If you wonder what the strangest place on our planet is, let me tell you, it’s not the Bermuda Triangle, nor even Snake Island in Brazil. It’s not even a place, but rather a virtual space that bends time and place into a somewhat distorted continuum.
That’s, of course, not how you imagine Google Maps, a web mapping platform most of us couldn’t live without. But this corner of Reddit titled “Google Maps Shenanigans” documents the weird and wonderful happenings captured around the world, proving just how full of randomly weird and crazy things this planet Earth really is.
According to the subreddit’s description, this is the community “for all of the interesting, funny, or otherwise unusual things you see on Google Maps,” so get ready for more questions than answers. And a healthy dose of laughter!
#1 My Dog Died A Few Years Ago But When I Look At Google Maps She’s Still There Chasing The Street Car
Image credits: Briannagarciaa
#2 Say Hi To Guinness
Image credits: DoctorNoname98
#3 Caught My Dog Chilling In The Main Entrance Of My House On Google Maps, It’s Been Over 1 Year Since He Passed Away
Image credits: jessiftp
The world of navigation has never been the same since Google Maps was released in 2005 and became a quintessential tool for anyone who needs to get from one place to another, offering detailed directions, real-time traffic updates, and alternative routes. Ask any traveler and they will tell you that navigating in a different country without the app on their phone would be barely possible (we’ve surely gotten too lazy to use good old paper maps!).
Meanwhile, on the internet, Google Maps has offered a whole new kind of entertainment. With people browsing deeper into the platform, they soon realized there are interesting things captured there.
#4 Caught The Google Car Driver Breaking The Law
Image credits: iamyounotme444
#5 These Streets In Nova Scotia
Image credits: HAB927
#6 Someone Just Hacked The Planet
Image credits: HollywoodAndTerds
But experts warn that Google Maps, just like Google Earth and Google Street View, may cause some privacy concerns most people are completely unaware of. Previously, we spoke with cybersecurity expert Daniel Markuson from NordVPN, who shed a light on these privacy concerns.
“Google Street View cameras are able to capture images and moments that people would like to keep private (such as protesters at an abortion clinic, people in bikinis, or other activities that are wanted to be private, even though they are visible from the public property),” he said.
#7 “Quick Guys, Get In Formation”
Image credits: deadbeatgeek
#8 Chicago Poo Police
Image credits: UsefulMetal
#9 Thank You 360 View
Image credits: The_curious_one_here
Moreover, Google Street cameras take pictures from an elevated position and are able to capture pictures over hedges that are designed to keep territories private.
While faces and car numbers are blurred automatically, and anyone can request to blur parts of the picture, it doesn’t mean people can have full privacy. “There are still many images of potential break-ins, sunbathers, and individuals entering adult bookstores that could be found online as they were republished so many times,” Markuson told us.
#10 After An Hour Of Looking Along The West Coast, I Found A Whale In The Ocean On The West Coast! (33 Feet Long)
Image credits: zfreakazoidz
#11 Boy Falling Off A Bench Found In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania!
Image credits: streetviewfails
#12 This Segway Bus
Image credits: ProfSwagometry
Markuson reminds us that “people photographed by Google Street cameras never give their consent for doing that. And this is a big privacy issue as anybody who wants to remain completely private in the digital world should have the right to do that.”
Another important thing to be aware of, Markuson argues, is that “if you enable location tracking on your Google Maps, Google will collect data about your whereabouts under its Location History section. It is being done across devices where you’re signed in with your Google account. If you’ve been keeping your location tracking on, you can see your own location history map here.”
#13 This Dog’s Blurred Butt
Image credits: michael_treder
#14 Drug Deal Caught On Google Maps
Image credits: good_loot
#15 Imagine This Moment Of Your Life Immortalized On Google Maps Forever
Image credits: Thisisfckngstupid
“Needless to say that by using Google Maps for planning routes and searching for places, you’re feeding Google with valuable information about your whereabouts which can later be used for targeting you with ads,” the cybersecurity expert said.
Moreover, Google Earth privacy issues are mostly connected to its Google Street View feature. “Many people don’t want their homes to be shown there as they see this as a breach of their privacy,” Markuson concluded.
#16 Streetview Censored This Cat For His Privacy
Image credits: eddASU
#17 At Least They Had The Decency To Censor The Legs
Image credits: i_am_shattered
#18 The Algorithm Used To Blur Faces Blurred The Statue Of Liberty
Image credits: reddit.com
#19 Just Another Night In St Petersburg Russia I Guess
Image credits: No-Cold-1679
#20 Nice Cloud In Slovakia
Image credits: TassiloBalbo
#21 Google Maps Approved My Photo For The Vet
Image credits: SexLiesAndExercise
#22 Apparently The Fastest Bus In Existence On Google Maps–Seattle To Kyrgyzstan And Back To Seattle In Only 47 Minutes
Image credits: smallteam
#23 And Stay Out!
Image credits: jordand30
#24 ? It’s Veiny Too! ?
Image credits: killingthym3
#25 Kidnapping Found In Sweden!
Image credits: streetviewfails
#26 Virgin Atlantic Photo-Bombed The Satellite Image
Image credits: Garr52
#27 In October 2017, I Got Spotted By The Google Maps Street View Car Not Once But Twice In Two Different States
Image credits: rivibird
#28 This Man In A Trash Can, Found In Some Park In Sweden
Image credits: reddit.com
#29 A Old Guy Made This For His Wife On Their Farm Without Her Knowing About It As A Celebration Of Their Life Together
Image credits: mrcooper89
#30 Found In Zambia
Image credits: penisbythebeach
#31 4 People In 4 Coloured Hazmat Suits In Norilsk, Russia. The Further On Street View You Travel The Stranger Their Actions Get, From Staring Into Walls To Checking Random Letterboxes
Image credits: oliver_rocks
#32 ¯_(ツ)_/¯
Image credits: hardstyle
#33 Spiderman On A Roof Found In Japan!
Image credits: streetviewfails
#34 Escaped Prisoner Found Near A Jail!
Image credits: streetviewfails
#35 Hrm
Image credits: DemoPlayyz
#36 16 September 2013 – I Witnessed My Crazy Tin-Foil-Hat Neighbor Scream And Threaten To Sue The Google Street Car Driver If Photos Are Taken Of His House And Demands That Google Blur It Out (They Never Did Blur It)
Image credits: AdamR91
#37 This Dog-Shaped Mountain In Antarctica
Image credits: taccobelli
#38 Google Street View Blurred Out My Horses Face
Image credits: Noahser
#39 In The Aftermath Of A Furry Convention We Get This Google Maps Treasure
Image credits: WinterWolf041
#40 Presented Without Comment
Image credits: EuhedralCrystal
#41 The Costa Concordia Cruise Ship
Image credits: l19ar
#42 A Replica Of The Eiffel Tower In Inner Mongolia China
Image credits: Lufthansa340
#43 Google Car Getting Pulled Over In The Florida Keys
Image credits: lmdrunk
#44 Don’t Talk To Me Or My Son Ever Again
Image credits: nonkeltom
#45 A Flipped Over Police Van In London
Image credits: Ivandor0
#46 What Happened To Spiderman?
Image credits: streetviewfails
#47 This Place In Austin Texas
Image credits: Godzilla_boss_300
#48 Open Beer Tossing Google Car Driver
Image credits: J_Crafty
#49 Trying To See A House For Sale In Street View
Image credits: Frigoris13
#50 Helpful
Image credits: _D00L3Y
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Author: Justinas Keturka