Tuesday, January 18, 2005

Make a left at Germany

Scenic RouteHere is further proof that you should always sanity check any directions you get from the web. Go to MapPoint and ask for directions from Haugesund, Rogaland, Norway to Trondheim, Sør-Trøndelag, Norway. To get from one city in Norway to another, MapPoint will send you on a 1,685 mile journey through England, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, and Sweden. The total expected time is 48 hours, not including time spent waiting for ferries. The directions include 116 separate steps, which is a record as far as I know. Reverse the two cities making Trondheim, Sør-Trøndelag the starting point and MapPoint will give you directions that are more direct, taking you 11 hours to travel the 476 miles between the two towns. So either Norway has a serious issue with one-way roads or MapPoint needs some revision. Perhaps it is worth noting that MapPoint is a Microsoft product.

Thanks to Language Log for pointing this out.

Edit: The above directions are for the "quickest" route. Changing your selection to the "shortest" route sends you on a trip on the ferry to England, driving west for half a mile, turning around and driving east for half a mile, and getting back on the ferry to Norway. The directions say this trip will take 51 hours!

3 comments:

Jeffrey Goble said...

I didn't originate the comment, but I too am glad that Microsoft does not manufacture automobiles. Yet.

Jeffrey Goble said...

I didn't originate the comment, but I too am glad that Microsoft does not manufacture automobiles. Yet.

Anonymous said...

Tom is reading Language Log :jumpingjoy: :D

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