Click here for a full-size version of this week’s map.



This map is a dot map of France and its neighbors. (Do you need a refresher on what a dot map is? Visit our “Basics” page for a quick primer.) There are 210 dots on this map, though some of them are directly on top of one another. The data used to make this map represent the past decade (that is, since 2008). As always, your job is to figure out what statistic is represented on this dot map.



Stumped? Check back Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday for hints about where to focus your investigation. The answer will be posted on Monday, March 26, 2018. Good luck!



Tuesday’s hint: There’s a significant cluster of dots in the Paris suburbs, but there aren’t actually any dots within the city of Paris itself. Those dots correspond to nearby towns such as Versailles, Sèvres, and Rambouillet.



Wednesday’s hint: Another important observation to make about this map is that there are plenty of dots in mountainous parts of France, including both the Alps and the Pyrenees.



Thursday’s hint: As mentioned above, this map has 210 dots. Divided by ten years, that’s 21 dots from each year. By the end of 2018, the map will need another 21 dots (some of them directly on top of existing dots), all of which will be in France.



Friday’s hint: If we wanted to update this map, we would have to add another dot on July 7, 2018. The 21 new dots would be added over the course of 23 days, culminating with a new dot in Houilles on July 29. Houilles is yet another town pretty close to Paris.



Answer: Click here to see an explanation of the answer to this week’s map question.



Next map: Click here to try out our newest map question.