Jon Keegan / Beautiful Public Data. Data: [New York City Office of Technology and Innovation](https://www.nyc.gov/content/oti/pages/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) The dataset contains classifications for the structures. The vast majority are listed as buildings, but other types are in there as well. For example, one-fifth of the structures in the data are garages. 99% of buildings in the dataset have a construction date, so we can get a glimpse of when the busiest times for construction were (although this dataset only contains buildings that are still around today). Nearly a quarter of all existing New York City buildings were constructed in the 1920s. The height of the buildings in the dataset doesn't tell the full story of the city’s tallest buildings you might be familiar with. One World Trade Center’s enormous spire brought the total height of the building to a symbolic 1,776 feet. But in the data, the height of the roof is reported as 1,408 feet. The Council on Vertical Urbanism’s [Skyscraper Center](https://www.skyscrapercenter.com/building/one-world-trade-center/98?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) lists One World Trade’s “occupied” height at 1,268 feet. The discrepancy is likely due to what the photogrammetry defines as the roof. ![A colorful map showing the footprints and elevations of buildings in Long Island City, Queens](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2026/07/LIC.jpg) Long Island City, Queens. Visualization: Jon Keegan / Beautiful Public Data. Data: [New York City Office of Technology and Innovation](https://www.nyc.gov/content/oti/pages/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) # How is it collected? It may seem to be practically impossible to precisely measure so many buildings that change so fast. If you are picturing an army of city workers with tape measures, you have the wrong idea. The vast majority — about 93% — of the measurements of the city’s buildings are generated by photogrammetry (deriving 3D geometry from a series of photographs). The OTI’s [data dictionary](https://github.com/CityOfNewYork/nyc-geo-metadata/blob/main/Metadata/Metadata%5FBuildingFootprints.md?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) for the data says that annually captured oblique aerial imagery from Eagleview and ground-level panoramic photography from Cyclomedia are used to generate the measurements of the buildings, along with Department of Building research and other city records. The remainder of the building data is entered manually using other less accurate methods. According to the OTI, 95% of the footprint data is accurate to plus or minus two feet. [Subscribe to Beautiful Public Data!](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/subscribe#/portal/) # History There’s a lot of history in this data. The oldest building still standing today in NYC is in there — the [Pieter Claesen Wyckoff House](https://wyckoffmuseum.org/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, which was built in 1652\. ![1913 photo of the Pieter Claesen Wyckoff House in East Flatbush Brooklyn. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2026/07/sc_cousins_3118_fr_w.jpg) The oldest building in NYC that still stands today, the [Pieter Claesen Wyckoff House](https://wyckoffmuseum.org/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, which was constructed in 1652\. Photo: [NYC Landmarks Commission](https://www.nyc.gov/site/designcommission/archive/frank-cousins.page?detailId=42&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) NYC has been using aerial photography for over 100 years to catalog and measure the city. Thanks to some superb data preservation, you can explore some amazing aerial photography data [going back to 1924](https://nyc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/mapviewer/index.html?layers=afbb5db6b3fd494384357923e6c72622&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). And what about all of those buildings from the past are no longer with us? Don’t worry – there’s a dataset for that. NYC’s “[Building Historic](https://github.com/CityOfNewYork/nyc-geo-metadata/blob/main/Metadata/Metadata%5FBuildingHistoric.md?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)” dataset contains “buildings that have been demolished or significantly altered.” This dataset follows pretty much the same format as the current building footprints, but with an additional field for construction year or alteration year. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2026/07/governors-alt.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2026/07/MILL-BASIN.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2026/07/MSG.jpg) Left to right: Governor's Island; Mill Basin, Brooklyn; Midtown Manhattan. Visualization: Jon Keegan / Beautiful Public Data. Data: [New York City Office of Technology and Innovation](https://www.nyc.gov/content/oti/pages/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) Captured in this set of ghost buildings you will find whole city blocks that were stamped out of existence, like the one that contained my old Prospect Heights, Brooklyn neighborhood dive bar Freddie's, which was erased to build the Barclays Center and the Atlantic Yards project. ![A grey map with bright pink building footprints from buildings that have been demolished. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-19-at-6.25.57---PM.png) Some of the buildings that don't exist anymore from the NYC "Building Historic" dataset, including the original Prospect Heights location for Freddie's Bar 🥲. Looking at the buildings that were demolished that also had a construction date, we can calculate the lifespan of the buildings that are gone. 14 of the demolished buildings were over 200 years old. You can explore these missing buildings in an [interactive map here](https://nycmaps-nyc.hub.arcgis.com/datasets/nyc::building-historic/explore?location=40.681762%2C-73.973420%2C17&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). ## Layers upon layers of spatial data I loaded up the footprints shapefile into QGIS and created these visualizations that use a color scale to indicate elevation (the building roof). Brighter colors equals higher elevation. I also imported a full-city digital surface model (DSM), which is generated by LiDAR scans gathered by low-altitude airplane flights over the city. [How LiDAR measures the toll of climate disastersComparing LiDAR data from before and after the January 2025 fires in Los Angeles reveals the scale of devastation in ways satellite imagery can’t match.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/icon/Artboard-4-00491eb1-171e-4cb5-9bff-d381b9d7f372.png)Beautiful Public DataJon Keegan![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/thumbnail/wide-smaller-99e50017-9536-42c4-aea4-a11e45af66cf.jpg)](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/how-lidar-measures-the-toll-of-climate-disasters/) ![A black and white "hillshade" visualization of a NYC digital surface model of Manhattan's west side. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-19-at-12.55.12---PM.png) You can see cruise ships captured in this 2017 digital surface model of Manhattan's west side. Visualization: Jon Keegan / Beautiful Public Data. Data: [New York City Office of Technology and Innovation](https://www.nyc.gov/content/oti/pages/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) The DSM captures hills, trees, bridges (parts of them), train tracks, and even airplanes on the tarmac at JFK and LaGuardia. Combining this layer with the crisp building outlines makes for a vibrant map of the many elements of the physical city that are captured in this fascinating public data. ![A colorful visualization of JFK airport showing terminal buildings and planes connected via jetways to the terminals. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-19-at-12.57.54---PM.png) Planes and jetways lined up at JFK. The digital surface model from 2017 shows different building outlines from 2026's building footprints. Visualization: Jon Keegan / Beautiful Public Data. Data: [New York City Office of Technology and Innovation](https://www.nyc.gov/content/oti/pages/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) ### Merch featuring data from our stories [ ![MUTCD highway signs shirt](https://shop.beautifulpublicdata.com/cdn/shop/files/unisex-garment-dyed-heavyweight-t-shirt-black-front-6a234276e9c6a.jpg?v=1780697108&width=1646) New MUTCD highway signs tee Source: FHWA Hundreds of the signs you drive past every day, straight from the style guide for America's highways. Get the shirt → ](https://shop.beautifulpublicdata.com/products/highway-signs-t-shirt?utm%5Fsource=newsletter&utm%5Fmedium=embed&utm%5Fcampaign=3-panel-ad) [ ![USGS geologic map shirt](https://shop.beautifulpublicdata.com/cdn/shop/files/unisex-garment-dyed-heavyweight-t-shirt-black-front-6a2396d1a3d07_1492f723-080d-439b-b744-ee5adf7390d5.png?v=1780973774) New New York USGS geologic map tee Source: USGS A beautiful map of New York's unqiue geology on a tee, featuring data from the USGS' most detailed visualization of the geology of United States to date. Get the shirt → ](https://shop.beautifulpublicdata.com/products/new-york-state-geology-map-t-shirt?utm%5Fsource=newsletter&utm%5Fmedium=embed&utm%5Fcampaign=3-panel-ad) [ ![AIS vessel tracks print](https://shop.beautifulpublicdata.com/cdn/shop/files/il_fullxfull.6328384598_5ljv.jpg?v=1780620416&width=1646) SoCal AIS vessel tracks framed print Source: NOAA A year of ship traffic on the U.S. coastline, accumulated into a single dense image. Features Los Angeles and the Southern California coastline. Get the print → ](https://shop.beautifulpublicdata.com/products/southern-california-ship-traffic-map?utm%5Fsource=newsletter&utm%5Fmedium=embed&utm%5Fcampaign=3-panel-ad) 👨🏻‍💻 ****Nerdbox** For this post, I downloaded [shapefiles](https://github.com/CityOfNewYork/nyc-geo-metadata/blob/main/Metadata/Metadata%5FBuildingFootprints.md?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), and [DSM files](https://data.cityofnewyork.us/City-Government/Topobathymetric-LiDAR-Data-2017-/7sc8-jtbz/about%5Fdata?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) from NYC's fantastic, extensive [Open Data portal](https://opendata.cityofnewyork.us/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). I loaded them into [QGIS](https://www.qgis.org/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), and combined the building footprint shapefiles with the DSM file, which I applied a "singleband pseudocolor" color scale to visualize elevation. 🙏🏻 ****Did you enjoy this post?** You can subscribe to our newsletter to get future posts delivered to your inbox for free. 👉🏻 📫 [Subscribe now](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/subscribe#/portal/). ****☕️ Buy me a coffee** Say thanks with a [one time tip](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/#/portal/support). ****Sharing is caring** 📣 If you think your followers or friends may like it, please consider sharing it. 👕🖼️ ****Buy Beautiful Public Data merch on our** [****shop**](https://shop.beautifulpublicdata.com/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)****.** Unique [t-shirts](https://shop.beautifulpublicdata.com/collections/t-shirts-hoodies?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) and [prints](https://shop.beautifulpublicdata.com/collections/framed-prints?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) inspired by our stories 🙋🏻‍♀️ If you have any suggestions, comments or requests, please email them to [beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com](mailto:beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com) Thanks for reading! \- Jon Keegan Bluesky: [@jonkeegan.com](https://bsky.app/profile/jonkeegan.com?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) ### San Diego Photologs from the 1970s URL: https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/san-diego-photologs-from-the-1970s/ Last updated: 2026-07-21T20:00:34.000Z *A collection of beautiful, high-resolution photolog scans reveals a colorful world of pastel-colored cars and whimsical signage.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2026/06/san-diego-header-1.png) The very first post of this newsletter back in 2022 was about [Connecticut’s highway photologs](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/highway-photologs/) from the 1980s. Photologs were essentially an early, film-based version of Google Street View. Almost every state had one of these photolog programs with [tricked-out vans](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/photologging-vans/) logging every mile of road in their state, with some dating back to 1961\. The Connecticut footage is a time capsule of the mid 80’s, but the frames are pretty low-res and grainy. While digging through the Internet Archive, I discovered the crispest, [most beautiful photologs](https://archive.org/search?query=creator%3A%22San+Diego+Transportation+and+Storm+Water+Department%22) I've ever seen—captured in San Diego during the 1970s. Collected by the [San Diego Transportation and Storm Water Department](https://www.sandiego.gov/stormwater?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), these sharp scans right from the 35mm film source let you peek through a window into the sunny streets of San Diego, full of pastel-colored cars, family restaurants like Bonanza, and some colorful people caught unaware. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-18-at-11.48.25---PM.png) One frame from the San Diego 35mm photolog footage. The numbers at the bottom indicate the date, mileage, and direction. After poring over every frame of the ten videos in this collection, here are my takeaways: - 🥩 People ate a lot of steak at themed restaurants - 👯‍♀️ There were tons of strip clubs featuring “Go-go girls” - 🚗 The range of car colors was amazing, with tons of pastels, bright reds, and a wild variety of greens - 🤠 Signs for businesses were WAY more creative, and well-designed with great typography. And many were spinning. - 🦩 Our world has lost its sense of whimsy [Subscribe to Beautiful Public Data!](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/subscribe#/portal/) The original videos hosted on the Internet Archive look to be unaltered, and not adjusted for brightness. I took the liberty of doing some color correction, and boosting the contrast on these films. After removing the grey veil from this footage, I want to jump into this world—a version of Grand Theft Auto set in the sprawling San Diego of 1973. View the full ten minutes of footage here. Having grown up on the East Coast in the '70s and '80s, I find a lot of the businesses and landscapes unfamiliar. But some of the businesses like Jack-in-the-Box, Fotomat, Bonanza, and the 76 gas station ball all take me back. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2026/06/san-diego-panos.jpg) ## Nice bright colors I’m really struck by just *how colorful* everything was. There are some moments captured on these frames that are just incredible compositions of color, geometry, and type.The footage has a distinctly Wes Anderson vibe—the Futura road labels and the warm, sun-washed palette. You can almost imagine Bill Murray or Jason Schwartzman emerging from a perfectly centered emerald-green Datsun parked beneath the blazing pink signs of "LES GIRLS," advertising "BURLESQUE" and "HYPNO-SEX-ISM." ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-17-at-7.40.27---PM.png) LES GIRLS. BURLESQUE and HYPNO-SEX-ISM The cars just look so simple. Heavy steel and glass, seat belts nobody used, and a rainbow of shiny colors. Today, cars seem to come in three colors: white, silver, and black. That’s pretty much it. It is truly sad to see how far the typical car has fallen from the colorful options that even basic cars had. Though projects like [Slate auto’s DIY wraps](https://www.slate.auto/en/slatemaker?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) do give me hope for a more colorful automotive future. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2026/06/good_color_chips_quilt.jpg) Just look at the variety of colors from some of the cars on the streets of San Diego back in the early 1970s. Staring at these frames, I can almost imagine being there. Nobody is looking at a phone. You're rolling down Camino Del Rio smoking a Lark, listening to Rare Earth, before pulling into a Texaco to pay $0.34 per gallon for low-lead Fire Chief gas and fill up your "Mellow Yellow" AMC Gremlin. Later you will go see Charlton Heston in *The Omega Man* at the Frontier Drive-In. ## Signs of the time There is a dazzling array of signage in these frames. So many of the signs were motorized — actually spinning. Barber shops, fabric stores, dry cleaners, upholsterers, and tire shops all had beautifully made signs with inspired typography — to say nothing of their architecture. Comparing the rich variety of signs from these frames with today's bland storefronts makes me weep for an entire industry of sign-painters, neon shops, and fabricators that were probably killed by vinyl banners and LED-lit boxes. After absorbing all these signs, I emailed Aaron Draplin, acclaimed graphic designer and owner of [Draplin Design Co](https://www.draplin.com/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). Had he been born 20 years earlier, Draplin would be running a workshop making signs like these. His work celebrates the thick lines and bold design of this era, so I asked him — how did we lose all of this? Draplin sent me back a voice memo recorded on a walk: "Why those \[signs\] look different — 50 years ago, 40 years ago? Somewhere around 35 years ago, they become pretty predictable." What Draplin pointed to was the computer, and the precision it brought. > "Up to that point, you had the quality of the human element, the human error. That was beautiful. If you had to paint a sign, the spacing was off. Certain things were a little wider than they should be, but there's just a certain charm." Draplin said those imperfections just don't exist with today's tools — even though designers still chase that look. "So there's just this kind of perfect sprinkle of 'shitty' to that stuff...no amount of filters or texture tricks or whatever can sort of nail," said Draplin. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2026/06/signs-header-2.png) Some of the wonderful signs collected from the footage. Spinning, off-kilter Kentucky Fried Chicken buckets, creepy Jack-in-the-Box puppets, Giant Arby's cowboy hats, and Chuck Wagon's ALL YOU CAN EAT – IT'S DELICIOUS cartoon cowboy sign are all wonderful commercial kitsch lost to time. When I see all the people caught on these frames, going about their shopping, biking home from school, I wonder where they are today. These films appear to be from 1973\. One woman crossing the road was holding her baby, who I realized is probably my age today. ![A collage of people walking along the side of the street. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2026/06/people-sampler-1.png) Some of the people walking along the streets in the footage. Where are they now? ### Merch featuring data from our stories Use code **BPD15** for 15% until July 31, 2026. [ ![MUTCD highway signs shirt](https://shop.beautifulpublicdata.com/cdn/shop/files/unisex-garment-dyed-heavyweight-t-shirt-black-front-6a234276e9c6a.jpg?v=1780697108&width=1646) New MUTCD highway signs tee Source: FHWA Hundreds of the signs you drive past every day, straight from the style guide for America's highways. Get the shirt → ](https://shop.beautifulpublicdata.com/products/highway-signs-t-shirt?utm%5Fsource=newsletter&utm%5Fmedium=embed&utm%5Fcampaign=3-panel-ad) [ ![USGS geologic map shirt](https://shop.beautifulpublicdata.com/cdn/shop/files/unisex-garment-dyed-heavyweight-t-shirt-black-front-6a2396d1a3d07_1492f723-080d-439b-b744-ee5adf7390d5.png?v=1780973774) New New York USGS geologic map tee Source: USGS A beautiful map of New York's unqiue geology on a tee, featuring data from the USGS' most detailed visualization of the geology of United States to date. Get the shirt → ](https://shop.beautifulpublicdata.com/products/new-york-state-geology-map-t-shirt?utm%5Fsource=newsletter&utm%5Fmedium=embed&utm%5Fcampaign=3-panel-ad) [ ![AIS vessel tracks print](https://shop.beautifulpublicdata.com/cdn/shop/files/il_fullxfull.6328384598_5ljv.jpg?v=1780620416&width=1646) SoCal AIS vessel tracks framed print Source: NOAA A year of ship traffic on the U.S. coastline, accumulated into a single dense image. Features Los Angeles and the Southern California coastline. Get the print → ](https://shop.beautifulpublicdata.com/products/southern-california-ship-traffic-map?utm%5Fsource=newsletter&utm%5Fmedium=embed&utm%5Fcampaign=3-panel-ad) 👨🏻‍💻 ****Nerdbox** For this post, I used Claude Code to write Python scripts help extract cars, people and signs, which used Meta's [SAM2](https://github.com/facebookresearch/sam2?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) segmentation model. I used ImageMagick to make the image quilts. 🙏🏻 ****Did you enjoy this post?** You can subscribe to our newsletter to get future posts delivered to your inbox for free. 👉🏻 📫 [Subscribe now](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/subscribe#/portal/). ****☕️ Buy me a coffee** Say thanks with a [one time tip](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/#/portal/support). ****Sharing is caring** 📣 If you think your followers or friends may like it, please consider sharing it. 👕🖼️ ****Buy Beautiful Public Data merch on our** [****shop**](https://shop.beautifulpublicdata.com/?utm%5Fsource=bpd%5Fpost)****.** Unique [t-shirts](https://shop.beautifulpublicdata.com/collections/t-shirts-hoodies/?utm%5Fsource=bpd%5Fpost) and [prints](https://shop.beautifulpublicdata.com/collections/framed-prints/?utm%5Fsource=bpd%5Fpost) inspired by our stories 🙋🏻‍♀️ If you have any suggestions, comments or requests, please email them to [beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com](mailto:beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com) Thanks for reading! \- Jon Keegan Bluesky: [@jonkeegan.com](https://bsky.app/profile/jonkeegan.com?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) ### The USGS Cooperative National Geologic Map URL: https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/usgs-cooperative-national-geologic-map/ Last updated: 2026-06-25T17:12:05.000Z ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-03-at-9.57.34---PM-1.png) This summer, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) completed an ambitious project — the most detailed geologic map ever produced for the lower 48 states. The “[Cooperative National Geologic Map](https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/nationalgeology/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com#lat=37.0000&lng=-97.5000&zoom=4&theme=esurf&symbology=synthesis)” integrates decades of state survey data, letting the public see exactly what kinds of rocks lie beneath their feet. Researchers at the USGS developed a largely automated process to synthesize a new map from archival geologic maps drawn from multiple sources. Roughly 100 maps were compiled to generate the final product. Researchers had to contend with inconsistent rock-unit names and varying interpretations of their geologic ages. A standardized vocabulary brought consistency across states, and the many source databases were normalized so the datasets could be queried together. ![A diagram showing the process for how the Cooperative National Geologic Map was synthesized. Source: USGS ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-11-08-at-10.32.56---AM.png) A diagram showing the process for how the Cooperative National Geologic Map was synthesized. Source: [USGS](https://www.usgs.gov/news/national-news-release/usgs-unveils-new-national-geologic-map?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) The free, public-domain maps are used by government agencies and industries—from energy to real estate to civil engineering—to plan land use and manage mineral and natural resources. They also help identify hazards and assess vulnerabilities to threats such as landslides, earthquakes, and floods. The colorful maps are mesmerizing, offering a rich, detailed portrait of the American landscape. Bright boundaries of geologic zones that blot out any political borders seem to re-order the country into its natural state. The undulating bands of the Appalachian range as they ripple through Pennsylvania look like cross-sections of muscle tissue under a microscope, and river systems sprawl across the land leaving colorful paths of sediment. Each polygon’s shape reflects geologists’ interpretations of field observations, elevation models, and satellite imagery, most often synthesized from existing state geologic maps. Field observations typically involve geologists examining exposed rock outcrops up close — describing their composition, structures, and boundaries. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-11-30-at-11.46.39---PM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-11-03-at-9.56.59---PM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-11-03-at-9.56.51---PM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-11-03-at-9.56.40---PM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-11-03-at-9.55.43---PM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-11-03-at-9.55.32---PM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-11-03-at-9.58.01---PM.png) A recent analysis quantified the federal return on investment for producing these detailed geologic maps. According to a report from the [American Geosciences Institute](https://www.americangeosciences.org/news/press-releases/2025-march-geological-mapping-report/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)—“Economic Analysis of the Costs and Benefits of Geological Mapping in the United States of America from 1994 to 2019”—the maps deliver remarkable value. The report found: “Every dollar invested in geologic mapping returned about $7 to $10 in economic benefits, with a total investment of $1.99 billion fostering $20.61 billion in value.” The maps also proved popular, with more than 7 million copies downloaded or sold during the 25-year study period. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-11-07-at-5.23.08---PM.png) The project produced four distinct maps, each showing a different slice of America’s geology: - **Quaternary geology** — young surface deposits and rocks from 2.58 million years to the present - **Geology at the Earth’s surface** — exposed rocks and minerals visible on the ground - **Pre-Quaternary geology** — older rocks from before the Quaternary Period (older than 2.58 million years) - **Precambrian geology** — the oldest, deepest rocks, more than 541 million years old ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/12/USGS_1210_1.jpg) The full surface geology map. Source: [USGS](https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Prodesc/proddesc%5F118545.htm?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) Despite clear evidence of the maps’ economic value to government and industry, the USGS is facing steep cuts in the Fiscal Year 2026 budget. The FY25 budget allocated $46.3 million for the National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program, but the new spending bill slashes that funding by about 39%: > “USGS provides science information on natural hazards, ecosystems, water, energy and mineral resources, and mapping of Earth’s features. The Budget eliminates programs that provide grants to universities, duplicate other Federal research programs and focus on social agendas (e.g., climate change) to instead focus on achieving dominance in energy and critical minerals.” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/09/enhanced-matte-paper-framed-poster--in--black-16x20-person-66fa3ea0248e7.png) #### Buy Framed Prints of AIS Ship Visualizations Ships at sea are constantly broadcasting their real-time location, identification, speed, and orientation data via AIS. Plotting out a years worth of ship movements (2023) reveals beautiful patterns of our journeys at sea. Ferries, fishing boats, cargo ships and sailboats' coordinates etch electric pathways in these stunning visualizations of NOAA data. 🚢 Adding new maps soon! [Browse the Beautiful Public Data shop on Etsy](https://www.etsy.com/shop/BeautifulPublicData?section%5Fid=51181574&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) 🙏🏻 ****Did you enjoy this post?** You can subscribe to our newsletter to get future posts delivered to your inbox for free. 👉🏻 📫 [Subscribe now](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/subscribe#/portal/). ****☕️ Buy me a coffee** Say thanks with a [one time tip](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/#/portal/support). ****Sharing is caring** 📣 If you think your followers or friends may like it, please consider sharing it. 👕🖼️ ****Buy Beautiful Public Data merch on our** [****Etsy shop**](https://www.etsy.com/shop/BeautifulPublicData?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) [Unique t-shirts and prints ](https://www.etsy.com/shop/BeautifulPublicData?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)inspired by our stories 🙋🏻‍♀️ If you have any suggestions, comments or requests, please email them to [beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com](mailto:beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com) Thanks for reading! \- Jon Keegan Bluesky: [@jonkeegan.com](https://bsky.app/profile/jonkeegan.com?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) Mastodon: [mastodon.social/@jonkeegan](https://mastodon.social/@jonkeegan?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) 👨🏻‍💻 ****Nerdbox** For this post, I downloaded the [full USGS National Geologic Map Database (6.4 GB)](https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/docs/gis/USGS%5FDR-1210%5Ffull-db%5FV1.zip?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) which I loaded into QGIS. ### How LiDAR measures the toll of climate disasters URL: https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/how-lidar-measures-the-toll-of-climate-disasters/ Last updated: 2025-08-26T12:24:45.000Z ![A visualization of the areas damaged by the Eaton fire in January 2025. LiDAR scans from 2016 and 2025 were compared to generate this visualization. Red indicates structures or vegetation not present in 2025. Blue indicates new vegetation or structures.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/08/wide-smaller-1.jpg) A visualization of the areas damaged by the Eaton fire in January 2025\. LiDAR scans from 2016 and 2025 were compared to generate this visualization. Red indicates structures or vegetation not present in 2025\. Blue indicates new vegetation or structures. Data: [USGS](https://www.usgs.gov/3d-elevation-program/science/2025-post-wildfire-lidar-data-los-angeles-ca?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com); Visualization: Jon Keegan / Beautiful Public Data *Updated Aug. 26, 2025\.* The wildfires that swept through Los Angeles County in January 2025 left an indelible mark on the Southern California landscape. The Eaton and Palisades fires raged for 24 days, killing 29 people and destroying 16,000 structures, with losses [estimated](https://www.anderson.ucla.edu/about/centers/ucla-anderson-forecast/economic-impact-los-angeles-wildfires?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) at $60 billion. More than 55,000 acres were consumed, and the landscape itself was physically transformed. Researchers are now using LiDAR (light detection and ranging) technology to precisely measure these changes in the landscape’s geometry—helping them understand the effects of climate disasters. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/08/venti-views-ldQWF2k3NlU-unsplash.jpg) A scene from the aftermath of the LA fires on January 10, 2025\. Photo by [Venti Views](https://unsplash.com/@ventiviews?utm%5Fcontent=creditCopyText&utm%5Fmedium=referral&utm%5Fsource=unsplash) on [Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/photos/a-burned-out-car-sits-in-a-parking-lot-ldQWF2k3NlU?utm%5Fcontent=creditCopyText&utm%5Fmedium=referral&utm%5Fsource=unsplash) LiDAR, which measures how long it takes for pulses of laser light to bounce off surfaces and return, has been used in [topographic mapping](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/utah-lidar/) since the 1971 Apollo 15 mission, which used an early LiDAR system to scan the Moon’s surface. Today, in addition to mapping complex urban landscapes for autonomous vehicles, airborne LiDAR collection from planes and drones capture snapshots of the Earth’s surface geometry. Scientists can then "diff" the data—compare before-and-after snapshots and highlight all the changes—to identify more subtle consequences of a disaster, including fault line shifts, [volcanic eruptions](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/mapping-volcano-eruptions-with-drones/), and mudslides. Falko Kuester, an engineering professor at the University of California, San Diego, co-directs [ALERTCalifornia](https://alertcalifornia.org/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), a public safety program that uses real-time remote sensing to help detect wildfires. Kuester says LiDAR snapshots can tell a story over time. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/08/enhanced-matte-paper-framed-poster--in--black-18x18-person-68a800dd1dc63.jpg) #### 🚢 AIS Ship Movements Framed Prints Ships at sea are constantly broadcasting their real-time location, identification, speed, and orientation data via AIS. Plotting out a year's worth of ship movements reveals beautiful patterns of our journeys at sea. Ferries, fishing boats, cargo ships and sailboats' coordinates etch electric pathways in these stunning visualizations of NOAA data. 🖼️ Prints featuring: NYC, Hilton Head SC, Baltimore / DelMarVa, Gulf of Mexico, Florida, Chicago, Southern California, Seattle/Tacoma/San Juan Islands, Cape Cod/Martha's Vineyard/Nantucket [Browse the Beautiful Public Data shop on Etsy](https://www.etsy.com/shop/BeautifulPublicData?ref=shop-header-name&listing%5Fid=4356447281&from%5Fpage=listing§ion%5Fid=51181574) “They give us a lay of the land,” he says. “This is what a particular region has been like at this point in time. Now, if you have consecutive flights at a later time, you can do a ‘difference.’ Show me what it looked like. Show me what it looks like. Tell me what changed. Was something constructed? Something burned down? Did something fall down? Did vegetation grow?” Shortly after the fires were contained in late January 2025, ALERTCalifornia sponsored new LiDAR flights over the Eaton and Palisades burn areas. NV5, an inspection and engineering firm, [conducted the scans](https://www.nv5.com/news/la-fires-data/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), and the US Geological Survey is now hosting the public data sets. Comparing a 2016 LiDAR snapshot and the January 2025 snapshot, Cassandra Brigham and her team at Arizona State University visualized the elevation changes—revealing the buildings, trees, and structures that had disappeared. “We said, what would be a useful product for people to have as quickly as possible, since we’re doing this a couple weeks after the end of the fires? And we thought trying to get as high of a resolution and as kind of as differencing as possible would be a good idea,” said Brigham. Her team cleaned and reformatted the older, lower-resolution data and then subtracted the newer data. The resulting visualizations reveal the scale of devastation in ways satellite imagery can’t match. Red shows lost elevation (like when a building burns), and blue shows a gain (such as tree growth or new construction). ![A color visualization of the "diff" between the 2025 and 2016 post-fire LiDAR dataset (on top of the 2025 data). Red indicates a drop in elevation, blue indicates a rise. Structures and vegatation that have been destroyed are highlighted in red.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/08/eaton_merged_4.png) A color visualization of the "diff" between the 2025 and 2016 post-fire LiDAR dataset (on top of the 2025 data). Red indicates a drop in elevation, blue indicates a rise. Structures and vegatation that have been destroyed are highlighted in red. Data: [USGS](https://www.usgs.gov/3d-elevation-program/science/2025-post-wildfire-lidar-data-los-angeles-ca?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com); Visualization: Jon Keegan / Beautiful Public Data Historical LiDAR captures are sparse early on, but they're becoming more frequent. “Maybe there’s one from 1990, then 2004, then you get 2015 and then you start getting closer and closer data sets,” said Brigham. The ASU team shared their [analysis and data](https://opentopography.org/blog/using-lidar-understand-impacts-2025-palisades-and-eaton-fires-los-angeles-ca?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) on [OpenTopography](https://opentopography.org/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), a clearinghouse for open topographic data, tools and tutorials. The resulting visualizations reveal the scale of devastation in ways satellite imagery can’t match. LiDAR is helping scientists track the cascading effects of climate-driven disasters—from the damage to structures and vegetation destroyed by wildfires to the landslides and debris flows that often follow in their wake. “For the Eaton and Palisades fires, for example, entire hillsides burned. So all of that vegetation is removed,” Kuester says. “Now you have an atmospheric river coming in, dumping water. What happens next? You have debris flows, mud flows, landslides.” Brigham also noted how the immediate aftermath of a burned landscape can offer important clues about flood risk from hillsides that have been stripped of vegetation. “The dry rabble that you saw happening immediately post-fire, tells you a lot about what happens in terms of debris flows that are going to happen a lot later,” said Brigham. “It's subtle in the LA data set, but you'll notice areas where sediment is coming off of the hill slopes and gathering into the channels. And so you're building up these sediment dams that will then kind of flow in the next rainfall.” LiDAR’s usefulness for quantifying the costs of climate disasters underscores its value in preparing for future fires, floods, and earthquakes. But as policymakers weigh steep budget cuts to scientific research, these crucial LiDAR data collection projects could face an uncertain future. *Aug. 26, 2025 - Corrected a quote from Cassandra Brigham.* *A version of this story was originally published in* [*MIT Technology Review*](https://www.technologyreview.com/author/jon-keegan/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)*.* 👨🏻‍💻 ****Nerdbox** For this post, I downloaded LiDAR datasets from the [USGS](https://www.usgs.gov/3d-elevation-program/science/2025-post-wildfire-lidar-data-los-angeles-ca?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) and loaded them into [QGIS](https://qgis.org/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). This [article](https://opentopography.org/blog/using-lidar-understand-impacts-2025-palisades-and-eaton-fires-los-angeles-ca?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) from [OpenTopography](https://opentopography.org/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) detailing the analysis of the data set written by Cassandra Brigham, Chelsea Scott, and Christopher Crosby was very helpful! The slider is from [Flourish](https://flourish.studio/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). 🙏🏻 ****Did you enjoy this post?** You can subscribe to our newsletter to get future posts delivered to your inbox for free. 👉🏻 📫 [Subscribe now](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/subscribe#/portal/). ****☕️ Buy me a coffee** Say thanks with a [one time tip](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/#/portal/support). ****Sharing is caring** 📣 If you think your friends may like it, please consider sharing it. 👕🖼️ ****Buy Beautiful Public Data merch on our** [****Etsy shop**](https://www.etsy.com/shop/BeautifulPublicData?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) [Unique t-shirts and prints ](https://www.etsy.com/shop/BeautifulPublicData?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)inspired by our stories. 🙋🏻‍♀️ If you have any suggestions, comments or requests, please email them to [beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com](mailto:beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com) Thanks for reading! \- Jon Keegan Bluesky: [@jonkeegan.com](https://bsky.app/profile/jonkeegan.com?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) Mastodon: [mastodon.social/@jonkeegan](https://mastodon.social/@jonkeegan?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) ### NASA Ames Research Center Archives URL: https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/nasa-ames-research-center-archives/ Last updated: 2025-05-22T14:00:04.000Z ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/05/ames-header-1.jpg) Images from NASA Ames Research Center archives capture a wide range of breakthrough research in aeronautics, space and supercomputing. Photos: NASA Tucked into the southern tip of San Francisco Bay, surrounded by the iconic Big Tech campuses for Google, Apple, and Microsoft, lies the historic[ NASA Ames Research Center](https://www.nasa.gov/ames/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). NASA Ames’ rich history includes a grab-bag of fascinating scientific research, including massive wind tunnels, experimental aircraft, the Pioneer space exploration missions, supercomputing, space-based astronomy, and astrobiology. The Internet Archive hosts [a collection of 5,000 images](https://archive.org/search?query=creator%3A%22NASA%2FAmes+Research+Center%22&page=2) from NASA Ames’ archives that paint a vivid picture of a hotbed of cutting edge technology at the heart of America’s technology hub. ![Aerial photo of NASA Ames Research Center looking out over the bay. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/05/AC82-0321-1.jpg) NASA Ames Research Center and Moffett Field Aerial view. April 29, 1982\. Photo: [NASA Ames Research Center](https://archive.org/details/AILS-AC82-0321-1) Founded in 1939, NASA’s outpost in the heart of Silicon Valley was first set up as a West Coast lab for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, a forerunner of NASA. As WWII was brewing in Europe, the US realized it was far behind Germany in aeronautical research and development. NACA’s Langley, VA campus was maxed out, and a lot of the aviation industry was on the West Coast, so the decision was made to build a California lab, with the site selected by a committee chaired by Charles Lindbergh. Named in honor of NACA founding member [Joseph Sweetman Ames](https://www.nasa.gov/people/joseph-sweetman-ames/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), the lab at Moffett Field, CA, slowly grew from a single shack on the airfield to a sprawling compound with over 2,300 employees over nearly 80 years. A brief history of NASA Ames Research Center. Browsing through this amazing archive gives you a unique view of decades’ worth of breakthrough research. ## Wind tunnels One of the key motivations for building a new lab was to build large wind tunnels to help advance America’s aeronautics research. ![An aerial black and white photo looking down on the NASA Ames wind tunnel construction site. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/05/A-8ftSSWT-162-1-1.jpg) Aerial image of construction at NASA Ames Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel Complex. March 25, 1954\. Photo: [NASA](https://www.nasa.gov/nasa-ames-unitary-plan-wind-tunnel/about-nasa-ames-unitary-plan-wind-tunnel/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) A series of smaller seven-by-ten-foot tunnels capable of reaching speeds up to 300 miles per hour were the first to be completed. From the beginning, plans called for a gigantic 40 by 80 foot tunnel for full-scale aircraft tests, which would come later. The tunnels were first powered up on March 13, 1941\. Months later, the bombing of Pearl Harbor would add urgency to Ames’ mission to rapidly develop more advanced aircraft for the war effort. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/05/AC86-8016-7-1.jpg) "Ames National Full-Scale Aerodynamic Complex - NFAC; 80x120ft Wind Tunnel, drive fans during reconstruction process." July 15, 1986\. Photo: [NASA Ames Research Center](https://archive.org/details/AILS%5FAC86-8016-7) Today’s NASA Ames is home to the world’s largest pressurized wind tunnel. It has both subsonic and transsonic chambers for testing airflow and pressure on scale models of rockets, aircraft and wind turbines. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/05/ACD06-0051-012.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/05/AC86-0439-16-1.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/05/AC70-1343-1.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/05/AC88-0620-52-1.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/05/AC79-0054-1-2.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/05/AC78-0579-3-1.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/05/AC79-0430-3-1.jpg) Images from some of NASA Ames' massive wind tunnels. Photos: NASA. ## Pioneer and Voyager 2 The[ Pioneer space probe](https://science.nasa.gov/mission/pioneer-11/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) missions spanned 1965 through 1992, exploring the Moon, Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn. The Pioneer program was managed from NASA Ames, which also helped out with the more famous [Voyager 2 mission](https://science.nasa.gov/mission/voyager/voyager-2/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), which launched in 1977 to fly past Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune to enter interstellar space in 2018\. The Ames archive is full of images from these important missions, which were part of the first wave of exploring our solar system. Today, we might take for granted how much amazing imagery and data we have collected from the planets and moons in our solar system over the past six decades of exploration. But looking at these first glimpses of these strange and beautiful celestial bodies, it must have been thrilling to see them for the first time. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/05/AC86-7009-1.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/05/AC79-7006-1.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/05/AC79-7114-1.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/05/A86-7031-1.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/05/AC86-7040-2-1.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/05/AC78-9461-1.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/05/A79-7123-1.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/05/AC89-7013-1.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/05/AC81-7070-1.jpg) Imagery from the Pioneer and Voyager 2 missions from the NASA Ames Center archives. Photos: NASA ### Aircraft Many odd-looking experimental aircraft—such as vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft, jets and rotorcraft—were developed and tested at the facility. The skeleton of a hulking [airship](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/pilot-manual-for-a-1940-u-s-air-force-blimp/) hangar remains on NASA Ames’ campus, but it was obsolete even when the facility started its construction. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/05/AC85-0569-8.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/05/AC89-0246-8.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/05/AC71-2429-1.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/05/AC81-0523-1.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/05/AC89-0215-3-1.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/05/AC80-0358-1.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/05/362329main_EC86-33555-2_full.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-22-at-1.21.56-AM.png) A collection of some of the interesting experimental aircraft developed and tested at NASA Ames. Photos: NASA Ames Research Center ## Illustrations How do you get the public excited about multi-million dollar scientific missions that people can’t really see yet? Some amazing, awe-inspiring illustrations can be found in the Ames archives, depicting imagined surfaces of distant planets, NASA spacecraft descending into surreal alien landscapes, and fantastical depictions of future ring-shaped human habitats in space. You can feel the optimism and excitement of the time looking at these colorful illustrations. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/05/AC88-0328-6.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/05/AC73-9344-1.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/05/AC73-9345-1.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/05/AC73-4247-1-1.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/05/AC72-1353-1.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/05/AC81-0423-2.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/05/AC87-0736-2-1.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/05/AC75-1924.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/05/AC77-0475-6-1.jpg) Some of the striking illustrations from the NASA Ames Research Center archives. Photos: NASA ## Bubble suits and early VR In the 1980s NASA Ames was also home to research to develop next-generation space suits, such as the bulbous, hard-shelled AX-5 model. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/05/AC77-0893-3.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/05/AC77-0893-10.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/05/AC77-0893-13-2.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/05/AC89-0437-11-1.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/05/AC77-0893-12-2-1.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/05/AC85-0468-154.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/05/AC88-0089-2-1.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/05/AC77-0893-6.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/05/AC77-0893-9-2-1.jpg) Photos of the AX-5 hard-shell spacesuit, and early prototypes of virtual and augmented reality systems developed at NASA Ames. Photos: NASA NASA Ames' Human-Machine Interaction Group did some early pioneering work with virtual reality with some wild looking hardware. Thinking about the current hype around AR/VR/XR, these NASA Ames researchers really saw the potential of this technology and were only limited by computing capability. The kind of federally-funded research conducted over the decades at NASA Ames has led to so many important breakthroughs in aviation, spaceflight and supercomputing. It is sad to think that this kind of forward-thinking work is being slashed to seek short-term savings, at the expense of long-term innovation and discovery. 🙏🏻 ****Did you enjoy this post?** You can subscribe to our newsletter to get future posts delivered to your inbox for free. 👉🏻 📫 [Subscribe now](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/subscribe#/portal/). ****☕️ Buy me a coffee** Say thanks with a [one time tip](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/#/portal/support). ****Sharing is caring** 📣 If you think your followers or friends may like it, please consider sharing it. 👕🖼️ ****Buy Beautiful Public Data merch on our** [****Etsy shop**](https://www.etsy.com/shop/BeautifulPublicData?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) [Unique t-shirts and prints ](https://www.etsy.com/shop/BeautifulPublicData?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)inspired by our stories 🙋🏻‍♀️ If you have any suggestions, comments or requests, please email them to [beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com](mailto:beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com) Thanks for reading! \- Jon Keegan Bluesky: [@jonkeegan.com](https://bsky.app/profile/jonkeegan.com?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) Mastodon: [mastodon.social/@jonkeegan](https://mastodon.social/@jonkeegan?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) ### WWII Japanese Mass Incarceration collections URL: https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/wwii-japanese-mass-incarceration-collections/ Last updated: 2025-03-19T17:32:24.000Z ![A quilt of black and white photos showing Japanese American detainees in 1942. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/03/japanese-internment-header-1.jpg) A collection of photographs by Ansel Adams and Dorothea Lange depicting scenes from the forced displacement and incarceration of Japanese Americans in 1942\. Two months after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, on February 19, 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt issued [Executive Order 9066](https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/executive-order-9066?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), authorizing the roundup and mass detention of Japanese Americans living on the west coast of the United States. The order granted the military broad authority to divide the western United States into military zones, from which “any or all persons may be excluded.” While the order did not explicitly target any ethnic group, its clear intent was to incarcerate American citizens of Japanese descent in concentration camps on U.S. soil. This shameful chapter in American history is extensively documented in the Library of Congress and the [National Archives](https://catalog.archives.gov/id/537?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). With only 48 hours notice, more than 120,000 people were forcibly removed from their homes and sent to “internment camps”. The incarceration lasted for four and a half years. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/03/Instructions-to-All-Poster.webp)](https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/glossary-of-terms-related-to-japanese-american-confinement.htm?utm%5Fsource=article&utm%5Fmedium=website&utm%5Fcampaign=experience%5Fmore&utm%5Fcontent=small) Evacuation notice that was posted in San Francisco in April of 1942\. Source: [National Parks Service.](https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/glossary-of-terms-related-to-japanese-american-confinement.htm?utm%5Fsource=article&utm%5Fmedium=website&utm%5Fcampaign=experience%5Fmore&utm%5Fcontent=small) ## Ansel Adams and Dorothea Lange photographs ![A black and white photo of a wooden sign that reads "MANZANAR WAR RELOCATION CENTER" against a mountain range in the distance. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/03/00286v-1.jpg) Entrance to Manzanar, Manzanar Relocation Center. Photo: Ansel Adams. Source: [https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2002695960/](https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2002695960/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) The first records I came across from this collection were the [striking photographs](https://www.loc.gov/collections/ansel-adams-manzanar/about-this-collection/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) taken by Ansel Adams in the fall of 1943\. His images document life inside the Manzanar War Relocation Center, near Death Valley, CA — one of ten such detainment camps built in response to the executive order. The collection includes more than 200 black-and-white photographs capturing daily life in the camp: smiling students in makeshift classrooms, workers performing routine jobs, and people playing baseball. Among them are beautifully composed portraits of detainees—intimate and dignified images of incarcerated men, women, and children. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/03/00078v.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/03/00074v.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/03/00045v.