# Google's New Toy **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 5, 2005, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/googles-new-toy/297883 "2005-04-05T18:51:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Telperien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Telperien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperien)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/googles-new-toy/297883/41 "2005-04-06T05:08:18Z")
I found my university and located the building I live in with too much trouble. My hometown was more difficult. I think I found the high school but that’s about it. ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/googles-new-toy/297883/42 "2005-04-06T05:40:01Z")
> [@Agrippina](#): > > It’s odd they would have those locations blurred when it shows [Area 51 just fine](http://maps.google.com/maps?q=rachel,nevada&ll=37.238503,-115.809288&spn=0.043516,0.063343&t=k&hl=en). Never heard of Rachel Nevada , I typed it in as groom lake and nothing showed up , lol. Declan ---
**Author:** ![Agrippina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8797f3/32.png) [@Agrippina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agrippina)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/googles-new-toy/297883/43 "2005-04-06T14:04:16Z")
> [@Declan](#): > > Never heard of Rachel Nevada , I typed it in as groom lake and nothing showed up , lol. > > Declan Rachel, Nevada is one of the closest towns to Area 51, as is Alamo, Nevada. It takes a bit of searching to find Groom Lake., but it’s west of Rachel and Alamo. [Here’s the Little a’Le Inn](http://maps.google.com/maps?q=nevada+test+site&ll=37.389221,-115.718994&sll=37.226830,-115.789375&spn=0.696259,1.013489&sspn=0.174065,0.253372&t=k&hl=en), the place that cashes in because they’re close to Area 51. ---
**Author:** ![FlyingDragonFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c89c15/32.png) [@FlyingDragonFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingDragonFan)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/googles-new-toy/297883/44 "2005-04-06T16:26:44Z")
They got my place dead on. Is there any way to get rid of that red pointer thing, it’s actually sitting on top of my house? ---
**Author:** ![av8rmike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/edb3f5/32.png) [@av8rmike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/av8rmike)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/googles-new-toy/297883/45 "2005-04-06T16:56:15Z")
> [@Agrippina](#): > > It’s odd they would have those locations blurred when it shows [Area 51 just fine](http://maps.google.com/maps?q=rachel,nevada&ll=37.238503,-115.809288&spn=0.043516,0.063343&t=k&hl=en). Oh yeah? Then pan north a few times and tell me what [these strange green things](http://maps.google.com/maps?q=rachel,nevada&ll=37.641907,-115.835724&spn=0.152435,0.181618&t=k&hl=en) are? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/googles-new-toy/297883/46 "2005-04-06T17:07:34Z")
How about going to [Disney World](http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Orlando,Florida&ll=28.365967,-81.558748&spn=0.040340,0.048666&t=k&hl=en)? ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/googles-new-toy/297883/47 "2005-04-06T17:21:06Z")
> [@av8rmike](#): > > Oh yeah? Then pan north a few times and tell me what [these strange green things](http://maps.google.com/maps?q=rachel,nevada&ll=37.641907,-115.835724&spn=0.152435,0.181618&t=k&hl=en) are? :eek: They look like irrigated fields to me, with the water coming through a pipe that revolves on wheels around a central point. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/googles-new-toy/297883/48 "2005-04-06T17:24:23Z")
Using it to get directions is very nice, also. They give you a list of the turns, and you can highlight the items on the list, and a “pop up” will appear on the map. You can also zoom on the pop-up, or overlay the satellite with the route still printed on it. ALSO, the directions auto-complete your previous searches. Yeah, you may say, mapquest did that too. Except it didn’t. The “recent searches” for some reason NEVER had my recent searches in it. As someone else mentioned, having one edit box for the whole address is very nice, too. ---
