Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Null Island: The Land of Lousy Directional Data (vice.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the bad-requests dept.

An anonymous reader writes: Null Island is one of the world's most visited places for directional data that doesn't exist in real life. The Wall Street Journal reports (Warning: source may be paywalled): "In the world of geographic information systems, the island is an apparition that serves a practical purpose. It lies at 'zero-zero,' a mapper's shorthand for zero degrees latitude and zero degrees longitude. By a programming quirk introduced by developers, those are the default coordinates where Google maps and other digital Global Positioning System applications are directed to send the millions of users who make mistakes in their searches. [About seven years ago, Mr. Kelso, who had heard the phrase used by other cartographers, encoded Null Island as the default destination for mistakes into a widely used public-domain digital-mapping data set called Natural Earth, which has been downloaded several million times. On a whim, he made the location at zero-zero appear as a tiny outcrop one-meter square. In no time at all, other mappers gave the 'island' its own natural geography, created a website, and designed T-shirts and a national flag.]" If you're feeling cognitively lazy, you can watch the short animated YouTube video explaining Null Island.

91 comments

  1. Black Lives Matter by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    This is a peaceful demonstration. Mod this up if you support equal rights and care about black lives. Modding this down is discriminatory and supports police killings of unarmed black people.

    #BlackLivesMatter

    1. Re:Black Lives Matter by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

      You are pathetic if you think typing on a keyboard makes you some kind of progressive.
      What is wrong with you Millennials? You can't do anything right. Useless little shits.

    2. Re:Black Lives Matter by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Modding this down is discriminatory and supports police killings of unarmed black people.

      I believe you're mistaken. Modding a comment down can mean multiple things. The most common of which, on a site like this, would be topicality. The BlackLivesMatter movement isn't relevant to a story about GIS and GPS technology and oddities. Most would agree black lives do matter -- just like anyone's else's -- but find it hard to show support for the movement if it's appearing in places that it's not relevant.

      Posting a comment on the Web isn't a demonstration. It takes little effort. In fact you probably copied and pasted that text from somewhere. That's slacktivism. A demonstration would be actively increasing awareness (through more than a few sentences) and using creative and inspiring ways to share facts with the world. For better or worse, cultures react better to things that actively appeal to them and appease their values. They also react more to action over word. Showing evidence/facts, shedding light on policies or laws that allow it to happen, and constructive suggestions on fixing it are proactive measures you can take to share a persuasive message.

      Despite over-adjective-ing that last sentence, I hope I've explained why a 10-second comment on a story that has nothing to do with black people is not going to be well-received.

    3. Re:Black Lives Matter by Opportunist · · Score: 0

      You know, half a century ago, people would've hit the streets in the thousands. Remember MLK? Malcolm X?

      Today, they can't even get their ass out of their chair if they want to protest. Get your ass out into the streets where people can SEE your protest. On here on the internet you're just another bozo snorting some random bullshit onto some random board to a random topic that doesn't have anything to do with what you wish to protest again (or for).

      And you really wonder why nobody takes you serious?

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    4. Re:Black Lives Matter by wardrich86 · · Score: 2

      On the internet, nobody is a race. I support relevant comments.

    5. Re:Black Lives Matter by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 1

      This is a peaceful demonstration. Mod this up if you support equal rights and care about black lives. Modding this down is discriminatory and supports police killings of unarmed black people.

      #BlackLivesMatter

      But what about rising Japanese steel imports? Or the fact that the most common street sign in America is the '35 MPH" sign?

      Can we discuss those completely off-topic things too?

      --
      Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
    6. Re:Black Lives Matter by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Most pathetic attempt at trolling ever. Advice: get out of whatever shitservice has you trolling as fast as you can, or die trying.

    7. Re:Black Lives Matter by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You know, half a century ago, people would've hit the streets in the thousands. Remember MLK? Malcolm X?

      Today, they can't even get their ass out of their chair if they want to protest. Get your ass out into the streets where people can SEE your protest. On here on the internet you're just another bozo snorting some random bullshit onto some random board to a random topic that doesn't have anything to do with what you wish to protest again (or for).

