# Google Maps Easter eggs? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 22, 2012, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-maps-easter-eggs/625973 "2012-06-22T19:01:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-maps-easter-eggs/625973/1 "2012-06-22T19:01:35Z")
What are some of the cooler things that you’ve found in Google Maps? A little while back someone pointed out that if you go to street level view on the White House, you can get to a tour of it. I discovered that a certain street on Martha’s Vineyard goes all the way onto the [ferry](https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=41.455684,-70.600041&spn=0.000209,0.000833&hnear=Boston,+Suffolk,+Massachusetts&t=h&z=20&layer=c&cbll=41.455684,-70.600041&panoid=A1tPbi2YldeCqbv03MHQvg&cbp=11,277.63,,0,16.09). Any others? ---
**Author:** ![Randy\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ee7513/32.png) [@Randy\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randy_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-maps-easter-eggs/625973/2 "2012-06-22T19:16:28Z")
The two I know: 1. Ask for walking directions from [anywhere] to “Mordor”. 2. Ask for driving directions that require crossing the Pacific ocean. Examine the ocean-crossing step carefully. By the way, the walking directions in the White House aren’t that uncommon: the downtown Chicago Macy\*s, for example, has departments mapped out if you zoom in. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-maps-easter-eggs/625973/3 "2012-06-22T19:27:25Z")
> [@Randy\_Seltzer](#): > > 1. Ask for walking directions from [anywhere] to “Mordor”. 😕 That gets me to Scollay Square in Boston. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-maps-easter-eggs/625973/4 "2012-06-22T19:34:43Z")
I just discovered earlier this week you can tool around the San Diego Zoo. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-maps-easter-eggs/625973/5 "2012-06-22T19:47:56Z")
> [@stpauler](#): > > I just discovered earlier this week you can tool around the San Diego Zoo. Ooh, very cool! ---
**Author:** ![Randy\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ee7513/32.png) [@Randy\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randy_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-maps-easter-eggs/625973/6 "2012-06-22T20:22:03Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > 😕 > > That gets me to Scollay Square in Boston. Look carefully at the walking directions… “Be careful! One does not simply walk into Mordor.” ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-maps-easter-eggs/625973/7 "2012-06-22T20:30:13Z")
> [@Randy\_Seltzer](#): > > Look carefully at the walking directions… > > “Be careful! One does not simply walk into Mordor.” I’m not seeing that. ---
**Author:** ![Blackberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blackberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackberry)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-maps-easter-eggs/625973/8 "2012-06-22T21:45:26Z")
The other day I was looking for convenience stores in a particular area and I found [this](https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Arada+Center+Market,+12th+Avenue,+Seattle,+WA&hl=en&ll=47.605715,-122.316563&spn=0.007103,0.013132&sll=47.605718,-122.316649&layer=c&cid=2801892470121760365&panoid=ZhKYVb_BUrgGVEDCixKasg&cbp=13,288.83,,0,4.85&hq=Arada+Center+Market,+12th+Avenue,+Seattle,+WA&t=h&z=16&cbll=47.605721,-122.316553)tiny hole-in-the-wall, unremarkable-in-every-way shop, that takes you inside the store. This is not some charmingly rundown Seattle landmark, it’s just nothing. I’ve never seen a place like that let you look inside, and I find it really strange. ---
**Author:** ![FlightlessBird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/cdc98d/32.png) [@FlightlessBird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlightlessBird)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-maps-easter-eggs/625973/9 "2012-06-22T22:53:20Z")
If you go into street view at Legoland in CA, the little yellow guy is a lego-guy. (In the side window where you can pick which way to turn him…) ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-maps-easter-eggs/625973/10 "2012-06-22T23:00:07Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > I’m not seeing that. You have to start from Rivendell. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-maps-easter-eggs/625973/11 "2012-06-25T19:43:52Z")
