Google may want to take over the world, but they've got a ways to go before they're ready to produce a navigation device. Check out a Google Maps route from Boston to London. Step 9 says "swim across the Atlantic Ocean."
If people will follow their GPS receiver's directions into a river, are they dumb enough to drive their car into the ocean? No, it says swim, so they would park first and then jump in, right?
Via Google Earth Blog.
Clearly they do have a "ways to go before they're ready to produce a navigation device", and this isn't some kind of elaborate joke on their part. Someone somewhere instructed it that swimming was an option.
Posted by: Ferret | March 29, 2007 at 07:22 PM
Can't you recognize a good joke?
That's bad for you man.
Posted by: Not Dumb | April 09, 2007 at 06:12 AM
Of course it's a joke!!
It only seems to work between US/Canada and Europe. And the swim portion always takes place between Boston and Le Havre, France. Check it out. E.g., Orlando to Lisbon, Portugal.
This is kind of fun. The longest "leg" I've been able to construct is between "Unalaska, Alaska" and "Moscow". 11000+ miles and 35+ days (29 days for the swim.)
What's next? How about "Everglades" to "Sea of Tranquility"
Posted by: Rich E. | April 11, 2007 at 09:25 PM
well you may well laugh. i was just putting my swimming cozzie on.
Posted by: Liz | April 12, 2007 at 07:31 PM
Going from Prudhoe Bay, AK to Novokuzneck, Russia is 12,618 miles
Posted by: Chris | April 14, 2007 at 03:12 AM
This is for just the swim..Long Wharf, Boston, MA to Le Havre, France
Posted by: anonymous | April 14, 2007 at 08:30 PM
and for the longest journey, Unalaska, AK to Novokuzneck, Russia..
Posted by: anonymous | April 14, 2007 at 08:34 PM
Unalaska, AK to Novokuzneck, Russia is far from the longest. See wikipedia for the longest distance, which is 15289 miles from Zabaykalsk to Unalaska
Posted by: ivan | April 18, 2007 at 05:54 PM
Zabaykalsk doesn't map in Google maps. But "Unalaska, Alaska" to "Kosh-Agach, Russia" gives 13,696 mi (about 38 days 1 hour), for a new record. The URL for the name in this post goes to that map.
Surely the intrepid coder at Google who added this nifty feature could have researched how long it takes to swim the Atlantic ocean and put the correct time, 72 days. But that was from was Cape Cod...
http://www.didyouknow.cd/aroundtheworld/swimming.htm
Posted by: anonymous | May 04, 2007 at 09:44 PM
It doesn't work anymore :(
Posted by: amara | March 08, 2008 at 04:13 AM