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Google Suggests You Swim Across The Atlantic Ocean

consumerist.com — Google, either encouraging physical fitness or zero population growth, offers the above helpful suggestion when mapping the route from Chicago to London.

Who dugg this? Made popular Mar 29, 2007

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  • R34C7, on 10/12/2007, -2/+542It is nice to see that the google programmers/google execs have a healthy sense of humor.
  • raptordrew, on 10/12/2007, -7/+241Who's up for it? $5 to the first person.
  • Akaji, on 10/12/2007, -14/+203hate people who sign their digg posts

    akaji
  • dirtyharry, on 10/12/2007, -4/+176@ raptordrew

    I was going to say I'd throw down $10 more, but it looks like you already owe someone money.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Lecomte
  • triscuitbiscuit, on 10/12/2007, -7/+146This is so weird. I was just playing around with google today and we were seeing if we could find directions to cities in Mexico (which by the way did not work). Then in a playful manner I type "London, England" and it loads. I look at the directions thinking that it might say "Take a Plane" or "Take a Boat", etc., but I see "Swim".
    Then I log onto the consumerist and see that it is there. Weird.

    As a sidenote, it seems to work with a lot of Europe/Russia (does not work with China though).
  • Wonkanobi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+106Won't your directions get all wet?
  • conna, on 10/12/2007, -2/+101It's because they are going to introduce ads on the sides of fish.
  • jaymzx, on 10/12/2007, -1/+80Reminds me of another slice of Google humor:

    http://moon.google.com

    Zoom in as much as you can :)
  • MDrake, on 10/12/2007, -4/+78In other news: Man dies while trying to swim across the Atlantic.
  • alexgg, on 10/12/2007, -5/+78Sorry for comment hijacking but after 2 blogspam, here it is: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&saddr=Chicago,+IL&daddr=London,+UK&sll=48.458352,-37.792969&sspn=55.705336,119.53125&ie=UTF8&z=3&ll=46.437857,-42.890625&spn=57.543604,119.53125&om=1&layer=t
  • Idrive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+73Not if you have google on the cell and put it in a plastic bag.

    Google is everywhere...even underwater.

  • irregardless, on 10/12/2007, -2/+69But why does it send us to France first? Certainly, it's easier to swim to England's west coast.
  • gaiden2k5, on 10/12/2007, -0/+53I just love how they understated the ' . . . ' during the swimming process LOL
  • djphatjive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+49Good job Google! Make me laugh my ass off in my cubicle!
  • arcooke, on 10/12/2007, -2/+47Haha.. it even figures in how long it should take to swim across the ocean.

    4,703 mi (about 29 days 22 hours)

    Thats only about a 48-60 hour trip by car (if there were no ocean).
  • dethsesh, on 10/12/2007, -1/+46atleast there wont be any traffic
  • airwalkery2k, on 10/12/2007, -0/+43Hey. As long as you are going through all the trouble to swim to London, you may as well take the scenic route through France.
  • jdrama418, on 10/12/2007, -3/+45Chuck Norris swims it in one breath.
  • conna, on 10/12/2007, -2/+38Some California lawyer will jump all over this.
  • subscriber, on 10/12/2007, -0/+36@uggidi "Why else would they ask you to swim?"

    They are serious about cutting down on global warming.
  • Tochi, on 10/12/2007, -2/+33"about 29 days 22 hours"