      And you really wonder why nobody takes you serious?

      Sometimes they do but lately there is a tendency to do things that hurt perception of the movement more than help. Like blocking the roads and highways, which happened in California and happened a few times (recently again) in Chicago. All that does it PISS OFF the people trying to get home from work and does nothing to make them sympathetic to your cause.

    8. Re:Black Lives Matter by kheldan · · Score: 1

      This is a peaceful demonstration. Mod this up if you support equal rights and care about ALL lives of ANY race, color, creed, age, gender, or sexual orientation. Modding this down is discriminatory and supports racism, bigotry, willful ignornance, and intolerance in general.

      #AllLivesMatter

      --
      Are YOU using the TOOL, or is the TOOL using YOU? Think about it!
    9. Re:Black Lives Matter by samwichse · · Score: 1

      You realize that you've probably been trolled, right? The last sentence seems pretty much designed to raise negative sentiment about BLM.

    10. Re:Black Lives Matter by samwichse · · Score: 1

      Come to think of it, I haven't seen any GNAA posts today.

      They are probably working this lovely new angle.

    11. Re:Black Lives Matter by AK+Marc · · Score: 1

      Mod this up if you support equal rights and care about ALL lives of ANY race, color, creed, age, gender, or sexual orientation.

      That's BLM. Why is that so hard for the deliberately obtuse to understand?

      --
      Learn to love Alaska
    12. Re:Black Lives Matter by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, I knew it could've been bait, but on the off-chance they were serious... Sometimes perspective helps people.

    13. Re:Black Lives Matter by kheldan · · Score: 1

      I'm not sure I understand what point you're trying to make. Mine is fairly obvious: While 'black lives matter', so do everyone else's, too. Getting shot by cops because you're black is very, very bad, but so is getting your head cut off by some violent assholes, or getting shot up while you're out at a club, or run down by some lunatic in a truck while you're watching fireworks. Blacks here in America don't have a corner on the unfairness and suffering market, it's all over the place, and I'm beyond weary of it all.

      --
      Are YOU using the TOOL, or is the TOOL using YOU? Think about it!
    14. Re:Black Lives Matter by AK+Marc · · Score: 0

      While 'black lives matter', so do everyone else's, too.

      And that's exactly what BLM means. Black lives matter too. It's only the racists full of hate who can see it only as "black lives matter [more|only]". BLM is the first ALM movement. They just noticed that while all lives matter, the treatment was not equal. If you called 911 with your house on fire and the fire department showed up and started spraying down the houses around yours, but didn't try to put your fire out, if you said "my house is on fire" to one of them, would you think "all houses matter" is an appropriate response?

      All lives matter. BLM recognizes that. BLM is making the racists angry by pointing to the burning house everyone is trying to ignore.

      How can all lives matter if Black lives don't matter?

      Blacks here in America don't have a corner on the unfairness and suffering market, it's all over the place, and I'm beyond weary of it all.

      So innocent black people should get gunned down by the police on your street because you are weary of world violence?

      --
      Learn to love Alaska
    15. Re:Black Lives Matter by kheldan · · Score: 1

      So innocent black people should get gunned down by the police on your street because you are weary of world violence?

      Ah, I see what your point is now: Your point is to be a piece of shit troll and stir things up. Fuck the fuck off and stop attaching other shit to what I had to say. Asshole. Don't bother responding I have nothing more to say to you.

      --
      Are YOU using the TOOL, or is the TOOL using YOU? Think about it!
    16. Re:Black Lives Matter by AK+Marc · · Score: 0

      How can all lives matter if Black lives don't matter?

      Fuck the fuck off and stop attaching other shit to what I had to say.

      I didn't attach anything to what you said. I just challenged your racists comments, and pissed you off.

      --
      Learn to love Alaska
    17. Re: Black Lives Matter by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Project much?