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/03/00430v.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/03/00446v.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/03/00262v.jpg) Some of the portraits shot by Ansel Adams at the Manzanar War Relocation Center. Source: [Library of Congress](https://www.loc.gov/pictures/related/?fi=subject&q=Manzanar%20War%20Relocation%20Center--Facilities--1940-1950.&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) Adams was compelled to photograph the camp and its residents after a longtime Japanese employee of his parents was arrested and sent to a camp in Missouri. The arrest angered Adams, who wrote about the collection: > “The purpose of my work was to show how these people, suffering under a great injustice, and loss of property, businesses and professions, had overcome the sense of defeat and dispair \[sic\] by building for themselves a vital community in an arid (but magnificent) environment....All in all, I think this Manzanar Collection is an important historical document, and I trust it can be put to good use." Yet, despite Adams’ motivation for the series, looking at these photographs, which depict mostly smiling subjects, seemingly content – one *might* get the sense that the life in the camps wasn’t that bad. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/03/00108v.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/03/00184v.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/03/00299v.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/03/00343v.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/03/00378v.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/03/00369v.jpg) Some of the scenes of life in the camp shot by Ansel Adams at the Manzanar War Relocation Center. Source: [Library of Congress](https://www.loc.gov/pictures/related/?fi=subject&q=Manzanar%20War%20Relocation%20Center--Facilities--1940-1950.&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) But Adams’ lens captured only one side of the story. Famed documentary photographer Dorothea Lange— best known for her [Dust Bowl photographs](https://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/fsa/docchap3.html?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) — also documented the “evacuation” of Japanese Americans, but many of her photos told a much different story. Lange was hired by the War Relocation Authority (WRA) in 1942 to document the relocation of the detainees. In Lange’s photos, you see families packing up their family’s belongings, children with identification tags hanging off their jackets, and Japanese American owned businesses having going-out-of-business sales. Lange’s photos depict groups of people huddled together after leaving their homes and businesses, as they face an uncertain future hundreds of miles from their homes in San Francisco’s Japantown and across California. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/03/21-1240M.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/03/21-1163M.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/03/21-1218M.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/03/21-1151M.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/03/20-3102M.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/03/20-3101M.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/03/20-3031M.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/03/20-3028M.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/03/20-2953M.jpg) Photos by Dorothea Lange for the War Relocation Authority documenting the "evacuation" of Japanese Americans in California in 1942\. Source: [National Archives](https://catalog.archives.gov/search-within/537?q=dorothea%20lange&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). These haunting images are [powerful and heartbreaking](https://dorothealange.museumca.org/section/exposing-injustice-incarceration-of-japanese-americans/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), and they did not send the message that the WRA wanted to deliver to the American people. Many of the photos were quietly withheld from the public. The National Archives has pushed back on claims that the photos were censored for decades, noting that they were available after the war. In a [post on the Nation Archives’ website](https://www.archives.gov/news/articles/japanese-internment-75th-anniversary?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), Nicholas Natanson, an archivist with the National Archives Still Picture Branch said: > “What is the case is that the bulk of Lange's WRA imagery was withheld from the public during World War II; that is, while the WRA was in operation, carrying out round-up, internment, resettlement activities that the Federal Government was obviously not anxious to publicize. However, this withholding ended after the war,” Natanson said. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/03/21-1589M.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/03/21-1533M.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/03/21-1320M.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/03/21-1362M.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/03/21-1349M.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/03/21-1398M.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/03/21-1452M.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/03/21-1409M.jpg) Photos by Dorothea Lange depicting life at Manzanar War Relocation Center in 1942\. Source: [National Archives](https://catalog.archives.gov/search-within/537?q=dorothea%20lange&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). The War Relocation Department worked hard to convince Americans that the Japanese were being protected and cared for in the internment camps. But the wounds of Pearl Harbor were still fresh. A WRA propaganda film titled "[A Challenge to Democracy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9qivDW4cW4&t=12s&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)" delivers a message carefully crafted to address the widespread anger towards the Japanese, while also showing how humanely the families were being treated: These families are being treated well, but not *too well*. The narration reads: > "They are not prisoners. They are not internees. They are merely dislocated people. The unwounded casualties of war." "Challenge to Democracy" propaganda film from the War Relocation Authority. Source: [https://catalog.archives.gov/id/4966460](https://catalog.archives.gov/id/4966460?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) ## Blueprints, newspapers, databases The National Archives has a rich assortment of records including films, audio, site plans, and other documents, in addition to the photographs. Among the archives are the blueprints for each camp. Here's the plan for Manzanar War Relocation Center. ![Manzanar War Relocation Center - Camp Layout. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/03/manzanar-16-a2-120-192-ac.jpg) Manzanar War Relocation Center - Camp Layout. Source: [https://catalog.archives.gov/id/27813954](https://catalog.archives.gov/id/27813954?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) Some of the documents describe the desperate attempts to find out what has happened to the property and real estate that the detainees had to discharge before being forcibly relocated. [Recommend Beautiful Public Data to a friend](mailto:?subject=Newsletter%20recommendation%3A%20Beautiful%20Public%20Data&body=Hi%2C%20just%20wanted%20to%20recommend%20this%20newsletter%20I%20think%20you%20might%20like%20called%20Beautiful%20Public%20Data%3A%20A%20curated%20selection%20of%20visually%20interesting%20datasets%20collected%20by%20local%2C%20state%20and%20federal%20government%20agencies.%20By%20Jon%20Keegan.%0D%0A%0D%0ALink%3A%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.beautifulpublicdata.com%0D%0A) Here's one such document describing Masako Kumanoto's property and a dispute about their 27 acres of property and all of their belongings were sold to a neighbor for $350, but the detainee had not heard from the buyer, and was unsure about the status of the property. ![A letter describing one detainees' property and a dispute about how 27 acres of property and all of their belongings were sold to a neighbor for $350, but the detainee had not heard from the buyer, and was unsure about the status of the property.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/03/Reel-01A_002_Page_204_Image_0001.jpg) A letter describing one detainees' property and a dispute about how 27 acres of property and all of their belongings were sold to a neighbor for $350, but the detainee had not heard from the buyer, and was unsure about the status of the property. Source: [https://catalog.archives.gov/id/48438888?objectPage=270](https://catalog.archives.gov/id/48438888?objectPage=270&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) Many of the camps had their own newspapers. Here's an edition of the Manzanar Free Press from Aug. 12, 1942\. Here's photo from one of the press rooms at the Heart Mountain, Wyoming camp. !["Heart Mountain Relocation Center, Heart Mountain, Wyoming. In the press room of the Cody Enterprise, Bill Hosokawa, Editor of the Sentinel, Heart Mountain Relocation Center newspaper, sets type for the final makeup of the weekly edition." January 8, 1943. Photo: Tom Parker. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/539215](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/03/539215_210-G-E658.jpg) "Heart Mountain Relocation Center, Heart Mountain, Wyoming. In the press room of the Cody Enterprise, Bill Hosokawa, Editor of the Sentinel, Heart Mountain Relocation Center newspaper, sets type for the final makeup of the weekly edition." January 8, 1943\. Photo: Tom Parker. [https://catalog.archives.gov/id/539215](https://catalog.archives.gov/id/539215?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) One particularly interesting file is a text file featuring detailed data on over 100,000 incarcerated people who were processed at intake using a detailed form. Form 26 asked about where the person was born, how long they attended school, religion, marital status, work skills, language ability, and much more. This data was hand-written on forms, using an incredibly complicated (but clever) set of codes to cram a huge amount of data into 80 characters per row. This data was recorded on magnetic tape and extracted as an ASCII text file in 2021\. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/03/31882-2022-001_ac.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/03/31882-2022-002_ac.png) Individual Form 26 Record for Tommy Tamio Kono. Source: [https://catalog.archives.gov/id/259485500](https://catalog.archives.gov/id/259485500?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) Thankfully the good folks at the National Archive also preserved the old [technical documentation](https://catalog.archives.gov/id/1264228?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) for this dataset. I took a stab at writing a script to extract this data so you can actually search and read through it. I can imagine this might be extremely helpful for someone researching their family history, so you can [download the script and data here](https://github.com/jonkeegan/japanese-wra-form26?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). ## Reparations 45 years later According to the National WWII Museum, detainees lost over $400 million worth of property during their incarceration. In 1948, Congress issued $38 million in reparations for lost assets, but calls for a formal apology and further restitution continued to grow. Among those advocating for reparations was Japanese-American actor George Takei—who played Sulu on “Star Trek”— who was forced from his home and relocated with his family as a child. Takei [testified](https://www.kqed.org/news/11905723/george-takei-got-reparations-he-says-they-strengthen-the-integrity-of-america?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) before the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians in California in 1981 advocating for reparations. Takei recalled: > “I was 5 years old at the time. It was a terrorizing morning I will never be able to forget. Literally at gunpoint, we were ordered out of our home." Actor George Takei recalls his memories from his family's forced incarceration in WRA camps. Source: [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdU0ujsfIrE&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) Finally, in 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed a [bill](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-102/pdf/STATUTE-102-Pg903.pdf?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), which formally acknowledged:“the fundamental injustice of the evacuation, relocation, and internment of United States citizens and permanent resident aliens of Japanese ancestry during World War II.” The law also formally apologized on behalf of the American people, and authorized payments of $20,000 to about 60,000 survivors. ![President Ronald Reagan Signs The Reparations Bill for Japanese Americans with Pete Wilson Spark Matsunaga, Norman Mineta, Robert Masui, and Bill Lowrey on August 10, 1988. Photo: Pete Souza / Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum / NARA.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/03/1139164.tif.mSfJybDvMTmtcdljYBMA.ofJJ6ekXhI.jpg) P**resident Ronald Reagan Signs The Reparations Bill for Japanese Americans with Pete Wilson Spark Matsunaga, Norman Mineta, Robert Masui, and Bill Lowrey on August 10, 1988\. Photo: Pete Souza / Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum / NARA. The National Archives, photo no.* [**75856233*](https://www.whitehousehistory.org/photos/fotoware?id=7B479B9D2AAC4485%208ECCB80775B2A7B9&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)**.* At a ceremony signing the bill, Reagan [said](https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/redress-and-reparations-japanese-american-incarceration?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com): > “No payment can make up for those lost years. So, what is most important in this bill has less to do with property than with honor. For here we admit a wrong; here we reaffirm our commitment as a nation to equal justice under the law.” Even then, it would take another two years before the payments were finally issued. 🙏🏻 ****Did you enjoy this post?** You can subscribe to our newsletter to get future posts delivered to your inbox for free. 👉🏻 📫 [Subscribe now](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/subscribe#/portal/). ****Sharing is caring** 📣 If you think your followers or friends may like it, please consider sharing it. 🙋🏻‍♀️ If you have any suggestions, comments or requests, please email them to [beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com](mailto:beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com) Thanks for reading! \- Jon Keegan Bluesky: [@jonkeegan.com](https://bsky.app/profile/jonkeegan.com?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) Mastodon: [mastodon.social/@jonkeegan](https://mastodon.social/@jonkeegan?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/09/enhanced-matte-paper-framed-poster--in--black-16x20-person-66fa3ea0248e7.png) #### AIS Ship Movements Framed Prints Ships at sea are constantly broadcasting their real-time location, identification, speed, and orientation data via AIS. Plotting out a years worth of ship movements (2023) reveals beautiful patterns of our journeys at sea. Ferries, fishing boats, cargo ships and sailboats' coordinates etch electric pathways in these stunning visualizations of NOAA data. 🚢 Adding new maps soon! [Browse the Beautiful Public Data shop on Etsy](https://beautifulpublicdata.etsy.com/listing/1739031288?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) ### Cold War Military Slides URL: https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/cold-war-military-slides/ Last updated: 2025-02-24T22:00:18.000Z ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/biddle-slides-header-1.jpg) A selection of images from Sam Biddle's "The Slides" collection. Most of the time, I find the weird government datasets featured on this site buried away in some obscure sub-agency website. Sam Biddle found some in a bunch of red plastic boxes he bought online. The boxes were filled with hundreds of 35mm slides from the Department of Defense (DOD) which appear to be from the height of the Cold War. These chilling slides contain information about America’s nuclear forces, strategic defense plans for nuclear war and information about the Soviet Union’s military capabilities. [Sam Biddle](https://theintercept.com/staff/sambiddle/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) is a fantastic reporter who covers technology, national security and privacy for The Intercept. He lucked out and stumbled upon this treasure trove of Cold War visuals while scouring eBay, and was able to buy 60 more boxes of the slides, which came from an estate sale in Albuquerque, NM. The seller told Biddle that the original owner had been an officer at Kirtland Air Force Base. Heroically, Biddle has been scanning these amazing slides one-by-one and uploading them to the Internet Archive. So far he has posted 400 of what he calls “The Slides”. In a[ blog post](https://maxread.substack.com/p/true-life-for-reasons-i-dont-fully) describing his archiving project, Biddle wrote: > **“The Slides are incredible as well for their visual thoughtfulness, no matter the craziness or foolishness of the underlying idea. They are the perfect inverse of contemporary Pentagon graphic design in all its sprawling insanity, permanently poisoned by the vernacular of PowerPoint and clip art.”** These slides are indeed visually rich, and they remind me of a terrifying time in America. Any kid who was in elementary school when War Games and The Day After came out probably feels the same way. My Dad worked as an engineer on part of the MX Missile (officially known as LGM-118 Peacekeeper), a nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). The bold, geometric graphic design of the slide series covering the MX looks like it was for a video game in a 1980’s arcade, rather than a city-vaporizing nuke. There are org charts, photos of command centers, illustrations of ominous submarines and strategic bombers, and many emblems for different Air Force commands. I sifted through all of these photos, which Biddle [placed in the public domain](https://archive.org/details/@sambiddle), and are free to download at the Internet Archive. ## Nuclear Data Viz Considering how big the stakes were, the way data were presented to top decision makers in the US nuclear chain of command was kind of wild. I always marvel at how hard it must have been to draft these graphics by hand, before computer data visualization tools. Some of these are really clear, well designed, and effective. Others, not so much. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/79_12.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/79_13.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/S-100-18-85-4.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/S-100-18-85-16.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/S-100-18-85-17.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/S-100-18-85-27.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/S-100-18-85-32.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/4--Corrected-.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/21.jpg) Some of the Data visualizations found in "The Slides" ## Illustrations Some of the illustrations featured in these slide decks could have come right off of an Atari 2600 game cartridge. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/75-13.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/28.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/79_15.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/S-100-18-85-1.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/SVA_78_4.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/S-100-18-85-14.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/75-20.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/10.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/SVA_78_8.jpg) Some of the great illustrations found in "The Slides" ## Maps Most of the maps in these slides are illustrating the ways the US could have attacked the Soviet Union, or the ways they could have attacked us. Lotta “War Games“ vibes in these ones. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/79-35.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/91-11.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/S-100-18-85-18.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/S-100-18-85-26.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/106-26.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/S-100-18-85-36.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/SVA-37-24.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/S-100-18-85-39.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/S-100-18-85-34.jpg) Some of the maps found in "The Slides" ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/07/unisex-staple-t-shirt-black-front-6677459588dbe.png) #### Unisex Radio Frequency Chart T-shirt This crazy, beautiful US government chart illustrates the incredible complexity of managing one of our nation’s most crucial – and invisible – national assets: the radio spectrum. Based on the NTIA's beautiful "United States Frequency Allocation Chart". Beautiful Public Data logo in blue on the left sleeve. [Browse the Beautiful Public Data shop on Etsy](https://beautifulpublicdata.etsy.com/listing/1739031288?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) ## Typography You will find a lot of all-caps no-nonsense san-serif fonts like Alternate Gothic and Futura in these slides, which feels very Air Force. There’s a few slides that go big with bold OCR display fonts, and even some physical letters that appear hand-placed. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/SVA_78_1.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/75-02.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/79_02.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/91-16.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/91-17.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/91-18-1.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/07.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/79_16.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/1--Corrected-.jpg) Some of the best typography found in "The Slides" ## Aircraft and military hardware Many of "The Slides" contain photography of fighter jets, radar installations and other military assets. In most cases, Biddle chose to leave the faded colors as he found them, which I think is the right choice. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/17-2.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/24-2.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/79-38.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/79-44.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/78-13.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/35.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/30.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/78-07.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/02.jpg) Photos of aircraft and military hardware from "The Slides" ## Unit emblems The many emblems from the different Air Force units found in these slides probably deserves a post of its own. Arrows, globes, stars, gauntlets and of course wings. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/01.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/26.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/27.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/38-V0073-38.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/39-V0073-39.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/75-01--_OBSOLETE-MAC_-.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/78-15.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/79_01.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/91-04.jpg) A collection of some of the Air Force unit emblems found on "The Slides." ## Command and control For decades, military personnel manned the controls of the US nuclear defense apparatus, hoping they would never have to use their training in real world scenarios. I always found the control room and command centers of these facilities to be fascinating. If you are ever in Tuscon, AZ be sure to visit the [Titan Missile Museum](https://titanmissilemuseum.org/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) to see some of these controls up close. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/35-1.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/106-14--Corrected-.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/106-12--Corrected-.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/106-03--Corrected-.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/91-19.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/75-05.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/79-28.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/13.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/91-20.jpg) Photos of command centers found in "The Slides." 🙏🏻 ****Did you enjoy this post?** You can subscribe to our newsletter to get future posts delivered to your inbox for free. 👉🏻 📫 [Subscribe now](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/subscribe#/portal/). ****Sharing is caring** 📣 If you think your followers or friends may like it, please consider sharing it. 🙋🏻‍♀️ If you have any suggestions, comments or requests, please email them to [beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com](mailto:beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com) Thanks for reading! \- Jon Keegan Bluesky: [@jonkeegan.com](https://bsky.app/profile/jonkeegan.com?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) Mastodon: [mastodon.social/@jonkeegan](https://mastodon.social/@jonkeegan?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) Message me securely on Signal: jonkeegan.73 ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/09/enhanced-matte-paper-framed-poster--in--black-16x20-person-66fa3ea0248e7.png) #### AIS Ship Movements Framed Prints Ships at sea are constantly broadcasting their real-time location, identification, speed, and orientation data via AIS. Plotting out a years worth of ship movements (2023) reveals beautiful patterns of our journeys at sea. Ferries, fishing boats, cargo ships and sailboats' coordinates etch electric pathways in these stunning visualizations of NOAA data. 🚢 Adding new maps soon! [Browse the Beautiful Public Data shop on Etsy](https://beautifulpublicdata.etsy.com/listing/1739031288?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) ### US Government UFO (UAP) Footage URL: https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/us-government-ufo-uap-footage/ Last updated: 2025-08-22T16:49:41.000Z 0:00 /0:09 1× A sample of the UAP-related footage collected and shared by the US government. Source: AARO, National Archives. For decades, the public suspected that the US Government was hiding secret intelligence about UFOs — now rebranded as "Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena" (UAPs). Turns out...it kind of was. But as of a few years ago, things started to change. A 2019[ New York Times report](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/26/us/politics/ufo-sightings-navy-pilots.html?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) about seasoned US Navy pilots routinely spotting UAPs near their aircraft carriers suddenly thrust the topic back into the spotlight. And now the US government has a growing, public dataset of UAP sightings and related data reaching back decades. ## GOFAST and GIMBAL The alarming accounts of the pilots were bolstered by a pair of shocking videos filmed from their fighter jets that seemed to show a fast-moving pill-shaped object that rapidly shifted speed and direction in a way that couldn't be explained by any known drones or aircraft. The videos were named “GOFAST” and “GIMBAL” This was the first time the public saw UAP footage captured not by a random person with a shaky camcorder, but by advanced US military hardware corroborated by seasoned fighter pilots. These videos caught the attention of lawmakers in Washington, prompting them to investigate whether the UAPs were terrestrial threats rather than extraterrestrial phenomena. After these videos gained wide coverage in the media, the Department of Defense (DOD) publicly confirmed the authenticity of the videos, and [officially released](https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/2165713/statement-by-the-department-of-defense-on-the-release-of-historical-navy-videos/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) them to the public. In August 2020, the DOD [announced](https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/release/article/2314065/establishment-of-unidentified-aerial-phenomena-task-force/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) the creation of the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force (UAPTF). 0:00 /0:25 1× US Navy "GOFAST" UAP sighting video. Source: [Department of Defense](https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/2165713/statement-by-the-department-of-defense-on-the-release-of-historical-navy-videos/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) In response to public scrutiny, the government started collecting and sharing data about UAP reports collected from members of the military and civilian aviators, as well as the general public. In fact, members of the military have been commanded to report such sightings, as the previous skepticism surrounding UAPs might have dissuaded personnel from reporting them in the past. 0:00 /0:25 1× US Navy "GIMBAL" UAP sighting video. Source: [Department of Defense](https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/2165713/statement-by-the-department-of-defense-on-the-release-of-historical-navy-videos/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) ## Congressional action Senator Marco Rubio (FL-R) (currently the Secretary of State) inserted language into a [2020 spending bill](https://www.congress.gov/congressional-report/116th-congress/senate-report/233/1?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) directing the UAPTF to undertake a detailed analysis of “unidentified aerial phenomena data and intelligence reporting collected or held by the Office of Naval Intelligence, including data and intelligence reporting held by the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force.” In June 2021, the Director of National Intelligence released the results of this analysis in an unclassified report titled “[Preliminary Assessment: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena](https://www.dni.gov/files/ODNI/documents/assessments/Prelimary-Assessment-UAP-20210625.pdf?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)” which took a look at the higher quality reports in the government’s possession. In the course of preparing the report, the UAPTF received input from 17 government agencies including the FAA, FBI, NSA and NOAA. The analysis examined 144 UAP reports gathered between 2004 and 2021 which originated from US government agencies. The report found that 18 of the incidents “appear to demonstrate advanced technology,” which it could not give an explanation for. “Some UAP appeared to remain stationary in winds aloft, move against the wind, maneuver abruptly, or move at considerable speed, without discernible means of propulsion. In a small number of cases, military aircraft systems processed radio frequency (RF) energy associated with UAP sightings,” said the report. “Most of the UAP reported probably do represent physical objects given that a majority of UAP were registered across multiple sensors, to include radar, infrared, electro-optical, weapon seekers, and visual observation.” *Above: "Puerto Rico Object." Observed April 23, 2013 in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. Source:* [*AARO / DOD*](https://www.dvidshub.net/video/944204/puerto-rico-objects?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) One of the big takeaways of this report was that the lack of a uniform process for reporting UAP activity resulted in “a limited amount of high-quality reporting,” which made it harder to assess what was happening in each report. The task force determined that even if they couldn’t explain the nature of these sightings, they did pose an actual threat to flight safety and even national security, especially considering the unusual amount of observations clustered near military bases. Prompted by these national security concerns, the DOD announced the successor to the task force, the Airborne Object Identification and Management Synchronization Group (AOIMSG) in November 2021\. ## Next up…NASA In 2022, NASA conducted an analysis of the latest UAP sightings, and issued a report in September 2023 titled “[NASA Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Independent Study](https://science.nasa.gov/uap/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com).” In the foreword, the report echoed the task force's concerns about the lack of consistent, detailed data needed to study UAP sightings. “Despite numerous accounts and visuals, the absence of consistent, detailed, and curated observations means we do not presently have the body of data needed to make definitive, scientific conclusions about UAP,” said the report. The panel suggested that NASA is uniquely suited to help in the effort to identify the origins of UAP reports, and called for an increased use of sensors to collect aircraft data as well as satellite imagery. ## Mysterious metal Another government organization to jump into the UAP fray was the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. AARO asked the famed Department of Energy laboratory to run a detailed analysis of a mysterious metal sample claimed to be recovered from a 1947 UAP crash. For decades, the metal specimen was the subject of speculation that it could be of extra-terrestrial origin, and that its bismuth and magnesium layers could act as a “tetraherz waveguide,” with anti-gravity capabilities. ![A specimen sample of a 3cm x 3cm silvery lump of metal photographed against a ruler.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-09-at-9.06.44-PM.png) The mysterious metal sample analyzed by Oak Ridge National Lab to determine if it was of extra-terrestrial origin. Source: [Oak Ridge National Laboratory / AARO](https://www.aaro.mil/Portals/136/PDFs/Information%20Papers/ORNL-Synopsis%5FAnalysis%5Fof%5Fa%5FMetallic%5FSpecimen.pdf?ver=V1rMXfRV-VUb2gjTd4DzVg%3d%3d&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) The [exhaustive analysis](https://www.aaro.mil/Portals/136/PDFs/Information%20Papers/ORNL-Synopsis%5FAnalysis%5Fof%5Fa%5FMetallic%5FSpecimen.pdf?ver=V1rMXfRV-VUb2gjTd4DzVg%3d%3d&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) of the silvery, half-dollar–sized clump of metal ultimately ruled out the extraterrestrial theory. The report said “a modern and robust analysis of its chemical and structural composition and properties does not indicate that its origin is non-terrestrial, nor do the data indicate that the material examined ever had the pure single-crystalline bismuth layer that could possibly have acted as a terahertz waveguide.” It also concluded that the lab had a high confidence that the sample was “manufactured terrestrially—albeit using an uncommon mixture of elements by today’s standards—and then incurred damage caused by mechanical and heat stressors. ” ## National Archives As part of a 2024 spending bill, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) was ordered to create a “[Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Records Collection](https://www.archives.gov/research/topics/uaps?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com).” By centralizing all of the US government’s non-classified and archival records in one repository, the National Archives helps create a foundation for future research, as well as collecting older material related to UAPs that might exist in many different agencies’ records. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/08/unisex-garment-dyed-heavyweight-t-shirt-black-front-68a7c527cfad6.jpg) #### Avrocar UFO Blueprint T-shirt In 1960, the United States Air Force tested a top secret experimental aircraft shaped like a flying saucer known as the AVROCAR. From declassified public records, this schematic shows this UFO-shaped skunkworks craft that was cancelled after several test flights. Bright green ink on black, grey, purple and navy. Premium quality unisex garment-dyed heavyweight t-shirt made of 100% ring-spun cotton. Beautiful Public Data logo in alien green on the left sleeve. [Browse the Beautiful Public Data shop on Etsy](https://beautifulpublicdata.etsy.com/listing/4356375149?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) The collection as it stands today contains photos, videos, documents, sound recordings reaching back decades. There are many files about “[Project BLUE BOOK](https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40027753?objectPage=2&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)” and the lingering fascination with Roswell, New Mexico. It’s a fascinating collection including everything from 1950s [newsreels](https://catalog.archives.gov/id/234273290?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) featuring reports of suspected alien spaceship wreckage, [Presidential UFO records](https://catalog.archives.gov/id/4525586?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) and some famous blurry “[flying saucer](https://catalog.archives.gov/id/305558929?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)” photos. There’s also some incredible 16mm footage of [test](https://catalog.archives.gov/id/68175?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) [flights](https://catalog.archives.gov/id/68405?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) from a previously classified US Air Force prototype flying saucer called the “AVROCAR” from 1960\. You can see a [prototype](https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/195801/avro-canada-vz-9av-avrocar/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) of this amazing vehicle at the superb Air Force Museum in Dayton, OH. National Archives footage of flight tests for the US Air Force's prototype AVROCAR "flying saucer." Source: [National Archives](https://www.archives.gov/research/topics/uaps?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) # Annual UAP Reports As part of the US government’s new goals for transparency around UAPs, AARO continues to assess new UAP sightings, and is mandated to issue yearly reports to Congress with their findings. There have been three annual reports to date: [FY 2022](https://www.dni.gov/files/ODNI/documents/assessments/Unclassified-2022-Annual-Report-UAP.pdf?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [FY 2023](https://www.aaro.mil/Portals/136/PDFs/UNCLASSIFIED-FY23%5FConsolidated%5FAnnual%5FReport%5Fon%5FUAP-Oct%5F25%5F2023%5F1236.pdf?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) and [FY 2024](https://media.defense.gov/2024/Nov/14/2003583603/-1/-1/0/FY24-CONSOLIDATED-ANNUAL-REPORT-ON-UAP-508.PDF?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). In the latest report covering fiscal year 2024, AARO said they received 757 reports of UAPs between May 1, 2023 and June 1, 2024\. 81 of the reports came from the military, and 18 reports came from locations related to “US nuclear infrastructure, weapons, and launch sites.” The report also mentioned a new initiative being developed at Georgia Tech Research Institute called GREMLIN. According to the report, GREMLIN is a portable sensor system that integrates radar, electro-optical/infrared sensors, and radio-frequency monitoring tools to help address the lack of high-quality sensor-based data that can be used for tracking and identifying UAPs. GREMLIN was being field tested in Texas last year, according to Task & Purpose, but was still trying to filter out the [bats and birds](https://taskandpurpose.com/news/military-ufo-gremlin/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) it was detecting. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-09-at-11.41.58-PM.png) A diagram of the GREMLIN portable mutli-sensor system. Source: [AARO](https://media.defense.gov/2024/Nov/14/2003583603/-1/-1/0/FY24-CONSOLIDATED-ANNUAL-REPORT-ON-UAP-508.PDF?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) AARO’s website hosts a [growing collection](https://www.aaro.mil/UAP-Cases/Official-UAP-Imagery/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) of high-quality UAP footage, as well as possible explanations and official [determinations](https://www.aaro.mil/UAP-Cases/UAP-Case-Resolution-Reports/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) for the UAP. And if you are a current or former government employee, service member or government contractor and you happen to see something unexplainable in the night sky, you can [submit your report](https://www.aaro.mil/Submit-A-Report/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) via a form on their website. *Above: "Mt. Etna Object." Observed Decmber 1, 2018 near Mt. Etna in Sicily, Italy. Source:* [*AARO / DOD*](https://www.dvidshub.net/video/944201/mt-etna-object?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) 🙏🏻 ****Did you enjoy this post?** You can subscribe to our newsletter to get future posts delivered to your inbox for free. 👉🏻 📫 [Subscribe now](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/subscribe#/portal/). ****Sharing is caring** 📣 If you think your followers or friends may like it, please consider sharing it. 🙋🏻‍♀️ If you have any suggestions, comments or requests, please email them to [beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com](mailto:beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com) Thanks for reading! \- Jon Keegan ([@jonkeegan](https://twitter.com/jonkeegan?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)) ### 14,000 Photos of Army Uniforms and Rations from the 70s and 80s URL: https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/army-uniforms-rations-photos-1970s-1980s/ Last updated: 2024-11-20T15:54:25.000Z ![A colorful quilt of photographs from the A sample of some of the photographs from the Natick Soldier Systems Center Photographic Collection, featuring faded color photos of models posing in uniforms and military gear.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/11/natick-header-2-1.jpg) A sample of some of the photographs from the Natick Soldier Systems Center Photographic Collection. Source: US Army / Digital Commons [Natick Soldier Systems Center Photographic Collection](https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/collections/commonwealth:cz30ps65n?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) *This story has been updated.* The US armed forces is made up of [1.3 million people](https://dwp.dmdc.osd.mil/dwp/app/dod-data-reports/workforce-reports?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) — soldiers, pilots, plumbers, lawyers, logistics specialists, doctors and even dog handlers. And those active duty forces need uniforms, cold weather gear, backpacks, shelf-stable rations and all kinds of other essential supplies. In a group of unassuming office buildings nestled in the suburbs 20 miles west of Boston, the [US Army Natick Soldier Systems Center](https://www.army.mil/natick?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) helps develop and test a wide variety of this kind of gear that keeps soldiers safe, well-fed and dressed for any conditions. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/06/unisex-staple-t-shirt-black-front-665e9d4ae2ded.jpg) #### 1987 Army Radio Spectrum Diagram T-Shirt Buried in a declassified 1987 Army Field Manual Spectrum Management document, this beautiful schematic shows "a typical, completed, armored-infantry-mechanized (AIM) division multichannel system diagram with the assigned operating frequencies using the single ABM plan." [Browse the Beautiful Public Data shop on Etsy](https://beautifulpublicdata.etsy.com/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) On the Boston Public Library’s [Digital Commonwealth](https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) archive, you can find a treasure trove of [14,000 photographs](https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/collections/commonwealth:cz30ps65n?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) documenting decades of the work done at the US Army Natick Soldier Systems Center. In the archive you will find photos from official ceremonies, dozens of different types of tents and temporary shelters developed at the center, and various parachute designs. But the majority of this fascinating archive is filled with photos of military food, uniforms and protective gear. There’s almost 500 photos of helmets, more than 500 photos of different boots, and nearly 400 photos of balaclavas, parkas, thermal underwear and other cold weather gear. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/11/zk51zt98z_800.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/11/2v23wp82h_800.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/11/2v23wq296_800.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/11/4f16ch815_800.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/11/4f16d185j_800.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/11/4f16d685k_800.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/11/4f16d739p_800.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/11/4f16d993w_800.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/11/4f16dc46x_800.jpg) A sample of some of the photographs from the Natick Soldier Systems Center Photographic Collection. Source: US Army / Digital Commons [Natick Soldier Systems Center Photographic Collection](https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/collections/commonwealth:cz30ps65n?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) There’s over 2,000 photos of military uniforms — battle fatigues, officer dress uniforms, flight suits, bomb disposal outfits, and hospital uniforms for both men and women. The vast majority of the photos were taken in the 1970s and 80s, and they definitely reflect the era they were taken in. Many of the studio shots were photographed on medium format film in a studio, with professional gear like colored backdrops and multiple flashes. In the photos that feature prototype meals, large sans-serif capital letters spell out such delicious dishes as AIR FORCE BEEF BITES (SHELF STABLE) or FREEZE DRIED RAW PORKCHOPS and even some of the meals prepared for NASA’s Apollo program: BITE SIZE SPACE FOODS. Some of these images could be stills from a Wes Anderson film. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/11/44558h19t_800-1.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/11/ks65hf31r_800.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/11/nz8084599_800.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/11/zk51wj63v_800.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/11/4f16cq295_800.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/11/4f16cz01x_800.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/11/4f16d973d_800.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/11/44558h09k_800.jpg) A sample of some of the photographs from the Natick Soldier Systems Center Photographic Collection. Source: US Army / Digital Commons [Natick Soldier Systems Center Photographic Collection](https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/collections/commonwealth:cz30ps65n?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) Flipping through this collection randomly can be jarring. One minute you see a pretty, smiling woman donning a Kevlar vest, then a tray of dehydrated processed beef, followed by a paratrooper with an anti-tank missile and then a metal casket in a grassy field. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/11/bpd-dem-header.jpg) ## Sign up for Beautiful Public Data A curated selection of visually interesting datasets collected by local, state and federal government agencies. By Jon Keegan. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. We've covered license plates, nuclear weapons, moon rocks, highway signs, volcano drones, undersea surveys and prescription pills.If you like this post, you will enjoy this newsletter. I *wish* I could take credit for discovering this incredible collection, but I must give credit to Paris-based visual researcher [Matthieu Nicol](https://www.toomanypictures.com/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) who [discovered these photos](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/14/style/us-army-declassified-photos-fashion-army.html?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) while researching vintage food packaging a few years ago. “While working on these food images, I started bumping into one, and two and three and 100 and 1,000 and 2,000 and, and many thousands...I was like, this is amazing. And each time I would find an image, I couldn't believe my eyes. I say, is that real?,” said Nicol who spoke to me via Zoom. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/11/1257bj06b_800.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/11/df65vm88s_800.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/11/df65vp02m_800.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/11/df65vt28k_800.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/11/df65w232s_800.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/11/fn107b11n_800.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/11/k930g217h_800.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/11/k930g481z_800.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/11/nz80b275m_800.jpg) A sample of some of the photographs from the Natick Soldier Systems Center Photographic Collection. Source: US Army / Digital Commons [Natick Soldier Systems Center Photographic Collection](https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/collections/commonwealth:cz30ps65n?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) Nicol first published a small pocket-sized book of the food photos from the Natick collection titled “[BETTER FOOD FOR OUR FIGHTING MEN](https://www.delpireandco.com/en/produit/better-food-for-our-fighting-men/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com).” Then he curated a selection of the uniform photos in a [major photography festival](https://www.rencontres-arles.com/en/expositions/view/1551/fashion-army?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), which attracted a lot of attention which led to his next book of the uniform photos, “Fashion Army.” > Nicol said, “I'm not at all a fashion specialist. I don't know anything about textile, and my interest is not at all about looks, and textile, and the history of fashion. This is not my specialty. I'm a picture editor, but I saw immediately that these images had so much to say to us today.” For “Fashion Army,” Nicol stuck to some self-imposed rules while choosing which of the 14,000 images to include: only actual people wearing uniforms (no mannequins), and only poses and glances that were slightly awkward to make it “a bit uncanny”. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/11/nz80b9239_800.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/11/nz80bb90c_800.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/11/nz808d51r_800.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/11/nz808k99z_800.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/11/nz808p60c_800.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/11/nz808r10k_800.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/11/nz808s87d_800.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/11/nz809h045_800.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/11/nz809k93g_800.jpg) A sample of some of the photographs from the Natick Soldier Systems Center Photographic Collection. Source: US Army / Digital Commons [Natick Soldier Systems Center Photographic Collection](https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/collections/commonwealth:cz30ps65n?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) While some of the photos (and models) look odd or hilarious today, he wasn’t looking to make fun any of the subjects in the photos, and chose not to include some of the most bizarre photos. Nicol said, “So we decided with my publisher...we said, OK, these images, they're crazy images, but these ones, we take them off because we don't want to get into this mockery thing.” Nicol made many attempts to find out more about the collection, but getting information from a bureaucracy like the US Army turned out to be daunting. After a lot of back and forth, the Army confirmed that the photos were indeed in the public domain, and free to be used in any way. Nicol said, “So my approach to this corpus is purely, artistic or visual, because I don't have all the answers. And my aim with this work is to circulate images that were once produced for a certain reason that now have no value, no use.” *Correction: An earlier version of this story misspelled Matthieu Nicol's last name.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/09/enhanced-matte-paper-framed-poster--in--black-16x20-person-66fa3ea0248e7.png) #### Gift idea: Framed Prints of AIS Ship Visualizations Ships at sea are constantly broadcasting their real-time location, identification, speed, and orientation data via AIS. Plotting out a years worth of ship movements (2023) reveals beautiful patterns of our journeys at sea. Ferries, fishing boats, cargo ships and sailboats' coordinates etch electric pathways in these stunning visualizations of NOAA data. 🚢 These posters of seven major US ports make a unique gift for the nautical nerd in your life. Order by December 9 for delivery before Christmas. Maps feature: Cape Cod, DelMarVa, Hilton Head SC, Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, Southern California, Seattle / San Juan Islands, and Chicago. [Browse the Beautiful Public Data shop on Etsy](https://www.etsy.com/shop/BeautifulPublicData?section%5Fid=51181574&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) 🙏🏻 ****Did you enjoy this post?** You can subscribe to our newsletter to get future posts delivered to your inbox for free. 👉🏻 📫 [Subscribe now](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/subscribe#/portal/). ****Sharing is caring** 📣 If you think your followers or friends may like it, please consider sharing it. 🙋🏻‍♀️ If you have any suggestions, comments or requests, please email them to [beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com](mailto:beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com) Thanks for reading! \- Jon Keegan Bluesky: [@jonkeegan.com](https://bsky.app/profile/jonkeegan.com?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) Threads: [@jonkeeganstories](https://www.threads.net/@jonkeeganstories?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) Mastodon: [mastodon.social/@jonkeegan](https://mastodon.social/@jonkeegan?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) ### Visualizing Ship Movements with AIS Data URL: https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/visualizing-ship-movements-with-ais-data/ Last updated: 2026-08-07T04:29:17.000Z ![A quilt of AIS ship track maps. Thin, luminous lines glow yellow, gold and red on a dark purple background. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/09/ais-vessel-tracks-header.jpg) Some details of AIS tracking data around some of America's busiest waterways. Data: [NOAA](https://hub.marinecadastre.gov/pages/vesseltraffic?