How the crowd draws
1,882 drawings of its land border, from memory on Borderline’s US map, 25 September 2026 to 27 October 2026.
In numbers
| The real one | The crowd’s | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 146,000 km²57,000 sq mi | 148,000 km²57,000 sq mi↑0.8% bigger |
| Outline | 1,724 km1,071 mi | 1,691 km1,051 mi↓1.9% shorter |
| Centre | 93.50° W, 42.08° N93.5° W, 42.1° N | 93.48° W, 42.07° N93.5° W, 42.1° N↘3 km south-east2 mi south-east |
| Westernmost | 96.63° W, 42.77° N96.6° W, 42.8° N | 96.60° W, 43.45° N96.6° W, 43.4° N→3 km short2 mi short |
| Easternmost | 90.14° W, 42.01° N90.1° W, 42.0° N | 90.15° W, 42.01° N90.1° W, 42.0° N←1 km short0 mi short |
| Southernmost | 91.42° W, 40.38° N91.4° W, 40.4° N | 91.43° W, 40.40° N91.4° W, 40.4° N↑2 km short1 mi short |
| Northernmost | 93.71° W, 43.53° N93.7° W, 43.5° N | 93.33° W, 43.54° N93.3° W, 43.5° N↑1 km beyond1 mi beyond |
Near the land border, 52% of the crowd’s lines run inside Iowa.
Borders
| Border with | In the game | The crowd’s |
|---|---|---|
| Minnesota | 423 km in the game | 422 km the crowd’s↓0.2% shorter |
| Missouri | 385 km in the game | 391 km the crowd’s↑1.6% longer |
| Illinois | 345 km in the game | 328 km the crowd’s↓4.9% shorter |
| Nebraska | 286 km in the game | 279 km the crowd’s↓2.4% shorter |
| South Dakota | 156 km in the game | 148 km the crowd’s↓5.1% shorter |
| Wisconsin | 143 km in the game | 136 km the crowd’s↓4.9% shorter |
How it is measured
The crowd’s Iowa: every few km along the real line, each drawing’s nearest point, inside Iowa or outside it; the median over a short stretch is where the crowd puts the line there, and the real outline moved by it is the crowd’s. Where the move folds a narrow inlet over itself, the loop is cut.
The 1,882 drawings that scored 10 or more on Borderline’s US map, scribbles left out, the real line the game’s own. Area true to scale; the outline copies the real line’s detail, so its length changes only where the shape moves or a loop is cut. The map lays the 1,000 most recent; the heat map, the crowd’s shape and every figure use all 1,882.
Draw Iowa yourself and add your line to the next update.