    18. Re: Black Lives Matter by psycheitout · · Score: 0

      Oh so by that logic I guess terrorism, women's rights and the war of 1812 don't matter to you either. Just because they " don't have anything to do with programming anomalies in gps systems" how narrow minded of you

    19. Re:Black Lives Matter by Coren22 · · Score: 1

      Perhaps the tie in to the story is the location of 0,0 on the globe...it is off of Africa after all.

      --
      APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
  2. It has oil, I heard. by houghi · · Score: 4, Funny

    I don't want to start a war here, but I heard it has a lot of oil.

    --
    Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
    1. Re:It has oil, I heard. by Big+Hairy+Ian · · Score: 3, Funny

      Null Island? That's exceptional or at least it should throw one!

      --

      Build a Man a Fire, and He'll Be Warm for a Day. Set a Man on Fire, and He'll Be Warm for the Rest of His Life.

    2. Re:It has oil, I heard. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Snake oil?

    3. Re:It has oil, I heard. by george929a · · Score: 2

      China will be there soon to make the island a reality and claim it as it's sovereign territory.

    4. Re:It has oil, I heard. by Pascoea · · Score: 1

      but I heard it has a lot of oil.

      Sounds like they need some Freedom(TM)

    5. Re:It has oil, I heard. by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      And nobody should say anything about them not showing up on any export statistics. HELLO! They don't IMPORT a single drop of oil, and as everyone knows today, nobody, but NOBODY can live without oil. So if they don't import any oil, what does that tell us, huh?

      That can ONLY mean that they have oil and the only reason they don't show up on export statistics is that they deal the black gold on the black market, and there is only one group of people who have to resort to this. We can see it happen in the middle east now where the areas held by ISIS prop themselves up by clandestine oil exports to unscrupulous nations that buy from them.

      Face it, people, it's plain to see: Null Island is a terrorist nation. Let's bomb them off the map!

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    6. Re:It has oil, I heard. by GameboyRMH · · Score: 1

      A common misconception. It has one large geological formation that may appear similar to a massive oil deposit but there is no oil inside, it's simply an apparently bottomless cavern. The locals (who call it "dhev-noll") have been dumping their refuse in the hole for years and even their sewage system drains into it, yet it shows no signs of filling. The old joke is that it's "always hungry." It might me more interesting for use as a nuclear waste disposal site.

      --
      "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
    7. Re:It has oil, I heard. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      oil? who cares. they have POKEMONS

    8. Re:It has oil, I heard. by operagost · · Score: 1

      Too late. North Korea has already claimed it for the Supreme Leader. They keep their ICBMs, flying cars, and mutant superheroes there.

      --

      Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
    9. Re:It has oil, I heard. by UnknownSoldier · · Score: 1

      Is that all you can do -- is try to make lame jokes?

    10. Re:It has oil, I heard. by cdrudge · · Score: 0

      So if they don't import any oil, what does that tell us, huh?

      They figured out how to power things with that Freevolt RF harvesting thing?

    11. Re:It has oil, I heard. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I caught what this guy was saying.

    12. Re:It has oil, I heard. by ZorglubZ · · Score: 1

      but I heard it has a lot of oil.

      Sounds like they need some Freedom(TM)

      Are you sure it doesn't need Freedom-â(TM)?

      (To me, that sounds like a free ATM, and that's very uncapitalist!)

  3. Isn't this the same place by mandark1967 · · Score: 4, Funny

    where all the duped stories on /. wind up?

    --
    Sig Follows: "Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself." -- Mark Twain
    1. Re:Isn't this the same place by Megane · · Score: 1

      Actually they all wind up on the front page. I think you mean where we wish they would go.

      --
      #naabhaprzrag, #sverubfr-000, #agi-fcbafberq, negvpyr[pynff*=' negvpyr-ary-'] { qvfcynl: abar !vzcbegnag; }
  4. YOUTUBE LINK BROKEN by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    The YouTube link is sorta broken: it links to the video credits, not the beginning of the video. Correct link is

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjvIpI-1w84

    1. Re:YOUTUBE LINK BROKEN by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But I actually wanted to know how much meat actually costs!