**Author:** ![av8rmike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/edb3f5/32.png) [@av8rmike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/av8rmike)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/googles-new-toy/297883/49 "2005-04-06T18:30:55Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > They look like irrigated fields to me, with the water coming through a pipe that revolves on wheels around a central point. For what, though? The world’s most uninteresting 19 3/4-hole golf course? I mean, come _on_, your mundane theory is so much less interesting than my alien-corn-cultivation field theory. :rolleyes: 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/googles-new-toy/297883/50 "2005-04-06T18:40:11Z")
> [@](#): > > You’re not impressed that you find an actual satellite picture, or map, of any address in the US in about 5 seconds. . .even if in some cases it’s a whopping 2.5 blocks off? Well, as noted previously, Mapquest had the same feature for about a year and I never found their address pins off by more than about 100 meters–and ore frequently they were dead on, so it would have been nice if this was as accurate as a previously produced function. Still, since Mapquest dropped the feature, it’s nice to have it back. I use Microsoft Terraserver, but it is also nice to have slightly more recent photos in color to contrast against the Terraserver offerings. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/googles-new-toy/297883/51 "2005-04-06T18:53:43Z")
[Golder Gate Bridge](http://maps.google.com/maps?q=california&ll=37.819662,-122.477281&sll=30.393376,-97.907453&spn=0.015299,0.018260&sspn=0.489578,0.584335&t=k&hl=en) [Tombs of the Unknown Soldiers](http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=38.875980,-77.073287&spn=0.015299,0.018260&t=k&hl=en) [World Trade Center Site](http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=40.710354,-74.010955&spn=0.007650,0.009130&t=k&hl=en) ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/googles-new-toy/297883/52 "2005-04-06T20:24:00Z")
[This place](http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=30.101509,-97.140770&spn=0.244789,0.292168&t=k&hl=en) really wanted to put themselves on the map, literally. If you don’t see it right away, try the zoom level tick sixth from the top. I wonder if you can see this from space? ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/googles-new-toy/297883/53 "2005-04-06T22:00:42Z")
> [@UncleRojelio](#): > > [This place](http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=30.101509,-97.140770&spn=0.244789,0.292168&t=k&hl=en) really wanted to put themselves on the map, literally. Of all the places someone could chhose, how did you come up with the exact place I was searching for yesterday? I’ve seen it many times flyimg from Houston to Austin, but I’ve always wondered if I was hallucinating. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/googles-new-toy/297883/54 "2005-04-06T22:10:14Z")
> [@UncleRojelio](#): > > I wonder if you can see this from space? [Yes, it can](http://earth.jsc.nasa.gov/newsletter/SpatialRes/default5.htm) (see the final paragraph. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/googles-new-toy/297883/55 "2005-04-07T00:55:02Z")
> [@Little Nemo](#): > > How about going to [Disney World](http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Orlando,Florida&ll=28.365967,-81.558748&spn=0.040340,0.048666&t=k&hl=en)? Spaceship Earth (the EPCOT Center ball) looks rather flat up close, but that makes sense when you consider it is a geodesic dome and not a true sphere. [Disney World’s Magic Kingdom](http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Orlando,Florida&ll=28.418938,-81.581522&spn=0.004689,0.007693&t=k&hl=en). Main Street USA is towards the south, with Fantasyland at north compass direction. Cinderella’s castle appears to be the small blob north of the circle with four bushes. ---
**Author:** ![SanibelMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@SanibelMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanibelMan)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/googles-new-toy/297883/56 "2005-04-07T01:13:13Z")
Is anyone else having trouble with the satellite feature today? I’m only getting fragments - one or two of the nine photos that make up the image will load, and after I move it around a bit, everything comes up with a question mark. I’ve been using Macs in two different locations today, with Safari and Firefox on both, and I’ve had the same problem on both. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/googles-new-toy/297883/57 "2005-04-07T13:40:04Z")
> [@Tapioca Dextrin](#): > > Of all the places someone could chhose, how did you come up with the exact place I was searching for yesterday? I was checking to see if Google Maps accepted lat/lon coords and just typed in my own, guessing at the first decimal digit. This is what popped up on the screen. It was a little Twilight Zone moment for me. At first I figured it was some type of cartographer watermark. Thanks for the link explaining it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/googles-new-toy/297883.md?page=2)