The present design for a world map is the first in the history of cartography to show the whole surface of the Earth with no visible distortion of the relative size and shape of the land and sea areas and no breaks in the continental contours. One of twenty-eight patents granted to Fuller during his career, the patent for the Dymaxion Map was filed February 25, 1944 and issued January 29, 1946 under the patent number 2,393,676.