  5. Library of Congress by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    For some reason "Null Island" in Google Maps takes you to the Library of Congress...

    https://goo.gl/maps/dqba5yfuN3U2

    1. Re:Library of Congress by mwn3d · · Score: 2

      I tried that too and got the same thing: http://imgur.com/JPgt5RI. If it's a joke I don't get it.

    2. Re:Library of Congress by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's UNIX joke.

      Basically, you can redirect information to /dev/null without it ever being written back to a calling program (files, stand outputs, error output, etc). In this case, they would use the > /dev/null 2>&1 command to direct any output and all errors to /dev/null (information goes in, nothing comes out, including errors).

      This gives a fairly good explanation as to why:

      http://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/119648/redirecting-to-dev-null

    3. Re:Library of Congress by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If the correlation you're drawing there is that "information goes in, nothing comes out" somehow applies to the Library of Congress... I think that may be a bit of a stretch.

    4. Re:Library of Congress by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I would have thought that null island was more appropriately a thousand or so feet to the west.

    5. Re:Library of Congress by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      http://blogs.loc.gov/maps/2016/04/the-geographical-oddity-of-null-island/

      I think this might be the reason. It's a Library of Congress blog post on null island.

  6. The land of bad programming by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If you need a stand-in for your directions to nowhere you could easily return an actual error code.

  7. Try it by kwelch007 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Just tried it on Google Maps. If you enter "0, 0" it takes you to the North Pole. There are a couple of Comex drilling rigs there and a bunch of water. If you type "Null Island" into the search, it takes you to the Library of Congress. I find that humorous.

    1. Re:Try it by Minupla · · Score: 2

      Do 0N 0E to find null island on google maps.

      --
      On the whole, I find that I prefer Slashdot posts to twitter ones because I don't get limited to 140 chars before
    2. Re:Try it by Bob+the+Super+Hamste · · Score: 5, Funny

      If you type "Null Island" into the search, it takes you to the Library of Congress. I find that humorous.

      I did the same and I believe that google maps may be off about 200 meters.

      --
      Time to offend someone
    3. Re:Try it by caffiend2049 · · Score: 1

      So frustrating that it won't let me use street view. grrr.

      --
      Pandering to the lowest common denominator would be less frequent if more people were prime numbers.
    4. Re:Try it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      0, 0 took me to the small island off the Gulf of Guinea, Null island worked as expected.

      0N 0E or 0N, E0 does a search or takes me to random spots on the world depending on where I'm looking at.

    5. Re:Try it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      0th-world problem?

    6. Re:Try it by Deadstick · · Score: 1

      Check the datum used; WGS84 and NAD27 can differ by that much.

    7. Re:Try it by dougmc · · Score: 1

      Odd. I put coordinates into google maps all the time and it works fine if I just put "lat,lon".

      And if I put "0,0" -- it takes me to a point in the Atlantic ocean where latitude and longitude are zero, what I'd expect.

      Looks like google didn't add a fake island there, however -- but though the ocean does seem to be either less deep or more deep in the general area than the area around it.

    8. Re:Try it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Try "0N 0W".

    9. Re:Try it by Minupla · · Score: 1

      Ya, all the rich and famous people who live there pay off Google to suppress it. Not to mention the aliens.

      --
      On the whole, I find that I prefer Slashdot posts to twitter ones because I don't get limited to 140 chars before
    10. Re:Try it by bjamesv · · Score: 1

      tried it on Google Maps. If you enter "0, 0" it takes you to the North Pole. There are a couple of Comex drilling rigs there

      Protips, the North Pole is "90, 0"

      If you zoom out, you'd find that "0, 0" is a little bit further away from the Arctic circle. (And your drilling rigs appear to be humorously mis-located north-american paint stores; Certainly on-topic, as garbage location data goes though : )

    11. Re:Try it by samwichse · · Score: 1

      Library of Congress is about 200 meters from the US Capitol building. /explainer of jokes

  8. no remorse dude! :D by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The efforts that I do to avoid that piece of shit.