    Maybe if I was Aquaman...
  • interiot, on 10/12/2007, -1/+29Though, to be fair, it thinks you mean "Pluto, West Virginia", and unfortunately doesn't actually include any instructions like "achieve escape velocity" or "take a rocket". http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&saddr=Chicago,+IL&daddr=Pluto&sll=43.711564,-72.366943&sspn=1.51873,4.328613&ie=UTF8&z=7&ll=40.094882,-84.770508&spn=6.427915,17.314453&om=1&layer=t
  • Prod1gy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+27Yes google, just like the lemmings.
  • TheLoneWolf071, on 10/12/2007, -1/+27Me:Hey We're going on a road Trip from Texas.
    Friend:To Where?
    Me:England, wanna come?
    Friend:What do we do when we hit the atlantic ocean?
    Me:Roll Up The Windows, Duh!
  • gregduh, on 10/12/2007, -1/+26or jack thompson will claim that someone got the idea after using the infinite oxygen cheat in san andreas
  • lagrange, on 10/12/2007, -6/+30The correct answer would have been to drive across Europe, then Russia, then and drive via ice bridge from eastern Russia to Alaska via the bearing straits, then follow the US and Canadian highways to your destination.
  • Biggindude, on 10/12/2007, -4/+27Someone will probably try it, then their family will sue when they drown.
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+23i like how it minimizes the swimming distance, and lets you start at an aquarium
    (ignoring the bering strait swim possibility)
  • notjamt9000, on 10/12/2007, -0/+22Swim across the Atlantic Ocean: 5,572 km 29 days
  • koick, on 10/12/2007, -0/+20@irregardless & airwalkery2k:
    Well, after going that far, you just *got* to see the chunnel!
  • noahhoward, on 10/12/2007, -6/+23Whats awesome is that it even directs you to the (apparently) most effective crossing point. It took me up the coast aways before crossing between New Jersey and Bristol. I'm going to save money on my next visit to my family.
  • interiot, on 10/12/2007, -0/+16That's an average of 5mph, swimming 24 hours a day, 7 days a week... a bit optimistic, don't you think?
  • noahhoward, on 10/12/2007, -0/+13I think I get why it sends you to France first is symbolic of the route that Lecomte actually swam. Th article linked from Wikipedia says he left from Massachusets but it says he landed at Le Havre when the article says he landed at Quiberon.
  • xoon, on 10/12/2007, -0/+13I googled "how to swim across the atlantic ocean" and got this:

    "Possibly the greatest triumph of endurance is Benoit Lecomte swimming across the Atlantic ocean."
    http://www.didyouknow.cd/aroundtheworld/swimming.htm
  • IMustBeEmo, on 10/12/2007, -3/+14It doesn't suggest you dig to China. =[ those sick, lying cartoons!
  • liquidcoooled, on 10/12/2007, -0/+11@ irregardless
    It seems to land you in France for most of Europe.
    I just tried it with places in Portugal/Spain and Germany, the landing was always same place in France, presumably, the closest data point it has after a swim.
    It cannot send you across possible rocks and across a beach because it doesn't know the route and it wouldn't want you getting lost.
  • saritate, on 10/12/2007, -0/+11Speed limit of the Atlantic Ocean: 5 mph
  • kitwaites, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9To be honest, I'd think you'd have more of a problem at step 37, where it suggests taking a "slight right" and plunging into the English Channel.
  • koick, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9linky:
    http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&saddr=%22Dutch+Harbor,+AK%22+&daddr=%22Moscow,+Russia%22&sll=46.437857,-42.890625&sspn=80.314804,208.125&ie=UTF8&om=1&z=3
  • Jo9100, on 10/12/2007, -4/+13you arent the poster... dugg you
  • hokiefantony, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10i heard that is Michael Phelps daily trek to work.
  • SoCalDissident, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8I want to know more about this "electronic forcefield" that protected him...? I'm thinking it was something to keep things like sharks (with or without laserbeams) away?
  • marnaq, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9liquidcoooled, have faith in dijkstra's algorithm.
  • hooksie, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8Yeah, you just try beating Google's lawyers.
  • Cyber_Akuma, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7With all the news stories about people driving into flooded roads and nearly off cliffs because their GPS said so, I'm hoping I won't find any recent stories about people that killed themselves trying to swim from the US to London.
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9Don't apologize for linking to the content and bypassing the friggin blogspam. I always look in the comments first for the direct link and then bury the blog.
  • expert01, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Dammit, tried to bury you, but I hit the wrong button. Quit your damn whining.
  • ringo380, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6I would care if the consumerist's articles weren't actually interesting.
  • daveyt, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Hmm, thats not a bad route into london. I would have taken that right into Kennington road and crossed Westminster bridge. Slightly better view of Big Ben that way for the whole 'Londony' thing. At least they didnt make you swim the Thames. The Atlantic? Pretty tough. The Thames? No thanks mister.

    Also who knew that 'London' meant 'Houses of Parliament'? I always thought the 'centre' was Trafalgar Square. Thats the 'official' measuring point for all the signs in to london that say "x miles to london".

    nodnol 861 selim.
  • noahhoward, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Went there, looked at it, your claim is *****. The only similarity is a sscreencap of the maps. The 'article' is some random ranting about Bush and Blair, kindly bugger off.
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