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com); Map: Jon Keegan / Beautiful Public Data As we run, drive, bike, and fly, humans leave behind telltale tracks of movement on Earth—if you know where to look. Physical tracks, thermal signatures, and chemical traces can reveal where we’ve been. But another type of breadcrumb trail comes from the radio signals emitted by the cars, planes, trains, and boats we use. Just like ADS-B transmitters on airplanes, which provide real-time location, identification, speed, and orientation data, the AIS (Automatic Identification System) performs the same function for ships at sea. Operating at 161.975 and 162.025 MHz, AIS transmitters broadcast a ship’s identification number, name, call sign, length, beam, type, and antenna location every six minutes. Ship location, position timestamp, and direction are transmitted more frequently. The primary purpose of AIS is maritime safety—it helps prevent collisions, assists in rescues, and provides insight into the impact of ship traffic on marine life. ![A heat map of boat tracks on the Maine coastline. Thin, luminous lines glow yellow, gold and red on a dark purple background. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/09/maine3.jpg) The lobster boats of midcoast Maine. Data: [NOAA](https://hub.marinecadastre.gov/pages/vesseltraffic?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com); Map: Jon Keegan / Beautiful Public Data Unlike ADS-B in a plane, AIS can only be turned off in rare circumstances. The result of this is a treasure trove of fascinating ship movement data. You can even watch live ship data on sites like [Vessel Finder](https://www.vesselfinder.com/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). Using NOAA’s “[Marine Cadastre](https://hub.marinecadastre.gov/pages/vesseltraffic?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)” tool, you can download 16 years’ worth of detailed daily ship movements (filtered to the minute), in addition to “transit count” maps generated from a year’s worth of data to show each ship's accumulated paths. I downloaded all of 2023's transit count maps and loaded them up in QGIS to visualize this year of marine traffic. The resulting maps are abstract, electric and revealing. When you remove the landmasses from the map and leave only the ship traces, the lines resemble long-exposure photos of sparklers, high-energy particle collisions, or strands of illuminated fiber optic wire. However, when you reveal ports, harbors, islands, and ferry lines, the ship traces take on meaning and order. Only by adding the fourth dimension—time—can we fully appreciate the etched markings of our journeys across rivers, lakes, and oceans. When you zoom into these maps, you can sometimes make out eerie patterns, that look like crude graffiti scratched with a sharp pen, or neat clusters of geographic lines. Some of these are fishing grounds, others [scientific surveys mapping the sea floor](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/mapping-the-sea-floor/), and others show the traffic of boats going to and from offshore oil rigs, like the many constellations of light found off Louisiana's gulf coast. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/09/PR.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/09/chicago.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/09/del-mar-va.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/09/florida1.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/09/gulf-zoom-2.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/09/hawaii2.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/09/lax.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/09/louisiana.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/09/mich-2.jpg) Top left to right: Puerto Rico, US & British Virgin Islands; Chicago, IL; Norfolk, VA. Middle left to right: Florida, Gulf of Mexico; Gulf of Mexico; Hawaii. Bottom left to right: Los Angeles; Louisiana; Lake Huron. Data: [NOAA](https://hub.marinecadastre.gov/pages/vesseltraffic?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com); Map: Jon Keegan / Beautiful Public Data # Spoofing to evade sanctions Having a global, near-real-time system for tracking the precise movements of all ships at sea sounds like a great innovation—unless you’re trying to keep your ships’ movements and cargoes secret. In 2023, Bloomberg investigated how Russia evaded sanctions on its oil exports after the invasion of Ukraine, partly by spoofing AIS systems to mislead observers. Observing a fleet of rusting ships of questionable seaworthiness, Bloomberg’s reporters compared AIS data with what they saw on the ground—and discovered discrepancies. This may have been due to intentional AIS “spoofing,” where false ship coordinates were transmitted. ![A quilt of AIS ship track maps showing Cape Cod, MA and Martha's Vineyard, MA. Thin, luminous lines glow yellow, gold and red on a dark purple background. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/09/mv1.jpg) If you squint, you can make out Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard. Data: [NOAA](https://hub.marinecadastre.gov/pages/vesseltraffic?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com); Map: Jon Keegan / Beautiful Public Data # Monitoring the fishing industry [Global Fishing Watch](https://globalfishingwatch.org/our-technology/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) is a non-profit organization that seeks to monitor the fishing industry in an effort to protect marine life from over-fishing. According to Global Fishing Watch, only 2% of fishing vessels use AIS transmitters. Founded by Google, ocean conservation group Oceana and satellite imagery company SkyTruth Global Fishing Watch analyzes AIS data from fishing vessels, but combines that data with satellite imagery and uses machine learning to classify the type of fishing technology being used. ![A screenshot of a Global Fishing Watch dashboard showing a fishing boat's movements. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-17-at-12.06.19-AM.png) AIS tracking history for the Maine fishing boat "Batshit Crazy". Source: [Global Fishing Watch](https://globalfishingwatch.org/map/fishing-activity/default-public/vessel/a74f889b6-6a01-5daa-5c27-ddc91c47af10?start=2024-06-14T00%3A00%3A00.000Z&end=2024-09-14T00%3A00%3A00.000Z&longitude=-68.82791370870589&latitude=43.991762111829864&zoom=9.362843846242006&vesselDatasetId=public-global-vessel-identity%3Av3.0&vesselIdentitySource=selfReportedInfo&vesselSelfReportedId=a74f889b6-6a01-5daa-5c27-ddc91c47af10&timebarVisualisation=vessel&visibleEvents[0]=fishing&visibleEvents[1]=encounter&visibleEvents[2]=port%5Fvisit&vesselSection=activity&vesselRelated=encounters&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/09/savannah2.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/09/seattle.jpg) Left: Savannah, GA. Right: Victoria BC, Seattle, WA. Data: [NOAA](https://hub.marinecadastre.gov/pages/vesseltraffic?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com); Map: Jon Keegan / Beautiful Public Data 👨🏻‍💻 ****Nerdbox** For this post, I downloaded CSV ship data, and transit count GeoTIFF files from NOAA's [Marine Cadastre](https://hub.marinecadastre.gov/pages/vesseltraffic?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) database. Working with CSVs with the millions of individual data points proved too cumbersome (but cool for animations), so I then switched to the GeoTIFFs, which I loaded into the ever-amazing open-source [QGIS](https://www.qgis.org/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), playing around with layer styles to get the right effect. 🚢🛳️📡 If you live near the ocean, or a major river, you can receive AIS signals on a cheap SDR dongle using a decoder like [SDRAngel](https://www.sdrangel.org/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). Just load it up to 161.975 and 162.025 MHz. I'm not sure if this is still supported, but you can also use Marc Dacosta's amazing [Ambient Shipping](https://github.com/marcdacosta/ambient-shipping?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) tool to find out not only what ship is passing by, but what is listed on the cargo manifest. You should read about it. [Such a creative idea](https://marcdacosta.com/ambient-shipping/index.html?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). 🙏🏻 ****Did you enjoy this post?** You can subscribe to our newsletter to get future posts delivered to your inbox for free. 👉🏻 📫 [Subscribe now](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/subscribe#/portal/). ****☕️ Buy me a coffee** Say thanks with a [one time tip](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/#/portal/support). ****Sharing is caring** 📣 If you think your followers or friends may like it, please consider sharing it. 👕🖼️ ****Buy Beautiful Public Data merch on our** [****Etsy shop**](https://www.etsy.com/shop/BeautifulPublicData?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) [Unique t-shirts and prints ](https://www.etsy.com/shop/BeautifulPublicData?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)inspired by our stories 🙋🏻‍♀️ If you have any suggestions, comments or requests, please email them to [beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com](mailto:beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com) Thanks for reading! \- Jon Keegan Bluesky: [@jonkeegan.com](https://bsky.app/profile/jonkeegan.com?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) Mastodon: [mastodon.social/@jonkeegan](https://mastodon.social/@jonkeegan?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/09/enhanced-matte-paper-framed-poster--in--black-16x20-person-66fa3ea0248e7.png) #### Buy Framed Prints of AIS Ship Visualizations Ships at sea are constantly broadcasting their real-time location, identification, speed, and orientation data via AIS. Plotting out a years worth of ship movements (2023) reveals beautiful patterns of our journeys at sea. Ferries, fishing boats, cargo ships and sailboats' coordinates etch electric pathways in these stunning visualizations of NOAA data. 🚢 Adding new maps soon! [Browse the Beautiful Public Data shop on Etsy](https://www.etsy.com/shop/BeautifulPublicData?section%5Fid=51181574&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) ### Design for the People: The US Web Design System and the Public Sans Typeface URL: https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/us-web-design-system-public-sans/ Last updated: 2024-07-02T14:00:48.000Z ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/05/uswds_header.jpg) Before the internet, Americans may have interacted with the federal government by stepping into grand buildings adorned with impressive stone columns and gleaming marble floors. Today, the neoclassical architecture of those physical spaces has been replaced by the digital architecture of website design – HTML code, tables, forms, and buttons. While people visiting a government website to apply for student loans, research veterans’ benefits, or enroll in Medicare may not notice these digital elements, they play a crucial role. If a website is buggy or doesn’t work on your phone, taxpayers cannot access the services they have paid for. This can feel like walking up to a boarded-up government building with broken windows, creating a negative impression of the government itself. In the US, there are about 26,000 federal websites. Early on, each site had its own designs, fonts, and login systems, creating frustration for the public, and wasting government resources. ![A colorful collection of different button styles, sizes and shapes. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/06/button-audit.png) A survey of the many different styles of buttons from government websites as of 2015\. Source: [18F / GSA ](https://18f.gsa.gov/2015/09/28/web-design-standards/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) The troubled launch Healthcare.gov in 2013 highlighted the need for a better way to build government digital services. In 2014, President Obama created two new teams to help improve government tech. Within the General Services Administration (GSA), a new team called [18F](https://18f.gsa.gov/about/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) (named for their Washington, DC office at 1800 F Street) was created to “collaborate with other agencies to fix technical problems, build products, and improve public service through technology.” The team was built to move at the speed of tech start-ups rather than lumbering bureaucratic agencies. [Subscribe to Beautiful Public Data!](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/subscribe#/portal/) The U.S. Digital Service (USDS) was tasked “to deliver better government services to the American people through technology and design.” In 2015, the two teams [collaborated](https://18f.gsa.gov/2015/09/28/web-design-standards/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) to build the US Web Design System (USWDS)—a style guide and collection of user interface components and design patterns to ensure a consistent user experience across government websites. “Inconsistency is felt, even if not always precisely articulated in usability research findings,” said Dan Williams, the USWDS program lead, in an email. ![A collection of various sample web design elements such as buttons, forms, alerts, mobile mockups and sample text blocks.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/06/USWDS_SPREAD-copy-1.jpg) Some of the sample design elements for the USWDS. Source: [https://designsystem.digital.gov/](https://designsystem.digital.gov/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) Today, the system defines [47 user interface components](https://designsystem.digital.gov/components/overview/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) such as buttons, alerts, search boxes and forms each with their own design examples, sample code and guidelines such as “Be polite” and “Don’t overdo it.” The USWDS is now in its third iteration, and is used in 160 government websites. “As of September 2023, 94 agencies use USWDS code, and it powers about 1.1 billion pageviews on federal websites,” said Williams. USWDS [design principles](https://designsystem.digital.gov/design-principles/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) include focusing on real users’ needs, earning trust and embracing accessibility. The system requires websites to be optimized for all users, including people with disabilities such as those using screen readers or those with color blindness. Williams said accessibility is important to the team’s efforts, noting that they “prioritize any accessibility-related bug or improvement we find (or is contributed by our community).” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/06/sample_va.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/06/sample_medicaid.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/06/sample_worker.gov.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/06/sample_scotus.png) Some federal websites that use the USWDS. Clockwise from top left: , , , To ensure clear and consistent typography, the free and open-source typeface Public Sans was created for the US government. “It started as a design experiment,” said Williams, who designed the typeface, which was released in 2019\. “We were interested in trying to establish an open source solution space for a typeface, just like we had for the other design elements in the design system,” said Williams. Based on the Libre Franklin typeface, Public Sans is described as “a strong, neutral, principles-driven, open-source typeface for text or display.” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/06/screencapture-public-sans-digital-gov-public-sans-800-2024-05-18-00_16_51-1.png) Both Public Sans and the USWDS embrace transparency and collaboration with government agencies and the public, inviting contributions to their development via the projects’ [GitHub](https://github.com/uswds/public-sans?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) [pages](https://github.com/uswds/uswds?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). To ensure that the hard-learned lessons of improving public technology aren’t forgotten, the projects embrace continuous improvement. One of Public Sans’ design principles offers key guidance in this area: “Strive to be better, not necessarily perfect.” 🙏🏻 ****Did you enjoy this post?** You can subscribe to our newsletter to get future posts delivered to your inbox for free. 👉🏻 📫 [Subscribe now](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/subscribe#/portal/). ****Sharing is caring** 📣 If you think your followers or friends may like it, please consider sharing it. 🙋🏻‍♀️ If you have any suggestions, comments or requests, please email them to [beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com](mailto:beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com) Thanks for reading! \- Jon Keegan Threads: [@jonkeeganstories](https://www.threads.net/@jonkeeganstories?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) Mastodon: [mastodon.social/@jonkeegan](https://mastodon.social/@jonkeegan?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/07/unisex-staple-t-shirt-black-front-6677459588dbe.png) #### Unisex Radio Frequency Chart T-shirt This crazy, beautiful US government chart illustrates the incredible complexity of managing one of our nation’s most crucial – and invisible – national assets: the radio spectrum. Based on the NTIA's beautiful "United States Frequency Allocation Chart". Beautiful Public Data logo in blue on the left sleeve. [Browse the Beautiful Public Data shop on Etsy](https://beautifulpublicdata.etsy.com/listing/1739031288?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) ### Aerial Glacier Photographs URL: https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/aerial-glacier-photographs/ Last updated: 2024-06-20T01:11:33.000Z ![A quilt of square black and white photos of glaciers and mountains. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/06/quilt_4-1.png) Source: USGS; National Science Foundation [Arctic Data Center](https://arcticdata.io/catalog/view/doi:10.18739/A2VH5CJ8K?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). As scientists study the effects of global warming, one of the most visible and alarming indicators is the rapid shrinking of glaciers. Government scientists have been documenting the size, shape, and movement of glaciers since the 1950s employing techniques ranging from direct field observations to aerial photography. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has one of the [largest collections of aerial glacier photographs](https://arcticdata.io/catalog/view/doi:10.18739/A2VH5CJ8K?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). Over 40 years, the USGS’ North American Glacier Aerial Photography (NAGAP) project captured thousands of striking high-resolution photos of glaciers and their surroundings. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/06/NAGAP_73V2_020_TN.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/06/NAGAP_74V1_035_TN.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/06/NAGAP_71V1_186_TN.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/06/NAGAP_71V3_233_TN.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/06/NAGAP_73V2_295_TN.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/06/NAGAP_73V2_273_TN.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/06/NAGAP_71V3_181_TN.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/06/NAGAP_73V2_041_TN.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/06/NAGAP_73V2_038_TN.jpg) A sample collection of the United States Geological Survey's North American Glacier Aerial Photography (NAGAP) collection. Source: USGS; National Science Foundation [Arctic Data Center](https://arcticdata.io/catalog/view/doi:10.18739/A2VH5CJ8K?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). From 1960 to 1983, self-taught glaciologist Austin Post used a 63-pound World War II-era [Fairchild K-17](https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Upcoming/Photos/igphoto/2000573049/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) aerial reconnaissance camera to shoot over 100,000 glacier photos in the western US and Alaska. One of the bush pilots Post teamed up with was William R. Fairchild, who flew a Beech 18 twin engine airplane equipped with five K-17 cameras—one mounted on the nose, two in the belly of the plane, and one on each side. The photos were shot in a sequence, with overlapping coverage from 10,000 to 20,000 feet, capturing the images through a 6-inch lens, on 9-by-9-inch panchromatic film, which came in 200 foot rolls. Post’s extensive collection of photography helped scientists understand the processes of surging and calving, and is considered a “[giant of glacier research](https://www.gi.alaska.edu/alaska-science-forum/goodbye-giant-glacier-research?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)”. In 2000, “[*Glacier Ice*](https://bookshop.org/p/books/glacier-ice-austin-post/6643353?ean=9780295979106&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)*”* was published, a book of Post’s photos with co-author Edward R. LaChapelle. ![A black and white photo of a man looking down at a large black aerial K-17 camera mounted to the floor of a small airplane.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/06/1950._J.F._Wear_operating_K-17_camera_in_Cessna_195._-33422902636--1.jpg) The World War II-era Fairfield K-17 camera was used for reconnaissance and mapping by many government agencies. A photographer operating a K-17 camera and view finder in a Cessna 195 airplane. Photo by: J.H. Huber Date: November 15, 1950Source: [USDA Forest Service / Wikimedia](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1950.%5FJ.F.%5FWear%5Foperating%5FK-17%5Fcamera%5Fin%5FCessna%5F195.%5F%2833422902636%29.jpg?uselang=en&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com#Licensing) While many of these photos are over sixty years old, they continue to contribute valuable data to glacier science using the latest advances in photogrammetry, the process by which three-dimensional geometry can be generated from analyzing a series of photographs. From 2014 to 2017, [researchers scanned](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2022.113379?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) around 20,000 of the photos in the NAGAP collection directly from the original negatives. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/06/1-s2.0-S0034425722004850-gr1_lrg.jpg) Coverage map for scanned North American Glacier Aerial Photography (NAGAP) imagery acquired between 1964 and 1997 across western North America available from the NSF Arctic Data Center. Source: [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2022.113379](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2022.113379?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) This effort, led by University of Washington researchers, sought to extract this kind of photogrammetric data from the old photographs to observe changes not only in the appearance of the glaciers but also in their actual geometry and volume. Today the [data and photos](https://arcticdata.io/catalog/view/doi:10.18739/A2VH5CJ8K?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) from the NAGAP collection are hosted at the National Science Foundation's [Arctic Data Center](https://arcticdata.io/catalog/view/doi:10.18739/A2VH5CJ8K?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). This series of crisp black-and-white images captures an incredible variety of textures with undulating forms that at times become so abstract it is hard to discern what you are looking at, causing a loss of sense of scale. They could be microscopic images of wood grain, feathers, or even images from a probe flying past a moon of Saturn. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/06/NAGAP_73V2_067_TN.jpg) A Sept. 11, 1973 aerial photo of the Black Rapids Glacier in Alaska, taken at 16,000 feet. Source: USGS; National Science Foundation [Arctic Data Center](https://arcticdata.io/catalog/view/doi:10.18739/A2VH5CJ8K?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). Thankfully, the perimeter of the photos is preserved, containing important data, and details, and evidence of the camera and the photographer’s handwriting noting the subject of the photo, the film roll, and the date. Many photos include an indicator noting the serial number and focal length of the lens (151.283 mm in many photos), and some contain a 24-hour clock face to note the time the photo was taken, and also an altimeter indicating the altitude of the flight. All of this rich metadata was captured with physical instruments, decades before digital photography. These photos are worth viewing in high resolution on a large screen. ![A black and white photo looking down on a snowy glacier. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/06/NAGAP_74V2_241_TN.jpg) Many photos contain important metadata from physical instrumentation and handwriting on the perimeter of the negative. Source: USGS; National Science Foundation [Arctic Data Center](https://arcticdata.io/catalog/view/doi:10.18739/A2VH5CJ8K?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). # North Cascade Glaciers The National Park Service also maintains an [archive of incredible color glacier photos](https://npgallery.nps.gov/NOCA/NOCAGlacier?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). In the US, one of the highest concentrations of mountain glaciers (aside from Alaska) can be found in Washington’s North Cascades National Park ([NOCA](https://www.nps.gov/noca/index.htm?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)). This stunning national park has over 300 glaciers—around one-third of all of the glaciers in the lower 48 states. The dataset primarily focuses on four main glaciers: Noisy Creek, North Klawatti, Sandalee, and Silver Creek glaciers. The collection of 250 photographs spans more than 60 years, with photos from 1947 to 2009. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/06/1e18d29b-c80b-407f-9292-321abee85cb9-1.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/06/d8f5eaba-a3e8-4169-975c-086b653c4886.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/06/03e5ae6c-6bd6-4794-a2b7-6d0bb3906ca1.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/06/38a28644-99ff-4a19-ba95-e9b88e7ae8be.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/06/b62669c0-098b-4a90-95fd-2549088de347.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/06/429004ab-4182-406d-a203-0e372fc0937b.jpg) Samples from the NPS North Cascades National Park aerial glacier photo archive. Zooming in on these striking high-resolution photos lets you see individual boulders, fissures in the rippling snowpack, and cerulean blue lakes of icy water that look like holes punched out of a desolate rocky landscape. ![Color aerial photograph of glacier, snowfields and alpine lake on mountain peak.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/06/eae2d336-8695-4958-947f-2d7c483ed11d.jpg) A September 25, 2009 aerial photo of North Klawatti glacier, North Cascades National Park, Washington. Source: [U.S. National Park Service](https://npgallery.nps.gov/NOCA/AssetDetail/eae2d336-8695-4958-947f-2d7c483ed11d?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). 👨🏻‍💻 ****Nerdbox** For this post, I tried to use the handy [R](https://www.r-project.org/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) script provided by the researchers (Dr Matt Nolan, Austin S Post, William Hauer, Alexander Zinck, & Shad O'Neel. (2017). **Photogrammetric scans of aerial photographs of North American glaciers*. Arctic Data Center. [doi:10.18739/A2VH5CJ8K](https://doi.org/10.18739/A2VH5CJ8K?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)) to download the full photo collection, but I had some trouble getting it working (I don't use R often) and I was able to figure out the URL pattern, so I just used [curl](https://curl.se/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) to grab them and the associated metadata. I used [ImageMagick](https://imagemagick.org/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) to make the quilt of photos for the header. I put together a CSV with all of the filenames and IDs you need to download this collection here: [https://github.com/jonkeegan/nagap-aerial-glacier-photographs](https://github.com/jonkeegan/nagap-aerial-glacier-photographs?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) 🙏🏻 ****Did you enjoy this post?** You can subscribe to our newsletter to get future posts delivered to your inbox for free. 👉🏻 📫 [Subscribe now](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/subscribe#/portal/). ****Sharing is caring** 📣 If you think your followers or friends may like it, please consider sharing it. 🙋🏻‍♀️ If you have any suggestions, comments or requests, please email them to [beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com](mailto:beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com) Thanks for reading! \- Jon Keegan Threads: [@jonkeeganstories](https://www.threads.net/@jonkeeganstories?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) Mastodon: [mastodon.social/@jonkeegan](https://mastodon.social/@jonkeegan?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/06/unisex-staple-t-shirt-white-front-665c91a41e44d.jpg) #### Mirror Fusion Schematic T-Shirts Featuring a schematic of the 400 ton "yin-yang" magnet used in the The Mirror Fusion Test Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories. Source: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories archives. [Browse the Beautiful Public Data shop on Etsy](https://beautifulpublicdata.etsy.com/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) ### The Naughty Words the FAA Removed From the Sky URL: https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/trump-naughty-faa-waypoints/ Last updated: 2025-03-24T04:37:33.000Z ![A map of the US, with hundreds of five letter navigational waypoints laid out across the country](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/05/trump-waypoints-header.jpg) Some of the 368 navigation waypoints that the FAA renamed between 2015 and 2024\. Source: FAA / Beautiful Public Data. Recently I wrote about the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) [fantastically information-dense navigation maps](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/faa-aviation-maps/). In that story, I explained the interesting system of navigation “fixes”— specific points of latitude and longitude in the sky used by pilots to navigate. These fixes have five-letter names and are designed to be pronounceable for clarity over noisy radios. The names can be colorful, often referencing pop culture, such as **GNDLF** (Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings), **JJEDI** (the Jedi knights from Star Wars), or **SNFLD** (Jerry Seinfeld). They can also be inside jokes or even slightly naughty. [FAA Aviation MapsAmong all of the visual information published by the U.S. government, there may be no product with a higher information density than the Federal Aviation Administration’s aviation maps.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/size/w256h256/2023/01/Artboard-4.png)Beautiful Public DataJon Keegan![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/size/w1200/2024/01/faa_maps_header.jpg)](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/faa-aviation-maps/) Towards the end of the story, I noted that these waypoints have occasionally been the source of controversy. In 2015, the FAA renamed several waypoints on the east coast of Florida near a certain presidential candidate’s waterfront estate. The waypoints that were renamed were **DONLD**, **TRMMP**, and **UFIRD**. Curious about the details of this change and other waypoint replacements over the years, I filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the FAA before publishing my initial story. The records I received back contain a list of the 368 waypoints that have been renamed since 2015 and included some interesting details surrounding the episode which to my knowledge have not been reported before. Due to the fact that many civil servants have been unfairly harassed for their work having anything to do with the former president, I am not using their names or specific titles. Here's a searchable table of the waypoints that were renamed: ## “This is on fire right now.” It had only been a month since Donald Trump announced his first presidential campaign. NBC had already cut ties with Trump after he called Mexican immigrants criminals and rapists. For two weeks in July 2015, a group of FAA employees and administrators frantically emailed each other in response to a brewing crisis. > *“So....* > > *Please take a cursory look at the cost involved so we have that information.* > > *Karen Schwartz, a stringer for the New York Times, asked if we are considering renaming three air traffic fixes near Palm Beach International Airport because of Donald Trump’s recent “racist statements about Mexicans.” The fixes were named DONLD, TRMMP and UFIRD a number of years ago because they are near Trump’s house. We are coordinating a response,” wrote an administrator in FAA Mission Support Services."* According to emails obtained through my information request to the FAA, the agency administrators’ first course of action after a meeting about the issue was to determine the cost of renaming the three waypoints. An official at FAA Aeronautical Information Services wrote: > “*Per our telecom, can you provide a listing of actions necessary to complete the proposed changes to FIX names at Palm Beach International. We are just gathering information for what this would cost AIS if we were to be asked to complete the work, This is not a request to begin action. Based on the email below, a quick turnaround is requested*” The sense of urgency came through in the messages. Shortly after this email, one FAA employee wrote: > “*This is on fire right now.*” One employee noted that the Trump waypoints were originally published in December 2009\. After some back and forth, it was determined that the change would take 50 hours of work, estimated to cost $11,443\. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/11/bpd-dem-header.jpg) ## Sign up for Beautiful Public Data A curated selection of visually interesting datasets collected by local, state and federal government agencies. By Jon Keegan. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. We've covered license plates, nuclear weapons, moon rocks, highway signs, volcano drones, undersea surveys and prescription pills.If you like this post, you will enjoy this newsletter. On July 9, 2015, The New York Times published a story by Karen Schwartz about the change with the headline “[F.A.A. to Drop Donald Trump-Related Navigation Codes](https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/10/travel/faa-to-drop-donald-trump-related-navigation-codes.html?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com).” Four days later, FAA employees circulated draft language for a statement about the change: > “*Aeronautical Information Services (AIS) helps the NAS remain safe and respectful Mission Support Services (MSS) tasked AIS to quickly provide a cost estimate for changing three navigation fix names published on five Standard Instrument Departures (SIDs) at West Palm Beach, FL (KPBI). The fix names UFIRD, DONLD, and TRMMP originally published in 2009 are listed in consecutive order on the IVNKA ONE Departure. However, they are not published in any consecutive or sequential order on the BUFIT ONE, LMORE ONE, MIXAE ONE, or the TBIRD ONE Departures. Therefore, there offensive and derogatory nature went unnoticed until the recent comments of Donald Trump’s speech. These three fix names are being fast track scheduled to be changed when the five SIDs are amended in 10/15/15\. The five amended SIDs were already scheduled to publish on 12/10/15 but the politically sensitive nature of these fix names warranted the additional workload changes and coordination for an earlier publication date.*” The next day, another Trump related waypoint was flagged for renaming: > “*While we are removing Donald Trump, should we also rename the Ivanka SID? (it's his daughter).*” The suggestion was accepted. On December 10, 2015, the new waypoints appeared on FAA charts. The emails show that in October 2016, the conservative activist non-profit Judicial Watch re-filed a FOIA request to the FAA which it had originally sent in July 2015, shortly after the story of the renaming broke. In the emails, it says that Judicial Watch claimed that the first request went unanswered and was again requesting all records related to the changes of the four Trump waypoints (**DONLD**, **TRMMP**, **UFIRD** and **IVANKA**) as well as some other waypoints: **ICICL**, **CURTS** (in Alaska), **LEBRN** (in Ohio) And **INEPT** (in Pennsylvania). It is unclear if that request was ever successfully fulfilled or why they were interested in those particular waypoint changes. In January 2017, Trump was sworn in as President. Only 11 days later, the waypoint controversy flickered back to life with an interesting email. > “*Yes, –––– called me yesterday and mentioned that someone (he didn’t say who) was asking him to reserve some specific fix idents: TRMMP, IVNKA, DONLD, UFIRD for use on a procedure at Palm Beach, FL.*” The sender then reminded the recipient of the controversy and the action the agency took in response. > “*When I mentioned to Jeff the sensitive nature of the names and the background of their being re-named he decided that he did not want to re-reserve the idents.* > > *It appears that someone is interested in re-establishing those fixes at the same arpt\[sic\] as they were prior to being re-named.*” ## Decoding the Waypoints In my FOIA request, I asked the FAA to also include the reasons for each waypoint change, but they didn’t provide them. So I set out to decode what was behind some of these changes. For some waypoint names, it was pretty clear why the FAA might want to clean them up. In Maryland, there was **AWFUL** and Memphis, TN had **BLEWS**. The FAA might have wanted to steer clear of politics by renaming **UNION**, just north of Rapid City SD. Of course, all of these renamings might have innocent explanations, or might have been named for completely different reasons, but for now, we can only speculate. The process of changing these waypoints can take a while, but the changes are lined up for the next scheduled publishing date, as these maps are updated at regular intervals. Examining groups of waypoints published on the same day might indicate someone searching for a particular group of unsavory waypoints. For example, on June 25, 2015, a batch of mental health-related waypoints were renamed. In a line heading northeast out of Houston, TX, there were: **CRNKY**, **FRAGL**, **MENTL**, **NUTZZ**, **PROZC**, **WHACK**, **TWSTD**, and **PSYCO**. ![A map zoomed into Southeastern Texas, with several mental health related waypoints labeled.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/05/Screenshot-2024-05-28-at-11.38.52-AM-1.png) Some of Texas' waypoints that have been renamed. Source: FAA / Beautiful Public Data. Sometimes just looking at the waypoint names may not reveal their meaning, but often, considering the name in the context of its location lets you in on the gag. Outside Dallas, TX a waypoint named **DEBBB** was removed, an apparent reference to the porn film “Debbie Does Dallas”. Texas also renamed **TRYST**, **TBAGG** and **BOOZZ**. Texas had the most changed names in the dataset. Near San Francisco, there were **TWINK** and **NUUTT**, while Missouri had **GAYLY**. South of Bakersfield, CA, there was **KRAKR**. Near Racine, WI, there was **JUTAX** and Maryland had **DIXXE**. Sometimes you have to say the waypoint name out loud to understand why it might have been banned, such as Florida’s **KAYWY** (like the jelly?) or Missouri’s **FELUR**. Florida also had **SHBAG**. In 2019, Nevada’s **WYNNN** was removed, perhaps to further scrub references to billionaire hoteliers from the database. New York had **RUBER** and North Carolina’s **RAPEN** was also changed. Sometimes you need to see groups of these waypoints together, as they are meant to be read in a sequence as a pilot is flying into or out of an airport. Southwest of Cleveland, OH, there was a cluster of now removed waypoints: **WHHAT,** **THATZ** and **MYMOM.** In Los Angeles, some waypoints were renamed not to remove negative associations but to honor basketball legend Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna, who were among nine people killed when a helicopter crashed in Calabasas, CA, in January 2020\. On May 20, 2021, the waypoints were renamed **GIGII** and **KOBEE**. *Do you know the backstory to any of these waypoint names? Please* [*reach out*](mailto:beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com) *if you do!* 👨🏻‍💻 ****Nerdbox** For this post, I loaded up the CSV I received from the FAA into QGIS, which is how I generated the header graphic. I then used the [qgis2web](https://github.com/qgis2web/qgis2web?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) plugin to export a simple [Leaflet](https://leafletjs.com/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) map. I used this "[Convert Outlook .msg Files to .eml (MIME format)](https://github.com/JoshData/convert-outlook-msg-file?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)" Python script to convert some of the email messages I received in the FOIA documents. I tried to use ChatGPT to look through the list of waypoints, and consider the sound of the pronunciation (which it could do surprisingly), the location and the word to find any meaningful waypoints. It did make some connections when I asked about particular waypoint names, but it failed to find any meaningful ones I wasn't already aware of. The original data and a cleaned up version listing the renamed waypoints can be found here: [https://github.com/jonkeegan/faa-waypoints-renamed](https://github.com/jonkeegan/faa-waypoints-renamed?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) 🙏🏻 ****Did you enjoy this post?** You can subscribe to our newsletter to get future posts delivered to your inbox for free. 👉🏻 📫 [Subscribe now](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/subscribe#/portal/). ****☕️ Buy me a coffee** Say thanks with a [one time tip](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/#/portal/support). ****Sharing is caring** 📣 If you think your followers or friends may like it, please consider sharing it. 👕🖼️ ****Buy Beautiful Public Data merch on our** [****Etsy shop**](https://www.etsy.com/shop/BeautifulPublicData?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) [Unique t-shirts and prints ](https://www.etsy.com/shop/BeautifulPublicData?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)inspired by our stories 🙋🏻‍♀️ If you have any suggestions, comments or requests, please email them to [beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com](mailto:beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com) Thanks for reading! \- Jon Keegan Bluesky: [@jonkeegan.com](https://bsky.app/profile/jonkeegan.com?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) Mastodon: [mastodon.social/@jonkeegan](https://mastodon.social/@jonkeegan?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) ### Trademark Design Codes URL: https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/uspto-trademark-design-codes/ Last updated: 2024-06-18T19:46:04.000Z ![A colorful grid of trademarks and code descriptions from the USPTO Trademark Design Search Code Manual. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/04/design-codes-header.jpg) Source: [USPTO Trademark Design Search Code Manual](https://tmdesigncodes.uspto.gov/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). *Editor's note: All trademarks, service marks, and logos appearing in this article are the property of their respective owners who own all rights in and to their trademarks and copyrights, and does not imply any affiliation with or endorsement by them.* The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) maintains several massive [public databases](https://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/search?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) of registered trademarks, some of which go back to 1870\. “Wordmarks” (think [Coca-Cola](https://tsdr.uspto.gov/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com#caseNumber=73438508&caseType=SERIAL%5FNO&searchType=statusSearch), [FedEx](https://tsdr.uspto.gov/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com#caseNumber=86030341&caseType=SERIAL%5FNO&searchType=statusSearch) and [Google](https://tsdr.uspto.gov/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com#caseNumber=86912574&caseType=SERIAL%5FNO&searchType=statusSearch)) and graphic logos ([Starbucks](https://tsdr.uspto.gov/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com#caseNumber=78567731&caseType=SERIAL%5FNO&searchType=statusSearch), [Apple](https://tsdr.uspto.gov/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com#caseNumber=85120250&caseType=SERIAL%5FNO&searchType=statusSearch), [Target](https://tsdr.uspto.gov/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com#caseNumber=78897761&caseType=SERIAL%5FNO&searchType=statusSearch)) of brands large and small are all in there, as are the trademarks of millions of smaller businesses you’ve probably never heard of. Trademarks are used to identify goods or services. A trademark protects a company or individual’s unique name or design that applies to a specific application. You can even trademark [sounds or smells](https://rdms-tmep-vip.uspto.gov/RDMS/TMEP/current?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com#/current/TMEP-800d1e1656.html). But there are only so many names and designs you can come up with, so there is the possibility of consumer confusion. When a company or an individual wants to register a new trademark, the USPTO needs to review the application and then search this vast archive to make sure the applicant’s trademark doesn’t conflict with another trademark already in use. But how do you search for a swoosh, a mermaid wearing a crown or a cartoon tiger? To solve this problem, the UPSTO devised a system of 1,400 numeric “[trademark design codes](https://tmdesigncodes.uspto.gov/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)'' that describe each trademark. A trademark might have several of these codes representing different elements of the trademark. The numbering system is a clever hierarchical system to create a taxonomy for all the many weird things that might be in a logo. ## Rickshaws, Centaurs and Mechanical Women I downloaded some of the massive files from the USPTO’s [r](https://www.uspto.gov/ip-policy/economic-research/research-datasets/trademark-case-files-dataset?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)[esearch datasets](https://www.uspto.gov/ip-policy/economic-research/research-datasets/trademark-case-files-dataset?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) of trademarks to explore how these design codes are used. These design codes cover an incredibly wide range of things, and many of them are delightful. You will find design codes for “Tri-cornered hats”, “Emus”, “Ball bearings”, “Rickshaws”, “Centaurs”, “Mechanical women”, “Scottish men and other men wearing kilts” and “Winged human heads, feet, shoes or other parts”. Let’s look at one example of a design code. Code number **03.21.07** is used for “Terrapins; Tortoises; Turtles; Turtles, tortoises". In this case, the first two digits represent the category of “Animals”. The second pair of digits represents division 21 in that category which is “Amphibians and reptiles, including frogs, snakes, lizards, and turtles”. The last two digits “07” is for “Terrapins, Turtles, Tortoises”. For example [this](https://tsdr.uspto.gov/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com#caseNumber=73433943&caseSearchType=US%5FAPPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch) trademark featured an illustration of a tortoise with wings, so in addition to “Turtles; Terrapins; Tortoises” it also was tagged with **03.17.01** \- “Wings of birds, shown alone or as part of something other than associated animal; Bird wings shown alone or as part of something other than associated animal”. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/04/Artboard-3@2x-80-1.jpg) But the taxonomy of trademarks is a different beast than the taxonomy of animals we are familiar with, and things quickly get weird. In addition to that turtle code, there’s also: - **03.21.24**: “Stylized amphibians and reptiles, including frogs, snakes, lizards, and turtles” and - **03.21.26**: “Costumed amphibians and reptiles, including frogs, snakes, lizards, and turtles, and those with human attributes”. These codes are chosen and applied manually by the USPTO staff reviewing trademark applications. And because there are often many different elements of a trademark, several different codes may be needed to correctly classify the contents of the trademark. Applicants get to review the design codes assigned to their application and revise them if necessary. “We've assigned these design codes to your trademark and the applicants themselves will have an opportunity to say, well, actually, it's not an elf, it's a troll or whatever it is. So could you please code that appropriately?” explained Jason Lott, Managing Attorney for Trademarks Customer Outreach at the USPTO in an interview with Beautiful Public Data. ## Popular Pairs 👯‍♀️ The most frequently used design codes are just descriptions of shapes. For example the most often used design code is pretty broad: **26.01.21**: “Circles that are totally or partially shaded” which was applied to 280,356 trademarks in the files I analyzed. The least used code I found is much more specific: **11.05.07**: "Can openers (electric); Can openers, electric; Electric can openers; Openers, can, electric" which was applied to three trademarks. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/04/13bIu-most-assigned-design-codes-1.png) The average number of design codes applied to a trademark is about 3, but one exceptionally busy [trademark](https://tsdr.uspto.gov/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com#caseNumber=87321574&caseType=SERIAL%5FNO&searchType=statusSearch) has 105 design codes, and when you see the image you understand why. ![Trademark image](https://tsdr.uspto.gov/img/87321574/large?1712280958934) Trademark #[87321574](https://tsdr.uspto.gov/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com#caseNumber=87321574&caseType=SERIAL%5FNO&searchType=statusSearch) – The G.O.A.T. with 105 assigned trademark design codes. Browsing the collection of trademarks through pairs of design codes is a particularly interesting way to explore this dataset. When it comes to logos of American companies, certain pairs of design elements appear together frequently. There’s plenty of EAGLES and SHIELDS, AMERICAN FLAGS and RIFLES, and DOGS with SUNGLASSES. There are also quite a few AMERICAN INDIANS with ARCHERY BOWS and PIGS with CHEF’S HATS. (If these links don't work, [view this story in your browser](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/uspto-trademark-design-codes/)) I built an interactive widget to let you explore some of the more whimsical pairings of design codes. 👇🏻 ## From Paper to Databases The current system was put in place decades ago, but has evolved over time. "The design code system that we have right now really started to come about in the 1980’s when they started to transition away from paper. Back at that time when you were going through a paper stack, they would be sorted appropriately according to design, sometimes by registration number," explained Lott. As the images in trademarks began to contain more elements, this system was not up to the task. "What if you have something that has a tree and it has an elf? What would you do with that?" said Lott. Browsing through some of the design codes, I was struck by how some of them sounded…a little old. For example there are references to “frankfurter sandwiches”, “typewriter ribbons”, "hobos" and “dunce caps”. Likewise it would be hard to imagine any trademark in 2024 including “washboards”, “inkwells”, “soup tureens”, “flash bulbs”,“telephone booths”, “adding machines”, or “pocket watches.” 🏆 If you like this story and want to show your support, [become a member](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/#/portal/) or send [a one-time pay-what-you-want tip](https://buy.stripe.com/9AQ8A41H9g6H4mcfYZ?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). Lott explained that sometimes a company's trademarked logo was created in another era. “We have trademarks that are well over 100 years old” and that sometimes these old sounding codes are still relevant. “You're still gonna be using some of those terms because it might be that there's a Bavarian woman \[in the trademark\].” When it comes to updates of the design code system, USPTO spokesperson Christina Whitaker told me in an email that the USPTO will “continue to make revisions, as well as work to make the ability to update the systems more streamlined.” Whitaker said that changes to the design codes system are made by “a standing committee composed of supervisory attorneys” and that suggested additions or revisions come from two sources. “First, applicants and other external stakeholders ask questions or propose changes from time to time, and may be considered the first line reflecting evolving trends in the marketplace. Second, Trademarks has a large corps of examining attorneys as well as paralegal specialists who use the design code system on a daily basis.” Changes to reflect changing technology are considered as well. “Additions are most needed as new products emerge and establish ubiquity: toy drones and tablet computers jump to mind, for example,” said Whitaker. In addition to adding or removing items from the code system, sometimes broad categories are broken down to provide more specificity. Whitaker explained, “We recently revised some codes of animal designs to create separate groups for felines, canines, equines, and bovines, where these had in some codes been previously grouped together”. ## A Perfect Use Case for AI? Thinking about this problem of describing an image with words immediately made me think that the new wave of AI tools might be a perfect use case for this system. When I asked Lott about the potential of AI being used to automatically describe trademarks, he was cautious in his response. Lott said “I can neither confirm nor deny any upgrades to our trademark search system. However, that sounds like a really great use of technology.” 🙏🏻 ****Did you enjoy this post?** You can subscribe to our newsletter to get future posts delivered to your inbox for free. 👉🏻 📫 [Subscribe now](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/subscribe#/portal/). ****Sharing is caring** 📣 If you think your followers or friends may like it, please consider sharing it.🙋🏻‍♀️ If you have any suggestions, comments or requests, please email them to [beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com](mailto:beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com) Thanks for reading!- Jon Keegan () 👨🏻‍💻 ****Nerdbox** For this post, I analyzed the USPTO trademark data in Jupyter Notebooks, built an interactive web app with Bootstrap, PHP and MySQL. ChatGPT was extremely helpful dealing with setting up the AWS infrastructure for hosting the interactive and the database it uses. ### FAA Aviation Maps URL: https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/faa-aviation-maps/ Last updated: 2024-05-28T18:59:37.000Z ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/01/faa_maps_header-1.jpg) A detail of the Chicago O'Hare International Airport on the Chicago section VFR map. Source: FAA. Among all of the visual information published by the U.S. government, there may be no product with a higher information density than the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) aviation maps. Intended for pilots, the FAA publishes free detailed maps of the entire U.S. [airspace](https://www.faa.gov/air%5Ftraffic/nas?