  9. Wow! I guess Colonel Bleep sold out! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Zero-Zero Island used to be the secret base of Colonel Bleep! (Google is your friend, here). Since they tore down his secret mountain headquarters to sell off the bauxite, I can see why he moved. Maybe all the alien technology he left behind is why they have so many software developers, and clearly the Segues are just adaptations of the Colonel's famous "space unicycle." Glad to see the people are prospering!

    1. Re:Wow! I guess Colonel Bleep sold out! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They've definitely stolen all the futomic energy.

  10. Great by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    Somewhere to send the savage muslim immigrants swarming into the civilized world

  11. BeauHD's job description by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Write a bot to "auto-post" stories every 3 hours (3AM, 6AM, 9AM). Then spank your monkey for several hours while large attacks are perpetrated against NATO countries.

  12. Another Google story by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Is anyone keeping track?

    1. Re:Another Google story by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      I tried to, but my clicker rolled over.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  13. Photo is Aogashima? by Fringe · · Score: 1

    I'm not sure, but the image at http://www.nullisland.com/geog... looks a lot like Aogashima Island in Japan.

    1. Re:Photo is Aogashima? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually I believe it to be Mayor Island off New Zealands north coast.

  14. West coast of Africa?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    When I type in "0,0" in google maps, it takes me to just off the west coast of Africa...

    in the Gulf of Guinea

    Directly in line with Accra and Libreville...

    coordinates show 000'00.0"N 000'00.0"E

    wtf???

    1. Re: West coast of Africa?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Where did you think 0,0 was? It's the point on the equator due south of Greenwich, UK. Check that on a map and you'll see it's off the coast of West Africa.

    2. Re:West coast of Africa?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      When I type in "0,0" in google maps, it takes me to just off the west coast of Africa...

      in the Gulf of Guinea

      Directly in line with Accra and Libreville...

      coordinates show 000'00.0"N 000'00.0"E

      wtf???

      Please tell me that you are joking, so I can regain confidence in the future of mankind.

  15. this is stupid by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why is this even a story? Oh noes, an application defaults to using 0, 0 for coordinates when it can't find anything. At least it's better than sending them to the middle of Kansas. /. is becoming slash crap.

  16. APP LIVES MATTER! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    LUDDITES have been destroying appy app apps by making LUDDITE software that looks like apps, but is really LUDDITE software!

    Vote for Appald Trump, he will make apps appy again!

    Apps!

  17. In old MacOS... by Megane · · Score: 2

    In some old (probably in the 7.x era) versions of Mac OS, there was a map control panel (I think it was for setting your time zone), that would let you look up locations by name. The zero-zero coordinates had a name of "Middle of Nowhere".

    --
    #naabhaprzrag, #sverubfr-000, #agi-fcbafberq, negvpyr[pynff*=' negvpyr-ary-'] { qvfcynl: abar !vzcbegnag; }
  18. Optional Island by tylersoze · · Score: 1

    No mention of Optional Island? (Swift programmer joke)

    1. Re:Optional Island by sconeu · · Score: 1

      As of 2011, C++ programmers refer to it as "Nullptr Island"

      --
      General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
    2. Re:Optional Island by 110010001000 · · Score: 5, Funny

      The other Swift programmer on the planet wasn't around to see your joke.

    3. Re:Optional Island by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes I was!

    4. Re:Optional Island by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1

      No, C++ programmers have been referring to it as boost::optional for over a decade now. It'll be std::optional next year.

  19. Zero Zero Island by jruschme · · Score: 2

    Those of us of a certain age may better know 0 degrees Latitude/0 degrees Longitude as the location of Zero Zero Island, the home of Colonel Bleep (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonel_Bleep).

  20. Null Island, Pacific style by spaceyhackerlady · · Score: 1

    A long time ago I was working with GPS applications and their internal representation of longitude meant our Null Island was in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, 0 north, 180 west.

