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Data Vis Dispatch
April 9th, 2024

Data Vis Dispatch, April 9

The best of last week’s big and small data visualizations

Vivien Serve
Vivien Serve

Welcome back to the 137th edition of Data Vis Dispatch! Every week, we’ll be publishing a collection of the best small and large data visualizations we find, especially from news organizations — to celebrate data journalism, data visualization, simple charts, elaborate maps, and their creators.

Recurring topics this week include the earthquake in Taiwan, Canada, and the start of the #30DayChartChallenge.

It’s April, so the #30DayChartChallenge has begun! Here are some of our favorite pieces from this week:

Lisa Hornung: “Another doodle for #30daychartchallenge Day3 – Makeover. The average car or van in England is driven just 4% of the time – or 1 of 24 hours. Original chart + stat comes from a RAC Foundation report called ‘Standing still,'” April 7 (Mastodon)
Nicola Rennie: “For the “Waffle” prompt on Day 4 of the #30DayChartChallenge, I revisited a data set on Bob Ross painting colours – and made a waffle chart with a hand-drawn effect using {roughsf}!” April 4 (Mastodon)
Mireira: “#30DayChartChallenge #Day4: Waffle Espècies protegides i amenaçades de la fauna autòctona a #Catalunya,” April 4 (Tweet)
Ansgar Wolsing: “Population pyramids for the country with the oldest (Japan) and the youngest population (Niger ). In Japan, half of the population is 49 years and older, while half of the population in Niger is 15 years or younger. #30DayChartChallenge | #Day5 | Diverging #rstats,” April 5 (Tweet)

The other special event of the week: Monday’s solar eclipse over North America. Many people traveled to the path of totality:

Axios: Airbnb eclipse bookings illustrate the path of totality, April 7
The New York Times: Eclipse’s Path Is Also Leaving a Trail of High Hotel Prices, April 4
AirDNA: Viewing the 2024 Solar Eclipse Through a STR Lens: Trends and Takeaways, April 4

We also saw more direct maps of the eclipse’s path:

La Vanguardia: Llega el eclipse más visto de la historia, April 4
Axios: What Utahns can expect during the April 8 solar eclipse, April 5

On April 3, the earth trembled as a 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck Taiwan:

Reuters: Taiwan’s strongest earthquake in 25 years kills 9 people, 50 missing, April 4
The Washington Post: 9 killed and 963 injured in Taiwan after 7.4-magnitude quake, April 3

While a much smaller — but very unusual — earthquake shook the northeastern United States:

The New York Times: 4.8-Magnitude Earthquake Strikes New Jersey, April 9

Iran and its allied groups were back in the spotlight this week after an Israeli airstrike on the Iranian embassy in Damascus:

The New York Times: Power by Proxy: How Iran Shapes the Mideast, April 6

And we continue with news from Gaza, where Israeli attacks have damaged nearly 100 hospitals and hundreds of thousands are suffering from starvation-level hunger:

Le Monde: À Gaza, Comment Les Hôpitaux, Écoles Et Lieux De Culte Ont Été Massivement Détruits, April 5
El Confidencial: Todas Las Maneras en Las Que Israel Está Destruyendo Gaza, April 7
The Washington Post: Gaza is going hungry. Its children could face a lifetime of harm., April 4

Political topics included constitutional rights in Thailand and local elections in Poland:

WeVis: Fill right gaps, April 3
Gazeta Wyborcza: Wyniki wyborów samorządowych. PiS mniejszością w 11 sejmikach, znamy podział mandatów, April 9

Consumer prices are going up — thought that might not be such a bad thing in the case of cigarettes:

The Wall Street Journal: How Far $100 Goes at the Grocery Store After Five Years of Food Inflation, April 4
SBS News: Is chocolate now a luxury? Cocoa more expensive than copper, April 5
elDiario.es: Los datos desmontan el mantra de los hosteleros: la prohibición de fumar no perjudica a los bares, April 4

Meanwhile, India’s gross domestic product could soon overtake China’s:

Bloomberg: How India Can Take China’s Growth Crown, April 8

What do eels have to do with the economy of Canada — and did you know that rivers hide beneath the surface of its cities?

The Wall Street Journal: Guns and Death Threats Spur Canada to Reel in Baby-Eel Fishing, April 5
CBC News: Buried rivers flow under Canadian cities, hidden in a labyrinth of tunnels and sewer pipes. Will we revive them or let the waterways fade from memory?, April 3

After last week’s collision in Baltimore, ships were still very much in the news, from the search for alternative ports to the construction of giant aircraft carriers:

Bloomberg: What Happened to Ships Bound for Baltimore When the Bridge Fell, April 5
Le Monde: Le successeur du porte-avions « Charles-de-Gaulle », un chantier géant aux enjeux militaires et civils, April 8
Bloomberg: Taiwan Quake, Baltimore Bridge Collapse Pose Threat to Trade, April 4

Gendered job titles are on their way out… but so is sex education in many U.S. states:

Bloomberg: Goodbye Chairman, Hello Chair. The Gendered Title Is Fading Away, April 4
The Washington Post: Which states are restricting, or requiring, lessons on race, sex and gender, April 4

Drum roll for the last section, on nuclear weapons in Europe and water reserves in Spain:

The Wall Street Journal: Can Europe Still Count on America’s Nuclear Umbrella?, April 5
elDiario.es: Las lluvias de Semana Santa empujan las reservas de agua 5 puntos hasta el 63%: los datos, embalse por embalse, April 2

What else we found interesting

Financial Times: Sorted: a first-class ride through British postal history, April 2
South China Morning Post: Hong Kong: home of the Sevens, April 4

Applications are open for…

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Vivien Serve
Vivien Serve
(she/her) is a working student on Datawrapper’s Communications team. She creates the Data Vis Dispatch to keep data visualization enthusiasts up to date on exciting new projects. When she’s not working, she studies interface design, and when she’s not studying, she’s planning a festival stage or soldering light installations. Vivien lives in Potsdam.

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