The Mercator Projection vs. the Gall-Peters Projection (also Peters Projection)

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The reason the above world map looks "skinny" is because it's not the one that we're used to, which is the Mercator Projection. The Mecator Projection greatly skews the more northern and more southern land areas to appear larger than the areas nearer to the equator. The Gall-Peters Projection intends to show land areas more consistent with their relative size regardless of their latitude. Check the relative size of Greenland as it appears on the Mercator Projection (on the illustration to the right) when compared to countries on the equator. 

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The schools in Boston, Massachusetts have recently switched to using the Gall-Peters Projection to more accurately reflect the relative land areas of the different countries of the world.