“What’s the good of Mercator’s North Poles and Equators, Tropics, Zones, and Meridian Lines?”
So the Bellman would cry: and the crew would reply
“They are merely conventional signs!
“Other maps are such shapes, with their islands and capes!
But we’ve got our brave Captain to thank:
(So the crew would protest) “that he’s bought usthe best —
A perfect and absolute blank!”
"The Hunting of the Snark"
An Agony in Eight Fits
Lewis Carroll
illustration Henry Holiday