stackyFACTSIf you don't actually know what's in the middle of the ocean, just aggressively make something up.
If you don't actually know what's in the middle of the ocean, just aggressively make something up. Early cartographers suffered from 'horror vacui'—a deep fear of empty spaces on maps. To fix this, they just invented massive phantom islands, like the Island of California or Hy-Brasil, and firmly drew them into official nautical charts. Sailors spent centuries desperately looking for these fictional lands before science proved cartographers were just lying.
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