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), and detailed maps of airports and their surroundings and updates them frequently. The density of the critical information layered on these maps is staggering, and it is a miracle that pilots can easily decipher these maps at a glance. But they can. My father was a private pilot, and I first saw these maps folded up with my Dad's training materials when he was studying for his pilot's license when I was a kid. I was overwhelmed with the ordered chaos of these maps, and they made an impression on me. There are several categories of [aviation charts](https://www.faa.gov/air%5Ftraffic/flight%5Finfo/aeronav/digital%5Fproducts/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) that the FAA makes available for download on their website. Let’s walk through some of the most used maps. ### Terminal Procedure Publications Terminal Procedure Publications (TPP) offer specific instructions for arriving or departing individual airports large and small across the U.S.. These maps are published in [25 editions](https://www.faa.gov/air%5Ftraffic/flight%5Finfo/aeronav/digital%5Fproducts/dtpp/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), each covering different regions of the country. The whole set of maps published every 56 days (with the digital only versions published every 28 days). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-28-at-11.32.31-PM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-28-at-11.33.34-PM.png) TPP maps for Orlando International Airport and Logan International. Source: [FAA](https://www.faa.gov/air%5Ftraffic/flight%5Finfo/aeronav/digital%5Fproducts/dtpp/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). The TPP maps are full of information, but compared to other FAA maps, are relatively stripped down. These maps are mostly black and white with very little color added as they are meant to give pilots the most relevant information about the airport they are navigating to. Detailed diagrams of each airport, along with adjacent geographical features such as lakes and rivers, runways and nearby navigational waypoints help pilots set their radios to the correct control tower frequency, approach from the correct direction, and takeoff and land along a safe flightpath. The maps include details about obstacles (and their height), runway lights, runway length and the procedures for handling a “missed approach”. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-28-at-8.13.59-PM.png) An annotated TPP map and legend from the FAA "Instrument Flying Handbook". Source: [FAA](https://www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/regulations%5Fpolicies/handbooks%5Fmanuals/aviation/FAA-H-8083-15B.pdf?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). The larger airports give detailed departure instructions that allow pilots to navigate safely through extremely crowded skies along predefined airways a series of to navigation “fixes”, which are specific points of latitude and longitude that have been given pronounceable five letter names. More on these waypoint names later. ### VFR vs. IFR “Visual Flight Rules” (VFR) apply when there is generally good visibility, and features on the ground can be discerned by the pilot. For this type of flying, the FAA’s [VFR maps](https://www.faa.gov/air%5Ftraffic/flight%5Finfo/aeronav/digital%5Fproducts/vfr/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) can be used to spot important features on the ground that help pilots navigate and maintain situational awareness. These colorful maps bump the information density through the roof. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/01/chicago-full-1.jpg) The full Chicago sectional VFR map. 21" tall by 59" wide. Source: [FAA](https://aeronav.faa.gov/visual/01-25-2024/PDFs/Chicago.pdf?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). “These are meant for you to follow VFR or visual flight rules. So this is gonna be on a day where you have at least three miles of visibility and 1000 ft of clearance before the clouds,” said Ian Archibald, who is an Air Force veteran and commercial airline pilot. Ian is a friend of mine, and I asked him to help me understand the complexity of these maps, and how they are used. “So you're able to see and look around and navigate on your own by referring to a map. You want to have a pretty detailed map because that's gonna keep you alive.” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-28-at-11.10.03-PM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-29-at-12.08.52-AM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-29-at-12.10.36-AM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-28-at-11.40.29-PM.png) Clockwise from upper-left. Details of VFR maps for Chicago, IL; Honolulu, HI; Telluride, CO; Nome, AK; Source: [FAA](https://www.faa.gov/air%5Ftraffic/flight%5Finfo/aeronav/digital%5Fproducts/vfr/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). VFR maps start with a base layer of geographical features such as rivers, lakes and mountains and include features that could be visible from the air such as stadiums, windmills, powerlines and military bases. For each airport, the name, orientation of the landing strip and airport control tower radio frequencies are noted. Describing how a pilot might be using a VFR map like this, Archibald said “You can see water over here, you can see some stacks on the end of this peninsula or island over here. So you can identify those. Look at this – holy cow there's a big mass of urban density up here and then, oh, I see some green fields and golf courses and undeveloped areas over here. So I must be somewhere around here.” 🏆 If you like this story and want to show your support, send [a one-time pay-what-you-want tip](https://buy.stripe.com/9AQ8A41H9g6H4mcfYZ?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). Archibald told me most commercial pilots are probably not using these exact maps, but are more likely using third party apps on an iPad which come from companies like Boeing owned Jeppesen. Such maps combine government airport and navigation data with other sources. But the FAA VFR maps are still widely used. “New pilots are going to spend a lot of their time with this VFR map. This is the best visual data system. It’s amazing,” said Archibald. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-29-at-12.19.58-AM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-28-at-3.45.14-PM-1.png) Left: Cover of the VFR Nome, AK sectional. Right: VFR map legend. Source: [FAA](https://aeronav.faa.gov/visual/01-25-2024/PDFs/Nome.pdf?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). The legend for these maps describes the many categories of information displayed. Colored rings denote different classes of airspace defined by altitude, each with their own rules. Special airspace zones such as military training areas or “National Security Areas” are also clearly marked, such as nuclear power plants, or sensitive sites related to national security. Restricted airspace is marked, where nobody is allowed to fly, such as the area surrounding the presidential retreat, Camp David in Maryland. The other big category of FAA maps are “IFR ENROUTE” maps. IFR stands for Instrument Flight Rules, which the FAA [defines](https://www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/regulations%5Fpolicies/handbooks%5Fmanuals/aviation/FAA-H-8083-15B.pdf?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) as “Rules and regulations established by the Federal Aviation Administration to govern flight under conditions in which flight by outside visual reference is not safe. IFR flight depends upon flying by reference to instruments in the flight deck, and navigation is accomplished by reference to electronic signals.” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/11/bpd-dem-header.jpg) ## Sign up for Beautiful Public Data A curated selection of visually interesting datasets collected by local, state and federal government agencies. By Jon Keegan. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. We've covered license plates, nuclear weapons, moon rocks, highway signs, volcano drones, undersea surveys and prescription pills.If you like this post, you will enjoy this newsletter. Where the VFR maps emphasize the features that can be observed with the pilot’s eyes, IFR maps place the focus on radio navigation. The IFR maps are published in two forms: low altitude and high altitude. Unlike the colorful VFR maps, these maps have the minimum amount of background information, containing mostly white space allowing the user to focus on important ground-based radio beacons and navigation waypoints clearly legible without any distractions. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-29-at-1.20.49-AM-1.png) A detail of a low altitude IFR map for the Houston, TX area. Source: [FAA](https://aeronav.faa.gov/enroute/01-25-2024/ENR%5FL19.zip?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). # Weird Waypoints You may not realize it, but there are invisible highways in the skies. Planes don’t just point their noses at the spot they want to fly to (in most cases). That would create chaos in the skies that would be unmanageable. Instead, a series of different kinds of numbered point-to-point routes exist that planes enter and exit via known waypoints. These allow for predictable flight paths in the event of lost communication and can be found on the IFR and TPP maps. These points are not related to anything on the ground, but rather are just named points of latitude and longitude that are published in maps that can be used to lay out a journey. These points are given five letter names, and are meant to be understood when spoken over noisy radio transmissions. “A lot of them are very strange and, you know the Russians pronounce them differently from the Dutch and, you know, stuff like that. So as we're flying across Europe, you have to tune to the accents and figure out each one,” noted Archibald. These waypoints are created with input from each airports’ ground controllers and they are quite colorful. Often these waypoint names will reflect the culture, food or sports teams of the city they are near. Off the coast of New England, there is [**LBSTA**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=ME&keyword=LBSTA&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) and [**WHALE**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=MA&keyword=WHALE&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). Boston’s sports legacy gave us [**BOSOX**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=MA&keyword=BOSOX&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [**BRUWN**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=MA&keyword=BRUWN&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [**CELTS**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=MA&keyword=CELTS&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [**PATSS**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=MA&keyword=PATSS&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [**FENWY**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=MA&keyword=FENWY&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [**ORRRR**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=MA&keyword=ORRRR&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) and [**BORQE**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=MA&keyword=BORQE&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). Salem has [**WITCH**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=MA&keyword=WITCH&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), and Plymouth has [**PLGRM**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=MA&keyword=PLGRM&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). Boston’s culinary traditions are not left out with [**CHWDH**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=MA&keyword=CHWDH&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [**CLAWW**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=MA&keyword=CLAWW&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) and of course [**DUNKK**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=MA&keyword=DUNKK&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). Star Trek’s Spock was played by Boston native Leonard [**NIMOY**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=MA&keyword=NIMOY&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), who was honored with an eponymous waypoint. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-28-at-2.18.17-PM.png) A departure route from BOS showing some of the wicked good radio navigation points. Source: [FAA](https://www.faa.gov/air%5Ftraffic/flight%5Finfo/aeronav/digital%5Fproducts/dtpp/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). Orlando, FL has many Disney themed waypoints such as [**JAFAR**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=FL&keyword=JAFAR&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [**PIGLT**](https://opennav.com/waypoint/US/PIGLT?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [**JAZMN**](https://opennav.com/waypoint/US/JAZMN?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [**TTIGR**](https://opennav.com/waypoint/US/TTIGR?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [**MINEE**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=FL&keyword=MINEE&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [**HKUNA**](https://opennav.com/waypoint/US/HKUNA?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) and [**MTATA**](https://opennav.com/waypoint/US/MTATA?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). Flying into Orlando, your plane might use the [**SNFLD**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=FL&keyword=SNFLD&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) arrival path, taking you past [**NOOMN**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=FL&keyword=NOOMN&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [**FORYU**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=FL&keyword=FORYU&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [**SNFLD**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=FL&keyword=SNFLD&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [**JRRYY**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=FL&keyword=JRRYY&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) and [**GTOUT**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=FL&keyword=GTOUT&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). ![](https://media.tenor.com/ShBH0Q4vPYQAAAAC/seinfeld-get-out.gif) Based on the waypoints near Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International, this airport must be home to some of the nerdiest air traffic controllers. There’s a crazy number of Lord of the Rings waypoints: [**HOBTT**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=GA&keyword=HOBTT&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [**SHYRE**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=GA&keyword=SHYRE&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [**FRDDO**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=GA&keyword=FRDDO&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [**BLLBO**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=GA&keyword=BLLBO&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [**BGGNS**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=GA&keyword=BGGNS&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [**NZGUL**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=GA&keyword=NZGUL&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [**RAETH**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=GA&keyword=RAETH&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [**ORRKK**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=GA&keyword=ORRKK&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [**GOLLM**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=GA&keyword=GOLLM&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [**ROHUN**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=GA&keyword=ROHUN&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [**GONDR**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=GA&keyword=GONDR&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [**GIMLY**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=GA&keyword=GIMLY&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [**STRDR**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=GA&keyword=STRDR&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [**SMAWG**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=GA&keyword=SMAWG&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) and [**GNDLF**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=GA&keyword=GNDLF&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). [![Fly, you fools! An arrival route for ATL showing Lord of the Rings inspired radio navigation points. Source: FAA.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-28-at-1.57.46-PM.png)](https://www.faa.gov/air%5Ftraffic/flight%5Finfo/aeronav/digital%5Fproducts/dtpp/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) Fly, you fools! An arrival route for ATL showing Lord of the Rings inspired radio navigation points. Source: [FAA](https://aeronav.faa.gov/upload%5F313-d/terminal/2024-01-25/SE4.pdf?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). And also a ton of Star Wars ones as well: [**SITTH**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=GA&keyword=SITTH&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [**HOTHH**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=GA&keyword=HOTHH&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [**LARZZ**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=GA&keyword=LARZZ&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [**MELNM**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=GA&keyword=MELNM&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [**FLKNN**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=GA&keyword=FLKNN&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [**LAYUH**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=GA&keyword=LAYUH&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [**EEWOK**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=GA&keyword=EEWOK&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [**LLNDO**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=GA&keyword=LLNDO&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [**XWNNG**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=GA&keyword=XWNNG&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [**WOKIE**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=GA&keyword=WOKIE&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [**CHWEE**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=GA&keyword=CHWEE&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [**BBFET**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=GA&keyword=BBFET&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [**NEWHP**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=GA&keyword=NEWHP&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [**SKWKR**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=GA&keyword=SKWKR&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) and [**JJEDI**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=GA&keyword=JJEDI&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-28-at-1.53.03-PM-1.png) An arrival route for ATL showing Star Wars inspired radio navigation points. Source: [FAA](https://aeronav.faa.gov/upload%5F313-d/terminal/2024-01-25/SE4.pdf?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). Sometimes the order that the waypoints are traveled have meaning as well. Portsmouth International Airport at Pease in Portsmouth, NH has a series of waypoints that fans of Looney Toons would recognize: [**ITAWT**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=NH&keyword=ITAWT&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) **\>** [**ITAWA**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=NH&keyword=ITAWA&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) **\>** [**PUDYE**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=NH&keyword=PUDYE&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) **\>** [**TTATT**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=NH&keyword=TTATT&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) **\>** [**IDEED**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=NH&keyword=IDEED&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)**.** Flying into Ronald Reagan International Airport, a series of waypoints were [renamed](https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2012/september/11/aerial-waypoints-commemorate-9-11?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, including this approach: [**PLDGE**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=VA&keyword=PLDGE&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) **\> WEEEE** \> **WILLL** \> [**NEVVR**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=VA&keyword=NEVVR&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) \> [**FORGT**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=DC&keyword=FORGT&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) \> [**SEPII**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=DC&keyword=SEPII&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) \> [**ALWYZ**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/fix%5Fsearch.jsp?selectType=state&selectName=DC&keyword=ALWYZ&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). Every city has some regional terms for their waypoints, and it is worth [exploring some of the data](https://github.com/jonkeegan/faa-navigation-waypoints/tree/main?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). In the run-up to the 2016 U.S. presidential elections, the [FAA renamed](https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/10/travel/faa-to-drop-donald-trump-related-navigation-codes.html?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) some Florida waypoints that were named after a popular TV show personality, but had become controversial. The waypoints were [**DONLD**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/webContent/content8260/FL%5FDONLD%5FORIG.pdf?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [**TRMMP**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/webContent/content8260/FL%5FTRMMP%5FORIG.pdf?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) and [**UFIRD**](https://nfdc.faa.gov/webContent/content8260/FL%5FUFIRD%5FORIG.pdf?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/01/FED1E4A3-1FDA-4D38-96B5-0B25C0E936CC.JPG) The author and his father, Larry Keegan. 👨🏻‍💻 ****Nerdbox** You can find the data for all of the 67,517 radio navigation waypoints as a CSV file [here](https://github.com/jonkeegan/faa-navigation-waypoints/tree/main?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). 🙏🏻 ****Did you enjoy this post?** You can subscribe to our newsletter to get future posts delivered to your inbox for free. 👉🏻 📫 [Subscribe now](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/subscribe#/portal/). ****Sharing is caring** 📣 If you think your followers or friends may like it, please consider sharing it. 🙋🏻‍♀️ If you have any suggestions, comments or requests, please email them to [beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com](mailto:beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com) Thanks for reading! \- Jon Keegan Threads: [@jonkeeganstories](https://www.threads.net/@jonkeeganstories?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) Mastodon: [mastodon.social/@jonkeegan](https://mastodon.social/@jonkeegan?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) ### Government Comic Books URL: https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/government-comic-books/ Last updated: 2024-06-18T19:46:22.000Z ![A quilt of various government comic book covers.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/11/comics-header-1.jpg) In 1954, the United States Senate held [hearings](https://blogs.loc.gov/law/2022/10/the-senate-comic-book-hearings-of-1954/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com#:~:text=Fear%20of%20the%20%E2%80%9CComic%20Book,1954%2C%2068%20years%20ago%20today.) to deal with a raging menace that it feared was fueling a nationwide crisis of juvenile delinquency – the comic book. FBI director J. Edgar Hoover [said](https://www.congress.gov/83/crecb/1954/04/08/GPO-CRECB-1954-pt4-6-1.pdf?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com#page=7?loclr=bloglaw) the popular (and gory) crime and horror comic books of the time “may influence the susceptible boy or girl who already possesses definite antisocial tendencies.” But elsewhere in the U.S. government, taxpayer dollars had been funding the creation of a wide variety of government published comic books. Government comics have taught Americans how to prevent forest fires, survive a nuclear blast, learn about the dangers of illegal drugs, how to avoid common scams, how inflation works, and how soldiers should handle homosexuality in the military. Comics have been an important media for government communication, including both wartime and domestic propaganda campaigns. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/11/0000.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/11/0005.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/11/0006.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/11/0012.jpg) "[Bert the Turtle Says Duck and Cover](https://mediacommons.unl.edu/luna/servlet/detail/UNL~113~113~604~1453573:Bert-the-turtle-says-duck-and-cover?qvq=lc:UNL~113~113&mi=7&trs=317&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)" by the Federal Civil Defense Administration. Source: [Government Comics Collection](https://mediacommons.unl.edu/luna/servlet/view/all?sort=&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Richard Graham, a professor of libraries at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln has been collecting these unique comics since childhood and he is also the author of a collection of these comics called “[Government Issue: Comics for the People 1940s-2000s](https://bookshop.org/a/99287/9781419700781?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com).” “I came across this comic book that my dad gave me when I was a little kid in Germany, when he was in the Army. It was a sort of an Army manual called the ‘Gama Goat’. It was a maintenance manual. It was sort of a way to placate me as a little kid when I was at this Army base in Germany,” said Graham in an interview with Beautiful Public Data. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/11/0000-1.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/11/0001.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/11/0029.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/11/0040.jpg) Pages from Will Eisner's "[Gama Goat](https://mediacommons.unl.edu/luna/servlet/detail/UNL~113~113~663~1453788:Operation-and-Preventive-Maintenanc?qvq=q:gama%20goat;lc:UNL~113~113&mi=0&trs=1&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)" comic from "PS: The Preventive Maintenance Monthly". Source: [Government Comics Collection](https://mediacommons.unl.edu/luna/servlet/view/all?sort=&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The manual he received as a kid was drawn by comic book legend Will Eisner, who created “The Spirit” and created some of the earliest graphic novels. Eisner’s work creating illustrated service manuals came about during his service in the Army after being drafted in 1942\. He created “[PS: The Preventive Maintenance Monthly](https://www.psmagazine.army.mil/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)” which taught soldiers how to care for their M-16 rifles, M-1 tanks, crankshaft pulleys, truck engines and Howitzers. The magazine was published for 70 years. Eisner’s comics featured a rotating cast of characters such as the Lauren Bacall inspired Connie Rodd, Master Sergeant Half-Mast and Connie’s African-American counterpart Bonnie. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/11/bpd-dem-header.jpg) ## Sign up for Beautiful Public Data A curated selection of visually interesting datasets collected by local, state and federal government agencies. By Jon Keegan. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. We've covered license plates, nuclear weapons, moon rocks, highway signs, volcano drones, undersea surveys and prescription pills.If you like this post, you will enjoy this newsletter. Graham recalled his father explaining the Army’s strategy of making comics to train their troops. “There's a diversity of literacy rates. I mean, you'd have officers who could read because they went to college, and they could read Shakespeare and have a classical education, and then you had draftees and even people who lied about their age to enlist that were 12 or 14 years old and they still had to consume the same information that was literally life saving. So the government learned early on that visual communication coupled with an economy of text is a good way to deliver a message,” explained Graham. In 1930, George Gallup (of polling fame) published [seminal research ](https://archive.org/details/sim%5Fjournalism-and-mass-communication-quarterly%5F1930-03%5F7%5F1/page/n3/mode/2up)about newspaper readership. Gallup wrote, “More adults read the best comic strip in a newspaper, on an average day, than the front-page banner story.” Realizing that this was a popular way to engage both children and adults, comics became an important part of World War II propaganda. The United States Marines had their own eponymous [comic book](https://mediacommons.unl.edu/luna/servlet/detail/UNL~113~113~714~1453833:United-States-Marines--No-1---Victo?qvq=lc:UNL~113~113&mi=116&trs=317&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) full of illustrated heroics, photos from the war, and racist cartoons of Japanese soldiers and civilians. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-26-at-7.51.11-PM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-26-at-7.50.55-PM.png) Covers from "[The United States Marines](https://mediacommons.unl.edu/luna/servlet/view/search?search=SUBMIT&cat=0&q=marines&dateRangeStart=&dateRangeEnd=&QuickSearchA=QuickSearchA&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)" comic. Source: [Government Comics Collection](https://mediacommons.unl.edu/luna/servlet/view/all?sort=&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), University of Nebraska-Lincoln. This fascinating collection of comics Graham has curated is a wild assortment of government comic books spanning decades, which reflect some government policies and initiatives that are now cringeworthy. ### Rescued From Rape and Slavery In 1984, on the heels of America’s invasion of Grenada, the C.I.A. published an amazing piece of propaganda titled “[Grenada: Rescued From Rape and Slavery](https://mediacommons.unl.edu/luna/servlet/s/q7v2rz?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com),” which claimed it was being published by a group called V.O.I.C.E. (Victims of International Communist Emissaries), which did not exist. The panels of the colorful comic shows a scared Grenadian family cheering the arrival of American troops outside their home yelling “THANK GOD! AND THANKS TO PRESIDENT REAGAN AND OUR FREEDOM LOVING NElGHBORS!” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-26-at-7.52.05-PM-1.png) A panel from the CIA's "[Grenada: Rescued From Rape and Slavery](https://mediacommons.unl.edu/luna/servlet/s/q7v2rz?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)" Source: [Government Comics Collection](https://mediacommons.unl.edu/luna/servlet/view/all?sort=&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), University of Nebraska-Lincoln. ### Dignity and Respect In 2001, the U.S. Army published a comic titled “[Dignity and Respect: A Training Guide On Homosexual Conduct Policy](https://mediacommons.unl.edu/luna/servlet/s/ym5rh7?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)” which was meant to help soldiers apply the Clinton administration’s tortuous “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. After Graham’s book of government comics was published, he heard from one of the consultants who helped author the comic. “He was a chaplain, attached to a Virginia company. And they were trying to address the suicide rates that were going on. That person was addressing this out of love and care for their fellow soldier and not from, ‘homosexuality is a choice and is a sin’ ” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-26-at-7.54.10-PM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-26-at-7.55.12-PM-1.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-26-at-7.55.25-PM-1.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-26-at-7.56.03-PM-1.png) Pages from "[Dignity and Respect: A Training Guide On Homosexual Conduct Policy](https://mediacommons.unl.edu/luna/servlet/s/ym5rh7?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)” from the Department of the Army. Source: [Government Comics Collection](https://mediacommons.unl.edu/luna/servlet/view/all?sort=&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), University of Nebraska-Lincoln. But the military and intelligence community did not have a monopoly on creating these kinds of comics. In the [collection](https://mediacommons.unl.edu/luna/servlet/s/klkf2k?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) you will find the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s “The Story of Banks”, “Once Upon a Dime” and “The Story of Inflation.” The U.S. Department of Health published a comic in 1967 about the dangers of drugs titled “[HOOKED](https://mediacommons.unl.edu/luna/servlet/detail/UNL~113~113~635~1453609:Hooked!?qvq=q:hooked;lc:UNL~113~113&mi=0&trs=2&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)!” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/11/0000-2.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/11/0021-1.jpg) Pages from "[HOOKED!](https://mediacommons.unl.edu/luna/servlet/detail/UNL~113~113~635~1453609:Hooked!?qvq=q:hooked;lc:UNL~113~113&mi=0&trs=2&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)" from the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. Source: [Government Comics Collection](https://mediacommons.unl.edu/luna/servlet/view/all?sort=&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), University of Nebraska-Lincoln. One of the more interesting comics in the collection was released by The Wisconsin Department of Justice. 1975’s “[Consumer Comix](https://mediacommons.unl.edu/luna/servlet/detail/UNL~113~113~613~1453597:Consumer-Comix?qvq=q:comix;lc:UNL~113~113&mi=1&trs=2&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)'' was clearly trying to reach a particular young audience, by adopting the look of the counterculture “comix” genre, featuring the work of underground artists Peter Loft and Peter Poplaski who came from the scene. The comic book featured cautionary tales of consumer scams dealing with mail order and car repairs. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/11/0000-3.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/11/0012-2.jpg) Pages from "[Consumer Comix](https://mediacommons.unl.edu/luna/servlet/detail/UNL~113~113~613~1453597:Consumer-Comix?qvq=q:Consumer%20Comix;lc:UNL~113~113&mi=0&trs=1&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)" from the Wisconsin Department of Justice. Source: [Government Comics Collection](https://mediacommons.unl.edu/luna/servlet/view/all?sort=&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The collection of comics features other famous illustrators such as [Neal Adams](https://mediacommons.unl.edu/luna/servlet/view/all/who/Adams%2C+Neal%2C+1941-/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [Frank Frazetta](https://mediacommons.unl.edu/luna/servlet/view/all/who/Frazetta%2C+Frank/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [Al Capp](https://mediacommons.unl.edu/luna/servlet/view/all/who/Capp%2C+Al%2C+1909-1979/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [Charles Schultz](https://mediacommons.unl.edu/luna/servlet/view/all/who/Schulz%2C+Charles+M.+%28Charles+Monroe%29%2C+1922-2000/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) and [Walt Kelly](https://mediacommons.unl.edu/luna/servlet/view/all/who/Kelly%2C+Walt/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). These artists helped create some memorable characters featured in these comics, such as the U.S. Forest Service’s “[Smokey the Bear](https://mediacommons.unl.edu/luna/servlet/detail/UNL~113~113~713~1453834:True-story-of-Smokey-Bear?qvq=q:smokey;lc:UNL~113~113&mi=1&trs=6&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)”, The Postal Service’s “[Mr. Zip](https://mediacommons.unl.edu/luna/servlet/detail/UNL~113~113~648~1453777:Mail-moves-the-country,-zip-code-mo?qvq=q:postal%20service;lc:UNL~113~113&mi=1&trs=2&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)” and the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s less famous “[Sprocket Man](https://mediacommons.unl.edu/luna/servlet/view/search?search=SUBMIT&cat=0&q=sprocket+man&dateRangeStart=&dateRangeEnd=&QuickSearchA=QuickSearchA&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com).” The U.S. government is still making comics, and adapting to new formats to get its message out. In 2005, the U.S. Navy announced that the U.S.S. George Washington was set to be deployed to Yokosuka, Japan as the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier permanently stationed outside of the U.S.. To help the local Japanese population understand the mission of the carrier, the Navy published its own 205 page manga style comic in both Japanese and English, titled “[Manga CVN 73 - USS George Washington](https://mediacommons.unl.edu/luna/servlet/detail/UNL~113~113~919~1519166:Manga-CVN-73,-USS-George-Washington?qvq=q:manga;lc:UNL~113~113&mi=0&trs=2&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com).” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-26-at-8.03.22-PM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-26-at-8.03.39-PM.png) Pages from the U.S. Navy's 2008 comic book "[Manga CVN 73 - USS George Washington](https://mediacommons.unl.edu/luna/servlet/detail/UNL~113~113~919~1519166:Manga-CVN-73,-USS-George-Washington?qvq=q:manga;lc:UNL~113~113&mi=0&trs=2&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)". Source: [Government Comics Collection](https://mediacommons.unl.edu/luna/servlet/view/all?sort=&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Graham said that the collection continues to grow as new government comics keep coming out, and he continues to learn about older ones. “A lot of people are dying and these collections are getting thrown away and getting donated, and some of them are really valuable.” 🙏🏻 ****Did you enjoy this post?** You can subscribe to our newsletter to get future posts delivered to your inbox for free. 👉🏻 📫 [Subscribe now](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/subscribe#/portal/). ****Sharing is caring** 📣 If you think your followers or friends may like it, please consider sharing it. 🙋🏻‍♀️ If you have any suggestions, comments or requests, please email them to [beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com](mailto:beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com) Thanks for reading! \- Jon Keegan Threads: [@jonkeeganstories](https://www.threads.net/@jonkeeganstories?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) Mastodon: [mastodon.social/@jonkeegan](https://mastodon.social/@jonkeegan?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) ### Wild Horses URL: https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/wild-horses/ Last updated: 2024-06-18T19:47:00.000Z ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/10/alt-blm-horses-header-1.jpg) The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) wants you to adopt a wild horse and it will pay you $1,000 to do so. The BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Program helps protect and manage America’s wild horses and burros who roam 26.9 million acres of public lands. As far as the BLM is concerned, there are simply too many wild horses and burros. A March 2023 herd management area report estimated the wild horse population to be 68,928 and the wild burro population to 13,955\. The BLM has a goal of 27,000 wild horses and burros, so it is currently trying to manage an overpopulation of the animals that is more than three times their ideal “[appropriate management level](https://www.blm.gov/programs/wild-horse-and-burro/herd-management/maintaining-range-and-herd-health?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)”, a figure which has been questioned by critics. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/10/Artboard-3@4x-1.png) So what do you do with all those extra wild horses and burros? The BLM puts them up for adoption. You can browse through an [online database](https://wildhorsesonline.blm.gov/Animals?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) of the current selection of wild horses and burros that are available. To encourage a successful placement with a responsible owner, there’s a $1,000 payment available through the [Wild Horse and Burro Adoption Incentive Program](https://www.blm.gov/programs/wild-horse-and-burro/adoptions-and-sales/adoption-incentive-program?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). ### Wild Horse Data The horses are featured with a series of photos from the front, side and a three-quarter view as well as a video of the horse galloping around a holding pen. This isn’t Petfinder however, as the horses don’t have names but numbers with descriptions such as “[4 YEAR OLD BAY FEMALE HORSE (2371)](https://wildhorsesonline.blm.gov/animals/19892371?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)”, which doesn’t really tug at your heart strings. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/10/22906592-20Front-20Final.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/10/19894285-20Front-20Final.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/10/22895078-20Front-20Final.jpg) Some of the wild horses up for adoption on the BLM's Wild Horse and Burro Program's [adoption page.](https://wildhorsesonline.blm.gov/Animals?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) Source: BLM. A variety of important data is offered for each prospective adoptee: the date and the location of each animal’s capture, disposition, training status, height (measured in “hands”, where 1 hand = 4 inches) and its current location. For instance, this data shows that Horse 2371 is currently living at the Carson City Correctional Facility in Nevada. The data also includes the animal’s “freezemark”, which is a permanent, unalterable identification pattern that is applied to the animal’s neck with an iron that has been supercooled in liquid nitrogen. These marks look like glyphs from a forgotten language, but they are actually characters from the International Alpha Angle System. The symbols encode the animal’s year of birth, state of capture, registration number and a mark indicating it was registered by the U.S. government. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/10/Freeze_branded_mustang.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/10/flat-wildhorse_adoption_freezemark-2.png) Photo: **A mustang with a freeze brand that reads BLM 09 051649\. This indicates the horse belongs to the Federal government, was born in 2009 and branded at a BLM facility in Oregon. Source: BLM /* [**Wikipedia*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeze%5Fbrand?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com#/media/File:Freeze%5Fbranded%5Fmustang.png) **Document: A BLM* [**key code*](https://www.blm.gov/programs/wild-horse-and-burro/adoption-and-sales/adoption-faq?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) *for deciphering freezemarks. Source: BLM* Since the program was started after the passage of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act in 1971, the BLM has placed over 270,000 animals in new homes. According to the BLM, the agency conducts inspections to make sure the animals are being properly cared for, and places limits on the number of adoptions per owner. Some animals are cared for in corrals within federal corrections facilities such as the [Hutchinson Correctional Center](https://www.blm.gov/programs/wild-horse-and-burro/adoptions-and-sales/adoption-centers/hutchinson-correctional-center?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) in Kansas, where prisoners help tame and train the wild animals to help facilitate their adoption. The BLM says that animals that are not adopted are cared for by the BLM for the rest of their lives. ### “Cruel” Helicopter Roundups While this program sounds like a good solution to a difficult problem, it has been criticized by animal rights advocates and subject to scrutiny by Congress. The practice of rounding up the wild horses and burros by low flying helicopters has been called “cruel” by the [American Wild Horse Campaign](https://americanwildhorsecampaign.org/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) (AWHC), a non-profit organization that advocates for American wild horses and burros. These roundups often result in dozens of animal injuries and [deaths](https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/local-nevada/11-mustangs-killed-in-nevada-roundup-sparking-criticism-from-titus-2875044/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). The AWHC says the BLM’s real motivation behind reducing the wild horse and burro population is to allow for[ more grazing](https://americanwildhorsecampaign.org/public-lands-ranching?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) on public land for the livestock of private ranchers. In 2021, an [investigation](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/15/us/wild-horses-adoptions-slaughter.html?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) by The New York Times called attention to another problem with the adoption program – people who would simply adopt an animal, collect their money from the BLM then sell the animal off to be slaughtered. A recent NBC [investigation](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/wild-horses-adopted-at-risk-slaughter-rcna116913?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) found evidence that some of these adopted animals are ending up in kill lots. A “[common questions](https://www.blm.gov/programs/wild-horse-and-burro/about-the-program/common-questions-from-the-public?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)” page on the BLM website says “BLM does not have the means or legal authority to track or direct the disposition of wild horses or burros once they pass into private ownership (i.e. once an animal is sold by BLM or an adopter receives title).” The BLM did not respond to a request for comment. The AWHC says there is a more humane and affordable way to reduce the population of wild horses and burros on public land, which is to greatly expand the use of contraceptive vaccines. Representative Dina Titus of Nevada, an advocate for reforming the program, said in a recent [letter](https://titus.house.gov/uploadedfiles/5.24.23%5Frep.%5Ftitus%5Fstatement%5Fblm%5Fmotorized%5Fvehicle%5Fhearing.pdf?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) to the Director of the BLM, “Scientific research shows that more humane and cost-effective alternatives exist to control equine populations, including fertility controls like the Porcine Zona Pellucida (PZP) vaccine. The BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Program, however, currently spends less than one percent of its budget on fertility controls. ” *Special thanks to reader (and talented visual journalist)* [*Ash Ngu*](https://ashngu.com/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) *for suggesting this fascinating dataset!* 🐴 🙏🏻 ****Did you enjoy this post?** You can subscribe to our newsletter to get future posts delivered to your inbox for free. 👉🏻 📫 [Subscribe now](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/subscribe#/portal/). ****Sharing is caring** 📣 If you think your followers or friends may like it, please consider sharing it. 🙋🏻‍♀️ If you have any suggestions, comments or requests, please email them to [beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com](mailto:beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com) Thanks for reading! \- Jon Keegan Threads: [@jonkeeganstories](https://www.threads.net/@jonkeeganstories?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) Mastodon: [mastodon.social/@jonkeegan](https://mastodon.social/@jonkeegan?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) ### The Army and Navy Style Guides URL: https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/army-navy-style-guides/ Last updated: 2023-10-04T14:00:19.000Z ![A montage of dozens of pages from the Army and Navy brand guidelines documents. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/10/amry-navy-brand-header-1.jpg) For decades, companies have realized how important a well executed corporate identity can be to a company’s success. An iconic logo, carefully chosen colors and typography that are thoughtfully and strategically woven into a visual system can help a company express intangible corporate values and reflect the philosophy of a business. Depending upon the size of an organization, a company’s brand may need complex rules for how it appears in print, on the web, on packaging, on vehicles, and even how the brand appears in motion. This is where brand guideline documents come in handy. They can be extremely useful for large organizations to communicate the graphic design systems, specifications and rules that the company spent so much money on. I absolutely love a good brand style guide. The best ones communicate an easy to grasp philosophy about the ideas behind the designs, and include useful “do’s and don’ts” – examples of the proper use of the rules, and my favorite – what you should NEVER do with their precious logo. They even specify the style and treatment of photography and often the desired tone or vibe of the messaging being communicated. Government agencies also picked up on the importance of this type of disciplined brand management for communications with their customers – the public – and have created some fascinating brand style guides for enforcing the rules. ### “Unmistakably Army” One such government agency that has embraced the power of branding is the U.S. Army. Earlier this year Siegel+Gale, an award-winning branding agency developed [updated branding](https://www.dezeen.com/2023/04/06/us-army-branding-siegelgale/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) for the Army, including a bold 139 page brand guidelines doc. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/10/Screenshot-2023-10-03-at-1.36.44-AM-2.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/10/army-9-1.png) Pages from the Army Brand Guidelines. Source: U.S. Army Before diving into the specific fonts and colors to use, the guidelines set the tone of the brand for the Army with a set of “identity principles”: - Clear (“Messages should be simple, crisp, and effective”) - Confident (“It demonstrates belief in positive outcomes and in its unique ability to enact them”) - Human (“We strive to facilitate easy engagement and illuminate authentic purpose and passion whenever possible”). There’s also a note about the brand’s strategy, defining two conceptual "pillars" upon which the brand rests – "Passion & Purpose" and "Community & Connection" (though that is technically four concepts). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/10/Screenshot-2023-10-03-at-1.21.56-AM-1.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/10/Screenshot-2023-10-03-at-1.17.55-AM-1.png) Left: A page from the Army Brand Guidelines. Right: A page from the Navy Brand Guidelines. Source: U.S. Army, [U.S. Navy](https://etoolbox.cnrc.navy.mil/assets/documents/BrandGuidelines%5FDigital.pdf?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) The guide lays out a visual language for the fighting force that is utilitarian, hard edged and defined by a primary color palette of four main colors: the iconic dark olive (ARMY GREEN), and three colors that the Army says are inspired by the components of gunpowder: ARMY GOLD for sulfur, WHITE for potassium nitrate and ARMY BLACK for charcoal. A more modern secondary palette evokes desaturated swatches of camouflage, incorporating the pale dusty greens of FIELD 01 and FIELD 02, TAN, rounded out by two shades of cool gray: GRAY 01 and GRAY 02\. The way these colors are applied matters, and to help with this, a “color hierarchy” quantifies the primacy of each color and what applications they may be best suited for. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/10/Screenshot-2023-10-02-at-11.39.04-PM-1.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/10/Screenshot-2023-10-03-at-1.15.34-AM-1.png) Left: A page from the Army Brand Guidelines. Right: A page from the Navy Brand Guidelines. Source: U.S. Army, [U.S. Navy](https://etoolbox.cnrc.navy.mil/assets/documents/BrandGuidelines%5FDigital.pdf?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) The Army’s logo is anchored by the most American symbol, the five-pointed star. “The U.S. Army star is an enduring brand beacon and an indelible link to its heritage and that of the country it serves. It is a timeless symbol that invokes the future and its limitless possibilities. It is unmistakably Army,” reads the document. The star is a sharp, powerful shape that is given plenty of room to breathe on layouts, and is allowed to dominate the wordmark, looming large above the text in vertical orientations. The guidelines don’t allow for any rainbow stars, drop shadows or any other graphic shenanigans. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/10/Screenshot-2023-10-03-at-1.19.07-AM-1.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/10/Screenshot-2023-10-03-at-1.16.48-AM-1.png) Left: A page from the Army Brand Guidelines. Right: A page from the Navy Brand Guidelines. Source: U.S. Army, [U.S. Navy](https://etoolbox.cnrc.navy.mil/assets/documents/BrandGuidelines%5FDigital.pdf?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) The Army has its own bespoke font, with the name “G.I.” (which seems like a missed opportunity with all the cool terminology available). The document says the name “...is inspired by the U.S. Army’s people and unique culture. The character and spirit of the font align with the no-nonsense brand identity principles of being clear, confident, and human.” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/10/Screenshot-2023-10-03-at-1.33.09-AM-1.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/10/Screenshot-2023-10-03-at-1.15.25-AM-1.png) Left: A page from the Army Brand Guidelines. Right: A page from the Navy Brand Guidelines. Source: U.S. Army, [U.S. Navy](https://etoolbox.cnrc.navy.mil/assets/documents/BrandGuidelines%5FDigital.pdf?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) There are reminders that this typeface is for military business first, and less about aesthetics. The zero features a slash which was “...designed to embody the utilitarian spirit of the U.S. Army” and prevent confusion with a capital O, says the document. The numeral 1 and capital I are also clearly distinct. The font can be used for 120 languages and their unique typographic marks. One of the most fascinating sections of this document describes all aspects of how photography is used in Army communications. The rules are organized by the fundamental photographic principles of color, composition and perspective. “Warm tones and natural light create an authentic, human feel, and the golden quality of light recalls the U.S. Army’s brand colors while expressing a mood of possibility” reads the document. It calls for the use of bold images with strong contrast, toned to reflect the colors from the Army palette. Also, the use of black and white photos are discouraged. Compositions are to be clear and direct, and free of any dramatic effects, and notes that photographs “...should feel like an authentic moment, unstaged.” When describing perspective, the photography should provide “...an immersive, dynamic, and authentic window on life inside the U.S. Army, as experienced from a very human, first-person perspective.” