viz.

Image Credit: Google

I had ten minutes to kill yesterday afternoon, and I spent them clicking around on The Guardian’s website. And while I was thinking about posting on something else today, this weird collection of images came across my screen and I thought it’d be fun to put them up. They’re a collection of images amassed by Jon Rafman of people and animals doing funny and/or stupid things when the Google Maps Street View van drove by. Some of them are really quite entertaining, and I encourage you to take a look if you haven’t seen them already. Most of the images have correct corresponding addresses and can be found in Google Earth Street View, which confirms for the weary that these things actually happened. Some of the addresses are ambiguous (e.g., “Victoria Highway, Gregory, Australia”) and it’s hard to find their corresponding images on Google Maps, which is a shame. Sometimes you wish you could move up and down a given location and discern how a given scene developed. In addition to the selections that can be found on The Guardian’s website, even more can be found on Rafman’s website here.

Image Credit: Google

Image Credit: Google

One of the things that emerged as I was viewing some photos in the collection are the marked differences between how humans and animals might respond to the Google Maps Street View van. As seen in the images above, animals almost always run away from the Google Maps street view van. (Understandable, of course, as the Street View van must be an odd sight. Rafman’s website’s header features an image of the Google Maps Street View van’s camera, and it looks like a fly-eye themed lollypop.) Humans who see the van coming often arrange their situation or friends into seemingly ironic scenes, all for good fun. This wit is notable and smart, and many instances are small works of art in their own way. They’re also a happy reminder of human consciousness.

Image Credit: Google

I’ve never been one of the lucky enough to see the Google Maps Street View van drive by, and after seeing these photos I wonder what I would do if I did. I’d probably wave. After enjoying the images posted on The Guardian I clicked over to Rafman’s website and found the image above. I found it touching that Google had blurred out the eyes of the fully veiled Muslim women. While I haven’t read enough of the Quran to have some sense of the theological justification for mandating that women cover themselves in Arab countries, blurring out these ladies eyes gave them a sense of autonomy that might otherwise be said to be threatened by their clothing. By blurring these ladies’ eyes, Google seems to be saying that even if you cover a majority of a person’s face, eyes still can speak.