# WTF with this Google Map? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 24, 2011, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-with-this-google-map/579552 "2011-04-24T12:34:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2011, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-with-this-google-map/579552/1 "2011-04-24T12:34:20Z")
[Melbourne Zoo](http://maps.google.com.au/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=melbourne+zoo&daddr=Melbourne+Zoo,+Elliott+Avenue,+Parkville+VIC+3052+VIC&geocode=FaVwv_0doM-jCCFN-1CwjYZEaA%3B&gl=au&hl=en&mra=ls&sll=-37.785843,144.953227&sspn=0.021978,0.043087&ie=UTF8&ll=-37.784859,144.955373&spn=0.021978,0.043087&z=15) Hoping that the wierdness is seen by other people and isn’t just something cached on my computer… ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2011, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-with-this-google-map/579552/2 "2011-04-24T12:38:38Z")
I get a map of all of Australia. Does that mean the whole country is the Melbourne Zoo. That would be strange. ---
**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:** [April 24, 2011, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-with-this-google-map/579552/3 "2011-04-24T12:41:33Z")
Apparently the Melbourne Zoo has been invaded by Rooskies. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2011, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-with-this-google-map/579552/4 "2011-04-24T12:42:12Z")
I suspect you mean the Greek alphabet. Oh, you’re right, it is Russian. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2011, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-with-this-google-map/579552/5 "2011-04-24T12:44:11Z")
I get a bit of Melbourne, and a question about alternative points of origin as “I’m” apparently trying to get directions from Melbourne Zoo to Melbourne Zoo. Weirdness not so much. ETA: My bad, I also get Melbourne Zoo in cyrillic. ---
**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:** [April 24, 2011, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-with-this-google-map/579552/6 "2011-04-24T12:45:57Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > I suspect you mean the Greek alphabet. > > Oh, you’re right, it is Russian. It’s all greek to me. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2011, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-with-this-google-map/579552/7 "2011-04-24T12:52:39Z")
> [@naita](#): > > I get a bit of Melbourne, and a question about alternative points of origin as “I’m” apparently trying to get directions from Melbourne Zoo to Melbourne Zoo. Weirdness not so much. > > ETA: My bad, I also get Melbourne Zoo in cyrillic. Ooooooh. Got it. I can barely see the text, as every time I zoom in on it, it goes back to the same size. It’s the size of the smallfonts on here, but with weird text decorations. It’s probably my tiny monitor and its 800x600 resolution ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2011, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-with-this-google-map/579552/8 "2011-04-24T12:53:40Z")
Yeah, the “melbourne zoo to melbourne zoo” thing was me trying to make sure that the bit I was interested in was in the picture. It’s the Russian invasion I was wondering about. Is this maybe an anti-plagiarism “deliberate mistake” thing? It’s in a bit of an obvious place if so… ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2011, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-with-this-google-map/579552/9 "2011-04-24T14:00:34Z")
It took me a minute to see it, but yea i see right next to the A droplet it’s in Cyrillic. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2011, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-with-this-google-map/579552/10 "2011-04-24T15:19:41Z")
Melbyrinskij Zoopark… Seriously weird… ---
**Author:** ![Triskadecamus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@Triskadecamus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Triskadecamus)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2011, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-with-this-google-map/579552/11 "2011-04-24T16:51:13Z")
So, you guys got Russian animals in your zoo? Cool. Tris ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2011, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-with-this-google-map/579552/12 "2011-04-24T17:10:52Z")
Obviously, they were invaded and forgot to tell anyone. ---
**Author:** ![Twoflower](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/twoflower/32/22_2.png) [@Twoflower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Twoflower)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2011, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-with-this-google-map/579552/13 "2011-04-24T17:44:24Z")
Copyright trap, maybe? ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2011, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-with-this-google-map/579552/14 "2011-04-24T17:50:10Z")
That’s from the Ur where the Soviets won the cold war. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2011, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-with-this-google-map/579552/15 "2011-04-24T23:56:54Z")
Copyright traps are pretty much an urban legend. Something has just gotten into the wrong field of a database, and the map tiles were rendered with the wrong label. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-with-this-google-map/579552/16 "2011-04-25T00:27:49Z")
> [@Mr\_Downtown](#): > > Copyright traps are pretty much an urban legend. Something has just gotten into the wrong field of a database, and the map tiles were rendered with the wrong label. Cecil seems to disagree with you about copyright traps. > **[Do maps have “copyright traps” to permit detection of unauthorized copies?](https://www.straightdope.com/21342198/do-maps-have-copyright-traps-to-permit-detection-of-unauthorized-copies)** I do, however, agree with you that this instance is unlikely to be one. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-with-this-google-map/579552/17 "2011-04-25T02:46:48Z")
State Netball and Hockey Centre? Seriously? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-with-this-google-map/579552/18 "2011-04-25T04:19:57Z")
Cecil’s column about copyright traps was written before the 1991 _Feist_ decision made them pointless in the US. I am one of the persons quoted in the column. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-with-this-google-map/579552/19 "2011-04-25T04:45:41Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > State Netball and Hockey Centre? Seriously? 😃 Why not? That’s field hockey, by the way. And you may not know what netball is. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-with-this-google-map/579552/20 "2011-04-25T05:40:12Z")
> [@Triskadecamus](#): > > So, you guys got Russian animals in your zoo? > > Cool. > > Tris It’s where they’re hiding the Тасманский волк from the other thread! 😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-with-this-google-map/579552.md?page=2)