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/10/Screenshot-2023-10-03-at-1.30.47-AM-1.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/10/Screenshot-2023-10-03-at-1.18.21-AM-2.png) Left: A page from the Army Brand Guidelines. Right: A page from the Navy Brand Guidelines. Source: U.S. Army, [U.S. Navy](https://etoolbox.cnrc.navy.mil/assets/documents/BrandGuidelines%5FDigital.pdf?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) The focus on showing the positive human side of Army personnel runs through this whole document. It encourages depicting soldiers both in and out of uniform following their passions, developing their careers in the Army and forging strong social connections with teammates. Diversity is also a theme emphasized noting “The U.S. Army and its members reflect the diverse geography and population of the United States, and U.S. Army photography must do the same.” There are some interesting caveats with regards to photographs depicting soldiers in uniform. The correct placement of patches and uniform accessories are emphasized, as is the importance of “proper styling and grooming of apparel, accessories, and equipment. ” [Subscribe to Beautiful Public Data!](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/subscribe#/portal/) But the most stark warning relates to the depiction of weapons appearing in Army photos. The document warns in unusual seriousness “...under no circumstances may a weapon of any kind ever appear, in moving or still imagery, to be pointed in the direction of the lens; e.g., at the viewer.” ### The Army’s Voice: “Not cold or terse” For an organization as large as the Army, the challenge of speaking with one cohesive voice is significant, and the guide has some suggestions here too. The Army wants its voice to be factual and concise, but not devoid of humanity. “We are not cold or terse, despite our direct tone.” While the voice should be confident and “secure in our identity” it also aims for humility. “We don’t put others down, think we are above growth, or believe we are too strong for support.” But at the end of the day, this voice is stern and focused on the task at hand: “We don’t make decisions based on emotion. We don’t use slang or trendy language.” ### Navy: Forged By the Sea After reading through the Army’s comprehensive brand guidelines, it is especially informative to see how it compares and contrasts to its sea-based brethren, the U.S. Navy. The Navy’s brand guidelines doc shown here is from 2019, and while it is only half the length of the Army’s guidelines document it is equally slick and well designed and is organized in a similar way. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/10/navy-11.png) A page from the Navy Brand Guidelines. Source: [U.S. Navy](https://etoolbox.cnrc.navy.mil/assets/documents/BrandGuidelines%5FDigital.pdf?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) Right off the bat, the actual name of the fighting force is re-branded as “America’s Navy”, with no other variations allowed. “It’s important for America to feel ownership of their Navy—the largest, strongest and most technologically advanced in the world,” reads the document. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/10/Screenshot-2023-10-03-at-1.35.29-AM-1.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/10/Screenshot-2023-10-03-at-1.18.14-AM-1.png) Left: A page from the Army Brand Guidelines. Right: A page from the Navy Brand Guidelines. Source: U.S. Army, [U.S. Navy](https://etoolbox.cnrc.navy.mil/assets/documents/BrandGuidelines%5FDigital.pdf?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) There is definitely a different, more dramatic personality peeking through these guidelines, and the Navy brand statement stirs up some positively cinematic imagery in this prose: > *“The sea is the greatest force on earth.* > *It reaches impossible speeds, depths and distances. It cannot be beaten with the strongest fist, cut with the sharpest knife or stopped by the fastest bullet.”* > *…* > *“Water and salt flow through our veins in the same proportion as the sea. That mighty force is the lifeblood of the greatest Navy ever to sail unstoppably upon it, slip stealthily beneath it or fly unchallenged above it”* ### We’re doing six pillars While the Army’s brand rests upon two (four) pillars, the Navy throws down with SIX: - Strength - Opportunity - Direction - Teamwork - Creative innovation - Meaningful Adventure The logo for the Navy features the “America’s Navy” wordmark sitting beside an eagle with a shield for a chest, perched on an anchor. Drawing on the steely, cool hues of the salty ocean the Navy’s four color palette consists of Navy blue, followed by blue, light gray and yellow. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/10/Screenshot-2023-10-03-at-1.17.08-AM-1-1.png) Photography is encouraged to be slightly desaturated, high contrast and toned with “a subtle steel gray” color to evoke a cinematic feeling which should focus on people as the main focus as much as possible. The Navy sure knows how to name things, calling its own font “Liberator”. The document shows the appropriate use of the thick block letters spelling out phrases like “PEACE DOESN’T PRESERVE ITSELF”. 🙏🏻 ****Did you enjoy this post?** You can subscribe to our newsletter to get future posts delivered to your inbox for free. 👉🏻 📫 [Subscribe now](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/subscribe#/portal/). ****Sharing is caring** 📣 If you think your followers or friends may like it, please consider sharing it. 🙋🏻‍♀️ If you have any suggestions, comments or requests, please email them to [beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com](mailto:beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com) Thanks for reading! \- Jon Keegan Threads: [@jonkeeganstories](https://www.threads.net/@jonkeeganstories?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) Mastodon: [mastodon.social/@jonkeegan](https://mastodon.social/@jonkeegan?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) ### Nuclear Weapon Test Films URL: https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/nuclear-weapon-test-films/ Last updated: 2024-06-18T19:47:13.000Z 0:00 /0:08 1× Source: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. [CC BY-NC-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) Teapot. Redwing. Nougat. Dominic. Plumbob. While these random words may sound like the names of the latest Warby Parker frames, in fact these were some of the code words for top-secret military operations to test America’s new arsenal of post-World War II nuclear weapons. The U.S. has conducted a total of [1,032](https://www.un.org/en/observances/end-nuclear-tests-day/history?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) nuclear weapons tests between 1945 and 1992\. The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) maintains an archive of an [estimated](https://www.llnl.gov/news/llnl-releases-newly-declassified-test-videos?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) 10,000 films made to thoroughly document the explosions that these powerful weapons created during tests conducted between 1945 and 1962\. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/09/nevada-testing-site.png) Hundreds of nuclear weapons tests have left the Nevada Testing Site pockmarked with massive craters. Map: Google Earth. Image ©2023 Airbus, ©2023 Maxar Technologies. Using specialized cameras shooting extremely fine grained film at 2,400 frames per second, these films capture the haunting, slow motion growth of otherworldly shapes of the nuclear fireball that emerges from what seems to be an impossibly bright pinpoint of light. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/11/bpd-dem-header.jpg) ## Sign up for Beautiful Public Data A curated selection of visually interesting datasets collected by local, state and federal government agencies. By Jon Keegan. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. We've covered license plates, nuclear weapons, moon rocks, highway signs, volcano drones, undersea surveys and prescription pills.If you like this post, you will enjoy this newsletter. The size and power of the weapons tested in the films range from small “tactical” nukes that could be fired from an artillery unit such as the 1953’s 15 kiloton “Grable” device detonated during Operation Upshot-Knothole, to the most powerful nuclear weapon the U.S. has tested, Operation Castle’s “Bravo” 15 megaton device, detonated at the Bikini Atoll in 1954\. 0:00 /0:55 1× Operation Hardtack I - "Nutmeg". May 21, 1958\. Source: The EG&G Scientific Film Collection, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories. [CC BY-NC-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) The films are equal parts terrifying and fascinating. High altitude tests show what looks like a new sun spontaneously appearing in the sky, as shock and heat waves dissolve surrounding clouds in an expansive release of energy. Rippling shock waves can be seen racing across the waters of the South Pacific towards the camera as startled birds fly in confusion seconds after blasts at sea. Underground tests show a massive mound of earth rising like a mountain from the ground as explosions push massive columns of energy upwards. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/09/Screenshot-2023-09-21-at-1.57.21-AM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/09/Screenshot-2023-09-21-at-1.58.14-AM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/09/Screenshot-2023-09-21-at-1.55.06-AM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/09/Screenshot-2023-09-21-at-1.58.52-AM.png) Some of the otherworldly shapes captured milliseconds after detonation. Source: The EG&G Scientific Film Collection , Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories. [CC BY-NC-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) Scientists at LLNL still study these films, using new digital tools to reveal more of the valuable science captured on each frame. These films can be reanalyzed as a way to test and validate computer simulations, which is [one of the main ways](https://www.wired.com/story/nuclear-tests-have-changed-but-they-never-really-stopped/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) nuclear weapons are tested in the U.S. today. 0:00 /0:16 1× Composite footage from the March 7, 1955 detonation of Operation Teapot's "Turk" device. Arrays of high-speed cameras shooting at 2,400 frames per second captured the explosion from different angles and focal lengths. Source: The EG&G Scientific Film Collection, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories. [CC BY-NC-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) In March of 2017, LLNL [announced](https://www.llnl.gov/news/physicist-declassifies-rescued-nuclear-test-films?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) that an initial batch of these films had been scanned and re-analyzed by film experts working with nuclear weapons physicists. The films were declassified, which have been released on its YouTube channel in a [playlist](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvGO%5FdWo8VfcmG166wKRy5z-GlJ%5FOQND5&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). A Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories video describing the process used to digitize and re-analyze the test films. The Department of Energy has a fascinating book (available online as a free 258 page PDF) titled “[Battlefield of the Cold War - The Nevada Test Site: Atmospheric Nuclear Weapons Testing 1951-1963](https://www.energy.gov/management/articles/fehner-and-gosling-atmospheric-nuclear-weapons-testing-1951-1963-battlefield?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)” documenting the history of the tests, and how they were eventually moved underground as scientists began to calculate the dangers of the radioactive fallout released by the tests. The book contains a thorough appendix listing the first 194 nuclear weapon tests from the very first Trinity test on July 16, 1945 through the Titania test on October 30, 1958\. Another PDF "[United States Nuclear Tests, July 1945 through September 1992](https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/10115601?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)" contains the full list of all tests, but is not as easy to read. The U.S. and the Soviet Union signed the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty on August 5, 1963 which ended atmospheric, ocean and space nuclear weapons tests, while still allowing underground tests. In 1992, the U.S. initiated a moratorium on all nuclear testing, and signed on to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty in 1996 along with dozens of other countries. 🙏🏻 ****Did you enjoy this post?** You can subscribe to our newsletter to get future posts delivered to your inbox for free. 👉🏻 📫 [Subscribe now](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/#/portal/signup/free). ****Sharing is caring** 📣 If you think your followers or friends may like it, please consider sharing it. 🙋🏻‍♀️ If you have any suggestions, comments or requests, please email them to [beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com](mailto:beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com) Thanks for reading! \- Jon Keegan ([@jonkeegan](https://twitter.com/jonkeegan?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)) 👨🏻‍💻 ****Nerdbox** For this post, I grabbed the URLs of all of the videos in LLNL's [playlist](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvGO%5FdWo8VfcmG166wKRy5z-GlJ%5FOQND5&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) of the declassified films. Then I downloaded them all with the help of [yt-dlp.](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) I used AfterEffects to make the composite videos, and [ffmpeg](https://ffmpeg.org/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) to extract frames. [ChatGPT 4](https://chat.openai.com/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) was extremely helpful (as usual) for building some complex image processing `python` scripts that let me play around with making some interesting promo images. ### All of the 8,331 License Plates in America URL: https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/all-of-the-license-plates-in-the-united-states/ Last updated: 2026-07-27T04:03:25.000Z ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/08/license_plate_header-1.jpg) An image quilt made up of hundreds of sample vehicle license plates from around the U.S. *Updated September 28, 2023* During summer vacation car rides as a kid, I remember the thrill of seeing an unusual license plate from a faraway state. There were 50 possible plates to see (plus D.C.) each with distinct colors and often the state motto. Today the game of license plate bingo has gotten incredibly complex. By my count, there are currently 8,331\* different vehicle license plates offered by the 50 states and the District of Columbia. States now offer a vast menu of personalized plate options for a dizzying array of organizations, professions, sports teams, causes and other groups. My count was conducted over June and July 2023, so this should be considered a snapshot, as I'm sure some plates have changed already. For years, members of the military and veterans have been able to pick plates reflecting the honors they have received and the missions they have served in. Drivers have also been able to pick plates drawing attention to a large number of medical conditions such as breast cancer, downs syndrome, diabetes and autism, raising funds for various foundations through registration fees. Doctors, first responders and even amateur radio operators have long been able to pick a plate reflecting their affiliations. But today, if you are a realtor, accountant, architect, chiropractor, pharmacist or optician you too can share your profession with a customized plate in several states. Of course not just anyone can grab many of these specialized plates. Proof of service and professional credentials are required to qualify for many of these plates. Some are reserved for members of the U.S. Congress and the U.S. Senate. You can even find the face of Dolly Parton on Tennessee's "Dollywood Foundation For Children" plate, and don't miss aging rocker Alice Cooper who you can find on Arizona's "Alice Cooper’s Solid Rock" plate (raising funds for his non-profit that provides free music lessons for kids). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/08/license-plate-Alice-Cooper-Solid-Rock_0.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/08/Dollywood-Foundation-1.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/08/patches-pal-plate.png) Left to Right: Arizona's "Alice Cooper's Sold Rock Teen Centers" plate; Dolly Parton's Tennessee "Dollywood Foundation for Children" plate; Washington's "J.P. Patches Pal" plate. --- ### Search all 8,331 License Plates ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/11/bpd-dem-header.jpg) ## Sign up for Beautiful Public Data A free newsletter featuring a curated selection of visually interesting datasets collected by government agencies. By Jon Keegan. ****We've covered license plates, nuclear weapons, moon rocks, highway signs, volcano drones, undersea surveys and prescription pills.If you like this post, you will enjoy this newsletter.** Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. ## Too Many Plates? Maryland ranks 19th in the United States with an estimated 2022 population of 6.1 million residents. But Maryland leads the pack when it comes to the number of license plates it offers drivers. I counted 989 distinct plates listed on the Maryland Department of Motor Vehicles’ website. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/09/Artboard-2@4x.png) A chart showing the number of license plates issued per state in June / July 2023, with Maryland leading the pack at 989 plates. Maryland caving enthusiasts will be glad to know they can pick a “National Speleological Society” plate (although only one such plate was issued between 2018 and 2022). Likewise the “American Sewing Guild”, “Baltimore Yacht Club” and “Westie Rescue, Inc.” are among the organizations with only a single plate issued during this time period. Maryland “Barbershop Quartet Singers” did slightly better with three plates issued in this time period, just ahead of “Baltimore Rock Opera Society’s” two plates. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/08/NatSpeleological.gif) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/08/Barbershop-Quartet-Singer.gif) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/08/American_Sewing_Guild.gif) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/08/MD-State-Bee-Keepers-Assoc.gif) Some of Maryland's 989 license plate designs. Texas, the second most populous state with nearly five times the population of Maryland offers the second largest number of license plates, coming in at 476 designs. Texas has taken a more practical approach to accommodating the demand for custom plates, outsourcing the whole effort to a private company called My Plates. Hawaii offers the fewest number of plates, with just 14 designs to pick from (plus decals with messages drivers can attach). But a small number of plates offered doesn’t mean lower quality plates. In 2022, the [Automobile License Plate Collector’s Association](https://www.alpca.org/bestplate/2022/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) chose Hawaii’s beautiful “Polynesian Voyaging” as the "Best New Plate”. The “Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park” is also quite beautiful. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/08/PVS_Plate.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/08/volcanoes.png) Hawaii offers some striking plates. Left: "Polynesian Voyaging" won Best New Plate for 2022 from the Automobile License Plate Collector’s Association. Right: Hawaii Volcanoes National Park plate. The explosion of full color images on special plates has also created some concerns for law enforcement’s use of Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs), which automatically scan the plates of cars as they drive down the road or through tolls. Many police cars are equipped with ALPRs that [scoop up all of the plates](https://www.aclu.org/issues/privacy-technology/location-tracking/automatic-license-plate-readers?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) that drive by. A [report](https://www.aamva.org/getmedia/97faaff8-b5b3-4490-989c-0ed4f7244edd/LicensePlateReaderProgramBestPracticesGuide-October2021.pdf?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators warned that high contrast backgrounds in these special plates can cause readability issues for ALPRs. Some states have tried to reign in the sheer number of new plates being proposed each year, but with little success. In 2010, the Florida Senate [tried to restrict plates](https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2016/01/22/florida-lawmakers-cant-stop-loving-specialty-license-plates/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) only to designs that had at least 4,000 pre-orders, but the measure did not advance. ### Merch featuring data from our stories [ ![MUTCD highway signs shirt](https://shop.beautifulpublicdata.com/cdn/shop/files/unisex-garment-dyed-heavyweight-t-shirt-black-front-6a234276e9c6a.jpg?v=1780697108&width=1646) New MUTCD highway signs tee Source: FHWA Hundreds of the signs you drive past every day, straight from the style guide for America's highways. Get the shirt → ](https://shop.beautifulpublicdata.com/products/highway-signs-t-shirt?utm%5Fsource=newsletter&utm%5Fmedium=embed&utm%5Fcampaign=3-panel-ad) [ ![USGS geologic map shirt](https://shop.beautifulpublicdata.com/cdn/shop/files/unisex-garment-dyed-heavyweight-t-shirt-black-front-6a2396d1a3d07_1492f723-080d-439b-b744-ee5adf7390d5.png?v=1780973774) New New York USGS geologic map tee Source: USGS A beautiful map of New York's unqiue geology on a tee, featuring data from the USGS' most detailed visualization of the geology of United States to date. Get the shirt → ](https://shop.beautifulpublicdata.com/products/new-york-state-geology-map-t-shirt?utm%5Fsource=newsletter&utm%5Fmedium=embed&utm%5Fcampaign=3-panel-ad) [ ![AIS vessel tracks print](https://shop.beautifulpublicdata.com/cdn/shop/files/il_fullxfull.6328384598_5ljv.jpg?v=1780620416&width=1646) SoCal AIS vessel tracks framed print Source: NOAA A year of ship traffic on the U.S. coastline, accumulated into a single dense image. Features Los Angeles and the Southern California coastline. Get the print → ](https://shop.beautifulpublicdata.com/products/southern-california-ship-traffic-map?utm%5Fsource=newsletter&utm%5Fmedium=embed&utm%5Fcampaign=3-panel-ad) ## Animals and Conservation Some of the most popular special plates feature animals and messages about nature conservation. Whales, sharks, moose, salamanders, eagles, deer, butterflies, salmon, trout and loons can be found on plates around the country. Fees from many of these animal plates help fund state conservation efforts. Animal conservation plates were some of Florida’s most lucrative license plate designs for the 2020-2021 fiscal year. The “Sea Turtle” plate brought in $2.4 million, “Save the Manatee” brought in $1.3 million and “Protect Wild Dolphins” brought in $1.1 million in revenue. Texas’ “Horned Lizard” plate raised $6.5 million in fiscal year 2019\. California’s “Protect Our Coast & Ocean” featuring a whale tail pulled in $1.1 million in 2021\. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/08/ASI-20--20lighter.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/08/auto.wildlife0226.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/08/FL_image-068.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/08/whaletail_150.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/08/wlcrs.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/08/MN-plates_image-044.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/08/horseshoe.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/08/TN23_Box-20Turtle-20PA_0.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/08/DOLPHINS.JPG) Some of the menagerie of animals depicted on popular nature conservation plates. ## Controversial Plates License plates have been the subject of dozens of legal cases challenging the messages imprinted on them by the state. In 1976, a New Hampshire resident [successfully pleaded his case ](https://www.nhpr.org/news/2017-11-01/live-free-die-decades-old-fight-over-n-h-motto-to-get-supreme-court-shout-out?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)to the U.S. Supreme Court that he had the right to obscure the state’s motto “Live Free or Die” on his plates, which conflicted with his religious beliefs as a Jehovah's Witness. Recently, a group of atheists in Mississippi [sued the state](https://www.mississippifreepress.org/13182/atheists-sue-mississippi-for-in-god-we-trust-plates-i-dont-want-jesus-riding-on-my-car?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) when the governor changed the state seal to include the words “In God We Trust”, which appeared on the standard license plate design. The plaintiffs objected to the fact that there was no alternative design without the slogan without having to pay an extra fee for a special plate. The court found that the plaintiff's free speech argument was valid, but recently the Governor introduced a new standard plate that does not mention God, rendering the case moot. "I consider it a victory because the Governor's previous comments suggest he would not have chosen a design without a religious reference if it were not for the pressure that was applied to him," wrote Jason Alan Griggs, one of the plaintiffs in the case in an email to Beautiful Public Data. [📣 Recommend Beautiful Public Data to a friend](mailto:?subject=Newsletter%20recommendation%3A%20Beautiful%20Public%20Data&body=Hi%2C%20just%20wanted%20to%20recommend%20this%20newsletter%20I%20think%20you%20might%20like%20called%20Beautiful%20Public%20Data%3A%20A%20curated%20selection%20of%20visually%20interesting%20datasets%20collected%20by%20local%2C%20state%20and%20federal%20government%20agencies.%20By%20Jon%20Keegan.%0D%0A%0D%0ALink%3A%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.beautifulpublicdata.com/?utm%5Fsource=freferral%26utm%5Fmedium=email) A 2016 [report](https://www.ncsl.org/transportation/transportation-license-plate-policy-update?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) from the National Conference on State Legislatures (NCSL) warned state administrators of the controversy that can come with political messages on special plates. “Specialty license plate designs may encounter resistance, however. While courts have consistently stated that license plates are private speech, the fact that they are issued by government agencies can incite much controversy and debate,” said the report. But the full scope of American political expression is not evenly distributed in the plates offered today. Anti-abortion license plates such as “Choose Life” can be found in [34 states](https://www.guttmacher.org/state-policy/explore/choose-life-license-plates?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). Only four states appear to offer pro-abortion rights plates. Nebraska and Pennsylvania offer Planned Parenthood plates, with Nebraska’s displaying “My Body, My Choice” on the tag. Virginia has a “Trust Women, Respect Choice” plate and Alaska offers “Pro-Family, Pro-Choice”. At least nine states offer Revolutionary War Gadsden Flag “Don’t Tread on Me” plates. 22 states offer either “God Bless America” or “In God We Trust”. I could only find three plates in the whole dataset that represented the LGBTQ community: “Indiana Youth Group”, “South Carolina Equality” and “Maryland Equality”. Texas offers a "Juneteenth" plate, and Arkansas has a Martin Luther King, Jr. plate. I couldn't find any plates related to Black Lives Matters, which was surprising considering the scale of the civil rights movement in recent years. ## Big Money for Charities and for the State Some organizations pull in huge amounts of money from the fees shared by the state. California’s well-publicized “[Arts Plate](https://www.artsplate.org/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)” which costs $50 initially with a $40 annual renewal (or $103 initially with an $83 annual renewal for personalized plates) pulled in $2.2 million for the California Arts Council non-profit in 2019\. In 2022, the non-profit Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation raised $556,000 from its North Carolina specialty plate. License plate fees also are major sources of revenue for state motor vehicle departments. Florida pulled in over $44 million just from specialty license plates in the 2020-2021 fiscal year. ## Made By Prison Labor Yes, license plates are still made by cheap prison labor in most states. 80% of all license plates issued in the U.S. today were made by state prisoners, with only 12 states opting out of the practice. According to a 2022 [ACLU report on prison labor](https://www.aclu.org/news/human-rights/captive-labor-exploitation-of-incarcerated-workers?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com#:~:text=Our%20nation%20incarcerates%20more%20than,people%20working%20on%20the%20outside) in the U.S., many states offer no pay at all to prisoners, while the average hourly wage across the country was between 13 and 52 cents per hour. *\*Update Sept. 28, 2023: This story's dataset was updated to include Illinois'* [*military plates*](https://www.ilsos.gov/departments/vehicles/license%5Fplate%5Fguide/military/home.html?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) *which were omitted in error. The searchable table, chart and dataset have been updated with these plates, and the overall count of plates was updated to 8,331.* 👨🏻‍💻 ****Nerdbox** For this post, I had to scrape data from 51 different state motor vehicle agencies. Every site was different, which created a challenge. Some sites like [Indiana](https://www.in.gov/bmv/registration-plates/license-plates-overview/license-plate-designs/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)'s and [Washington](https://www.dol.wa.gov/vehicles-and-boats/license-plates/get-custom-plates/special-design-plates?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)'s were very nicely built, with easy to read lists of plates, large plate images and clean descriptive text. Other states (I'm looking at you [New Hampshire](https://www.dmv.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt416/files/inline-documents/list-of-plates-table.pdf?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) and [Massachusetts](https://www.mass.gov/doc/passenger-plates-manual-0/download?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)) did the minimum and just linked to a PDF with low-res blurry thumbnails of the plates. I filed six freedom of information requests seeking plate issuance and revenue numbers, while some states helpfully published these numbers on their websites. You can find the responses in my [GitHub repository](https://github.com/jonkeegan/us-license-plates?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) for this story, along with the dataset and thumbnail images. Using some [command line graphics](http://bit.ly/command-line-gfx?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) (ImageMagick) I resized the plate images to a uniform 2:1 ratio and made the sizes consistent. I used Jupyter Notebooks and `matplotlib` to analyze the data and make the chart. 🙏🏻 ****Did you enjoy this post?** You can subscribe to our newsletter to get future posts delivered to your inbox for free. 👉🏻 📫 [Subscribe now](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/subscribe#/portal/). ****☕️ Buy me a coffee** Say thanks with a [one time tip](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/#/portal/support). ****Sharing is caring** 📣 If you think your followers or friends may like it, please consider sharing it. 👕🖼️ ****Buy Beautiful Public Data merch on our** [****Etsy shop**](https://www.etsy.com/shop/BeautifulPublicData?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) [Unique t-shirts and prints ](https://www.etsy.com/shop/BeautifulPublicData?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)inspired by our stories 🙋🏻‍♀️ If you have any suggestions, comments or requests, please email them to [beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com](mailto:beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com) Thanks for reading! \- Jon Keegan Bluesky: [@jonkeegan.com](https://bsky.app/profile/jonkeegan.com?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) Mastodon: [mastodon.social/@jonkeegan](https://mastodon.social/@jonkeegan?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) ### Mapping Volcano Eruptions With Drones URL: https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/mapping-volcano-eruptions-with-drones/ Last updated: 2023-09-05T18:31:43.000Z ![A quilt of photos showing drone images of lava, exploding volcanoes and thermal images of hot lava. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/05/volcano-drones-header-2.jpg) Some of the scenes captured by USGS drones at volcanoes in Hawaii. Researching volcanoes is a dangerous job. There’s the flying globs of molten lava, irritating volcanic smog (vog), unstable ground and sinkholes that can drop beneath your feet, volcanic glass threads called Pele’s hair that can pierce your skin and irritate your lungs, deadly invisible pools of carbon dioxide, and searing hot sulfur dioxide gas that can choke and kill you, just to name a few hazards. To help minimize some of these risks, and record observations that would otherwise be difficult or impossible in a helicopter, United States Geological Survey (USGS) researchers have embraced the drone as an essential tool to observe the chaotic, rapidly changing environments surrounding volcanic eruptions near the summit of Hawaii’s Kīlauea Volcano. The dataset featured in this post comes from a FOIA request submitted to the USGS from data journalist (and licensed drone pilot) [Ben Welsh](https://palewi.re/who-is-ben-welsh/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). [The data](https://github.com/palewire/usgs-hawaii-volcano-drone-survey-october-2022/tree/main?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) contains over 800 photographs from an [October 2022](https://twitter.com/USGSVolcanoes/status/1580197760329916416/photo/1?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) Uncrewed Aircraft System (UAS) mission at Halema'uma'u crater. Welsh also included a cool [downloadable 3-D printable model](https://github.com/palewire/usgs-hawaii-volcano-drone-survey-october-2022/blob/main/print.stl.zip?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) of the crater. # Mapping and measuring One of the main tasks that these USGS drones are used for is photographing the entire area of the crater where the volcanic activity is most active. The photos taken by the drones’ cameras aren’t just for capturing dramatic scenes of exploding lava fountains (though there is plenty of that). The drones capture hundreds of hundreds of photos sequentially, which are then processed using a technique called “structure from motion”. This technique matches up the sequential images, aligning the photos based on landmarks in the images, computing the differences from frame to frame, which are used to generate the 3-D shape. USGS uses an app called [Agisoft MetaShape](https://www.agisoft.com/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) to process these images into a model, a technique which is also known as “photogrammetry”. 0:00 / 1× A 3-D model I processed from the drone photographs from [this](https://github.com/palewire/usgs-hawaii-volcano-drone-survey-october-2022/tree/main?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) October 2022 flight. This model was processed via Agisoft MetaShape. Source images: USGS / [Ben Welsh](https://github.com/palewire/usgs-hawaii-volcano-drone-survey-october-2022/tree/main?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). The same sort of detailed scans can also be captured using LiDAR, but that usually involves a piloted aircraft with more expensive scanning gear. Being able to safely fly over such a dangerous environment more frequently without risking pilots or expensive aircraft allows for more frequent scanning and a better understanding of the rapid changes occurring in the crater. I spoke with Michael Zoeller, who is a geologist and a GIS analyst working at the USGS’s [Hawaiian Volcano Observatory](https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/hvo?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) in Hilo, Hawaii. Zoeller pilots drones in the field, and also processes imagery and creates mapping products in his role. “During the eruption that ran from late 2021 to the end of 2022 we were probably doing \[drone flights\] once a month, alternating with the helicopter flight. We would do one drone flight, then two weeks later do a helicopter flight, two weeks after that I do a drone flight and kind of just keep running through that cycle more or less”, explained Zoeller. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/05/Screenshot-2023-05-22-at-8.53.23-PM.png) USGS geologist and drone pilot Michael Zoeller preparing to fly a DJI Matrice 600 drone over Halemaʻumaʻu crater at the summit of Kīlauea volcano on January 28, 2022\. Source: USGS Asked if he ever imagined his job would involve flying drones over volcanoes when he was a kid, Zoeller replied “All those years of playing video games in high school and college…it kind of paid off.” “We relied on helicopters for aerial observations of our volcanoes here for decades. But drones have come along and they provide an alternative to helicopters that allow us to deploy more quickly at greatly less cost and, and quite importantly with much less danger to the occupants,” said Zoeller. In addition to the regular camera, the drones are also usually equipped with a thermal camera, which can measure the searing temperatures of the surfaces being photographed from a safe distance. 0:00 / 1× A ground-based thermal time lapse of lava flowing into Halema‘uma‘u between Jan. 12, 2021 and April 22, 2021\. Source: [USGS](https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/news/photo-and-video-chronology-kilauea-april-23-2021?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). Other hazardous conditions such as corrosive sulfurous gasses would wreak havoc on helicopter engines, but have less of an effect on battery powered drones with electric motors. “We can kind of park right in that volcanic gas plume and just sit there for 10, 15 minutes collecting data the whole time. And that's stuff that we could never ever get with a helicopter,” said Zoeller. Zoeller added that while the USGS has had drones fall from the sky, they have been able to recover and reuse them all. That is especially important as [federal procurement rules](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/01/22/2021-01646/protecting-the-united-states-from-certain-unmanned-aircraft-systems?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) have restricted the use of federal dollars to purchase drones manufactured in China, which currently dominates the drone industry. # Recent Eruptions at Halemaʻumaʻu Crater The past few years have seen lots of interesting [volcanic activity at the Kīlauea summit caldera](https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/december-2020-march-2023-summit-eruptions?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). Sitting within the larger caldera lies the Halemaʻumaʻu pit crater. In 2018, a 6.9 magnitude earthquake in the Puna district (on the Big Island) was the start of a [major eruption](https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/2018-lower-east-rift-zone-eruption-and-summit-collapse?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) of Kīlauea in the East Rift Zone. The resulting lava flows destroyed 700 homes and caused more than $800 million in property damage, making it the most destructive volcanic event since Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980\. An estimated cubic kilometer of lava flowed towards the sea during the 2018 event, which drained a long-standing lava lake below the Halemaʻumaʻu crater floor, causing it to collapse. [📣 Reccommend Beautiful Public Data to a friend](mailto:?subject=Newsletter%20recommendation%3A%20Beautiful%20Public%20Data&body=Hi%2C%20just%20wanted%20to%20recommend%20this%20newsletter%20I%20think%20you%20might%20like%20called%20Beautiful%20Public%20Data%3A%20A%20curated%20selection%20of%20visually%20interesting%20datasets%20collected%20by%20local%2C%20state%20and%20federal%20government%20agencies.%20By%20Jon%20Keegan.%0D%0A%0D%0ALink%3A%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.beautifulpublicdata.com/?utm%5Fsource=freferral%26utm%5Fmedium=email) After the collapse, a [water lake developed](https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/2019-2020-summit-water?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) at the bottom of the crater for about a year. The 130 ft. (40m) deep lake evaporated over the period of two hours when a December 2020 eruption spilled lava from three vents to fill the former lake. In September of 2021, an eruption in Halemaʻumaʻu featured lava shooting up in dramatic 200 ft (61m) high fountains, and seeping through multiple fissures in the crater floor and walls. The eruption lasted just over two months. Footage from a December 4, 2022 USGS Parrot Anafi drone flight over the Mauna Loa volcano in Hawaii. Source: USGS / Ben Welsh In January of 2023, another two month-long eruption in the crater was documented, flowing new lava onto the crater floor. During this period, the floor of the crater has continued to rise, explained Zoeller. “We've just seen this gradual caldera filling, which is not unsurprising. A similar process is documented to have happened in the 1800s.” According to the USGS, in the year after the 2021 eruption, the crater floor rose up 470 feet (143m), as 29.2 billion gallons of lava filled the crater. 0:00 / 1× Timelapse of the rising floor of Halemaʻumaʻu Crater from Mar. 17, 2022 - Aug. 1, 2022\. Source: [USGS](https://www.usgs.gov/media/videos/timelapse-showing-rise-halemaumau-crater-floor?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) The swelling of the crater floor can be seen in this time series of digital elevation model (DEM) files, many of which were captured via drone. You can see huge islands of rock floating on the flowing lava lake as it spews out of fissures in the crater wall. 0:00 / 1× A time lapse of Digital Elevation Model files showing the rising floor of the Halemaʻumaʻu Crater from Dec. 12, 2022 through Mar. 10, 2023\. Source data: [USGS](https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/item/6407d404d34e76f5f75e3aef?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). ## Confirming observations from the past The use of these modern tools to measure short-term changes in the structure of the summit crater, but they also help fill in a record of past observations. “We're seeing pretty major changes on short timescales right now. And because like some of these processes were kind of seen but not well documented in the 19th century, it's been really interesting for us because seeing it now has helped us kind of figure out some of the stuff that was described by early missionaries,” said Zoeller. “They saw this endogenous uplift and the crater was slightly domed in the middle because of like the viscosity of the lava and like, ‘OK, yeah!’, it kind of makes sense that what they were talking about,” said Zoeller. ## What's next? Regarding the current calm at the crater, Zoeller said “As to how long that's gonna go on, you know nobody really knows. It might keep filling the summit, it could eventually transition into one of the rift zones again.” You can check out a live webcam with a fantastic shot of the [Halemaʻumaʻu crater here](https://www.youtube.com/usgs/live?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). The latest [daily update](https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/volcano-updates?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) from the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory notes, “Kīlauea volcano is not erupting, and no active lava has been observed since March 7, 2023.” Zoeller said forecasting Kīlauea is hard to predict because “...we have a documented history of this volcano for 240 years, but that's a very small sliver of time when this thing's been erupting for hundreds of thousands of years.” --- *Special thanks to fellow news nerd* [*Ben Welsh*](https://palewi.re/who-is-ben-welsh/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) *aka* [*palewire*](https://github.com/palewire/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) *aka KF0IA for filing the* [*FOIA request*](https://www.muckrock.com/foi/united-states-of-america-10/dem-model-files-created-following-drone-flight-over-halemaumau-and-kilauea-volcano-135188/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) *for this drone imagery, and for sharing his drone pilot knowledge. As Ben says, "Always be filing." 🌋* 👨🏻‍💻 **Nerdbox** For this post, I imported the photographs from the October 2022 UAS flight that Ben Welsh [FOIA'd](https://github.com/palewire/usgs-hawaii-volcano-drone-survey-october-2022/tree/main?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) into [Agisoft MetaShape](https://www.agisoft.com/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). I was then able to export an orbiting video of the crater as a 3-D model. I also used [QGIS](https://qgis.org/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) to load the DEM files (GeoTIFF) and render them as hillshade rasters. I then appended the date extracted from the filename in `[Imagemagick](https://imagemagick.org/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)`, and animated the annotated frames with `[ffmpeg](https://ffmpeg.org/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)`. I also used ChatGPT for some of the `Imagemagick` / `ffmpeg` commands, which it excels at and saves me from looking up exactly what I did last time (though I still usually have to do that to some degree). 🙏🏻 **Did you enjoy this post?** You can subscribe to our newsletter to get future posts delivered to your inbox for free. 👉🏻 📫 [Subscribe now](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/subscribe#/portal/). **Sharing is caring** 📣 If you think your followers or friends may like it, please consider sharing it. 🙋🏻‍♀️ If you have any suggestions, comments or requests, please email them to [beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com](mailto:beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com) Thanks for reading! \- Jon Keegan ([@jonkeegan](https://twitter.com/jonkeegan?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)) ### Here’s All the Rocks We Hauled Back From the Moon URL: https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/nasa-lunar-sample-collection/ Last updated: 2026-09-30T18:22:50.000Z ![A grid of photographs showing a variety of different lunar rock samples with rulers and calibration tools. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/05/moon-rocks-header2.jpg) Some of the photographs of the specimens in NASA ARES' [Lunar Sample Catalog](https://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/lunar/samplecatalog/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). Source: NASA [ARES](https://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) American astronauts plan to head [back to the Moon](https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) in the next few years, closing a 50 year gap in human lunar exploration. The three and a half year period (from 1969 and 1972) when American astronauts walked on the Moon yielded a huge amount of science which continues to be studied today yielding new insights. The [twelve astronauts](https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/890/who-has-walked-on-the-moon/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) who explored the surface of the Moon collected and returned a whopping 842 pounds (382 kilograms) of lunar rocks and soil, which are carefully controlled by NASA and extremely valuable – so valuable that a group of [NASA interns stole](https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/02/moon-rock-thief-thad-roberts/582757/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) $20 million worth of the lunar samples in a 600 lb. safe in 2002, but were later [busted by the FBI](https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/news/stories/2003/november/apollo%5F111803?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). When looking at the incredible photos taken from the Apollo missions, you might assume all the rocks are basically the same gray, dusty material that the astronauts galloped across. But a look through this collection of samples from NASA’s [Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science](https://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) (ARES) Division shows that these geologic samples are incredibly diverse and full of surprising features. ![A photo of a pockmarked dark grey moon rock sitting on a circular metal surface with calibration targets and numbers,](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/05/s71-43328.jpg) Photo of lunar sample 15556 from Apollo 15\. Basalt with Olivine. Source: NASA ARES Apollo [Photo S71-43328](https://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/lunar/samplecatalog/photoinfo.cfm?photo=S71-43328&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) Many samples feature beads or layers of glass resulting from the incredible pressure and temperatures of volcanic forces or meteorite impacts on the lunar surface. Others are riddled with “vesicles” or impressions from gas bubbles that were formed in volcanic molten rock. The types of rocks in the lunar sample collection are breccias, basalts or crustal rocks. Four major minerals are prevalent in the samples: olivine, ilmenite, pyroxene and plagioclase. [📣 Reccommend Beautiful Public Data to a friend](mailto:?subject=Newsletter%20recommendation%3A%20Beautiful%20Public%20Data&body=Hi%2C%20just%20wanted%20to%20recommend%20this%20newsletter%20I%20think%20you%20might%20like%20called%20Beautiful%20Public%20Data%3A%20A%20curated%20selection%20of%20visually%20interesting%20datasets%20collected%20by%20local%2C%20state%20and%20federal%20government%20agencies.%20By%20Jon%20Keegan.%0D%0A%0D%0ALink%3A%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.beautifulpublicdata.com/?utm%5Fsource=freferral%26utm%5Fmedium=email) These samples were a major chunk of the work being done by the Apollo astronauts, and it was extremely dangerous work. Without a protective atmosphere, tiny micrometeorites flying like bullets through space could shoot right through a spacesuit and any time on the surface exposed astronauts to dangerous radiation and cosmic rays. Despite these hazards, 2,196 samples were recorded and collected during 80 hours of work. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/05/s96-09179.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/05/s76-26844.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/05/s75-31108.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/05/s73-17782.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/05/s73-15446.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/05/s73-15316.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/05/s72-43452.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/05/s72-40126.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/05/s72-39674.jpg) Some of the rocks from NASA ARES' lunar sample collection. Source: NASA [ARES](https://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/lunar/index.cfm?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). The photos in [NASA's catalog](https://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/lunar/samplecatalog/index.cfm?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com#tabs-3) show the rocks on a flat surface, sometimes with color indicators and a manual catalog counter dialed into the ID of the sample. In most of the photos, you can see a small metal cube (1 cm square) that in addition to indicating scale also indicates the orientation of the sample with single letter inscriptions for North, South, East, West and Top and Bottom. A small vertical subscript mark indicates the bottom. The information recorded about precisely where each sample was found is incredible. Each sample was photographed in place before being collected. This sort of manual data collection must have been extremely difficult in a spacesuit, in such a colorless and uniform environment. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/05/Screenshot-2023-05-01-at-11.58.18-PM-1.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/05/Screenshot-2023-05-02-at-12.06.58-AM.png) Photos showing exactly where each sample was found before being collected. Left: Location and orientation of [75035](https://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/lunar/lsc/75035.pdf?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) at rim of Camelot Crater, Apollo 17\. Right: Photo of [14318](https://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/lunar/lsc/14318.pdf?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) on the lunar surface, Apollo 14\. Source: NASA Many of the lunar samples are on public display in museums around the world. NASA’s ARES has a sample loan program for researchers and schools. You can request the loan of a sample for public display [here](https://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/education/public%5Fdisplay.cfm?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) and K-12 schools (in the U.S.) and universities can request “thin section” samples for research purposes. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/05/10092-5_jsc01209-p2-adj.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/05/10092-5_jsc01211-x3-adj.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/05/10075-19_jsc03855-x3.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/05/10062-71_jsc01112-x4-adj.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/05/10058-46_jsc04230-x1.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/05/10050-153_jsc04215-x6.jpg) Some of the "thin section" slices of lunar samples viewed under a microscope with polarized light. Source: NASA [ARES](https://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). ## Slicing and Dicing If you need to get up close to these samples and don’t want to go through the trouble of asking NASA for access to one, you can examine a selection of these samples virtually in exquisite detail, both inside and out in your web browser. In 2013, artist [Erika Blumenfeld](https://erikablumenfeld.com/works/nasa-astromaterials-3d/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) approached NASA with the great idea of using the latest imaging technology to create high resolution 3D scans of the lunar rocks in their collection, so more people around the world could examine them in detail. NASA was interested, and funded the effort, named [Astromaterials 3D](https://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/astromaterials3d?