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When most of us think about the word “data'' our eyes glaze over as a million Excel cells appear in our minds, putting us to sleep. So clever folks out there rolled up their sleeves and got to work, making visual depictions of data that help us better understand the world.

This online group shares various cool and interesting maps that help put all sorts of facts and figures into context. So get comfortable, prepare to brush up on some geography, and get to scrolling. Be sure to upvote your favorite posts and share your thoughts and observations in the comments section below. 

#1

Good Political Maps Of Oceania Are Hard To Come By

Good Political Maps Of Oceania Are Hard To Come By

RecordingFancy8515 Report

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    #2

    The Literal Meaning Of Every Country's Name In Africa

    The Literal Meaning Of Every Country's Name In Africa

    Homesanto Report

    #3

    Endings Of Places In Poland

    Endings Of Places In Poland

    DaveBensonPhilips Report

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    Bernd Herbert
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This is the result of an old dialectal boundary. and another fun fact: In Northeastern Germany you will find lots of places that end in -ow, showing that the old Slawic Tribes were living in that area, way before any of today's national borders.

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    If you have ever taken a casual look at an average map of the world, you have no doubt been struck by the sheer size of Russia and, to a lesser extent, Canada. This does make sense, as these are the largest countries on the planet, however, did you know that a little feature of mapmaking called Mercator projection makes them look significantly larger than they really are?

    This comes from the Flemish geographer and cartographer Gerardus Mercator, who created a “cylindrical” map to represent the world in 1569. After all, unless you are looking at a globe, most maps are drawn, painted, or printed on a rectangular surface. Imagine the tube-like maps pirates are always dragging around and you have a pretty good depiction of an early Mercator map. 

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    #5

    What’s The Most Popular Sport In Each Country?

    What’s The Most Popular Sport In Each Country?

    geographyfacts Report

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    WindySwede
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Correct usage of football ⚽️ /s ☺️ not that I care about sports, just find the wordusage peculiar..

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    #6

    Time Needed To Earn 1€ Million Earning On Average Wage

    Time Needed To Earn 1€ Million Earning On Average Wage

    karinasnooodles_ Report

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    Tee Pussi
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Sure, if you can manage not to pay taxes or rent and don't eat for a few decades.

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    After all, the real landmasses on the planet, which are spherical, don’t translate 1-to-1 on a rectangular map. Certain sections end up stretched and, as a result, appear to be a lot larger than they actually are. Mercator chose to “focus” the map on the northern hemisphere, where locations closer to the “top” of the map would end up seeming larger. Hence Russia and Canada being absolutely gigantic on so many maps. 

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    #8

    How Many % Of People Would Not Want To Live Next Door To Lgbt People?

    How Many % Of People Would Not Want To Live Next Door To Lgbt People?

    theworldmaps Report

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    Sarinz
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I wouldn't want to live next door to people who "Would Not Want To Live Next Door To Lgbt People"...

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    #9

    World Map According To China In 1799

    World Map According To China In 1799

    Redstream28 Report

    In fact, at the time, these maps were specifically created to aid in marine navigation. While it’s quite irrelevant to us, early seafarers could use a Mercator map to get a “straight” bearing when sailing to a new location. On a map that doesn’t use Mercator projection, the bearing would be a curve, representing the curve of the globe.

    #10

    U.S. States That Have Banned The Most Books (In Autumn 2022)

    U.S. States That Have Banned The Most Books (In Autumn 2022)

    GaffersB Report

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    WindySwede
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    At least it started backfiring in Utah, banning the bible from schools. For content of murder, violence, sexual things etc.

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    #11

    Percentage Of Population (25-64yrs) In Europe That Cant Speak Any Foreign Language

    Percentage Of Population (25-64yrs) In Europe That Cant Speak Any Foreign Language

    MardukSyria Report

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    TotallyNOTAFox
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    English is mandatory here in Germany, additionally there are usually choices for french and spanish on top

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    This sort of map has simply stuck around for hundreds of years, leading many people to draw somewhat incorrect conclusions about the real size of things. We are lucky that Russia and Canada really are the two largest countries, so the distortions don’t seem as bad. Other examples of distortion are the similarity between the UK and Madagascar, despite the latter being nearly twice as large.

