Originally conceived by the philosopher Jeremy Bentham in 1785, the panopticon was intended to be a type of prison that allowed the guard to observe any of the inmates without them knowing if and when they were being watched. The design features a central platform surrounded by a ring of cells - thus enabling a clear view of every prisoner.

A panopticon was never built in Bentham’s lifetime, but the idea was revived many years later for the design of Statesville Correctional Centre in Crest Hill, Illinois. Opened in 1925 it has two ’roundhouses’, and is the only working example of a panopticon in the United States. Here’s a great photo which clearly illustrates what the interior is like.

Although genuine panopticons are very rare, outside of the US there are a few more for us to see.

The Presidio Modelo on the Isla de la Juventud in Cuba was directly inspired by Statesville, completed in 1931, and remains one of the best examples of Bentham’s concept. Originally holding up to 6000 prisoners, its most famous inmate was probably the current President of Cuba, Fidel Castro, who was held here between 1953 and 1955. The last prisoner was released in 1967 however, and it is now a national museum - this photo shows how it looks inside today.

Chi Hoa prison in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, is an outdoor version of the panopticon, but still has the central observation tower and cells ringed round it. During the Vietnam War, the prison was used to hold Viet Cong members, and still serves as the main correctional facility for the city.

Finally, Holland actually has three panopticons - in Haarlem, Breda and Arnhem. Designed by Willem C. Metzelaar, Haarlem’s domed prison has four floors of cells, and was completed in 1901.

Merzelaar’s father was the architect for Breda and Arnhem, which perhaps explains the similar style of the three buildings. The Dutch government refurbished these prisons in 1979, choosing to remove the central observation platforms, but keeping the rings of cells intact.

Wikipedia has more on panopticons, Jeremy Bentham and the Separate System.

This is the small island formerly known as Cayo Blanco de Sur, Cuba. The island is around 15 km long, about 500 metres wide, and is uninhabited save for the indigenous birds and iguanas.

In 1972 while on a state visit to East Berlin, Fidel Castro gifted this island¹ to the former socialist country of East Germany, and renamed it Cayo Ernesto Thaelmann, after the leader of the German Communist Party, Ernst Thälmann.²

Of course, East Germany ceased to exist in 1990 when the (East) German Democratic Republic was absorbed by the Federal Republic of (West) Germany. Well, that’s what everybody thought.

It transpires that Cayo Ernesto Thaelmann wasn’t actually mentioned in the unification treaty - West Germany never made a claim to it - meaning this Caribbean island is arguably the only remaining piece of East German territory.

You can read more about this bizarre story at the excellent Strange Maps blog.

It’s pretty obvious where the fire has been and where it is heading in the first forest fire in Louisiana (thumbnail #1) and there is an immense amount of smoke from this other fire in Louisiana. You can see a fire spreading like it’s a burning piece of paper in this fire in Texas (thumbnail #2).

There are also (low-res) shots of a huge fire in Central Cuba, a collection of fires in Alaska and yet more in Alaska.

Thanks: Rusty, K-milo, DDA & Jason