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). The “Explorer” interface for this project is executed beautifully, allowing you to rotate and zoom in on the 3D model of each sample (which can be downloaded in high or low resolution). Each sample is accompanied by a narrative with interesting details about its collection and its dimensions and physical properties. 0:00 /0:21 1× NASA ARES' [Astromaterials 3D Explorer](https://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/astromaterials3d/index.htm?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) interface. Source: NASA/These 3D reconstructed image data were produced at the Lunar Sample Laboratory Facility for Astromaterials 3D in NASA’s Acquisition & Curation Office and were funded by NASA Planetary Data Archiving, Restoration, and Tools Program, Proposal No.: 15-PDART15\_2-0041. The coolest part is that NASA has also performed CT scans on these samples, revealing the interior makeup of the sample, in thousands of slices, which you can reveal along any axis. The resulting effect is like taking these priceless samples and just cleaving them open with an infinitely sharp blade to see what’s inside. You can even turn on an “anaglyph 3D mode” which with the aid of those red and blue paper glasses gives you a nice 3D view of the sample. The fact that an artist was behind this idea shows, and it is truly one of my favorite interfaces for beautiful public data that I have come across. *This post has been updated to correct the spelling of Erika Blumenfeld's name.* 👨🏻‍💻 ****Nerdbox** For this post, I had to download all of the images from the Lunar Sample Catalog, which appears to be running on a [Cold Fusion server](https://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/lunar/samplecatalog/index.cfm?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). At first, I was going to just extract the photos of the rocks from a huge collection of PDFs from this [Sample Compendium](https://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/lunar/lsc/index.cfm?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) which has lots of great info for each sample. I used `pdfimages` for this which worked great, but then I discovered the sample catalog photos which were the original uncropped pictures shot with a Hasselblad with all the cool artifacts and quirks. There's a somewhat usable web interface, but I had to collect all of the photo IDs and sample IDs to be able to generate the image download list for the 4,830 hi-res "Ortho" photos. Once I built the list I used `curl` to download them all in bulk. At first I thought this would be simple as there's a [Lunar API](https://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/lunar/api/index.cfm?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) listed, but unhelpfully this didn't include the photo IDs. But I did scrape all of the Apollo sample data from that API (which is really interesting), and made a CSV which you can grab [here](https://github.com/jonkeegan/nasa-lunar-samples?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). Using some [command line graphics](http://bit.ly/command-line-gfx?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) (ImageMagick) to resize and crop the images to make a quilt. As per usual these days, [ChatGPT](https://chat.openai.com/chat?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) is a huge help with lots of little utility code that saves me tons of time. 🙏🏻 ****Did you enjoy this post?** You can subscribe to our newsletter to get future posts delivered to your inbox for free. 👉🏻 📫 [Subscribe now](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/subscribe). ****Sharing is caring** 📣 If you think your followers or friends may like it, please consider sharing it. 🙋🏻‍♀️ If you have any suggestions, comments or requests, please email them to [beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com](mailto:beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com) Thanks for reading! \- Jon Keegan ([@jonkeegan](https://twitter.com/jonkeegan?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)) ### 1,000 Photos of Dolphin Fins URL: https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/1000-photos-of-dolphin-fins/ Last updated: 2023-04-10T14:00:08.000Z ![A quilt of images showing some of the dolphin fin photos from the dataset. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/04/dolphin-header-1.png) Some of the photos from the dataset. Source: [NOAA](https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/67547?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) It ain’t easy being a dolphin. That’s my takeaway after looking through a database of 1,000 photographs of Common Bottlenose Dolphin dorsal fins released by researchers as part of a 2018 research project. The photographs tell of a violent and brutal life that differs from the idyllic existence we probably imagine when thinking of these delightful mammals. Scars, scratches and wounds abound in these photos as encounters with unknown creatures and boat propellers leave their marks, imprinting a story of close escapes and cheating death. Some fins are pierced with radio trackers, and others have numbers inscribed into the dolphin's skin by researchers for identification purposes. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/04/PS075_SMR283_2018Jan11_KAW_0753.JPG) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/04/PS458_PS1361_2016Apr25_AMG_0466.JPG) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/04/PS700_12_Dec_2006_AMG_0479.JPG) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/04/SNC0019_SMR184_2018Jan25_KAW_0289.JPG) Some of the fins carrying scars of past encounters. Clockwise from top left: Dolphins SMR283, SMR221, SMR184 and SMR437\. Source: [NOAA](https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/67547?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) But each dolphin fin’s combination of gouges, nicks and marks does have an unexpected upside for these creatures. They are unique enough to form a sort of fingerprint that can be used to identify distinct dolphins, allowing researchers to track their movements over time. The [Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC),](https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/about/southeast-fisheries-science-center?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) based in Miami, Florida is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) with a mission to provide “...the scientific advice and data needed to effectively manage the living marine resources of the Southeast region and Atlantic high seas”. The [research project](https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/67350?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) that involved this data collection was conducted by the SEFSC’s Beaufort, NC facility, which is the second-oldest federal marine laboratory (Woods Hole in MA is the oldest). The goal of the research project was to provide an updated count of the number of common bottlenose dolphins along the southern coast and estuarine area of North Carolina. The [US Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-50/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-18?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) is a law that protects all marine mammals which defines large observed migratory populations into 61 distinct “stocks” and corresponding management zones in U.S. waters. The common bottlenose dolphins that were observed from this study occupy two overlapping stocks – the Northern North Carolina Estuarine System Stock and the Southern North Carolina Estuarine System Stock. ![A screenshot from a figure in the research paper showing the NC coastline where the 2018 survey occurred.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/04/Screenshot-2023-04-10-at-2.11.28-AM.png) The area surveyed in the January 2018 research mission. Source: [NOAA](https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0270057.g002?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) The [data](https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/archive-management-system/OAS/bin/prd/jquery/accession/download/254384?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) was collected in January of 2018 on three separate missions, along the coast near Cape Fear, NC. The good news is that this study found the estimated population to be three times higher than the previous estimate from 2006\. After the data collection, the photographs were analyzed to identify individual dolphins. Turns out there is an app for that: [FinFindR](https://github.com/haimeh/finFindR?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), which is a code library “for doing photo recognition on dolphins, sharks etc.” The fin images contain a lot of information. The fins’ shape, color variations, notches, scars and “tooth rakes” all help to distinguish an individual. The Beaufort lab had been compiling photos of these fins since 1995, in a catalog of 2,423 individual dolphins. ![A photo of Dolphin SMR058's fin showing curved scars deep in the flesh, and water splashing. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/04/PS1882_SMR058_2018Jan08_AMG_1542.JPG) Dolphin SMR058\. Photographed on Jan. 8, 2018 at [34.436830, -77.518370](https://goo.gl/maps/CDDz9BKfwSwC4Tc49?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). Source: [NOAA](https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/67547?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) Researchers were able to check the 2018 photos against this catalog which provided 228 matches for previously identified dolphins. After completing the analysis, the study had identified 547 distinct dolphins from their photographs. This collection of [1,011 photos](https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/67547?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) includes the photographs from the 2018 research mission as well as the earlier photos of matched dolphins from the Beaufort archives. The study also looked for the presence of “Xenobalanus globicipitis”, a parasitic barnacle found on many fins. # Tursiops truncatus ![A dolphin surfs the wake of a research boat on the Banana River](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/04/Tursiops_truncatus_01-cropped.jpg) Bottlenose Dolphin - *Tursiops truncatu*s - A dolphin surfs the wake of a research boat on the Banana River - near the Kennedy Space Center. 2004\. Source: NASA, Public domain, via [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tursiops%5Ftruncatus%5F01-cropped.jpg?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) [Common bottlenose dolphins](https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/common-bottlenose-dolphin?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) (*Tursiops truncatus*) can live to be 40-60 years old, and can be found all around the world, in both tropical and temperate waters. In the U.S., this well-studied intelligent species can be found all throughout the Atlantic coast, the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean as well as along the Pacific coast from Washington to California. Measuring from six to thirteen feet and weighing up to 1,400 lbs, these dolphins can be seen in open ocean, near the coastline or in estuaries, bays and harbors. The bottlenose’s close proximity to human beings creates one of its greatest threats. Becoming entrapped in fishing gear is one of the major threats affecting the populations of bottlenose around the world, as well as contamination from industrial pollution and harmful algae blooms. In five of the population stocks along the Atlantic coast, bottlenose populations are classified as “[depleted](https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/laws-and-policies/glossary-marine-mammal-protection-act?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com#strategic-and-depleted-stocks)”. # A Dolphin’s Social Network In addition to simply counting and identifying the dolphins, the researchers set out to understand the social networks that the dolphins adhered to. ![A screenshot of a figure from the research paper showing a network diagram made up of three main clusters of dolphins. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/04/Screenshot-2023-04-10-at-2.09.09-AM.png) A figure from the research paper illustrating the three distinct clusters of dolphins observed in the study. Source: [NOAA](https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0270057.g005?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) The final [research paper](https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0270057?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) was published in August of 2022\. While studying these two large “stock” areas, the analysis found that there appeared to actually be three distinct populations. The paper concludes that simply counting dolphins in a time and place may not give us enough information to properly define a group of these highly social animals, and that analyzing their own networks may be the best way to manage and protect these fascinating creatures. --- *Research paper: Hohn AA, Gorgone AM, Byrd BL, Shertzer KW, Eguchi T (2022) "Patterns of association and distribution of estuarine-resident common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in North Carolina, USA." PLoS ONE 17(8): e0270057\. [https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0270057](https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0270057?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)* 👨🏻‍💻 **Nerdbox** For this post, I used [ImageMagick](https://imagemagick.org/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) to compose a quilt of the dolphin fin photos from this dataset, and I used [ffpmpeg](https://ffmpeg.org/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) to make an animation of some of the photos. 🙏🏻 **Did you enjoy this post?** You can subscribe to our newsletter to get future posts delivered to your inbox for free. 👉🏻 📫 [Subscribe now](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/#/portal/signup/free). **Sharing is caring** 📣 If you think your followers or friends may like it, please consider sharing it. 🙋🏻‍♀️ If you have any suggestions, comments or requests, please email them to [beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com](mailto:beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com) Thanks for reading! \- Jon Keegan ([@jonkeegan](https://twitter.com/jonkeegan?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)) ### The Mirror Fusion Test Facility URL: https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/the-mirror-fusion-test-facility/ Last updated: 2025-03-24T04:39:14.000Z ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/03/fusion-header-5.png) Photos: [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory](https://www.llnl.gov/news/media-library?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). On Friday, February 21, 1986 a group of 300 scientists, engineers, contractors and government officials gathered for a dedication ceremony at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. After final diagnostic tests, the "Mirror Fusion Test Facility-B" (MFTF-B) completion was celebrated, and [a letter](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23726030-fiscal%5Fyear%5F1987%5Fdepartment%5Fof%5Fenergy%5Fau?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com#document/p11/a2233498) from John Herrington, Ronald Regan's Secretary of Energy was presented to program director T. Kenneth Fowler extending his congratulations on a job well done. On the very same day after nearly a decade of development and nearly a billion dollars\* of funding, the project was shut down, the massive machine having never been turned on. "I want all of you to know how much I regret the fact that, just as you complete this remarkable new facility, the budget pressures dictate that we must put it into standby and not operate it as you might have hoped. This is frustrating, and perhaps not the best use of our national talent and resources, but we must bring the deficit under control," wrote Herrington in the letter to Fowler. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/03/5795112854_e1dc61ba81.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/03/5795119904_18d88d585d-1.jpg) Photos of the 400-ton "yin-yang" magnet mirrors used in the MFTF-B. Source: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. [Photo 1](https://www.flickr.com/photos/llnl/5795112854?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [Photo 2](https://www.flickr.com/photos/llnl/5795119904/in/photostream/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). I came across photos from the construction of the components of the MFTF-B on Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s website and was captivated by [a photo](https://www.flickr.com/photos/llnl/5795119904/in/photostream/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) from 1980 showing a strange twisting mass of metal that at the time was the largest superconducting magnet in the world. This 350 ton magnet was encased in stainless steel built in a distinct “yin-yang” shape, and its interior was cooled to temperatures of 425º F below zero, by pumping liquid helium through the vessel. Thirty miles of copper and niobium-titanium wire were wound over the course of a year to make the magnet’s conductor. The magnet was capable of generating magnetic fields 150,000 times that of Earth’s that could contain the 500-million Kelvin degree plasma generated by the fusion device. ![A photo of the massive building sized magnet in the MFTF-B under construction. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/03/5794563833_fee376ced1.jpg) A photo of the MFTF-B under construction in 1978\. Source: [LLNL](https://www.flickr.com/photos/llnl/5794563833/in/album-72157626754270259/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) ### The Race for Fusion “According to Greek mythology, fusion energy, the fire of the Sun is a gift hard won”, goes the first line of the T. Kenneth Fowler’s 1997 book, “[The Fusion Quest](https://books.google.com/books/about/The%5FFusion%5FQuest.html?id=odPaAAAAMAAJ&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)”. Fowler continued, “Today, irresistibly drawn to the challenge of bringing fusion energy down to Earth from the stars, scientists tempt Zeus still.” The promise of mastering this elemental force is a clean, safe and near limitless energy source, which could literally save the planet. While the more widely known process of nuclear fission has been producing energy at commercial scale in power plants since the 1950’s, harnessing nuclear fusion – which Fowler’s poetic description accurately captures as the same reaction taking place in the heart of the Sun – has been the subject of an international race for decades. Only in December of 2022 did scientists at the National Ignition Facility at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory announce that they had [achieved the first recorded](https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/12/13/fusion-energy-biden-climate/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) fusion reaction with a net energy gain – meaning that it released more energy than was put in, which was a crucial milestone for the whole field, though it could be decades before this is put into practical use. The energy crisis of the 1970s motivated the U.S. government to throw lots of money at alternative energy sources, and fusion was one of the big areas of interest. According to the [Department of Energy](https://www.energy.gov/science/doe-explainsnuclear-fusion-reactions?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com#:~:text=Nuclear%20Fusion%20reactions%20power%20the,The%20leftover%20mass%20becomes%20energy.), the basic principle of nuclear fusion is the fusion of two lighter nuclei (such as the commonly used combo of deuterium and tritium) to form a heavier one (helium) which releases energy (and subatomic particles, such as neutrons). To do this, super-hot plasma is created in a vacuum to create the fusion reaction, and either lasers or powerful magnets are used to control and contain the plasma. During this period of frenzied investment in the 70’s, two major directions for fusion research emerged: the torus or donut shaped “Tokamak” design utilized by Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, and MFTF-B's “magnetic mirror” based approach, with a linear vessel housing the superheated plasma bouncing the plasma off two opposing magnetic “mirrors” at either end of the chamber. ![A photo of a tokamak fusion reactor.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/03/Princeton_Large_Torus_1975-1.jpg) 1975 photo of the Princeton Large Torus at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, which is an example of a "tokamak" fusion reactor design. Source: Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory,[ Public domain](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Princeton%5FLarge%5FTorus%5F1975.jpg?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), via Wikimedia Commons Research at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory developing the mirror based approach [showed promise](https://www.osti.gov/biblio/7346590?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) in smaller scale tests, which led to the decision to go all in on a large scale device. The fact that other major labs were going all in on the tokamak approach, left an opening for hedging the big fusion bet on this potential alternate path. The question of whether there was enough sound evidence to ramp up to the scale of the MFTF-B was subject to debate at the time, and the final decision seemed to partly come down to ideology and gut instinct. In a really thorough 1987 Science magazine [story on the MFTF-B](https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.238.4824.152?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) Edwin Kintner, who was the associate director of the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Research at the time said as much. Looking back on the decision to go all in on the MFTF-B, Kintner is quoted as saying “Everybody was concentrating on tokamaks. I thought it was necessary for these tokamak guys to have to look over their shoulders.” In the same article, MFTF-B program director Fowler is quoted as saying, “You could debate the decision, but it wasn’t illogical. Building big machines is a mixture of lead times, resources, prudence and gambling.” --- *Below: "Mirror Fusion Test Facility magnet system— Final design report. Sept. 3, 1980\. Source: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory."* --- ### "Just-completed and never-used" The Reagan administration’s decision to mothball the machine came as a gut punch to the researchers. Lawmakers tried to fight for extra funds to throw a lifeline to the program or to salvage parts of the project to perform some science in a more limited scope. The money and time spent on the project was weighing heavy in the comments recorded in hearings held by the House Subcommittee on Energy Research and Production in February of 1986\. Congressman Fortney ("Pete") Stark of California [made a particularly impassioned plea](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23726030-fiscal%5Fyear%5F1987%5Fdepartment%5Fof%5Fenergy%5Fau?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com#document/p65) to extend the life of the project. Citing the Reagan Administration's proposed budget, Stark wrote "This proposal would mothball the just-completed and never-used Mirror Fusion Test Facility-B (MFTF-B) at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory." Stark continued, "A lot of hard work and money has been invested in the world's largest superconducting, tandem mirror fusion experiment. For close to 8 years some of the finest scientists and engineers in America have dedicated their time and energy to the project. $350 million dollars have been invested in MFTF-B." ![A crew stands before the partially installed magnet as part of the MFTF-B.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/03/The_Mirror_Fusion_Test_Facility_During_Construction.jpg) The MFTF-B under construction in 1983\. Source: [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The%5FMirror%5FFusion%5FTest%5FFacility%5FDuring%5FConstruction.jpg?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). Stark included some of the photos of the facility for the record, showing its impressive scale. "As you see the facility is truly an incredible accomplishment. Even to those who have not had years of scientific training, the enormous complexity of the project can be appreciated. Please let me repeat: 8 years of dedicated manpower and $350 million dollars have been pumped into the MFTF-B." In the years following the shutdown of the program, parts of the machine were scavenged for other projects, and the rest was scrapped in 1998\. Building 431 at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory sat empty for a number years and was eventually [demolished](https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2005/10/14/landmark-lab-building-no-longer-for-the-birds/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) around 2005 after determining that the site [did not meet the threshold](https://www.osti.gov/biblio/15004621?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) of historical significance to be protected on the National Register of Historic Places. ![A massive magnet being installed into the partially built MFTF-B machine. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/03/5795123612_06ce5edea5.jpg) The installation of a magnet into the MFTF-B in 1981\. Source: [LLNL](https://www.flickr.com/photos/llnl/5795123612/in/album-72157626754270259/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) ### Recent breakthroughs reignite hopes for fusion With the[ recent news](https://www.llnl.gov/news/national-ignition-facility-achieves-fusion-ignition?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's National Ignition Facility achieving the first net energy gain nuclear fusion reaction, the outlook for prioritizing fusion research looks bright. Having achieved "ignition" for the first time on December 5, 2022 by creating a reaction where more energy is released than consumed, it turns out a third approach was the key to success: containing the plasma within high powered lasers. In fact, the successful ignition employed another huge, expensive machine – this one equipped with 192 massive lasers all focused on a tiny pellet, pounding it with 2 million joules of energy, creating a fusion reaction that only lasted for [100 trillionths of a second](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/13/science/nuclear-fusion-energy-breakthrough.html?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). "Crossing this threshold is the vision that has driven 60 years of dedicated pursuit — a continual process of learning, building, expanding knowledge and capability, and then finding ways to overcome the new challenges that emerged. These are the problems that the U.S. national laboratories were created to solve.” ![A photo of the massive lasers at the target chamber of the National Ignition Facility at LLNL.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/03/targetChamber.jpg) Another huge, expensive fusion machine. But this one worked. The target chamber of the National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Labs (LLNL). Source: [LLNL](https://www.llnl.gov/news/national-ignition-facility-achieves-fusion-ignition?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) *\* In 1986, the total cost of the project was described in Congressional testimony as costing $350 million, which would equal $965.4 million according to the* [*BLS*](https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation%5Fcalculator.htm?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)*.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/06/unisex-staple-t-shirt-white-front-665c91a41e44d.jpg) #### Mirror Fusion Schematic T-Shirts Featuring a schematic of the 400 ton "yin-yang" magnet used in the The Mirror Fusion Test Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories. Source: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories archives. [Browse the Beautiful Public Data shop on Etsy](https://beautifulpublicdata.etsy.com/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) 🙏🏻 ****Did you enjoy this post?** You can subscribe to our newsletter to get future posts delivered to your inbox for free. 👉🏻 📫 [Subscribe now](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/subscribe#/portal/). ****☕️ Buy me a coffee** Say thanks with a [one time tip](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/#/portal/support). ****Sharing is caring** 📣 If you think your followers or friends may like it, please consider sharing it. 👕🖼️ ****Buy Beautiful Public Data merch on our** [****Etsy shop**](https://www.etsy.com/shop/BeautifulPublicData?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) [Unique t-shirts and prints ](https://www.etsy.com/shop/BeautifulPublicData?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)inspired by our stories 🙋🏻‍♀️ If you have any suggestions, comments or requests, please email them to [beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com](mailto:beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com) Thanks for reading! \- Jon Keegan Bluesky: [@jonkeegan.com](https://bsky.app/profile/jonkeegan.com?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) Mastodon: [mastodon.social/@jonkeegan](https://mastodon.social/@jonkeegan?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) ### Special Database 18: 3,248 Mugshots Used for Training Image Recognition Systems URL: https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/nist-special-database-18-3-248-mugshots-used-for-training-image-recognition-systems/ Last updated: 2023-09-21T17:18:19.000Z *Updated March 20, 2023* ![A quilt of 32 black and white mugshot photos from NIST's "Special Database 18". Each person has their eyes covered by a black bar. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/03/nist-mugshots-header-1.png) A sample of the mugshot photos from NIST's "Special Database 18". (The black bars were added by me to protect the privacy of the subjects). Source: [NIST](https://www.nist.gov/srd/nist-special-database-18?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) Buried deep in The National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) [data catalog](https://data.nist.gov/sdp/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com#/), among biometric measurement datasets such as fingerprints, iris scans, and handwriting samples, you will find a most unusual collection of federal data. [Special Database 18](https://www.nist.gov/srd/nist-special-database-18?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) is labeled as “NIST Mugshot Identification Database.” This dataset contains black-and-white mugshot photographs of 1,573 people. The 3,248 undated photos appear to be many decades old and to come from a variety of locations. The photos feature front and profile views of people and are accompanied by a metadata file containing the subject’s gender and age at the time of the photo. Some of the subjects appear in multiple photos taken at different times. NIST’s website says the database is being distributed “for use in development and testing of automated mugshot identification systems.” Though names and any other obviously identifying information have been redacted in these images, I was still shocked to see this available. The dataset must be [requested](https://nigos.nist.gov/datasets/sd18/request?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) from NIST, which will provide a copy if you are a “qualified researcher” and it is “to be used for biometrics related research, development and education.” In the dataset [documentation](https://s3.amazonaws.com/nist-srd/SD18/readme%5Fsd18.pdf?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), NIST does not offer any context other than the gender and age metadata. In the dataset I reviewed, which I requested and downloaded from NIST’s website a few years ago, almost all of the subjects are labeled as male, with only 78 labeled as female. Perhaps the most notable number I found while looking through this dataset was that 175 of the subjects were minors at the time their mugshot was taken, with 10 of them under the age of 15\. There are even two 12-year-old children in the collection. I’m a father of a 12-year-old, and the thought of my kid getting caught up in some trouble and having his face permanently added to a government mugshot collection made my stomach turn. I have to admit that I paused at even considering this dataset for a newsletter named "Beautiful Public Data", as it is obviously not a correct fit. But in my role as a curator of unusual visual data in government archives, this dataset is hard to ignore. One of the biggest lessons I have learned as a journalist is that when you find something that seems bad, sort by harm. (In this case, that meant loading the data into a Python notebook and quite literally sorting by age.) These photographs are depicting people at likely one of the worst moments in their lives, and it shows. Bandages, black eyes, and fresh wounds hint at grim, untold stories that led them to the moment of their photo. Among the people in the photographs are sailors and soldiers and bus drivers. One photo of a woman crying was particularly wrenching. Some of these photos are blurry, smudged snapshots while others are evocative portraits that are hard to pin down in time. Looking at this huge collection of pictures, it is hard not to empathize with these subjects, though it is sobering to remember that it is likely that at least some of these people may have done some bad things. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/03/21-1.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/03/37.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/03/20.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/03/27.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/03/7.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/03/29.png) A sample of the mugshots contained in Special Database 18\. (The black bars were added by me to protect the privacy of the subjects). Source: [NIST](https://www.nist.gov/srd/nist-special-database-18?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) I reached out to NIST to ask some questions about this dataset, including one about the presence of minors in it. Richard Press, a spokesperson for the institute, told me that NIST has “paused distribution of SD-18 \[the mugshot database\] and are reviewing the dataset to remove any that depict people who were minors at the time the photos were taken.” Press added, “We are also notifying anyone who has received the dataset for biometric related research that they must remove these images, as per the terms and conditions of the agreement they signed with NIST. Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention.” In response to my questions about the origin of the photos, Press said that they were shared with NIST in the 1990s by the FBI to “support research in mugshot identification.” Press said that when the FBI provided the collection of images to NIST, it confirmed that each of the individuals in the photographs were deceased and that they each had “criminal records.” It was not clear looking at these photographs if any of these people in this dataset were convicted of any crime or were simply arrested at some point, and when I asked NIST to clarify what having a criminal record meant exactly, Press told me that “NIST defers to the FBI on the meaning of ‘criminal records.’ ” The intended use of this data does not appear to be training facial recognition models (you can use NIST’s [Special Database 32](https://www.nist.gov/itl/iad/image-group/special-database-32-multiple-encounter-dataset-meds?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) for that) but rather for image recognition systems to classify a photograph as a mugshot, as opposed to one used for a passport or a government issued ID. One [academic study](https://journalofbigdata.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40537-019-0282-4?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) that cited the use of Special Database 18 for analysis was titled “Criminal tendency detection from facial images and the gender bias effect” and described the study as an effort to “explore a new level of image understanding, inferring criminal tendency from facial images via deep learning.” The study has since been [retracted](https://journalofbigdata.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40537-020-00323-8?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) by the publisher as the authors failed to seek approval from their ethics committee before working with sensitive human biometric data. I have submitted a public records request to both NIST and the FBI for more information on the dataset’s origins. # Mugshots as public records State laws vary widely regarding the classification of mugshots as public records. [Thirty-one states](https://www.rcfp.org/open-government-sections/11-mugshots/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) generally consider them public to some degree, but some impose additional rules controlling their release. Other states do not appear to have rules specifically governing mugshots, at least according to a [review of laws](https://www.rcfp.org/open-government-sections/11-mugshots/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) assembled by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. Some states have limited the distribution of mugshots in recent years amid growing concern about privacy and the ability of such photos to spread online. California enacted a law in 2021 that prohibits police departments or sheriff’s offices from sharing certain booking photos of people on social media and mandates the photos be removed if the individual is not charged, found not guilty, or had their conviction overturned. In a controversial move, New York recently amended its [freedom of information law](https://dos.ny.gov/coog/foil2.html?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) to prevent the disclosure of mugshots in public records requests. But the state allows individual law enforcement agencies the discretion to release such photos if they have a “a specific law enforcement purpose.” The amendment was criticized both by [news organizations](https://www.timesunion.com/opinion/article/Editorial-Kill-this-secret-arrest-bill-13550612.php?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) and [civil liberties groups](https://www.nyclu.org/en/legislation/legislative-memo-mugshot-and-booking-information-ban?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). Louisiana and Florida are [among a group of states](https://www.ncsl.org/technology-and-communication/mug-shots-and-booking-photo-websites?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) that have recently enacted new restrictions related to mugshots that limit their use on exploitative websites that post the photos and make their money by forcing people to pay to have them removed. # Ethical questions While mugshots are considered public records in many cases, the use of these photos as a technical testing standard in a long-term government dataset raises significant ethical questions. I spoke with Sarah Lageson, an associate professor at Rutgers’ School of Criminal Justice who studies the ways in which online crime data and criminal records have lingering effects on people. Lageson said that the lack of context surrounding the subjects’ arrests raises serious ethical concerns. “I think it’s this decontextualization that is harmful for any circumstance where mugshots are involved because it’s just so personal,” she said.” It's your face in this context in which you don't have any rights.” Lageson added that a criminal case is a dynamic, evolving thing, and the mugshot reflects just one early moment in that process. “Mug shots are basically just a reflection of who a police officer has decided to arrest. It’s really not an indicator of criminality or proof that the person has been harmful or anything like that,” said Lageson. “Just because they were brought into the system for one minute, or for one instance, they’re forever now relegated to their biometric data to be used over and over.” Albert Fox Cahn is the founder and executive director of the [Surveillance Technology Oversight Project](https://www.stopspying.org/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) (S.T.O.P.), which advocates for ending discriminatory surveillance practices. “It’s hard to imagine how anything is ethical about this, if it’s being done with no informed, meaningful consent—\[and\] there is no consent when you’re arrested or when your booking photos \[are\] forcibly taken,” Cahn told me in an interview. When asked if such ethical problems are mitigated by the fact that the subjects of these photographs are apparently deceased, Cahn replied, “There is something harmful about this, even if someone is deceased, harmful to their family, harmful to their legacy. I know that after I’m gone, I don’t want to have my image being used by the government to train new forms of AI.” Cahn told me that the fact that such a collection has been out there on a government website for years is a result of a wider societal problem resulting from the unfettered use of surveillance technologies to ingest biometric data without consent—what he called “a mountain of stolen data.” Press said that, to the best of NIST’s knowledge, no subjects or their families had been notified that they were included in this dataset, and no subjects or their families have ever contacted NIST requesting to be removed from the dataset. On its website, NIST includes among its [core values](https://www.nist.gov/about-nist?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), "Integrity: We are ethical, honest, independent, and provide an objective perspective." Press added that all of the image datasets used by the agency are subject to “[Human Subjects Protection](https://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/regulations-and-policy/regulations/common-rule/index.html?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)” regulations. When asked if NIST has had any recent discussion about the ethics of these involuntary subjects being made part of a permanent dataset, Press said, “Yes, this is an active area of consideration within NIST and among data experts.” # A look at NIST’s collections The National Institute of Standards and Technology is set apart from most federal agencies by the wide array of standards and measurements that it works on for many industries. Founded in 1901, NIST is part of the Department of Commerce and [was created](https://www.nist.gov/about-nist?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) to help boost American commercial competitiveness by defining and maintaining measurements and standards that would help the U.S. catch up to more established European industrial leaders. NIST’s mission: “To promote U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards, and technology in ways that enhance economic security and improve our quality of life.” Diving into NIST’s website yields all sorts of interesting collections of data. NIST is the official keeper of [time for the U.S. government](https://www.time.gov/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). NIST maintains a large amount of physics data, including tables of [atomic weights](https://physics.nist.gov/cgi-bin/Compositions/stand%5Falone.pl?ele=&all=all&ascii=html&isotype=all&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), properties, and isotopic compositions for all known elements. There’s a collection of [fundamental physical constants](https://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Constants/index.html?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) in the known universe, where you can find the precise values of the speed of light in a vacuum (299,792,458 meters per second) or the Rydberg frequency (3.289 841 960 2508(64) × 1015 Hz). NIST also has its own [online store](https://shop.nist.gov/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), where industrial labs can order “standard reference material” for a dizzying array of items, both mundane and exotic. For $1,107 you can buy 170 grams of peanut butter. Looking for a good source of industrial sludge? For $780, NIST can set you up with 70 grams, shipped to your door. You can also order “[Lake Superior Fish Tissue](https://shop.nist.gov/ccrz%5F%5FProductDetails?sku=1946&cclcl=en%5FUS&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com),” “[Urban dust](https://shop.nist.gov/ccrz%5F%5FProductDetails?sku=1649b&cclcl=en%5FUS&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com),” “[Organic Contaminants in Smokers’ Urine (Frozen)](https://shop.nist.gov/ccrz%5F%5FProductDetails?sku=3672&cclcl=en%5FUS&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com),” and “[Slurried Spinach](https://shop.nist.gov/ccrz%5F%5FProductDetails?sku=2385&cclcl=en%5FUS&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com).” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/03/Screenshot-2023-03-15-at-1.33.42-PM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/03/Screenshot-2023-03-15-at-1.33.37-PM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/03/Screenshot-2023-03-15-at-1.33.31-PM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/03/Screenshot-2023-03-15-at-1.33.26-PM.png) Some of the "Standard Reference Materials" for sale at the [NIST Store](https://shop.nist.gov/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). From a purely bureaucratic perspective, this mugshot database perhaps seemed to fit neatly beside these items as yet another “standard reference material” in NIST’s collections. But today, decades after the photos were taken, their presence reminds us that the recent leaps forward in machine learning are fueled by mountains of data, and that includes real human faces. The practice of involuntary personal data collection used to train algorithms is not only limited to those people in the criminal legal system but is also happening to all of us. Access to Special Database 18 may be on pause, but that broader problem remains. *Correction: March 20, 2023: This story originally described NIST as regulating standards and measurements. NIST does not regulate standards and measurements but rather develops voluntary standards. The story has been updated to correct the error.* 👨🏻‍💻 ****Nerdbox** For this post, I wrote a shell script (started with the help of [ChatGPT](https://chat.openai.com/chat?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) or course) to extract the metadata for each photograph from the accompanying text file, and output a CSV file of the data. I then imported this CSV into a Jupyter notebook to do some basic filtering to look at the ages of the subjects, and to confirm that the data matched what was in the NIST documentation. 🙏🏻 ****Did you enjoy this post?** You can subscribe to our newsletter to get future posts delivered to your inbox for free. 👉🏻 📫 [Subscribe now](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/#/portal/signup/free). ****Sharing is caring** 📣 If you think your followers or friends may like it, please consider sharing it. 🙋🏻‍♀️ If you have any suggestions, comments or requests, please email them to [beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com](mailto:beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com) Thanks for reading! \- Jon Keegan ([@jonkeegan](https://twitter.com/jonkeegan?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)) ### Pilot Manual for a 1940's U.S. Navy Blimp URL: https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/pilot-manual-for-a-1940-u-s-air-force-blimp/ Last updated: 2023-02-13T15:24:03.000Z **This 122 page manual contains all of the operating instructions and technical details to pilot this sleek, silver 250 foot long weaponized anti-submarine dirigible.** ![A montage of schematics and diagrams form a 1940 Navy blimp pilot manual. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/02/blimp_HEADER-2.png) Excerpts from "UNITED STATES NAVY K-TYPE AIRSHIPS: PILOT MANUAL" The national discussion surrounding surveillance balloons offers up the perfect opportunity to share one of the more unusual public records I found while poking around deep in the Federal Aviation Administration’s website a while back (yes, this is a thing I do). Listed on an FAA page titled “[Aviation Handbooks & Manuals](https://www.faa.gov/regulations%5Fpolicies/handbooks%5Fmanuals/aviation?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)”, which includes links to a wide variety of recent pilot handbooks for weather, instrumentation, safety as well as guides for operating [helicopters](https://www.faa.gov/regulations%5Fpolicies/handbooks%5Fmanuals/aviation/helicopter%5Fflying%5Fhandbook?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [gliders](https://www.faa.gov/regulations%5Fpolicies/handbooks%5Fmanuals/aviation/glider%5Fhandbook?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [hot air balloons](https://www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/regulations%5Fpolicies/handbooks%5Fmanuals/aviation/FAA-H-8083-11.pdf?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) and [gyroplanes](https://www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/regulations%5Fpolicies/handbooks%5Fmanuals/aviation/faa-h-8083-21.pdf?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), there is one document that is significantly older than the others, and it kind of jumped out at me. The title is listed as “[Airship Pilot Manual](https://www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/regulations%5Fpolicies/handbooks%5Fmanuals/aviation/airship%5Fpilot%5Fmanual.pdf?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)” with a publication date of 1942\. The actual title of the document is “UNITED STATES NAVY K-TYPE AIRSHIPS: PILOT MANUAL”. This 122 page manual contains all of the operating instructions and technical details one would need to pilot this 250 foot long, 79 foot high, silver, weaponized anti-submarine dirigible. This manual is incredibly detailed and surprisingly readable. This blimp (they seem to prefer “airship”) had the ability to lift just over 26,000 pounds and was powered by two 425 horsepower Pratt & Whitney Wasp engines, which could spin the three bladed, 12 foot long propellers at 1,775 rpm[\[1\]](#fn1). Depending on the model of this K class airship, the vehicle could cruise along at an average of between 40-67.5 knots (40-77 mph). One of the things that made these blimps essential for anti-submarine warfare, is that at normal cruising speed they could go on 26 hour long missions. 134 of this class of airship were built for the Navy by the Goodyear Aircraft Corporation. --- 1. K-9 and later models [↩︎](#fnref1) The volume of the blimp envelope was 425,000 cubic feet[\[1\]](#fn1), and was filled with helium. --- 1. K-14 and later models [↩︎](#fnref1) This was no leisure craft. It carried a turret-mounted 50 caliber Browning machine gun and had racks that could carry up four torpex-filled MK-47 depth bombs (350 lbs. each). These airships were deployed by the Navy to help search for and destroy enemy submarines. The airship included a ASG-type radar system capable of detecting objects at 90 miles and sonobuoys used to probe for submerged submarines. Footage of a K-Class airship dropping depth charges on suspected submarines at sea on December 14, 1943. On July 31, 1943, The New York Times [reported](https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1943/07/31/85112859.html?pageNumber=6&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) that airship K-74 was shot down over the Atlantic, after a U-boat it had been hunting with depth charges surfaced, and shot it down. All but one member of the crew survived the splashdown in the ocean. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-11-at-11.54.40-AM.png) The New York Times - [July 31, 1943](https://nyti.ms/3liaRZp?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) The 40-foot long cabin, which sat nestled below the envelope could carry a crew of ten, and as weight was a key constraint, the manual listed the exact weight of each piece of equipment aboard, including the 85 lbs of canned and fresh food, 35 lbs of water and 16 lbs of rescue rations. A table of the electrical load analysis lists a “GE Grill - Stove - Oven” and a Manning Bowman #494 coffee percolator and an Everhot “roasterette”. Reading such hilariously specific data like this, I reassure myself that were I to ever acquire a time machine, and find myself piloting this blimp while hunting U-boats over the Atlantic in World War II, I’d know the exact amperage being drawn from the coffee maker (3 amps) if I needed to reduce power consumption in a pinch. The manual contains some beautifully executed cutaway diagrams with every single feature carefully annotated. When looking through this manual with its exquisitely drafted schematics, I thought about a used book I found a few years ago, “Illustrator Draftsman 3 & 2” published by the U.S. Navy Training Command in 1972, which was an instruction manual for the kinds of artists and draftsmen in the Navy who probably worked on this blimp manual. This draftsman manual deserves a post of its own in the future. The National Archives has some incredible footage of these K-Class airships in action. [One clip](https://youtu.be/B0SYRukm6y0?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) is from December 14, 1943 and shows a crew aboard one of these blimps actually dropping depth charges on suspected submarines. There is also some incredible [color footage](https://youtu.be/3bCOiF4kcqc?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) from 1944 showing one of these silver beasts taking off and landing on an aircraft carrier. Seeing the crew members flying this behemoth really helped make these blimps come to life for me in a way I had not expected. ![A cutaway schematic of the K-class airship cabin](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-11-at-2.12.41-PM-1.png) An cutaway view of the 40 foot long cabin. Some amazing color footage from February 1944 showing a K-Class airship taking off and landing on an aircraft carrier. 🙏🏻 **Did you enjoy this post?** You can subscribe to our newsletter to get future posts delivered to your inbox for free. 👉🏻 📫 [Subscribe now](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/#/portal/signup/free). **Sharing is caring** 📣 If you think your followers or friends may like it, please consider sharing it. 🙋🏻‍♀️ If you have any suggestions, comments or requests, please email them to [beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com](mailto:beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com) Thanks for reading! \- Jon Keegan ([@jonkeegan](https://twitter.com/jonkeegan?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)) ### The United States Frequency Allocation Chart URL: https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/the-united-states-radio-frequency-allocation-chart/ Last updated: 2025-03-24T04:38:18.000Z **This crazy, beautiful chart illustrates the incredible complexity of managing one of our nation’s most crucial – and invisible – national assets: the radio spectrum.** ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-04-at-11.47.53-PM.png) A small detail of the United States Frequency Allocation Chart. Source: [NTIA](https://ntia.gov/sites/default/files/publications/january%5F2016%5Fspectrum%5Fwall%5Fchart%5F0.pdf?