> [@Blackberry](#): > > The other day I was looking for convenience stores in a particular area and I found [this](https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Arada+Center+Market,+12th+Avenue,+Seattle,+WA&hl=en&ll=47.605715,-122.316563&spn=0.007103,0.013132&sll=47.605718,-122.316649&layer=c&cid=2801892470121760365&panoid=ZhKYVb_BUrgGVEDCixKasg&cbp=13,288.83,,0,4.85&hq=Arada+Center+Market,+12th+Avenue,+Seattle,+WA&t=h&z=16&cbll=47.605721,-122.316553)tiny hole-in-the-wall, unremarkable-in-every-way shop, that takes you inside the store. This is not some charmingly rundown Seattle landmark, it’s just nothing. I’ve never seen a place like that let you look inside, and I find it really strange. That’s pretty cool! Quite by accident, I found [this](https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=41.420814,-70.601687&spn=0.000002,0.000833&hnear=Boston,+Suffolk,+Massachusetts&t=h&z=20&layer=c&cbll=41.420814,-70.601687&panoid=_Y3IabL7MmWRN9deXYIVHA&cbp=12,183.43,,0,10.14). Street level view is at night, but go in any direction and it’s daytime again. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-maps-easter-eggs/625973/12 "2012-06-27T15:22:58Z")
> [@Blackberry](#): > > The other day I was looking for convenience stores in a particular area and I found [this](https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Arada+Center+Market,+12th+Avenue,+Seattle,+WA&hl=en&ll=47.605715,-122.316563&spn=0.007103,0.013132&sll=47.605718,-122.316649&layer=c&cid=2801892470121760365&panoid=ZhKYVb_BUrgGVEDCixKasg&cbp=13,288.83,,0,4.85&hq=Arada+Center+Market,+12th+Avenue,+Seattle,+WA&t=h&z=16&cbll=47.605721,-122.316553)tiny hole-in-the-wall, unremarkable-in-every-way shop, that takes you inside the store. This is not some charmingly rundown Seattle landmark, it’s just nothing. I’ve never seen a place like that let you look inside, and I find it really strange. [Google Maps rolls out business interiors in Street View](http://venturebeat.com/2011/10/26/google-maps-interior-view/) ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-maps-easter-eggs/625973/13 "2012-06-27T18:27:00Z")
Get directions from somewhere in the US, to somewhere in Australasia (anywhere? I believe it works for destinations in Japan and Australia, anyway) and you’ll be routed via Seattle, then told to kayak across the Pacific. One that’s now gone: a few years back, I wanted to get driving directions to a place in Delaware. I glanced at the results and thought “well, it shouldn’t take THAT long 😕”. Then I figured out that there is a Newark - in Germany (Deutchland)… and “Newark, DE” was misinterpreted!! IIRC, you had to swim across the atlantic, in 30 days, which is pretty ridiculous (who can keep up 100 miles a day for a MONTH???). ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-maps-easter-eggs/625973/14 "2012-06-27T18:28:42Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > That’s pretty cool! > > Quite by accident, I found [this](https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=41.420814,-70.601687&spn=0.000002,0.000833&hnear=Boston,+Suffolk,+Massachusetts&t=h&z=20&layer=c&cbll=41.420814,-70.601687&panoid=_Y3IabL7MmWRN9deXYIVHA&cbp=12,183.43,,0,10.14). Street level view is at night, but go in any direction and it’s daytime again. I’ve had seasons change from one frame to the next, then change right back. It’s either a matter of the cross street being filmed a different time of year (and the cross-street’s images took over for that frame), or they re-recorded and missed a frame. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-maps-easter-eggs/625973/15 "2012-06-27T18:33:21Z")
OK, it’s not the _mainland_, but you can [walk with the penguins](https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=215796341273232930987.000491804ebc21f435e7a&msa=0&ll=-62.593716,-59.882827&spn=0.011694,0.052314) on an Antarctic island :). ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-maps-easter-eggs/625973/16 "2012-06-27T18:38:07Z")
Sampsonia Way, Pittsburgh staged a bunch of scenes to be captured by streetview including a marching band, marathon runners, a birdman, a medieval duel, and other things. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-maps-easter-eggs/625973/17 "2012-06-27T18:43:33Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > You have to start from Rivendell. Mine gives the “one does not simply walk into Mordor” message and starts at Rivendell Bicycle Works in Alameda but for some odd reason has Kirsten Weiss, Financial Advisor in San Mateo as the location of Mordor. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-maps-easter-eggs/625973/18 "2012-06-27T18:49:13Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > OK, it’s not the _mainland_, but you can [walk with the penguins](https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=215796341273232930987.000491804ebc21f435e7a&msa=0&ll=-62.593716,-59.882827&spn=0.011694,0.052314) on an Antarctic island :). That is very cool, thank you! ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-maps-easter-eggs/625973/19 "2012-06-27T20:05:52Z")
Not sure if this qualifies, but there used to be a gigantic [KFC logo in the middle of the desert.](https://www.google.com/search?q=kfc+logo+desert&hl=en&sa=N&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&ei=eWbrT5K-I4PW0QHw9bnoBQ&ved=0CF0QsAQ&biw=1280&bih=852) Looks like it’s not there anymore though.