Google Maps Updated With Skyfall Island Japan Terrain

MojoKid writes "The latest in the Bond film series, Skyfall, was certainly one to remember. And not all of those memories were pleasant. The head villain's island lair was a particularly spooky place. The decaying wasteland depicted in the film was a shadow of Hashima off the coast of Nagasaki Prefecture in Japan. Due to its unique flat shape, the island is most widely known in Japan by its nickname Gunkanjima — aka 'Battleship Island.' In some circles, it's called 'Dead Island.' Google actually sent an employee to the island with a Street View backpack in order to capture its condition and a panoramic view for all to see in 360 degrees. You can take a virtual walk across the island now, and Google also used its Business Photos technology to let you peek into the abandoned buildings, complete with ancient black-and-white TVs and discarded soda bottles."

Comments

40 years

[ArcadeMan]

All it took was 40 years to transform a modern island into something that looks like Mayan ruins. If something ever happens to humanity, in only a century or two we'll have been erased from history.

Re:40 years

[Megahard]

The Life After People series covers this in detail. They use Battleship Island in one episode as an example and reference point.

Re:I wonder

[ArcadeMan]

At least he wasn't wearing a red shirt.

Actual Google Maps link

[Jeeeb]

TFA doesn't seem to provide a link to the actual location on Google Maps.
So here it is: http://goo.gl/maps/56fXN

A puzzle for you

[Okian Warrior]

Here's a thought problem for you.

Modern humans descended from ape-like creatures on the order of 3 million years ago. Bonobos are further back on the evolutionary scale, call it 5 million years before they become intelligent (massive guesstimate).

Suppose we leave the planet. Would the Bonobos be able to determine that another intelligent species came before them? I can think of no place on the planet that wouldn't wear down and wash away the signs of our civilization.

Suppose we leave the planet, but would like to leave a message. Where should we put it, and in what form? I can think of no place on the planet that would be safe from erosion, and any satellite orbit would decay long before 5 million years had passed. (LAGEOS 1 was predicted to remain in orbit for 8.4 million years, but may only last a couple of hundred thousand years.)

Now consider the reverse. Suppose there was an intelligent species on Earth before us. Where could we look for evidence? If they left a message for us; assuming that they want it found, where would it be?

Re:A puzzle for you

[soundhack]

Any sci fi (syfy?) person can answer your questions. Bury a stargate either in egypt or in the antarctic.

Re:A puzzle for you

[danlip]

There are plenty of fossils from 100 million years ago. Those represent just the tiny percentage of animals that got accidentally buried somehow. We bury our dead on purpose, often with jewelry and in caskets that have metal parts, etc., embalmed, and all lined up in neat rows. I would think there would be plenty of evidence, even in 100 million years. Plus we generate an enormous quantity of artifacts, many of which are at least as durable as bone, and most of which end up in landfills, which is pretty ideal for preservation. The buildings will collapse pretty quickly, but much else will remain. Interestingly the pyramids will probably be around long after most modern buildings, since they are pretty much solid stone and in the desert.

Re:A puzzle for you

[peragrin]

exactly sure the moon takes regular hits but not that regular.

you leave an odd shaped structure on the moon, with a reinforced center with whatever data you wish to preserve.

The real reason we haven't been back is because we found the message left to us by the atlantian's that said don't go into space it is expensive.

I wish they do this next

[soundhack]

North Brother Island

I see they have some pictures of spot locations, but a full street view walk around would be nice.

Somehow I found pics of this abandoned area creepier, even before I found at it was the place Typhoid Mary was locked up.

Bonobos are stupid

[rve]

Bonobos are further back on the evolutionary scale, call it 5 million years before they become intelligent (massive guesstimate).

Is a Bobobo a primitive human any more than a fish is a primitive frog? Apes are as highly evolved as we are, just in a differrent direction. Why would they become intelligent? Would a bigger brain make them better at mating while dangling from a branch? Life on Earth thrived for about 3 billion years before we came along, and unless everything else is exterminated, we're unlikely to be evolution's endpoint.