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) Somewhere above you right now, a plane is broadcasting its location, speed and bearing on [1090 MHz](https://www.faa.gov/air%5Ftraffic/technology/adsb?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). A geostationary weather satellite 22 thousand miles from Earth is transmitting detailed weather maps on [1694.1 MHz](https://usradioguy.com/goes-satellite-imagery-reception/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). A car driving by your home is transmitting a signal with the pressure readout of one of its tires at [315MHz](https://www.rtl-sdr.com/testing-tire-pressure-monitoring-system-sensors-with-rtl-sdr-and-rtl%5F433/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). A GPS satellite flying overhead at 8,000 miles per hour is pinging a signal to your phone at [1575.42 MHz](https://www.nist.gov/pml/time-and-frequency-division/popular-links/time-frequency-z/time-and-frequency-z-g?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com#:~:text=All%20GPS%20satellites%20broadcast%20on,on%20L5%20at%201176%20MHz%29.) . A [data buoy](https://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station%5Fpage.php?station=44065&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) bobbing in the Atlantic ocean transmits sea temperature, wave height and wind speed readings to a NOAA satellite at [401 MHz](https://www.ntia.doc.gov/files/ntia/publications/compendium/0401.00-0402.00%5F01MAR14.pdf?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). On top of all that, every single mobile device and WiFi router near you blasts out everyones internet traffic through the air over radio waves. How the hell are all of these signals getting to the right place, intact without stepping all over each other? The answer is a very carefully regulated radio spectrum. The Federal Communication Commission ([FCC](https://www.fcc.gov/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)) and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration ([NTIA](https://www.ntia.doc.gov/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)) share the task of managing the allotment of radio frequencies for U.S. airwaves. The NTIA manages Federal all radio applications (including military uses), while the FCC manages everything else including state and local government, commercial and amateur radio use. The airwaves floating across America are sliced up into chunks (some wide, some incredibly narrow) where different services and uses are permitted to broadcast and receive radio signals. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/02/january_2016_spectrum_wall_chart_0.jpg) One of the coolest documents that the U.S. Government prints. The United States Frequency Allocation Chart. Source: [NTIA](https://ntia.gov/sites/default/files/publications/january%5F2016%5Fspectrum%5Fwall%5Fchart%5F0.pdf?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) It is an incredibly complex system, and to help with the job of explaining the importance of managing this invisible natural resource, the NTIA publishes this wall chart (which you [can order](https://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/united-states-frequency-allocations-radio-spectrum-poster?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) from the Government Printing Office as a poster for a mere $6 with free shipping!). # Slices of Spectrum Not all radio applications on this chart are equal. The U.S. government lays claim to a [large chunk](https://www.ntia.doc.gov/book-page/how-spectrum-used?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) of America’s radio spectrum for military use, communications, transportation systems, water control satellites, data transmission and time signals. Commercial broadcast TV signals (yes they still are out there) and plain old AM and FM radio have a dedicated swath, which provides probably the only true touchpoint in most people’s life with the various frequencies on the radio spectrum. FM radio is allowed to operate between 88 MHz and 108.0 MHz, and AM radio operates between 540 kHz and 1700 kHz. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/11/bpd-dem-header.jpg) ## Sign up for Beautiful Public Data A curated selection of visually interesting datasets collected by local, state and federal government agencies. By Jon Keegan. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. We've covered license plates, nuclear weapons, moon rocks, highway signs, volcano drones, undersea surveys and prescription pills.If you like this post, you will enjoy this newsletter. Amateur radio operators (like me, KE3GAN) are granted various slices to operate safely in, and licenses are granted to all manner of businesses and institutions who use different frequencies for communications of many types (which you can [look up](https://www.radioreference.com/db/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)). Civil aviation, maritime navigation, satellite communications, radio astronomy, cellular voice and data all lay claim to the colorful plots of spectrum on this chart suited to the demands of their radio applications. The specifics of what each slice is used for appears in a lengthy document known as the [FCC Online Table of Frequency Allocations](https://transition.fcc.gov/oet/spectrum/table/fcctable.pdf?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), which presents this breakdown in table format, which is precise but pretty boring to look at. The Frequency Allocation Chart uses 33 color coded categories to visualize the information from the Table of Frequency Allocations in a crazy quilt of blocks spread from 9 kHz (Very Low Frequency) all the way to 300 GHz (Extremely High Frequency). # A Popular Chart I spoke with Eric Rosenberg, Telecommunications Specialist at NTIA about the history of the chart, how it is used, and the challenges of clearly describing the way spectrum is managed. Rosenberg says a lot of the determinations of what service goes where on the spectrum comes down to physics and the environment it will be used in. For example, the military and weather services use a lot of microwave communications (greater than 1 GHz) for specific applications that can’t just be put anywhere on the spectrum. “You can't just pick up a block and say, okay, we're gonna move these radars over here.” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/06/IMG_4027-1.jpeg) #### Unisex Radio Frequency Chart T-shirt (Dark) This crazy, beautiful US government chart illustrates the incredible complexity of managing one of our nation’s most crucial – and invisible – national assets: the radio spectrum. Based on the NTIA's beautiful "United States Frequency Allocation Chart". Unisex T-shirt in light and dark designs. [Browse the Beautiful Public Data shop on Etsy](https://beautifulpublicdata.etsy.com/listing/1739031288?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) Rosenberg says the chart is always extremely popular with people who see the chart for the first time, including lawmakers in Congress. The chart does suffer from scale distortions, not unlike a map that makes certain parts of the Earth appear larger than others. “When we do the chart, part of the design of the chart is to balance the relationship between the services that are being served and the bandwidth that they have. And that is the difficulty that you get to, because the top of the chart, the first line of the existing charts…traditionally is less bandwidth, which looks like less services”, explained Rosenberg. Rosenberg said that if you were able to increase the scale of the bottom third of the chart, the allocations would look quite different. “You would say that the allocations are individually maybe a lot bigger and there are even more services there than you think.” # Unregulated Chaos on the Airwaves On December 12th, 1901, building on the work of other inventors, Italian engineer [Guglielmo Marconi](https://lemelson.mit.edu/resources/guglielmo-marconi?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) received the first transatlantic radio transmission at Signal Hill in St. John’s, Newfoundland. The signal was broadcast from a transmitter in Poldhu, Cornwall in the U.K., which consisted of morse code for the letter “S” at a frequency estimated to be 850 kHz, (in the medium frequency range). Within a few years, the first voice and sound transmissions had been broadcast, and by 1910, ships carrying 50 or more people were [mandated to carry radio communications equipment and a radio operator](https://www.nist.gov/pml/nbsnist-radio-stations-story-old-timer/story-old-timer-navy/story-old-timer-wireless-ship-act?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). But the airwaves were starting to get crowded, and there were no real rules in place to govern who can broadcast on what frequency. Amateur operators along the coast were [prank calling Navy ships](https://earlyradiohistory.us/1910ama.htm?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) at sea and chaos ensued. Congress had already developed a plan to [start regulating the airwaves](https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2011/07/did-the-titanic-disaster-let-uncle-sam-take-over-the-airwaves/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) by the issuing of licenses when the Titanic sank in April 1912\. But the chaotic disaster involved some serious miscommunication of wireless transmissions by boats at sea as the tragedy unfolded, which raised concerns that the unregulated airwaves were putting lives at risk, and that channels needed to be defined for amateurs and others cleared only for maritime and government use. This was the goal of the [Radio Act of 1912](http://earlyradiohistory.us/1912act.htm?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). It restricted all amateur radio operators to a portion of the spectrum, and codified various other rules, such as the adoption of an official “signal of distress” which is morse code for SOS ( ...---... ). This was followed by the [Radio Act of 1927](https://www.fcc.gov/document/radio-act-1927-established-federal-radio-commission?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), which set up the Federal Radio Commission, later to be changed to the Federal Communications Commission by the sweeping [Communications Act of 1934](https://transition.fcc.gov/Reports/1934new.pdf?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). # Early Attempts to Visualize the Spectrum Rosenberg of NTIA shared an interesting early attempt at laying out the radio spectrum and how it was being used via vertical columns in a Federal Radio Commission chart dated Oct. 22, 1928\. It spanned 10 kHz to 60 MHz. Sections were reserved for amateurs, aviation, government, agriculture, emergency use, and maritime use. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/02/Spectrum_1928_FRC-1.jpg) RADIO SPECTRUM DISTRIBUTION OF CHANNELS, Federal Radio Commission. October 22, 1928\. Image courtesy Eric Rosenberg, NTIA. While not created by a government agency, a 1944 educational poster created by the W.M Welch Scientific Company was produced titled “[Chart of Electromagnetic Radiations](https://www.flickr.com/photos/llnl/9403051123/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)” was released that was absolutely crammed with diagrams describing the electromagnetic spectrum as a whole, and tons of related scientific concepts which did include some allocations of radio use. You can find a seriously hi-res copy of this on [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s Flickr page](https://www.flickr.com/photos/llnl/9403051123/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/02/Electromagnetic-radiations.jpg) Source: [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s Flickr page](https://www.flickr.com/photos/llnl/9403051123/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). In 1959 RCA created a wall chart of the spectrum, also using a vertical orientation. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/02/1959_CCIR_RCA_Wall_Chart.jpg) Image courtesy Eric Rosenberg, NTIA. According to Rosenberg, the earliest versions of the chart created by the U.S. Government were in the 1970s, created by the White House’s Office of Telecommunications Policy, and the chart was updated periodically over 5-10 year intervals. Editions of the chart were pubished in 1987, 1996, and 2003 with the most recent version released in 2016\. Rosenberg said “These charts, they are not for planning purposes,” noting that they just represent a snapshot in time. With regards to how much each revision changed, Rosenberg said “The changes are rather subtle, so if you stack them on top of each other, you might not see any differences. And so for that reason it's a very labor intensive process.” Rosenberg says the chart is due for another update soon. “What has happened since the one that was done in 2016 is that there have been more changes. And that's why we're getting to the point where we really feel that we need to redo it. Again it's a very large project.” **Your Country, Your Spectrum** Each country controls how its radio spectrum is allocated, but international coordination is needed, as radio waves don't care about borders. This coordination is organized by the International Telecommunication Union ([ITU](https://www.itu.int/en/about/Pages/default.aspx?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)), and agency of the United Nations. Below are a few examples of how other countries map out their radio spectrum allocations. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/02/oman.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/02/mex.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/02/sa.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/02/canada.png) The frequency allocation charts for Oman, Mexico, Canada and South Africa. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2024/06/unisex-staple-t-shirt-black-front-665e9d4ae2ded.jpg) #### 1987 Army Radio Spectrum Diagram T-Shirt Buried in a declassified 1987 Army Field Manual Spectrum Management document, this beautiful schematic shows "a typical, completed, armored-infantry-mechanized (AIM) division multichannel system diagram with the assigned operating frequencies using the single ABM plan." [Browse the Beautiful Public Data shop on Etsy](https://beautifulpublicdata.etsy.com/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) 👨🏻‍💻 ****Nerdbox** For this post, I didn't actually have to use any code. But there's lots of fun software you can use to explore the radio spectrum using software defined radio. Get yourself a $20 RTL-SDR USB dongle, and you will be able to track [planes flying over your house](https://github.com/antirez/dump1090?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [cargo ships at sea](https://github.com/marcdacosta/ambient-shipping?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), listen to amateur radio chatter, local unencrypted police and emergency broadcasts, and even [pull images and broadcasts down from the International Space Station](https://www.instagram.com/p/CGkYXr%5Fnk6-/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). And if you are nerding out on this stuff, I highly recommend studying up to get your FCC Ham Radio license, as you will learn a ton and unlock the ability to broadcast and chat with other "hams" around the world. If you have a spare RaspberryPi lying around (if you are reading this box, of course you do) try this fantastic disk image called [PiSDR](https://github.com/luigifcruz/pisdr-image?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) preloaded with all the great open source software that you need to do the fun stuff with SDR and radio. I gave a talk at the IRE NICAR conference in 2020 titled "[Exploring the Radio Spectrum for News](https://github.com/jonkeegan/nicar20-radio?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)" that has more tips and information. 🙏🏻 ****Did you enjoy this post?** You can subscribe to our newsletter to get future posts delivered to your inbox for free. 👉🏻 📫 [Subscribe now](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/subscribe#/portal/). ****☕️ Buy me a coffee** Say thanks with a [one time tip](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/#/portal/support). ****Sharing is caring** 📣 If you think your followers or friends may like it, please consider sharing it. 👕🖼️ ****Buy Beautiful Public Data merch on our** [****Etsy shop**](https://www.etsy.com/shop/BeautifulPublicData?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) [Unique t-shirts and prints ](https://www.etsy.com/shop/BeautifulPublicData?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)inspired by our stories 🙋🏻‍♀️ If you have any suggestions, comments or requests, please email them to [beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com](mailto:beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com) Thanks for reading! \- Jon Keegan Bluesky: [@jonkeegan.com](https://bsky.app/profile/jonkeegan.com?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) Mastodon: [mastodon.social/@jonkeegan](https://mastodon.social/@jonkeegan?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) ### The Style Guide for America’s Highways: The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices URL: https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/the-style-guide-for-americas-highways-mutcd/ Last updated: 2023-11-09T02:14:31.000Z ![A quilt of hundreds of different traffic signs.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/01/CRASH_HEADER-3k-1.jpg) Driving across America today, you will encounter a dizzying variety of cultures, landscapes, people and animals. But the one consistent thing that will stay the same from Maine to California are the signs you pass on the highway. And that is because America’s roads and highways have a big, fat style guide. First published in 1935, the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) “[Manual on Uniform Traffic Control](https://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/index.htm?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)” (MUTCD), is a hefty tome consisting of close to 900 pages that contains the federal standards for all traffic safety signs, roadway markings and other “traffic control devices” that a driver on a road in the U.S. might encounter. The MUTCD states that it “shall be recognized as the national standard for all traffic control devices installed on any street, highway, bikeway, or private road open to public travel”. Exact specifications for the font, size, spacing of letters, background colors, reflectivity, mounting location and orientation help ensure that traffic signs are consistently readable at a glance while driving anywhere in the U.S.. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/01/Screenshot-2023-01-08-at-2.08.20-AM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/01/Screenshot-2023-01-08-at-2.10.48-AM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/01/Screenshot-2023-01-08-at-2.12.35-AM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/01/Screenshot-2023-01-08-at-2.13.54-AM.png) Signs to warn you of bighorn sheep, and to direct you to spelunking. Some sample pages from the MUTCD. Source: [Federal Highway Administration](https://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/pdfs/2009r1r2r3/pdf%5Findex.htm?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) The word “uniform” is key here, as you can only imagine the chaos if each state had its own version of stop signs, and safety warnings. But states do have some freedom in the signs that they use. ## Shall, Should, May Within its pages, many of the rules are marked as “Standard” – along with the verb “shall”, indicating a mandatory or required rule. But some other rules are marked as “Guidance” (the state “should” follow this rule), “Option” (the state “may” follow this rule) or “Support” which just offers extra information on the rule. The law offers states some flexibility in how they interpret the standards, and defines a process for experimenting with new signs and markers. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/11/bpd-dem-header.jpg) ## Sign up for Beautiful Public Data A curated selection of visually interesting datasets collected by local, state and federal government agencies. By Jon Keegan. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. We've covered license plates, nuclear weapons, moon rocks, highway signs, volcano drones, undersea surveys and prescription pills.If you like this post, you will enjoy this newsletter. By [law](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CFR-2011-title23-vol1/pdf/CFR-2011-title23-vol1-sec655-603.pdf?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), each state is required to either adopt the U.S. MUTCD as its standard, or supplement the national manual with its own state-specific amendments, or adopt its own manual altogether (as long as it is in “[substantial conformance](https://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/resources/state%5Finfo/index.htm?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) with the National Manual”). Ten states have their own MUTCD: [California](https://dot.ca.gov/programs/safety-programs/camutcd?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [Texas](https://www.txdot.gov/business/resources/traffic-design-standards/tmutcd.html?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [Missouri](https://epg.modot.org/index.php?title=Category:900%5FTRAFFIC%5FCONTROL&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [Minnesota](https://www.dot.state.mn.us/trafficeng/publ/mutcd/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [Utah](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JyNnvMXo5LgvhvSltSOh5miCxD84PSdJ/view?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [Michigan](https://mdotjboss.state.mi.us/TSSD/tssdHome.htm?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [Indiana](https://www.in.gov/dot/div/contracts/design/mutcd/mutcd.html?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [Ohio](https://www.dot.state.oh.us/roadway/omutcd/Pages/default.aspx?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [Delaware](https://deldot.gov/Publications/manuals/de%5Fmutcd/index.shtml?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) and [Maryland](https://roads.maryland.gov/mdotsha/pages/index.aspx?PageId=835&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). Here’s some example passages from the federal MUTCD that illustrate the detail of the standards: > “The DO NOT ENTER sign, if used, should be placed directly in view of a road user at the point where a road user could wrongly enter a divided highway, one-way roadway, or ramp (see Figure 2B-12). The sign should be mounted on the right-hand side of the roadway, facing traffic that might enter the roadway or ramp in the wrong direction.” > *Section 2B.37 DO NOT ENTER Sign (R5-1) - #2 (Guidance)* > “The only acceptable alternative background colors for Street Name (D3-1 or D3-1a) signs shall be blue, brown, or white. Regardless of whether green, blue, or brown is used as the background color for Street Name (D3-1 or D3-1a) signs, the legend (and border, if used) shall be white. For Street Name signs that use a white background, the legend (and border, if used) shall be black.” > *Section 2D.43 Street Name Signs (D3-1 or D3-1a) #18 (Standard)* > “On multi-lane streets with speed limits greater than 40 mph, the lettering on post-mounted Street Name signs should be composed of initial upper-case letters at least 8 inches in height and lower-case letters at least 6 inches in height.” > *Figure 2D-10\. Street Name and Parking Signs - #5 (Guidance)* In addition to the MUTCD, the FHWA also publishes an [accompanying guide](https://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/ser-shs%5Fmillennium.htm?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) called “Standard Highway Signs - Including Pavement Marking and Standard Alphabets”. This manual includes 375 pages of precise schematics for a wide variety of signs, indicating the exact shape of the ursine silhouette on the “**W11-16 LARGE ANIMAL - BEAR**” sign, the exact radius of the rounded corners of rest stop signs, and the distance between the peaks of the shield emblem that highway route numbers are enclosed in. ![Silhouette of a large bear on a diamond shaped yellow sign. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/01/shs-215-1.png) A schematic for a traffic sign W11-16 "LARGE ANIMAL - BEAR" to warn of bear crossings. Source: FHWA [Standard Highway Signs and Markings](https://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/ser-shs%5Fmillennium.htm?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) ![ White paths on a green sign with highway routes. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/01/shs-251.png) A schematic for a roundabout traffic pattern. Source: Source: FHWA [Standard Highway Signs and Markings](https://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/ser-shs%5Fmillennium.htm?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). ## Controversial Typography The official standard font used by the FHWA and the MUTCD is known as the “Standard Alphabet” broken into six variations or series. The typeface is also commonly known as “[Highway Gothic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highway%5FGothic?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)”. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/01/Screenshot-2023-01-07-at-11.56.35-PM.png) A specimen of the FHWA's "Standard Alphabet" typeface which is the current standard for traffic signage. Source: FHWA [Report on Highway Guide Sign Fonts](https://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/resources/interim%5Fapproval/ia5rptcongress/ia5rptcongress.pdf?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) ![Two versions of the same highways sign: On the left, using the "Standard Alphabet" font, and the right using "Clearview". White text on green backgrounds. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/01/Screenshot-2023-01-07-at-11.59.02-PM.png) Two versions of the same highways sign: On the left, using the "Standard Alphabet" font, and the right using "Clearview". Source: FHWA [Report on Highway Guide Sign Fonts](https://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/resources/interim%5Fapproval/ia5rptcongress/ia5rptcongress.pdf?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) An attempt to update the 75 year old typeface resulted in the 2003 release of a new font named “Clearview” intended to improve legibility when illuminated at night and in different driving conditions. There was quite a bit of hype for “Clearview” at the time, with supporters claiming studies showed that signs with the new font led to a reduction in crashes, though this was statistically unproven. In 2004, the FHWA [authorized provisional use of the font ](https://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/res-ia%5Fclearview%5Ffont.htm?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)for traffic signs. Big problems emerged when this new typeface was approved. When developing Clearview, the new font failed to match the readability of the Standard Alphabet typeface at the standard letter sizes defined by the MUTCD. The designers had to increase the letter size to achieve a higher degree of legibility. This created problems for sign manufacturing and design, as it changed long held standards for sign dimensions. And though this typeface was merely approved as an option that states could use (in a limited number of circumstances), it created enormous confusion for state transportation departments who thought this might be a replacement for Standard Alphabet (it wasn’t). Such a complex and carefully considered system now had unhelpful ambiguity. ![A type sample contrasting the shapes and sizes of Clearview and Standard Alphabet, showing Clearview in blue, and Standard Alphabet in red. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/01/Screenshot-2023-01-07-at-11.58.52-PM.png) A diagram showing the differences between Standard Alphabet and Clearview. Clearview has wider spacing and is taller than the corresponding Standard Alphabet size, which resulted in larger, more expensive signs. Source: FHWA [Report on Highway Guide Sign Fonts](https://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/resources/interim%5Fapproval/ia5rptcongress/ia5rptcongress.pdf?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) The bigger type required bigger signs, which cost more money…and the whole thing blew up. In 2016, twelve years after allowing Clearview, FHWA[ rescinded the font’s interim approval](https://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/resources/interim%5Fapproval/ia5/ia5%5Ftermination.pdf?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). The whole debacle resulted in a mandated [report to Congress](https://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/resources/interim%5Fapproval/ia5rptcongress/ia5rptcongress.pdf?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) detailing exactly what went wrong during the whole episode. ## An Evolving Document Over the years, the MUTCD has been updated to reflect improvements to road safety and rapidly changing technology, since the first edition was published in 1935\. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/01/Screenshot-2023-01-08-at-4.43.10-PM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/01/Screenshot-2023-01-08-at-4.44.14-PM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/01/Screenshot-2023-01-08-at-4.43.46-PM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/01/Screenshot-2023-01-08-at-4.43.40-PM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/01/Screenshot-2023-01-08-at-4.43.34-PM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2023/01/Screenshot-2023-01-08-at-4.43.26-PM.png) Some pages from the[ first edition](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23567020-1935mutcd?responsive=1&title=1&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) of the MUTCD, released in 1935\. Source: FHWA. It has also been updated to adapt to the realities of war. In 1942, there was a “[War Emergency Edition](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23566786-1942mutcd?responsive=1&title=1&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)” of the manual containing regulations for accommodating “blackout” conditions, including devices to minimize any ground based reflectivity or illumination. The 11th edition is due to be released in 2023, and people are eagerly anticipating its publication. Currently the FHWA is still [collecting comments](https://www.regulations.gov/docket/FHWA-2020-0001?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) on the [proposed amendments](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/12/14/2020-26789/national-standards-for-traffic-control-devices-the-manual-on-uniform-traffic-control-devices-for?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) to the document and they have received over 17,000 comments from the public to date. This obscure federal style guide has its fans. There is a Facebook [group](https://www.facebook.com/groups/656627774545130) with 19,000 members titled “there is NO way that is MUTCD-compliant”, which collects examples of signage that are clearly (often hilariously) not compliant with MUTCD standards. *Correction: An earlier version of this story used the wrong abbreviation for the Federal Highway Administration. The official abbreviation is FHWA, not FHA.* 👨🏻‍💻 ****Nerdbox** For this post, I split the MUTCD and SHS PDFs into individual images using [ImageMagick](https://imagemagick.org/index.php?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). I then animated the frames into a GIF using [ffmpeg](https://ffmpeg.org/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). I manually arranged the signs in Photoshop for the header. It was more fun than it sounds! I also used [ChatGPT](https://chat.openai.com/chat?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) for some of the ImageMagick and ffmpeg prompts, which was kind of amazing. 🙏🏻 ****Did you enjoy this post?** You can subscribe to our newsletter to get future posts delivered to your inbox for free. 👉🏻 📫 [Subscribe now](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/#/portal/signup/free). ****Sharing is caring** 📣 If you think your followers or friends may like it, please consider sharing it. 🙋🏻‍♀️ If you have any suggestions, comments or requests, please email them to [beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com](mailto:beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com) Thanks for reading! \- Jon Keegan (Preferred 👉🏻 [mastodon.social/@jonkeegan](https://mastodon.social/@jonkeegan?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) [twitter.com/jonkeegan](https://twitter.com/jonkeegan?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)) ### Mapping the Sea Floor URL: https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/mapping-the-sea-floor/ Last updated: 2024-11-18T02:29:09.000Z USGS research vessels equipped with cameras, sonar and scanners created a detailed map of 125 square miles of the sea floor off the coast of Massachusetts. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/12/seafloor_header-1.png) A sample of the images collected by the USGS' SEABOSS instrument from the sea floor off the coast of Cape Ann, Massachusetts. In 2004 and 2005, two research vessels, *Ocean Explorer* and *Connecticut* set off into the waters off Cape Ann, Massachusetts on a [U.S. Geological Survey mission](https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2007/1373/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) to map a section of the bottom of the sea. Equipped with cameras, advanced sonar and bathymetric scanners, these ships mapped 125 square miles of the sea floor capturing a detailed dataset that allowed U.S. Geological Survey scientists to characterize the makeup of the sediment and bedrock in waters up to 92 meters deep. While this research project was just [one of many](https://www.usgs.gov/search?keywords=SeaBOSS&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) such efforts to map the sea floor, it serves as a good example of what such data collection projects look like. A timelapse of 834 photos of the sea floor collected by the USGS off the coast of Cape Ann, Massachusetts in 2004 and 2005\. ![Photographs of the RV Connecticut (top) and the RV Ocean Explorer, both used for mapping surveys in this project.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/12/Fig3_01.jpg) Photographs of the research vessels *Connecticut* (top) and *Ocean Explorer*, both used by the USGS for this mapping project. Following a series of [predetermined survey lines](https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2007/1373/html/imagepages/Fig3%5F02.html?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), the vessels cruised along at 5 knots and collected detailed bathymetry data (the actual shape and structure of the sea floor) from side-scan sonar and multi-beam echo sounders to create a "high resolution chirp seismic reflection profile" of the material beneath the seafloor, revealing the contours of sediment and bedrock. ![An example of the "high resolution chirp seismic reflection profiles" of the sea floor captured by the research vessels using EdgeTech Geo-Star FSSB system and an SB-0512i towfish. Three greyscale images that show sublayers of sediment beneath the sea floor.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/12/backscatter_samples.png) An example of the "high resolution chirp seismic reflection profiles" of the sea floor captured by the research vessels using EdgeTech Geo-Star FSSB system and an SB-0512i towfish. In addition to these advanced acoustic data collection tools, “ground validation” samples of sediments were collected at 87 locations, accompanied by a series of sea floor photographs and video sequences. Using the USGS’s [SEAbed Observation and Sampling System](https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/fs142-00/fs142-00.pdf?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) (SEABOSS), [834 photographs](https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2007/1373/html/appendix3.html?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) were taken as the SEABOSS unit drifted between 1 and 3 knots about a foot and a half above the sea floor. In addition to an array of cameras and sensors, the instrument has a metal scoop that can be used to grab a sample of sand from the ocean floor for inspection upon ascent. A video from the USGS showing the SEABOSS instrument at work. These photos capture a rich diversity of sea life. Lobsters, starfish, sharks, shrimp, skates and crabs all make appearances as well as some well disguised flounder blending in with the sandy bottom. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/12/Fig3_02_650.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/12/photo-locations-smaller-1.png) Left: A [map](https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2007/1373/images/Fig3%5F02.pdf?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) showing tracklines of geophysical data in the nearshore area (red) and offshore area (green). USGS, U.S. Geological Survey; SAIC, Science Applications International Corporation. Right: A map displaying the 5-meter bathymetric data collected from the project, with locations of sea floor photographs indicated with red dots. The [report](https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2007/1373/html/intro.html?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) accompanying this data release says that the primary objective of the research is “ to develop geologic information for management of coastal and marine resources.” The report explains that accurate captures of the makeup of the sea floor “are important first steps toward protecting fish habitat, delineating marine reserves, and assessing environmental changes caused by natural or human impacts”. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/12/920_PICT0178.jpg) A lobster gets his closeup as the SEABOSS instrument floats by. Captured at 9:25am on Sept. 20, 2005 off the coast of Plum Island, Mass. at 42.726139, -70.768827. I really enjoyed looking through this project's photos (looking for sea creatures), as well as those from other bathymetric data collection projects. I always enjoyed exploring the tidal pools of the icy Maine waters as a child, and have always loved any chance to see what lurks below the surface. We really don't have a good understanding of just how abundant life is on the sea floor, and I am grateful to see that researchers are undertaking such thorough examinations of this other world just off the shore, and that this beautiful imagery is still available for the public to explore. *Full data citation: Barnhardt, W.A., Andrews, B.D., Ackerman, S.D., Baldwin, W.E., and Hein, C.J., 2009, High-resolution geologic mapping of the inner continental shelf; Cape Ann to Salisbury Beach, Massachusetts: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2007-1373, variously paged, DVD-ROM and available online at* [https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2007/1373/](https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2007/1373/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)*.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/12/920_PICT0190.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/12/920_PICT0129.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/12/920_PICT0060.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/12/920_PICT0049.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/12/919_PICT0448.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/12/919_PICT0397.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/12/918_PICT0144.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/12/919_PICT0336.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/12/919_PICT0269.jpg) Some of the marine life found in the sea floor photographs captured by SEABOSS. 👨🏻‍💻 **Nerdbox** For this post, I experimented with building a lobster detector using [computer vision](https://teachablemachine.withgoogle.com/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), but it didn't really work as well as I had hoped, and in the end, the data set was small enough that I could just find the most interesting photos manually. I built the mosaic of images using [ImageMagick](https://imagemagick.org/index.php?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), and generated the timelapse of the images using `[ffmpeg](https://ffmpeg.org/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)`. I used [QGIS](https://www.qgis.org/en/site/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) to plot out the photograph locations on the overlay of the bathymetry visualization. 🙏🏻 **Did you enjoy this post?** You can subscribe to our newsletter to get future posts delivered to your inbox for free. 👉🏻 📫 [Subscribe now](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/#/portal/signup/free). **Sharing is caring** 📣 If you think your followers or friends may like it, please consider sharing it. 🙋🏻‍♀️ If you have any suggestions, comments or requests, please email them to [beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com](mailto:beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com) Thanks for reading! \- Jon Keegan ([@jonkeegan](https://twitter.com/jonkeegan?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)) ### Vehicle Crash Test Films from the 1970's and 1980s URL: https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/vehicle-crash-test-films-from-the-1980s/ Last updated: 2022-11-28T19:24:14.000Z Deep in the public archives of The Department of Transportation, you can find thousands of old films of some classic 70’s and 80’s cars being smashed into smithereens. I went through and collected some of the most interesting vehicle crash test films featuring these cars, and threw them together in this six minute video. A six minute video of selected vehicle crash tests filmed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the late 1970s and 1980s. ## The NHTSA Vehicle Crash Test Database The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is a part of the The Department of Transportation, and is tasked with overseeing everything to do with motor vehicle safety: seatbelts, airbags, car seats and recalls. Created after the passage of the Highway Safety Act in 1970, [the agency](https://www.nhtsa.gov/about-nhtsa?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) is “responsible for reducing deaths, injuries and economic losses resulting from motor vehicle crashes.” In 1978, the NHTSA conducted its[ first frontal crash test](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bW%5F1UNuU8lg&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), driving a car 35 miles per hour into a concrete barrier. Since then, an array of other crash tests, such as side-impacts and rollovers have been added to the mix, and all new cars sold in the U.S. are subject to this testing from the NHTS, to ensure that vehicles meet safety regulations. 0:00 / 1× The NHTSA's first vehicle crash test in 1978\. For these early tests, the cars are wired up with sensors, accelerometers and other instruments to record the forces inside the vehicle as it collides with the barrier, or other vehicles. [Dummies](https://www.nhtsa.gov/nhtsas-crash-test-dummies?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) were strapped into the seats and film cameras from several different angles capture the crash at high-speed so the engineers can review the damage that happens in slow motion. The NHTSA has a fantastic [database](https://www.nhtsa.gov/research-data/research-testing-databases?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com#/vehicle) of each of these crash tests going back to the beginning of the program in the late 1970’s. The database has 8,585 crash tests, including PDFs of the detailed test results, and in many cases photos and videos of the tests. In this database, you will find crash test data for [Winnebagos](https://www.nhtsa.gov/research-data/research-testing-databases?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com#/vehicle/544), [Yugos](https://www.nhtsa.gov/research-data/research-testing-databases?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com#/vehicle/1074), [Deloreans](https://www.nhtsa.gov/research-data/research-testing-databases?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com#/vehicle/391), trucks, buses, SUVs and sub-compact cars –785 models from 87 different car manufacturers from 1965 through 2022. ## The Impala versus The Rabbit I always love going back to see what the earliest data looks like. Much credit to the NHTSA for keeping such a thoroughly detailed archive. Let’s take a look at one early test to see what they entailed. 0:00 / 1× A portion of the NHTSA [vehicle crash test #395](https://www.nhtsa.gov/research-data/research-testing-databases?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com#/vehicle/395). Chevy Impala vs. VW Rabbit. It is really wild to be able to go back and read a report filled with accelerometer data recorded inside a 1976 VW Rabbit (the “target” vehicle) when a 1978 Chevy Impala (the “bullet” vehicle) slams into it at 30 miles per hour at an oblique angle on a snow day in Buffalo, NY on 1978\. These were extremely thorough tests, reflected by a 136 page report hand drawn diagrams indicating the damage to each vehicle, the amount of force applied to each seatbelt, and the exact placement of each sensor and high speed camera. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/11/Screenshot-2022-11-25-at-11.46.02-PM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/11/Screenshot-2022-11-25-at-11.46.09-PM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/11/Screenshot-2022-11-25-at-11.46.36-PM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/11/Screenshot-2022-11-25-at-11.46.23-PM.png) Some frames from the NHTSA [vehicle crash test #395](https://www.nhtsa.gov/research-data/research-testing-databases?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com#/vehicle/395). Chevy Impala vs. VW Rabbit. Limited computing power and the technical limitations of sensors at the time required vehicles to be trailed by a mass of thick electrical cables sending data back to data recorders (using magnetic tape). In this Impala vs. Rabbit test, nine high-speed film cameras were deployed to capture the crash – three on board, and six placed at different heights and angles around the crash zone. Camera captures rates ranged from 800 to 1,020 frames per second. It was also captured at a real time speed of 24 frames per second. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/11/Screenshot-2022-11-25-at-2.18.15-PM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/11/Screenshot-2022-11-25-at-2.17.57-PM.png) Diagrams from NHTSA [crash test #395](https://www.nhtsa.gov/research-data/research-testing-databases?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com#/vehicle/395) showing camera placement (left) and damage detail (right). ## Heavy Metal Watching these old cars from the 70’s and 80’s I was struck by how far we have come in the safety of car designs. These cars were made of heavy steel frames, and the vast majority of these cars did not have airbags, or even safety glass. The 1978 Lincoln Continental is built like a tank. The interior shots of the dummies getting throttled by these impacts are terrifying. The dummies in these films regularly smash into the dashboard or windshield, leaving behind a red or blue chalk mark where their face impacted. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/11/Screenshot-2022-11-25-at-2.32.00-PM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/11/Screenshot-2022-11-25-at-2.27.34-PM.png) Diagram detailing the crash test dummy placement (left) and the flow chart showing how the crash data was collected from sensors, recorded, converted and plotted. Source: [NHTSA Vehicle Crash Test # 422](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23318754-mote%5Fcarlo%5Fv00422r001?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com#document/p22) While the destruction in these films is violent and jarring, I am always a sucker for the glitchy artifacts and faded pastel palettes of 8mm and 16mm film from this era, having been obsessed with making ridiculous movies with my friends with my Super 8 camera as a kid in the 80's. I do find these films kind of beautiful in a weird way. I’m grateful for the NHTSA keeping these fascinating tests available to the public, and also running these rigorous tests which have helped make the cars we drive today so much safer. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/11/the_end.jpg) THE END. 👨🏻‍💻 **Nerdbox** For this post, scraped all of the data from the NHTSA's website (using `curl`, to get some numbers for scale of data. You can find my CSV of this database in [a GitHub repo here](https://github.com/jonkeegan/nhtsa-vehicle-crash-test-db?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). I made a [Jupyter notebook ](https://github.com/jonkeegan/nhtsa-vehicle-crash-test-db/blob/main/nhtsa-car-crashes.ipynb?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)to get some basic numbers for the distinct number of tests and unique models in the dataset. I also sorted the cars by weight, and found the heaviest vehicle was [this bus](https://www.nhtsa.gov/research-data/research-testing-databases?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com#/vehicle/6294) and wow that [crash](https://www.nhtsa.gov/research-data/research-testing-databases?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com#/vehicle/6294) is wild. I batch converted the crash videos from `.AVI` format to `.mp4` using `[ffmpeg](https://ffmpeg.org/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)` using this command: `ffmpeg -i v01332C001.avi -vcodec libx264 -vprofile high -crf 28 -acodec copy v01332C001.mp4` I then edited the videos in Adobe Premiere. 🙏🏻 **Did you enjoy this post?** You can subscribe to our newsletter to get future posts delivered to your inbox for free. 👉🏻 📫 [Subscribe now](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/#/portal/signup/free). **Sharing is caring** 📣 If you think your followers or friends may like it, please consider sharing it. 🙋🏻‍♀️ If you have any suggestions, comments or requests, please email them to [beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com](mailto:beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com) Thanks for reading! \- Jon Keegan ([@jonkeegan](https://twitter.com/jonkeegan?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)) ### Visualizing Rivers and Floodplains with USGS Data URL: https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/visualizing-rivers-and-floodplains/ Last updated: 2026-06-27T14:32:16.000Z ![A map of New Orleans and the snaking Mississippi River in vibrant red and yellow colors, indicating the elevation of water and land using USGS elevation data. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/11/magma-nola-bend.jpg) A visualization of the Mississippi River flowing through New Orleans. By Jon Keegan. Source: USGS one meter LA UpperDeltaPlain 2017 [1](https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/item/5ead0c8a82cefae35a255f1f?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [2](https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/item/5eace30082cefae35a247474?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) The [U.S. Geological Survey](https://www.usgs.gov/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) (USGS) is REALLY close to an incredible goal: by 2023 it aims to have a super detailed 3D scan of every square mile of United State territory. The USGS’ [3D Elevation Program ](https://www.usgs.gov/3d-elevation-program?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)maintains an incredible database of this detailed geometry – much of it "digital elevation model" (DEM) data – and it has built some powerful tools for the public to download and explore this data. This data was all scanned using LiDAR imaging, and it records every mountain, ridge, lake, stream and crevice with varying degrees of detail (some much, much higher than others). Much like states who [drive every mile](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/highway-photologs/) of their highways to catalog every crack and bump in the road, having a detailed database of the actual geometry of your country’s land is an extremely useful resource, with tons of useful applications. This technology has been used to visualize changes to the landscape after [earthquakes](https://www.nsf.gov/news/news%5Fsumm.jsp?cntn%5Fid=123073&org=NSF&from=news&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), floods, [landslides](https://www.dnr.wa.gov/rattlesnake-hills-landslide?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) and [volcanic eruptions](https://opentopography.org/news/2018-kilauea-volcano-datasets-available-download?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/11/cape-ann-1.png) A map of the Crane's Beach area in near Ipswich, MA. By Jon Keegan. Source: [USGS one meter x35y473 MA NE CMGP Sandy Z19 2013](https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/item/5df9a4f5e4b0cdded73b4374?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) One of the simplest things this data can tell you is the elevation of things – how far above or below sea level is any given point on a map. As sea levels rise due to climate change, these tools have become essential to understanding the flow of water on our nation’s shores, bays, rivers and floodplains. Using geographic data visualization tools like the awesome and free, [open source QGIS](https://www.qgis.org/en/site/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), you can open and explore this detailed data, rendering “hillshade” maps where you can enhance the elevation and adjust a virtual lightsource, render contour lines around hills and mountains and you can also use colorful visualizations to highlight elevation changes. QGIS also acts as a sort of Photoshop, where you can mix and match these various layers and stack them on top of each other. ![An animated GIF showing five alternate views of a DEM elevation file in the QGIS app interface. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/11/animated-qgis.gif) Exploring the ways you can visualize a DEM file in QGIS. I have been exploring the ways you can use this fantastic public data to visualize the flow of water in different places around the U.S. using some fantastic [tutorials](https://dancoecarto.com/creating-rems-in-qgis-the-idw-method?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) by [Daniel Coe](https://dancoecarto.com/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), Graphics Editor for the [Washington Geological Survey ](https://www.dnr.wa.gov/geology?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)in Olympia, Washington. Coe’s collection of river visualizations are [simply stunning](https://www.flickr.com/photos/165735975@N07/sets/72177720300430208/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), and worth checking out on a large screen. He’s made dozens of them available in hi-res for non-commerical use on his [Flickr page](https://www.flickr.com/photos/165735975@N07/sets/72177720300430208/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). There’s a great interview with Coe talking about his work [available here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14MCHoykaMI&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). **Samples of Daniel Coe's Work** ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/11/52205406769_b7f48882a2_c-3.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/11/52204117497_a34ca7fd55_k-2.