The only surviving copy of the 500 year-old map that first used the name America is scheduled to go on permanent display at the Library of Congress on December 13. As the 1507 Waldseemuller map is being prepared for its debut, researchers are puzzled by questions that they have yet to solve.

Why did the mapmaker name the territory America and then change his mind later?
How was he able to draw South America so accurately?
Why did he put a huge ocean west of America years before European explorers discovered the Pacific?

The second and third questions intrigued me. Martin Waldseemuller, the map’s creator, had never set foot in either place. Yet he was able to draw the continent of South America within 70 miles of accuracy.

Source: Yahoo!