My Mom Lied to Me

When I was a child, growing up outside of Chicago, my mother told me that if I dug through the center of the Earth I'd end up in China. Only today did I discover that she was wrong. In reality, according to Google Maps, I'd end up in the Indian Ocean. Google Maps has officially launced Mapplets today. (Thank you Michael Arrington.) Take a look at the Mapplets Content Directory. I should probably still thank my mother, because I'm not my childhood fantasies would have been as easy to develop or as innovative if I had thought I would come out in an empty ocean.

Questions to Discuss:
1. What's the point of a map?
2. If you could put any information on a map what would you put on it? (Actually, using Google's Developer Tools people can put just about any information they want, on a map.)
3. Does this new Mapplets tool actually make it easier to learn about the geography of the world? Why/why not? What would most help people learn about geography?