    #13

    Belief In Life After Death In Europe

    Belief In Life After Death In Europe

    cloudtdaz Report

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    Bernd Herbert
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This doesn't correlate with religiousness, which I find quite interesting

    Adam Jeff
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I would say, by eye, that it does correlate, even if it's not a 1:1 match. Poland, Romania and Turkey stand out here and are also generally the most religious countries in Europe.

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    Fora Nakit
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Interestingly, in Croatia, almost 90% of people consider themselves religious, yet only 51.3% believe in life after death. Something doesn't add up.

    Mint Sauce
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    A lot of people will be disappointed, although they'll never actually experience the disappointment.

    down quark
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I’m not religious, but just let people believe what they want to believe. It’s not even possible to know if there is life after death or not. People can believe what they want.

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    Heather Talma
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    "Life after death" is a bit vague to me. Like Heaven, Hell, reincarnation? Ghosts? Is "life after death" just anything other than "totally ceasing to exist on any plane after death"?

    Verena
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    What happened withe the Belgians, again? No opinion or too desteacted? Not long ago Belgium did not have a government for several years. Nobody really noticed that something was omitting

    DC
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    After DEATH? I'd rather want to know if there's, like, any life after BIRTH.

    Michael Largey
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Things being how they are, I find it difficult to work up that much faith in life before death.

    Michelle Reynolds
    Community Member
    1 year ago

    This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

    Soooo what exactly do 68.2% of Brits think happens after you die? This is so surprising (and hopeless).

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    #14

    Average Money Spent On Weddings In US States

    Average Money Spent On Weddings In US States

    Starry_Night0123 Report

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    Bernd Herbert
    Community Member
    1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This is absolutely wild. Looking at California....this is more than I spent in the last 10 years for various vacations. I'm from Germany, and those vacations included USA & Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, the Seychelles, Mauritius and countless trips within Europe. (Yes, I'm counting my expenses.) I would never ever exchange these experiences with a one-time party. Absolutely absurd!

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    #15

    Roman Coin Hoards, From The 'Coinage In The Roman Empire' Project — 'Hoards Containing Coinage In Use In The Roman Empire Between 30 B.c. And A.d. 400.'

    Roman Coin Hoards, From The 'Coinage In The Roman Empire' Project — 'Hoards Containing Coinage In Use In The Roman Empire Between 30 B.c. And A.d. 400.'

    idonotknowtodo Report

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    sbj
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Those Romans were very careless with their loose change on their travels

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    Even more comically, due to its northerly position, Alaska appears to be roughly the size of Australia, despite the fact that the land down under is almost five times larger. You can find an excellent gif depicting the presented and real size of various nations here

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    #16

    When Is Weekend

    When Is Weekend

    two_plus_two_is_zero Report

    #17

    Asia's Counting System. How Do You Say The Number 57

    Asia's Counting System. How Do You Say The Number 57

    Mokkasakka Report

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    TotallyNOTAFox
    Community Member
    1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Blue and yellow are reasonable, the rest seems overly complicated. Edit: Orange, not yellow ^^

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    #19

    Male Body Hair Distribution Of Indigenous Human Populations Around The World

    Male Body Hair Distribution Of Indigenous Human Populations Around The World

    Homesanto Report

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    Tuesday
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    South Indians are hairy, didn't need a graph to tell me that, just a mirror... sigh. I'm a woman and I'm hairier than my North Indian father

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    #20

    Sex Ratio

    Sex Ratio

    Hockputer09 Report

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    Tracy Wallick
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    And yet, men are treated as the default despite being a smaller percent of the population in the majority of countries.

