Miscellany

Google Maps Tells Me to Kill Myself and Tourists

May 14, 2008

Part of the family vacation last week involved taking the kids down into Philadelphia to see the historic sites — Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, National Constitution Center, etc. It was a great, great day and a good time was had by all. Perhaps more about that stuff later, but the point of this post is to share the … interesting … directions we got from Google Maps and the “Street View” tool.

The trip began in Bristol, PA, where my parents live. I could easily get down to the historic district, but wasn’t sure on some of the last couple turns to find the right parking lot. Here’s how Google helped:

Google Maps 1

On exiting I-95, we’re apparently supposed to drive through this concrete wall on the way to Independence Hall, causing certain death for the McGee 4. Oddly enough, I don’t even recall seeing this concrete wall at this location. Later, there’s this:

Google Maps 2

As we get closer to Independence Hall, we’re supposed to turn right and take out a group of tourists, including one in a wheelchair. Nice!

I’m sure there’ll be more funny Street View directions as Google expands this feature in more and more cities…..

4 Comments

  • Reply Todd Mintz May 14, 2008 at 1:33 pm

    Hard to tell if you are supposed to drive straight through the tourists or turn into them…

  • Reply Phil R May 15, 2008 at 4:52 am

    Huh… I wonder if those tourists a stay there for days for everyone. Do you have to tip them as a markers?

  • Reply David Mihm May 15, 2008 at 7:54 am

    Wow, a person in a wheelchair, that’s worth 50 bonus points, easy. Could have had 200 total just on that one turn alone! j/k

    On a more serious note, I’ve been noticing several more quasi-errors in Google recently…mostly having to do with what happens at the bottom of off-ramps (is there a fork, a turn, an angle, what?).

  • Reply Matt May 15, 2008 at 8:34 pm

    You guys are funny. I’m glad I have friends who share my sense of humor. 🙂

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