Technology can work miracles, and earn billions, for you, as Google has found out. The Mountain View-based multinational corporation found out that even your own tech can turn against you and land you in hot waters.
No, the Googleplex hasn’t suddenly become self-aware and decided to turn against its creators; it’s something a bit more bizarre involving Google Maps, Botswana and a donkey lying in the middle of the street.
Allow us explain: on Tuesday, Twitter used @TheRealSheldonC (apparently a Big Bang Theory fan) tweeted an image of a donkey lying on a road in Botswana and looking pretty much dead or injured.
The Google Street View map pic shows tire marks and a puff of smoke rising up from the spot, which indicates that the image must have been captured mere seconds after the donkey fell to the ground.
Now, Google is accused by Internet commentators that its Street View mapping crew run over said donkey – something the company denies, claiming that its crew approached the donkey as it was already lying down and then got up and continued walking.
“Our Street View teams take the safety of people and donkeys very seriously”, said a Google Street View spokesman. “A review of our imagery confirms that we did not cause any harm to the donkey.”
The company refers to a set of images that allegedly proves its point. The problem is that said images do the opposite as, for them to make sense the donkey would have to be walking backwards!
Roger Short, Adjunct Professor of Zoology at the Melbourne University told News.com.au that donkeys simply could not walk backwards.
“Can you walk normally going backwards? You might jog but you wouldn’t run fast. Donkeys are not adapted to it”, he said. “They can take a few steps but they would never normally walk backwards.”
In any case, it’s nice to know that Google’s crew takes the safety of people and donkeys very seriously. Since they are still presumably in Africa, they’d better take the safety of elephants into consideration, too, or they’ll have their vehicle destroyed in seconds.
And then, of course, there are the lions…Feel free to play around with the interactive streetview map below and share your thoughts in the comments section that follows.
By Andrew Tsaousis
Photo Credits: Google Streetview
10 Comments:
They clearly did not hit the donkey...people have the direction of travel mixed up, they are driving on the left side of the road not the right side so if you look at the interactive map, you go in reverse passed the land rover defender and then go forward to start playing out what happened, if you notice the land rover was on the wrong side of the road by the donkey, so it could have possibly knocked the donkey over, then as the google car passed the land rover and the dust starts to clear you can see the donkey on the road and if you swing the the camera around to look behind you see the donkey then upright and heading into the bushes as the google car continues on its way. There is no way the google car was headed in the opposite direction when you consider its movements relative to the movements of the land rover they are clearly headed in opposite directions.
Plain and simply the google car did not hit the donkey.
Cute donkey. I hope he's having he time of his life out there.
Probably rolling in the dust to deal wit insects. It's a common animal behaviour.
I don't see the problem. In Botswana they drive on the left side. The donkey was rolling on the dirt, the car approached him, he got up and went to the side of the road. Pictures are on the reverse order.
what an ass!
lol..comedy gold.!
Notice the blurred donkey on the road right in front of/behind the vehicle in the same shot where the donkey's standing at the side of the road? If Google and commenters here are correct then the car approached the donkey lying in the road, it got up, lay back down in the road directly behind them for a sec, then walked off.
I think Google kills donkeys. That or the Donkey was trying to punch his life insurance claim, Beijing-style.
this donkey is monkeying around with traffic, got what it deserved.
Why bother? a billionaire company like Google should have a right to kill a donkey or two.
after travelling down the road a bit on street view, it's pretty clear a rangerover comes from the opposite direction and as you move toward the donkey it's evident the rangerover has just hit him as he's still falling through the cloud of smoke.
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