    We figured out the conventions of the mapping application we were using (no Google Maps yet, and the documentation was vague) by trial and error. Our first attempts to plot GPS fixes from a drive along a local freeway showed a blank area with no freeway, nor much of anything else. We found that we were drawing a map centred on 49 degrees north (correct) but 123 degrees east, out in the middle of nowhere near the border between China, Mongolia and Russia. Nearest town Harbin, China...

    ...laura

  21. Navigation errors are life threatening by plopez · · Score: 1

    This is just another example of stupid sloppy programming by developers who have no clue about how the real world works or have any regard for human safety. Fortunately developers are not true Engineers and so do not get sued when they kill people.

    --
    putting the 'B' in LGBTQ+
  22. IIRC in one version of the old Mac Maps by jpellino · · Score: 1

    desk accessory, this was labeled "Middle of Nowhere".

    --
    "Win treats sysadmins better than users. Mac treats users better than sysadmins. Linux treats everyone like sysadmins."
  23. Catoon in the late Fiftys by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Actually null island is the home of Colonel Bleep a TV character of the late 50's. It was then called zero/zero island. Here is a great link describing the cartoon. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonel_Bleep. I use to watch it in the afternoon after school.

  24. Bypass the WSJ Paywall by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Take any WSJ link and put it into archive.is. The article will be copied fully and you'll be able to read it.

    I just did it with this article on the Nice Attack: http://archive.is/iqvEF

  25. PSST PSST here's a secret all spies already know.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Google maps is part of Google which is under control of the US Government. Hence, all the surveillance.

    So you look at Google Street View right? The license plates are all blurred. Guess what. It is only on your end, not theirs.

    Here is another fun fact not-so anecdotal. Other countries have moles in US spy agencies. The FBI is absolutely Mole LLC.

    Here is the takeaway: When the US government is saying we are going to stop encryption and protect you way way better and all we need is your guns too... they really shh shh shh.. don't let anybody know but shhh pssspsspsss... can not protect you from shit. They are liars and pussies.

    have a nice day boys and girls. a dead spy a day keeps the fear away.

  26. Appoint Donald Trump ruler of Null Island by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Finally a place to put Donald Trump!

  27. brought to you by Fnord by Thud457 · · Score: 1

    there is no null island.
    The imperialist dog CIA got rid of that soon after they destroyed Bermeja island.

    --

    the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

  28. I've been there by helmy · · Score: 1

    Ferrying a survey vessel from Nova Scotia to Gabon, we noticed we would be within a couple of kilometers of 0,0 so diverted slightly to pass over it.

    It's very overrated,and there's no beer.

    1. Re:I've been there by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sounds like a good test. I'm glad the GPS didn't crash.

  29. sometimes I check if my friends are there by k6mfw · · Score: 1

    Using APRSISCE program (RF only) occasionally I zoom out to see what stations are there as result of lat/long settings of 000/000 (either too lazy to check configuration or testing hardware). I find a few there. One time I saw a friend's truck in North Atlantic, "hey Norm, how did you get there in just two days?" Obviously some screwed up bits from the laptop.

    Today I heard someone said, "APRS: The original Pokemon Go."

    --
    mfwright@batnet.com
  30. Tom Teriffic wasn't it? by Ungrounded+Lightning · · Score: 1

    Sounds like "Zero-Zero Island" - the secret hideout of a cartoon character from the early 1950s or so on the Captain Kangaroo children's show.

    I think it was Tom Teriffic...

    --
    Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way
    1. Re:Tom Teriffic wasn't it? by Ungrounded+Lightning · · Score: 1

      Oops. Colonel Bleep - 1956. (And if I'd bothered to look at Wikipedia BEFORE posting, the Null Island article mentions it. B-b )

      --
      Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way
  31. Chinsese territory by T.E.D. · · Score: 1

    In no time at all, other mappers gave the 'island' its own natural geography, created a website, and designed T-shirts and a national flag

    China is now claiming null island as "historic Chinese territory".