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    #21

    Percentage Of Light vs. Brown Hair In European Countries

    Percentage Of Light vs. Brown Hair In European Countries

    Specific_Ad_097 Report

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    #22

    Most Wasteful Countries In The World

    Most Wasteful Countries In The World

    flyingcatwithhorns Report

    #24

    Air Polution In Europe

    Air Polution In Europe

    therealcup_1 Report

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    Monstarr the Divisive
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Whoa... What's happening in nort Italy, Poland and around the Balkans? Why is it so bad there?

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    #25

    US States By Violent Crime Rate

    US States By Violent Crime Rate

    Specific_Ad_685 Report

    #26

    The Countries With The Most Island

    The Countries With The Most Island

    robertjan88 Report

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    BoredPossum
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The islands in Sweden are very very small but numerous. That's why they don't show up on most maps.

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    #27

    The Most Consumed Type Of Meat By Country Including Fish & Seafood

    The Most Consumed Type Of Meat By Country Including Fish & Seafood

    giuliomagnifico Report

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    WindySwede
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Nope, according to 'The Swedish Board of Agriculture', it's poultry meat (when not including sausages, ham and kassler). When you include them (and assuming they are 100% pork meat, pork is #1 by approximately 3,5x compared to fish.

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    #28

    The Most And Least Happy Countries In The World

    The Most And Least Happy Countries In The World

    Intelligent_Store0 Report

    #29

    Projection Of Water Stress Level By Country In 2040

    Projection Of Water Stress Level By Country In 2040

    giuliomagnifico Report

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    #30

    Highest Temperature Recorded In Europe Countries

    Highest Temperature Recorded In Europe Countries

    Redstream28 Report

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    pep Ito
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    These maps are misleading. They should have shown the point where it was reached and the temperature by zones. As it appears on the map it seems that all of Spain reached 47 degrees when it was in the south of Spain and probably in the northern half the temperatures were. By far lower

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    #31

    Map Showing Brazilian State Names Translated Literally Into English

    Map Showing Brazilian State Names Translated Literally Into English

    Jazzlike-Power-7959 Report

    #32

    Most Spoken Languages In The US Beside English/Spanish

    Most Spoken Languages In The US Beside English/Spanish

    kvnbtl Report

    #33

    Each European Country’s Highest Peak

    Each European Country’s Highest Peak

    alexsimi Report

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    ADHORTATOR
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Italy considers that the border to France is on top of the Monte Bianco/ Montblanc, but France disagrees

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    #34

    Bizarre Proposal From 1920 To Create New Single, Peaceful European Union With 24 Artificially Created States ( P.a. Maas, Vienna)

    Bizarre Proposal From 1920 To Create New Single, Peaceful European Union With 24 Artificially Created States ( P.a. Maas, Vienna)

    StarklyCatenate342 Report

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    Corvus
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The aftermath of WW1. A time when we could have learned from our mistakes... but nope, instead we planted the seeds of WW2.

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    #35

    What Percent Of Visitor Visa Applications Per Country Did The USA Reject In 2022

    What Percent Of Visitor Visa Applications Per Country Did The USA Reject In 2022

    john_doe_89 Report

    #36

    The Most Common Surname In Each Department Of Mainland France

    The Most Common Surname In Each Department Of Mainland France

    SilasMarner77 Report

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    Annik Perrot
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Fabre, Favre, Lefevre, Lefebvre and Faivre are all descended from the same root, the latin word "faber", which meant " craftsman" ... or ...Smith -))) Moreau means " little More" and was used for dark-haired people suspected ( rightly or wrongly) to be of Arab origins ( they did invade in the 9th century). Mostly, for long, common people didn't have a last name, and to tell apart people with the same first name, one used their occupation, physical particularities, or location (Dupuy means " from the hill", same as Delpech). I'm just à bir puzzled with " Wintersheim" , in , I think, Indre. ???

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    #37

    Population Change In Europe And Arab World

    Population Change In Europe And Arab World

    Money_Astronaut9789 Report

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    David Paterson
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Spain has an exceptionally low birthrate. Lowest in Europe. So all of that is immigration? That doesn't seem right.

