Photo: Google
Google Maps is clearly a super-helpful piece of technology, not only when driving, but also when walking, as it can provide accurate instructions on how to find a specific destination.
But if you don’t use it right, you could end up falling into a frozen river, as this unlucky fellow found on this weekend.
A man, whose identity wasn’t revealed because of obvious reasons, fell partially through the ice on the Mississippi River in the middle of the night. The local fire department says the crew responded to a call at approximately 3 AM, finding the man in the water after he attempted to cross the river.
By the looks of things, the guy was just trying to go back to his hotel and used Google Maps for instructions to find the address because he was from out of town. Only that Google Maps told him to cross the river, he says, and this exactly what he did, so Google is apparently at fault for the cold swimming adventure at 3 AM.
But on the other hand, there’s a very good chance Google Maps didn’t actually direct the man over the Mississippi River. Instead, and this is the version also confirmed by the rescuers, it’s very possible Google Maps actually told him to cross the Stone Arch Bridge that would have allowed him to reach the hotel on foot and not by swimming.
Most likely, the man just got the navigation instructions wrong and tried to walk across the river. The good thing is that he’s fine now after being transferred to the hospital with mild hypothermia.
While the chances are Google Maps actually provided the correct instructions here, navigation apps sometime send people to the wrong destination. A few weeks ago, the Google-owned Waze live traffic navigation app directed drivers to the middle of nowhere instead of an Atlantic City resort due to what appeared to be wrong coordinates configured for an ad.
A man, whose identity wasn’t revealed because of obvious reasons, fell partially through the ice on the Mississippi River in the middle of the night. The local fire department says the crew responded to a call at approximately 3 AM, finding the man in the water after he attempted to cross the river.
By the looks of things, the guy was just trying to go back to his hotel and used Google Maps for instructions to find the address because he was from out of town. Only that Google Maps told him to cross the river, he says, and this exactly what he did, so Google is apparently at fault for the cold swimming adventure at 3 AM.
But on the other hand, there’s a very good chance Google Maps didn’t actually direct the man over the Mississippi River. Instead, and this is the version also confirmed by the rescuers, it’s very possible Google Maps actually told him to cross the Stone Arch Bridge that would have allowed him to reach the hotel on foot and not by swimming.
Most likely, the man just got the navigation instructions wrong and tried to walk across the river. The good thing is that he’s fine now after being transferred to the hospital with mild hypothermia.
While the chances are Google Maps actually provided the correct instructions here, navigation apps sometime send people to the wrong destination. A few weeks ago, the Google-owned Waze live traffic navigation app directed drivers to the middle of nowhere instead of an Atlantic City resort due to what appeared to be wrong coordinates configured for an ad.
Google News