God as architect of the world
folio 1 verso of a moralized Bible
from Paris, France
c. 1220-1230

Whoever painted this didn't know what the world looks like.  I think a better title would have been:  "Bearded man claiming to represent god stabs a jellied squash with a protractor.  Let me rephrase that:  "stabs a jellied squash that has been swallowed by a watermelon with a protractor ." Yes, the people living in France in the 1200's wouldn't have had satellite imaging of the interior of the earth.  But that is why it is so funny to look back and see their guess as to how to represent what they didn't know. It is also curious to see how talented God was as an architect.  I mean, who else could hold the entire world in one hand, while using the other hand to measure it with a compass, not even looking at what he was doing...all while standing on one foot!  I guess he really is amazing.