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    #38

    What To Say To Someone Who Leaves The Door Open After Coming In? (Includes Informal Expressions)

    What To Say To Someone Who Leaves The Door Open After Coming In? (Includes Informal Expressions)

    languageseu Report

    #39

    Percentage Of People That Were Unable To Keep Home Adequately Warm In Europe In 2022

    Percentage Of People That Were Unable To Keep Home Adequately Warm In Europe In 2022

    giuliomagnifico Report

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    WindySwede
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Is this because of economics, or lack of necessary heating equipment? Me also not knowing how cold it is in some of the southern countries here?

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    #40

    If Europe's Wealth Distributed Equally How Many Times Wealthier The Countries Would Be?

    If Europe's Wealth Distributed Equally How Many Times Wealthier The Countries Would Be?

    aaronhastaken Report

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    Chocolate llama
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    poor choice of color scheme...especially because "1.0" has different colors e.g. in Spain and Czech Republic. Would be easier to interpret if 1.0 was the center of a diverging color scheme

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    #41

    Olive Oil vs. Butter Usage In Europe

    Olive Oil vs. Butter Usage In Europe

    island_wide7 Report

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    James016
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Being married to a Mediterranean, my olive oil consumption is probably higher than the UK average.

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    #42

    Most Common Baby Names In London

    Most Common Baby Names In London

    jionki Report

    #43

    A Map Of Superheroes In NYC & The Areas They Protect

    A Map Of Superheroes In NYC & The Areas They Protect

    Hockputer09 Report

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    #44

    Food Price Inflation For July Month

    Food Price Inflation For July Month

    Smart-Combination-59 Report

    #45

    Population Change By Continent From 2000 To 2018

    Population Change By Continent From 2000 To 2018

    special_tea23215 Report

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    Terran
    Community Member
    1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I didn't know Australia is/was growing that fast

    #46

    The Evolution Of The Seven Islands Of Mumbai

    The Evolution Of The Seven Islands Of Mumbai

    Live_Wallaby9683 Report

    #47

    Argentina As Depicted On The Back Of The Argentine Passport

    Argentina As Depicted On The Back Of The Argentine Passport

    Kooker321 Report

    #48

    Most Popular US Female Baby Names 2022

    Most Popular US Female Baby Names 2022

    Jakyland Report

    #49

    European Nations Favourite Holiday Destination

    European Nations Favourite Holiday Destination

    SilasMarner77 Report

    #50

    Biggest Sources Of Power In Every European Country

    Biggest Sources Of Power In Every European Country

    Miserable-Move-7956 Report

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    TotallyNOTAFox
    Community Member
    1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Thanks to the decisions of "The Greens" (a party with enviromental protection as theme) we had to reactivate a few coal plants here in Germany in addition to buying energy from french nuclear plants and polish coal plants

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    #51

    Symbols Of Armed Forces In Europe

    Symbols Of Armed Forces In Europe

    Redstream28 Report

    #52

    Cumulative Population Growth Of Each US State From 1950-2016

    Cumulative Population Growth Of Each US State From 1950-2016

    PattonsDestroyer Report

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    POST
    #53

    The Most Common Blood Type Around The World

    The Most Common Blood Type Around The World

    Downingst Report

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    talliloo
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    not surprising. my blood type is not common. after the blood bank realized i was coming in regularly they would often call me every 53 days to ask if i would be dropping by. due to meds i can't donate anymore but would encourage everyone to do so.

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    #54

    Asked Midjourney To Imagine The Most Stereotypical Face For Each Country

    Asked Midjourney To Imagine The Most Stereotypical Face For Each Country

    anvaka Report

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    WindySwede
    Community Member
    1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Just like 4 women? (edit: maybe 6 - 7?) The rest men..? 🙈 https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2Fasked-midjourney-to-imagine-the-most-stereotypical-face-for-v0-5zrewdwk0rbb1.jpg%3Fs%3D7901a12e245f6b00a6e147ff0f806422445e1097

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