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/11/52205146636_d93c0f4bd6_k-2.jpg) Some samples of Daniel Coe's incredible REM work. Credit:[ Daniel Coe](https://www.flickr.com/photos/165735975@N07/albums/72177720300430208/with/52205406769/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) /[ CC BY-NC-ND 2.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) / Links:[ Image 1](https://www.flickr.com/photos/165735975@N07/52205406769/in/album-72177720300430208/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)[ Image 2](https://www.flickr.com/photos/165735975@N07/52204117497/in/album-72177720300430208/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) [Image 3](https://www.flickr.com/photos/165735975@N07/52205146636/in/album-72177720300430208/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) After playing around with this data in QGIS, I quickly realized the subtle, but cool thing that Coe’s visualizations are doing. Coe’s most dramatic images utilize a technique called “relative elevation modeling” (REM) which uses the surface of a waterway as the base elevation, and colors are used to indicate the elevations relative to the water’s surface, above and below that level. This addresses an interesting issue with regular elevation data including rivers and other waterways – the upstream water always has a slightly higher elevation. So the REM technique addresses this by kind of flattening the elevation of the water along the entire path, and conforming the rest of the elevation to that adjustment. Super cool, and his QGIS tutorial is extremely detailed and thorough (though my examples that I made for this post aren't technically done with this method). Also there’s a neat Python library called [RiverREM](https://github.com/klarrieu/RiverREM?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) made by [OpenTopography](https://opentopography.org/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) intern [Kenneth Larrieu](https://github.com/klarrieu?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) (whom I hope they hired) which will take any “digital elevation model” [DEM](https://library.carleton.ca/guides/help/dem-formats?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com#:~:text=DEMs%20are%20files%20that%20contain,3D%20surface%20models%20%2D%20from%20them.) file (often a GeoTIFF) that has a named river in it, and it will spit out one of these REM visualizations with very little effort. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/11/Screenshot-2022-11-06-at-5.29.34-PM.png) A view of the wetlands near Cape May, NJ. By Jon Keegan. Source: [USGS 1 Meter 18 x51y432 NJ\_South\_Jersey\_Lidar\_2018\_B18](https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/item/606d07a4d34e670a7d5d6eda?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) You can explore a zoomable map of the U.S. to see what DEMs or LiDAR data are available (and at what resolutions) using the easy to use [3DEP LiDAR Explorer](https://apps.nationalmap.gov/lidar-explorer/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com#/) tool. Also many states maintain their own DEM / LiDAR datasets outside of the USGS. I have really enjoyed playing around with QGIS to experiment with this data, and of you have ever worked with Photoshop, you should be able to get a hang of the basics. Of course this kind of visualization only scratches the surface of what you can do with QGIS, which integrates with PostGIS allowing for powerful geospatial queries for any kind of geographic data. Working on this post, playing with this data, learning some new tools and techniques and making some beautiful things to share with you all is EXACTLY the kind of thing I wanted to do when I started this newsletter. 🖖🏻 ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2026/06/matte-paper-framed-poster-with-mat--in--black-18x24-front-6a3fcb785bd15.jpg) #### New Orleans Elevation Map — USGS LiDAR Elevation Data Art Framed Print This visualization of USGS digital elevation data captures the sinuous Mississippi River winding its way through New Orleans. The sharp bends of the river gave the Crescent City its name. But this unique view of this high-resolution data also reveals the story of the challenging topography of the city — densely packed neighborhoods along the edge of the river's natural levees (in bright yellow), descending into a basin that sits as much as five feet below the river's water level (in dark purple). This is a "bare-earth" visualization from LiDAR data, which removes buildings, trees and other structures from the rendering. Source data: USGS 2017 Upper Delta Plain 1-Meter Digital Elevation Model. [Get the print](https://shop.beautifulpublicdata.com/products/new-orleans-elevation-map-usgs-lidar-elevation-data-art-framed-print?utm%5Fsource=newsletter&utm%5Fmedium=embed&utm%5Fcampaign=rem-post) 👨🏻‍💻 ****Nerdbox** For this post, I used [QGIS](https://www.qgis.org/en/site/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), and the [RiverREM](https://github.com/klarrieu/RiverREM?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) Python library. If you want to learn more about LiDAR stuff, be sure to check out [OpenTopography](https://opentopography.org/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) which is full of great resources, tools and all the LiDAR / topographic data you can handle. 🙏🏻 ****Did you enjoy this post?** You can subscribe to our newsletter to get future posts delivered to your inbox for free. 👉🏻 📫 [Subscribe now](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/#/portal/signup/free). ****Sharing is caring** 📣 If you think your followers or friends may like it, please consider sharing it. 🙋🏻‍♀️ If you have any suggestions, comments or requests, please email them to [beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com](mailto:beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com) Thanks for reading! \- Jon Keegan ([@jonkeegan](https://twitter.com/jonkeegan?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)) ### A Rover's First 590 Days* on Mars URL: https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/590-days-on-mars/ Last updated: 2022-10-20T14:00:17.000Z ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/10/mars_header-1.jpg) A sample of the 59.571 images I downloaded from NASA's Perseverance image collection. Source: NASA/JPL-Caltech (\* *Well, "sols" technically. A day on Mars is 24 hours, 39 minutes and 35 seconds.*) On Feb. 18, 2021 at 3:55 p.m. EST, NASA’s Perseverance rover landed on Mars, completing a 127 million mile journey. Since landing in Jezero Crater, a 28-mile wide crater in Mars’ northern hemisphere, the [two-ton rover](https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/spacecraft/rover/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) has sent back over 340,000 incredible images from its [23 cameras ](https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/spacecraft/rover/cameras/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)– as well as the cameras on [Ingenuity](https://mars.nasa.gov/technology/helicopter/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), its experimental quadcopter. At the time, I was happy to see that the successful landing made a big splash in the media, and instantly cemented the mission as one of NASA’s most impressive exploratory accomplishments. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/10/0811220_2021-02-20_MCZ_LEFT.jpg) One of the first Mastcam photos sent back from Sol 2, (February 20, 2021), pointing at the [Mastcam calibration target](https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/images/pia24178-mastcam-zs-calibration-target?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). But after the media moved on to other stories, Perseverance just plugged along on Mars, and kept sending back a steady stream of the most incredible images of Mars’ rocky landscape that were seen by a much smaller group of people. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/10/0848962_2021-06-15_MCZ_LEFT-1.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/10/0860046_2021-07-05_MCZ_LEFT.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/10/0847038_2021-06-13_MCZ_LEFT.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/10/1018353_2022-08-16_MCZ_LEFT.jpg) As a true Mars nerd, I keep a bookmark in my browser of NASA’s [“raw images” gallery for the rover,](https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/multimedia/raw-images/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) and occasionally I will go through the pictures and just marvel at some of the features and landscapes that NASA dutifully shares with the world just after they have arrived from Mars. To have access to these images so quickly and easily makes me feel closer to this plucky car-sized robot, weathering one of the harshest environments we have engineered complex scientific instruments to operate in. ![An annotated rendering of NASA's Perseverance rover with each of its scientific instruments labeled. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/10/mars_2020_cameras_labeled_web-full2.jpeg) NASA's Perseverance rover. Source: NASA/JPL-Caltech I didn’t want to miss any of the rusty vistas that Perseverance has sent home, so using NASA’s [easy to use API](https://api.nasa.gov/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), I downloaded all of the metadata for all of the images captured by the rover’s cameras from the date it landed, until October 17, 2022\. The most striking landscapes were captured by the Mastcam-Z (left and right), so I just downloaded those. I ended up with a collection of 59,571 pictures taken on Mars. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/10/1004520_2022-07-23_MCZ_RIGHT-1.jpg) Mars on Saturday, July 23, 2022\. What were you doing back on Earth? I wanted to see the images in order, and to easily see when the photograph was taken. So using the photo metadata, I wrote some code to add a caption block to each image, noting the day of the mission (known as the “Sol”), the full date the picture was taken, and which camera was used, as well as NASA’s unique ID for each image. ## All of the photos in one big-ass movie, with timestamps 👇🏻 I turned this sequence of images into a movie, paced long enough for you to get a good glimpse of each picture, without inducing a seizure. It's *insanely* long. The full sequence clocks in at 16 hours and 32 minutes, which is too long for YouTube, so I had to squeeze it down to about 12 hours. You can watch it while you are eating your lunch (or your next two weeks of lunches). Think back to a memorable day in your life that has happened since Feb. 18, 2021\. Scrub through the video to see what Perseverance was doing back on Mars on the same day (and [let me know](mailto:beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com) if anything particularly beautiful was photographed on your day). The effect of watching this sequence is interesting to me, as interspersed with these grand landscapes, you have a lot of shots of the rover’s cool [color calibration target ](https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/images/pia24178-mastcam-zs-calibration-target?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)(to ensure and calibrate accurate color), close inspection of the rover’s instruments [such as its drill](https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/spacecraft/rover/arm/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), the Sun overhead and tons of beautiful glitchy imaging artifacts. This is as close as you can get to feeling a bit of the rover’s experience to date over the course of the 590 days that it has spent exploring the Red Planet. 🪐 If you liked this project, you may also enjoy a similar thing I worked on back at The Wall Street Journal, where I downloaded all of the images of Saturn and its 62 moons from the Cassini probe. The published work took the form of a video (with some evocative music by “Explosions In The Sky”) that showed what small human things we were busy with back on Earth, next to the beautiful images the probe was capturing millions of miles away near Saturn. 👨🏻‍💻 **Nerdbox** For this post, I used NASA's [which was](https://api.nasa.gov/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) really easy to work with. You just need a free API key. I wrote a node script to determine the list of dates I wanted to request metadata for, then generated a shell script to download each day's JSON file, with the date as the name. I then used another Node script to walk through the JSON and only return the Mastcam Left and Right image URLs. I used this to generate a shell script to download all of the images using `wget`. Using some [command line graphics](http://bit.ly/command-line-gfx?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) (ImageMagick) I normalized the size of all of the images, placing the smaller ones centered on a black background, and I added a caption using the metadata JSON files. Then I used `ffmpeg` to render the video of the image sequence. The final MP4 weighs in at 29.79 GB. This was kind of a pain to get every single frame to show up in the movie, so I'll share the `ffmpeg` command in case this helps anyone. I first had to generate the list of frames, and set a 1 second duration for each image. **ffmpeg -f concat -i list.txt -s 1200x974 -b:v 4000k -minrate 4000k -maxrate 4000k -vcodec mpeg4 -r 10 -an 590-days.mp4** 🙏🏻 **Did you enjoy this post?** You can subscribe to our newsletter to get future posts delivered to your inbox for free. 👉🏻 📫 [Subscribe now](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/#/portal/signup/free). **Sharing is caring** 📣 If you think your followers or friends may like it, please consider sharing it. 🙋🏻‍♀️ If you have any suggestions, comments or requests, please email them to [beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com](mailto:beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com) Thanks for reading! \- Jon Keegan ([@jonkeegan](https://twitter.com/jonkeegan?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)) ### Utah Highway LiDAR Scans URL: https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/utah-lidar/ Last updated: 2022-10-28T16:45:38.000Z A 20 minute video of driving through Utah's LiDAR scanned Route 95 South, originally scanned on Sept. 12, 2021. In our [first post](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/highway-photologs/) in this series, we looked back to the state-of-the-art in highway photologging technology from 1985, in which vans were [tricked out with film cameras](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/photologging-vans/) and digital readout displays to catalog each mile of roadway each year. Let's fast forward to see what the latest data collection technology looks like in 2022. Since the early days of photologging, a major leap forward has occurred in the volume and types of infrastructure data collected by state governments, aided by advances in imaging technology. High resolution cameras collect panoramas of the roadways, downward-facing lasers scan every crack and divot of the surface of the pavement, and all of the timestamped data is precisely tagged with geolocation information in searchable databases. But in addition to all these impressive advances, the state with highways that run through some of the most beautiful natural scenery in America has gone a step further. [Utah's Department of Transportation](https://roadview.udot.utah.gov/utah/index.php?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) uses state-of-the-art 3-D laser scanners to capture the surfaces and area surrounding 15,000 miles of its roads. 0:00 / 1× Sample of Utah's LiDAR highway scans. The vehicles cataloguing Utah's highways utilize a pair of 360 degree LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) sensors mounted on top of the vehicle, each road surface, sign, tree, bush, power line, rocky cliffs, fences and houses are all coated with over a million points of infrared laser light per second which is processed by the sensor to create a detailed 3-D model of the area surrounding the highway. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/10/Screen-Shot-2022-10-03-at-2.08.12-AM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/10/Screen-Shot-2022-10-03-at-2.08.50-AM.png) A side by side view of the regular camera view, and the LiDAR visualization. All of this point cloud data (which can be huge) can be viewed in a modern web browser, which lets users fly around and change the angle of view as the virtual vehicle moves through a point of dots like an explorer revealing the stone walls of a dungeon via lamplight. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/10/Screen-Shot-2022-09-19-at-11.16.55-PM.png) A dropoff area at an airport. You can see the scan artifacts of people heading into the airport. For over 20 years, [federal](https://www.usgs.gov/3d-elevation-program?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), [state](https://gis.ny.gov/elevation/lidar-coverage.htm?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) and [local](https://maps.nyc.gov/lidar/2017/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) governments have been utilizing aerial LiDAR scans (both space-based and aircraft-based) to get an accurate record of the surface of the earth and the human infrastructure we have built on top of it. Some of the uses of large-scale LiDAR scanning include precise measurements of seismic fault lines to measure subtle movements, monitoring erosion and volcanic activity. The USGS’ [3D Elevation Program](https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2020/3062/fs20203062.pdf?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) hopes to have “the first-ever national baseline of consistent high-resolution three-dimensional (3D) data—including bare earth elevations and 3D point clouds” completed by 2023\. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/10/Screen-Shot-2022-10-03-at-2.03.02-AM-1.png) A zoomed out view showing the extent of the path that was scanned. In July of 2017, Utah's Department of Transportation signed a [$6.8 million contract](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23116566-dts-udot-mandli-fully-signed-180218?responsive=1&title=1&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) with Wisconsin-based Mandli Communications. Inc. to undertake a large-scale "roadway features" data collection effort, calling for the collection of roadway images, road surface scans and LiDAR scans of the road surroundings. The company had been working with Utah since 2012 on its photologging program. In July of 2021, the contract was amended for an[ additional $900,000](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23116565-180218-dts-udot-mandli-amendment-1-fully-executed?responsive=1&title=1&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) to continue the data collection through 2023\. ![A color daytime photo of a black Mandli SUV with camera and scanning gear attached, on the side of a road next to a sign that says Welcome to UTAH.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/10/utah.png) Mandli data collection vehicle. Source: [Mandli](https://www.mandli.com/the-cost-benefits-of-data-collaboration/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) Mandli's website advertises its ["X35" data collection vehicle](https://www.mandli.com/solutions/mandli-x-35/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) which is equipped with nine 8.9 megapixel cameras, dual [Velodyne HDL-32](https://velodynelidar.com/products/hdl-32e/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) LiDAR sensors, dual Laser Crack Measurement System pavement scanners and a position orientation system with battery back-up power. ![A screenshot from Mandli's website showing a cutaway view of their X35 data collection van showing externally mounted scanners and cameras with callout text below. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/10/Screen-Shot-2022-10-02-at-10.38.30-PM.png) A breakdown of Mandli's "X35" Data Collection Vehicle. Source: [Mandli](https://www.mandli.com/solutions/mandli-x-35/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) I have been looking at dozens of states’ current photologging efforts recently, and Utah’s photologging site appears to be one of the most robust, with excellent tools for the public to access and explore this visually rich data. Utah is not the only state to being using LiDAR scans to enhance its roadway data collection, and Mandli has other state and local governments as clients using the same solutions. LiDAR is not the only way to gather detailed geometry of the world around us. [Photogrammetry](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeU%5F2SHwhqI&list=FLemMRaZyWZ%5FSsejb-hK26xw&index=35&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) is a software-based process for extracting detailed 3-D geometry from a series of 2-D images. Cheap, powerful computing power and a continued improvement in digital camera technology have made photogrammetry a potential alternative option for data collection efforts, with the potential for cost savings. Recently [researchers compared](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOhC-WwCsnY&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) Mandli’s LiDAR based data collection quality against a photogrammetry based approach that University of Utah researchers assembled from consumer-level electronics. The researchers found their approach compared favorably to Mandli’s data in terms of easy of use and quality, with slightly less consistency and accuracy but significant cost savings. These datasets are recording rich snapshots of the land around us that will only become more valuable over time. As natural and man-made forces change our landscape, we now have a geometric record of the world around us that can be compared to after changes occur to measure and quantify the altered geometry. As these LiDAR scanning efforts become more widespread (and increase in quality), the current record of how Earth was in our age will get filled in, adding to our record of photography, film and sound. 👨🏻‍💻 **Nerdbox** For this post, I was excited to download the raw LiDAR point cloud data, which thankfully Mandli's "Road View" web app lets you do (as `.LAS` files). I did import some of this data into a few different 3D apps, but found that the data didn't always come through the way I had expected. I was trying to convert them into a mesh using the fantastic open source [Cloud Compare](https://www.danielgm.net/cc/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) (which I have done before) and I also attempted a few other apps, but didn't like the results, and I was going too deep down the rabbit hole 🐇. One of the nicest things about this point cloud viewer is the use of [potree](https://github.com/potree/potree/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) which is an open-source WebGL point cloud renderer. I want to play around with this some more. To capture the 20 minute video of the point cloud, I just ran a simple javascript loop with an interval in the console to click the "step forward" button on the viewer every five seconds (as it takes a bit for the scene to populate). The I just had a similar loop running Apple's command line `screencapture` utility in the terminal, to capture my second monitor screen. Not elegant, but sometimes you need to just get things working.🤷🏻‍♂️ 🙏🏻 **Did you enjoy this post?** You can subscribe to our newsletter to get future posts delivered to your inbox for free. 👉🏻 📫 [Subscribe now](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/#/portal/signup/free). **Sharing is caring** 📣 If you think your followers or friends may like it, please consider sharing it. 🙋🏻‍♀️ If you have any suggestions, comments or requests, please email them to [beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com](mailto:beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com) Thanks for reading! \- Jon Keegan ([@jonkeegan](https://twitter.com/jonkeegan?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)) ### The GOES-16 Weather Satellite URL: https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/the-goes-16-weather-satellite/ Last updated: 2023-09-21T17:37:23.000Z A loop I made of of \~5 days from imagery from GOES-16 (GeoColor). Satellite images used to observe weather are so ubiquitous it is easy to take them for granted. Incredibly detailed, near-real-time imagery for any inch of the Earth can be pulled up in seconds on your phone or computer and they have been in the background behind meteorologists forecasting the weather on television for decades. But there is one extraordinary weather satellite that is worthy of your attention. It sits locked in a geostationary orbit 22,300 miles from Earth, and it points directly at the Western Hemisphere, eye level with the equator. It can see in sixteen wavelengths, detect lightning strikes and is used to monitor wildfires, hurricanes, supercell thunderstorms, dust storms, snow, sea temperatures and every cloud you can imagine. This satellite's name is GOES-16\. Launched on November 19, 2016 from Cape Canaveral, Florida on a ULA Atlas V rocket, GOES-16 was the first of four geostationary weather satellites in its class (GOES-R). GOES-17 (launched in 2018, which was [photographed by GOES-16](https://twitter.com/weatherdak/status/1212133605465419776?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)) is the twin satellite with the same instruments that is positioned farther west, above the Pacific ocean. And GOES-18 was just launched in Mach of 2022, but is still being calibrated before being sent to its main position. While these are both equally great satellites (really!), I’m focusing here on GOES-16, as it has the perfect view of the prime landmasses of the Western Hemisphere. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/09/29206938045_7467d60fe1_o.jpg) Photo: NASA/[Dimitri Gerondidakis](https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasakennedy/29206938045/in/album-72157669721145354/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). Photo of GOES-R (GOES-16) on August 23, 2016 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center before being loaded onto the Atlas V rocket. These satellites’ main camera (the [Advanced Baseline Imager](https://www.goes-r.gov/spacesegment/abi.html?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)) can see in [16 different spectral bands](https://www.goes-r.gov/spacesegment/ABI-tech-summary.html?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), optimized for different purposes such as analyzing vegetation, heat, snow, smoke, volcanic ash, dust, fog, clouds and water in addition to sea, land and air temperature. GOES-16 was also the first satellite to launch with a “lightning mapper” sensor, which is tuned to the specific color range of lightning. This sensor makes possible time lapse videos of big storms that are crackling with lightning strikes as the clouds boil and churn, and they are truly beautiful displays of violent weather events. 0:00 /0:04 1× [March 22, 2022](https://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/ramsdis/online/loop.asp?data%5Ffolder=loop%5Fof%5Fthe%5Fday/goes-16/20220322000000&number%5Fof%5Fimages%5Fto%5Fdisplay=150&loop%5Fspeed%5Fms=50&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). "Tornadic storms trek through Texas - GOES-16 visible (band 2) + GLM group energy density" (CIRA Loop of the Day). Source: Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere at Colorado State and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ****(CIRA/CSU & NOAA)** These satellites also have [sun-facing sensors](https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/goes-solar-ultraviolet-imager-suvi?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) that are worthy of a whole post of their own. In addition to being able to monitor Earth’s weather in incredible detail, GOES-16 can also monitor the “weather” in space, with specialized instruments to detect solar storms and monitor changes to the Earth’s magnetic field. ## Processing and curating I spoke with Dakota Smith ([@weatherdak](https://twitter.com/weatherdak?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)), who is a satellite analyst and communicator at the [Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere](https://www.cira.colostate.edu/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) (CIRA) at Colorado State. Dakota has the fun job of looking through the firehose of GOES-16 and 17 satellite imagery to find the most interesting or newsworthy imagery to share with the public through [social media](https://twitter.com/CIRA%5FCSU?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). CIRA collects and processes all of the satellite imagery in partnership with NOAA. One of CIRA’s most notable contributions to this processing is the “[GeoColor](https://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/training/visit/quick%5Fguides/QuickGuide%5FCIRA%5FGeocolor%5F20171019.pdf?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)” imagery product, which strives for an accurate true color view of the Earth (when sowing the Earth at night, GeoColor highlights the clouds in blue, and overlays a representative layer of city lights for reference). Most satellite images you see aren’t just a static image that comes directly from the hardware. In fact, most are composites – you could think of them as recipes – that merge and overlay images focused on different slices of the spectrum, based on the thing you are seeking to highlight. 0:00 /0:04 1× [May 2, 2022](https://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/ramsdis/online/loop.asp?data%5Ffolder=loop%5Fof%5Fthe%5Fday/goes-16/20220502000000&number%5Fof%5Fimages%5Fto%5Fdisplay=200&loop%5Fspeed%5Fms=50&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) \- "Dust storm charges south from Colorado Plains as wildfires burn in New Mexico - GOES-16 GeoColor" - (CIRA Loop of the Day). Source: Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere at Colorado State and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ****(CIRA/CSU & NOAA)** For example, if you were interested in studying deforestation in the Amazon, you might want to hone in on the green light reflected by vegetation. But if you were looking at wildfires in California, you might want to highlight the distinct reflections of heavy smoke, and also emphasize the [heat signatures of the fires themselves](https://www.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/goes/conus%5Fband.php?sat=G16&band=FireTemperature&length=12&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). But when making these recipes for satellite images, color can be used to emphasize – or perhaps even exaggerate – what the sensor can actually detect in order to clearly communicate the conditions being observed. “The fire temperature product is sort of aesthetically pleasing to look at…it really shows you where the fire is in way that makes sense. It's bright red, it's like what you would expect the fire to look like, even though you're not seeing the fire itself, you're seeing a visualization of the hot spot”, said Smith. 0:00 /0:04 1× [September 7, 2021](https://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/ramsdis/online/loop.asp?data%5Ffolder=loop%5Fof%5Fthe%5Fday/goes-16/20210907000000&number%5Fof%5Fimages%5Fto%5Fdisplay=300&loop%5Fspeed%5Fms=50&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). "Hurricane Larry's large eye churns - GOES-16 visible (band 2)". - (CIRA Loop of the Day) Source: Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere at Colorado State and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ****(CIRA/CSU & NOAA)** The same is true of the lightning mapper. Referring to the blueish-purple sparkles that the sensor detects, Smith said “It's not what you'd see with the naked eye, but rather a product based on lightning strikes. So I think that lays the foundation for all of it.” ## GOES-16's Greatest Hits The most popular imagery that Smith has published was a loop showing an ominous swirling Hurricane Dorian with a crisp eye that is crackling with lightning strikes as it barreled towards Florida’s east coast. > My favorite satellite loop of the year and maybe even the decade. > > Lightning within the beast that was Hurricane Dorian. [pic.twitter.com/I1e2oTI2xK](https://t.co/I1e2oTI2xK?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) > > — Dakota Smith (@weatherdak) [December 23, 2019](https://twitter.com/weatherdak/status/1209178725771669504?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) Smith also loves sharing exotic cloud movements such as [von Kaman vortices](https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/news/earth-orbit-von-karman-vortices?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com), "[actinoform](https://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/ramsdis/online/loop.asp?data%5Ffolder=loop%5Fof%5Fthe%5Fday/goes-16/20210603000000&number%5Fof%5Fimages%5Fto%5Fdisplay=150&loop%5Fspeed%5Fms=150&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)" clouds and [gravity waves](https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/news/earth-orbit-gravity-waves?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). > Rounding out this "best of the decade" satellite thread... > > We got so many awesome, new looks at von Karman vortices. [pic.twitter.com/sC74pe1GPX](https://t.co/sC74pe1GPX?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) > > — Dakota Smith (@weatherdak) [December 31, 2019](https://twitter.com/weatherdak/status/1212093390566780928?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) > This one with gravity waves traveling over top, is one of my favorites. [pic.twitter.com/q1wA5JyH8a](https://t.co/q1wA5JyH8a?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) > > — Dakota Smith (@weatherdak) [December 31, 2019](https://twitter.com/weatherdak/status/1212094228479672321?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) As I write this post, Hurricane Ian is barreling towards Florida and looks to be a dangerous storm. Here's what it looks like in the infrared band: 0:00 /0:05 1× Hurricane Ian in Infrared from GOES-16 on Sept. 26, 2022\. Source: [CIRA/NOAA](https://satlib.cira.colostate.edu/event/hurricane-ian/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere at Colorado State and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ****(CIRA/CSU & NOAA)** There’s no shortage of awe-inspiring natural and weather phenomena to share with the public – but it is always sobering to note that while many of these weather events look visually incredible from the vantage point of a remote camera in space, increasingly they are resulting in deadly consequences for the humans experiencing them back on Earth. If you are like me, and could stare at this mesmerizing footage for hours, I have good news for you! I made a supercut of all the archived "Loop of the Day" videos that CIRA which clocks in at just over two hours, which you can view [here](https://youtu.be/Sxn7ObxK644?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). A two-hour long supercut I made of CIRA/NOAA's "Loop of the Day" movies showing the most interesting footage from GOES-16/17/18\. Source: Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere at Colorado State and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ****(CIRA/CSU & NOAA)** 👨🏻‍💻 ****Nerdbox** Working with this processed [GOES-16 imagery](https://www.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/goes/fulldisk%5Fband.php?sat=G16&band=GEOCOLOR&length=12&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) is really easy, as CIRA/NOAA have done a superb job making so many versions of the imagery available in handy [animated GIF](https://www.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/goes/conus.php?sat=G16&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)s, HTML5 loops, and of course [directories](https://cdn.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/GOES16/ABI/CONUS/GEOCOLOR/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) full of images. There doesn't appear to be an official API for the processed images, but the filenames are very canonical and easy to work with. I downloaded about 1,500 "full-disc" GeoColor images via curl with a simple shell script. I did have to write a little code to generate the filenames based on the timestamps. There's a photo every 10 minutes on the hour: [20222651520\_GOES16-ABI-FD-GEOCOLOR-10848x10848.jpg](https://cdn.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/GOES16/ABI/FD/GEOCOLOR/20222651520%5FGOES16-ABI-FD-GEOCOLOR-10848x10848.jpg?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) So breaking this filename down: \- 2022 (year) \- 265 (the 256th day – Sept. 22) \- 1520 (the time, so 3:20pm) \- GOES16 - The satellite \- ABI - The camera / imager \- FD - Full disc \- GEOCOLOR - The 'product' or channel \- 10848x10848 - The image dimensions Of course if you want to cut out the middleman, and get the images directly from the satellite itself, you CAN do this with software-defined radio! Here's a good tutorial over at [RTL-SDR](https://www.rtl-sdr.com/rtl-sdr-com-goes-16-17-and-gk-2a-weather-satellite-reception-comprehensive-tutorial/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). Thanks for reading! 🌎🛰🌏 🙏🏻 ****Did you enjoy this post?** You can subscribe to our newsletter to get future posts delivered to your inbox for free. 👉🏻 📫 [Subscribe now](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/#/portal/signup/free). ****Sharing is caring** 📣 If you think your followers or friends may like it, please consider sharing it. 🙋🏻‍♀️ If you have any suggestions, comments or requests, please email them to [beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com](mailto:beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com) Thanks for reading! \- Jon Keegan ([@jonkeegan](https://twitter.com/jonkeegan?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)) ### The Pillbox Database URL: https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/the-pillbox-database/ Last updated: 2024-02-05T01:48:38.000Z ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/08/68180-0711-60_BB135DBA.jpg) A sample photo from the NIH Pillbox database. ## What is it? A dataset containing 8,693 high resolution photographs of pills marketed in the U.S. market, along with an accompanying database containing 83,925 rows of detailed information on the medication contained in each pill. The database includes each pill’s shape (“CAPSULE”, “HEXAGON”, “DIAMOND”,”OVAL”, etc.), color, imprint (the markings on the pill), size of the pill, active ingredients, prescription name, medicine name and manufacturer. Most of the pill information comes from the Food and Drug Administration’s drug labels database. Each pill is photographed in high resolution against a uniform gray background, along with rulers to show the dimensions of each pill. The [website](https://web.archive.org/web/20201021105954/https://pillbox.nlm.nih.gov/index.html) described the project as “...one of the largest free databases of prescription and over-the-counter drug information and images, combining data from pharmaceutical companies, Food and Drug Administration, National Institutes of Health, and Department of Veterans Affairs.” ## Why was this data collected? According to the site, the purpose of the database and the accompanying website was to provide a tool to help identify unknown pills based on their shape, color, marking and other attributes. “This system is designed for use by emergency physicians, first responders, other health care providers, Poison Control Center staff, and concerned citizens” read a [press release](https://news.nnlm.gov/psr-newsbits/nlm-releases-pillbox-in-beta/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) from the project’s beta launch in 2009\. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/09/620370698.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/09/604290554.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/09/525440955.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/09/422910102.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/09/002282996-1.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/09/001872613.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/09/604290299.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/09/581770002.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/09/009046217.png) ## Who collected this data? An [archived version](https://web.archive.org/web/20200407074810/https://pillbox.nlm.nih.gov/statistics.html) of the website says the dataset “...contains images which were either submitted by pharmaceutical companies to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as part of the drug label submission process or created through pill photography programs at the National Library of Medicine and the Department of Veterans Affairs.” ## When was this collected? The project launched in 2009 but was officially [retired](https://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/ja20/ja20%5Fpillbox%5Fdiscontinue.html?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) on January 29, 2021\. The [photos and data](https://www.nlm.nih.gov/databases/download/pill%5Fimage.html?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) are still available “to support research, development, and education”. The database appeared to be continually updated during the lifespan of the project. I reached out to the National Library of Medicine about why Pillbox was shut down, and I received this response, attributed to "the Pillbox team": > "Pillbox initially provided pill image data from a variety of data sources, however providers discontinued submitting content over the last several years, leaving pill information static and increasingly out of date. Additionally, much of the information provided in Pillbox was duplicative of NLM’s [DailyMed](https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). DailyMed is a highly used drug information resource that contains drug labeling information as supplied by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Given the availability of information from other NLM resources, we do not currently plan to reinstate Pillbox." 👨🏻‍💻 ****Nerdbox** For this post, I went through and curated a collection of 1,500 of the more interesting looking pills from the database, and processed them to present them in a more interesting way. Using some [command line graphics](http://bit.ly/command-line-gfx?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) (ImageMagick) I replaced the grey background from each photo with a tinted version of the dominant color, then assembled them into a quilt. I found [Color Thief](https://lokeshdhakar.com/projects/color-thief/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) very helpful for this. You can view my slides that I made a few years back for a NICAR talk that used Pillbox as an example [here](http://bit.ly/command-line-gfx?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/09/Screen-Shot-2022-09-11-at-1.05.40-PM.png)](https://jonkeegan.com/bpd-pills-zoom/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) Explore a zoomable quilt of these pill images by clicking on the image above. 👆🏻🔎 ## Who decides the pill colors and shapes? In the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration [publishes detailed guidelines](https://www.fda.gov/files/drugs/published/Safety-Considerations-for-Product-Design-to-Minimize-Medication-Errors-Guidance-for-Industry.pdf?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) for the design of pills, with the goal of reducing drug misidentification. A big concept in these guidelines is understanding the context in which any given pill will be taken: Who will actually be administering the pill? What is the environment like in which the pill is administered? What other pills might this be taken with? A few years ago, I spoke with the leader of a manufacturing group at a major pharmaceutical company about how these pills get their colors, shapes and sizes. It was a fascinating conversation, and here are some of the interesting takeaways: - I learned that size is one of the most important considerations, for both handling and ingestion. Anything below 100mg is very hard for people to handle. If it is a controlled release drug, that could make the pill larger. - The shape can be subject to aesthetic considerations, but more often than not it is determined by practical considerations. Round pills and tablets are the most common shapes, as they are the easiest to manufacturer, but also the strongest and less likely to chip – which really matters. A chipped or broken tablet can reduce the dosage that the person receives. - Score marks on the pills may be aesthetic or functional to allow for splitting into smaller doses. - Colors can be determined by the composition of the drug, but more often it is the coating on the pill that gives it the color. There is a lot of purpose to the colors that are chosen, but it is a mixture of marketing and R&D (research and development). The key thing manufacturers are trying to avoid with regards to color and shape is to avoid mix ups at the pharmacy. - Size, colors and embossments can help people identify not only different drugs but also different dosages. Also, not all colorants are acceptable to all regulators around the world, so the market it will be sold in is a consideration. - The markings on the tablet are very specifically designed by each company and for each medicine. They are designed to be unique, and are submitted to regulatory agencies as part of the approval process. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/09/Screen-Shot-2022-08-24-at-11.31.38-PM.png) Thanks for reading! 💊💊💊 🙏🏻 ****Did you enjoy this post?** You can subscribe to our newsletter to get future posts delivered to your inbox for free. 👉🏻 📫 [Subscribe now](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/#/portal/signup/free). ****Sharing is caring** 📣 If you think your followers or friends may like it, please consider sharing it. 🙋🏻‍♀️ If you have any suggestions, comments or requests, please email them to [beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com](mailto:beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com) Thanks for reading! \- Jon Keegan ([@jonkeegan](https://twitter.com/jonkeegan?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)) ### Photologging Vans URL: https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/photologging-vans/ Last updated: 2024-02-05T01:49:18.000Z These sequences are from New York and Connecticut’s state photolog archives, which I obtained through public records requests. Almost every state’s highway departments had highway photolog programs, some dating back as early as 1961\. These sequences were captured by specially tricked out vans. The earliest used 16mm film, then 35mm, then video tape, laser disc and currently digital cameras. 💡 Read more about Highway Photologs [here](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/highway-photologs/) in my first post in this series. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/07/Screen-Shot-2022-07-27-at-9.38.47-PM-1.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/07/Screen-Shot-2022-07-27-at-9.38.11-PM-1.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/07/Screen-Shot-2022-07-27-at-9.37.28-PM-1.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/07/Screen-Shot-2022-07-27-at-9.37.06-PM-1.png) Some pages from the National Research Council's Transportation Research Board report “National Cooperative Highway Research Program Synthesis of Highway Practice”. The report details the various technologies that were used in states' photologging programs. A [1982 report](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/22123452-national-cooperative-highway-research-program-synthesis-of-highway-practice?responsive=1&title=1&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) from the National Research Council’s Transportation Research Board with the extremely nerdy title “National Cooperative Highway Research Program Synthesis of Highway Practice” has an amazingly detailed breakdown of the nation’s photologging efforts, describing the history, technology, financial cost and practical applications for this public data collection effort. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/07/Screen-Shot-2022-07-27-at-9.37.36-PM-2.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/07/Screen-Shot-2022-07-27-at-9.37.19-PM-2.png) I love these photos of the different photologging vans, and the crazy gear they packed inside. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/07/Screen-Shot-2022-07-27-at-9.37.48-PM-3.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/07/Screen-Shot-2022-07-27-at-9.36.57-PM.png) I am still in pursuit of some of the older footage from various state agencies and will be playing around with various ways to explore this amazing treasure trove of American roadside history. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/09/Screen-Shot-2022-09-15-at-11.15.26-AM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/09/Screen-Shot-2022-09-15-at-11.15.33-AM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/09/Screen-Shot-2022-09-15-at-11.15.48-AM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/09/Screen-Shot-2022-09-15-at-11.16.07-AM.png) From The Michigan Department of State Highways and Transportation's Traffic and Safety Division report on Michigan's photlogging program from November 1976\. [Source](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/22416105-rr-459-report?responsive=1&title=1&ref=beautifulpublicdata.com) Thank you for reading! 🎥 You can see some of the full sequences of images on our [YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzn9S389aTc%5FE-uaxnaGVcQ?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). I'd like to extend a big thank you to Robert Kasica from Connecticut's Department of Transportation for help with this records request. 🙏🏻 🙏🏻 ****Did you enjoy this post?** You can subscribe to our newsletter to get future posts delivered to your inbox for free. 👉🏻 📫 [Subscribe now](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/#/portal/signup/free). ****Sharing is caring** 📣 If you think your followers or friends may like it, please consider sharing it. 🙋🏻‍♀️ If you have any suggestions, comments or requests, please email them to [beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com](mailto:beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com) Thanks for reading! \- Jon Keegan ([@jonkeegan](https://twitter.com/jonkeegan?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)) ### Highway Photologs URL: https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/highway-photologs/ Last updated: 2023-09-21T17:37:39.000Z What you are looking at is a timelapse of 6,137 images that were captured on May 10, 1985 by a special van driving south on Route 1 through Connecticut. This vehicle was a “Photolog” van, owned and operated by the Connecticut Department of Transportation. In 1985, this van was tricked out with a front-facing camera, and this cool data readout panel with seven segment displays ticking off the mileage and bearing, taking a picture out the front every 0.01 miles (52.8 feet). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/08/CT_ROUTE_1985_1NF_11532_11532.JPG) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/08/CT_ROUTE_1985_1NF_11527_11527-1.JPG) May 22, 1985 driving north on Route 1 in Connecticut. An AMC Pacer on the right! My family had one of these. Highway departments all around the country had highway photolog programs, some dating back as early as 1961\. Every other year this van would drive over 7,000 miles of highway in Connecticut, snapping millions of such photos all along the way. I obtained 120 gigabytes worth of this imagery and data from the Connecticut Department of Highways via a public records request. Why did these programs exist? States simply needed to know what each bit of road looked like. What was the condition of the traffic signs, exit ramps, roadway paint and what did the surface of the road look like? But they also captured some beautiful scenes, old stores that no longer exist, hilariously low gas prices and some beautiful old cars on the road, and often people just walking by the side of the road. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/08/CT_ROUTE_1985_1NF_11724_11724.JPG) May 22, 1985 at 3:39pm driving north on Route 1 in Connecticut. Over the years, such data collection runs added side and rear cameras, and have been modernized with 3-D scans of the geometry of the road surface, and higher resolution cameras. Today, many states have retired these cool data collection vans, as the work has been outsourced to third parties, and Google maps and other mapping providers make such efforts seem antiquated. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/08/CT_ROUTE_1985_1NF_09940_09940.JPG) May 22, 1985 at 2:44pm driving north on Route 1 in Connecticut. But many states’ highway departments have shelves full of this old footage (a lot of it on 35mm film, and later, laser discs), going back decades. I think this is a great example of beautiful public data. 🚐 Take a look at some of the tricked out vans, and camera gear that was used to collect these images in[ this accompanying post](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/photologging-vans/). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7e/ed/7eed3692-c4ce-47fb-af77-6293d8e19002/content/images/2022/08/CT_ROUTE_1985_1NF_10417_10417.JPG) May 22, 1985 at 2:57pm driving north on Route 1 in Connecticut. My name is Jon Keegan ([@jonkeegan](https://twitter.com/jonkeegan?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)), and I’m a [data journalist ](https://jonkeegan.com/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com)and I’m going to be posting my favorite examples I’ve found of visual data sets that our governments (local, state and federal) collect – ones that I think are kind of beautiful. I’ll try to explain how and why it was collected, and I'll present the visuals in interesting ways. If you know of any other cool visual information that your government collects, let me know and I’ll try to get a hold of it via public records requests where possible (like I did for this data set). If you found this niche content interesting and want to see more of this sort of thing, please subscribe to my free newsletter to be updated when I post about a new dataset. Thanks for reading! 🚐 📸 🛣 👨🏻‍💻 ****Nerdbox** This data was all provided to me in a proprietary database format (.CJL files – concatenated JPEG library), which required the use of a PC app called ****TofuBB** to export the images. I received a file for each year, route and direction that I requested (for example: 1999, Route 66, Eastbound). I exported them then turned them into a video using [ffmpeg](https://ffmpeg.org/?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). You can see some of the full sequences of images on our [YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzn9S389aTc%5FE-uaxnaGVcQ?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com). I'd like to extend a big thank you to Robert Kasica from Connecticut's Department of Transportation for help with this records request. 🙏🏻 🙏🏻 ****Did you enjoy this post?** You can subscribe to our newsletter to get future posts delivered to your inbox for free. 👉🏻 📫 [Subscribe now](https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/#/portal/signup/free). ****Sharing is caring** 📣 If you think your followers or friends may like it, please consider sharing it. 🙋🏻‍♀️ If you have any suggestions, comments or requests, please email them to [beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com](mailto:beautifulpublicdata@gmail.com) Thanks for reading! \- Jon Keegan ([@jonkeegan](https://twitter.com/jonkeegan?ref=beautifulpublicdata.com))