Our Dumb World by The Onion
Our Dumb World is a satirical desk atlas that was published by Little, Brown and Company on October 30, 2007. The book is a parody of the standard desk atlas and contains entries for almost every country on Earth, including detailed maps, feature articles, and humorous stereotyped descriptions of regional history and customs.
The book uses faux xenophobia to illustrate the cultural differences of various nations, often mocking racial stereotypes with satirical comments. Each section contains “facts” about the nation, a brief history, and other information.
The visual style of the book has been compared to Dorling Kindersley’s Eyewitness series. There are eight distinct sections of the atlas, which include North America, South America, Africa, Middle East, Europe, Asia, Oceania, and Extra. The Extra section includes the Northern and Southern Poles and Greenland, which is “larger than Africa and South America combined.”
Critical reaction to Our Dumb World has been generally positive, with reviewers praising the humor and use of satire. The book has been transferred to an electronic format available on the paper’s website and as a layer on Google Earth.
What I Liked
I love any and all satire. Our world is ridiculous sometimes.
What I Did Not Like
I am not a fan of censoring humor, but there are absolutely sections that, ummm, have not aged well…and are no longer really that funny.
- The humor is well-received and effectively satirical.
- The book creatively illustrates cultural differences through parody.
- The visual style is engaging and reminiscent of popular atlas series.
- Some sections have not aged well and lack humor today.
