I feel this is an alarming issue and would like your imput in this matter.

Having elected Google Maps' Streetview feature as my Sunday night free diversion while I browse other online games, I came across a seemingly innocuous fact that might have deeper ramification. You see, Google Streetview seems to favour Dams over other architectural structures when one clicks at a random point on the map from a distant view. I'll elaborate:

I like to play a little game where you zoom out off particular country (in this case I picked the USA) until it fits within your screen in its entirety. Than you drag the Streetview yellow guy across the screen and hurls him in random fashion at some distant point on the surface of your country of choice, and try to guess where it's going to fall on (a road, a town, a lake, etc). Most times you get varying results, but tonight all I got was a repeating pattern - all Google gave me were dams.

First I randomly selected a spot over the American West, and hit the Conchas Dam in New Mexico.

Then, hoping for something slightly more entertaining, I tried to get some cute little Midwestern town but all I got was the Hamill Dam Reservoir, which serves a village of 11 residents.

Beginning to get annoyed by Google's insistence in only showing me dams when I could be driving through scenic roads or visiting bumbling towns, I moved the cursor purposely over a much more densely inhabited area, around the Michigan - Iowa - Ohio triangle, knowing the chances of Google Maps giving me another sad dam to look at were close to none.

What did I get this time? A first person view of the Football Stadium of the University of Notre Dame. :chair:

Please comment.

must be a DAMn conspiracy, wait till racer x hears about this

Don't look at me, according to apple maps I'm still living in monochrome.

That's enough to deal with, all the colours I'm seeing are just a conspiracy theory that I refuse to accept. If it's not on the news it must be false.

Quote from Yuri Laszlo :

Than you drag the Streetview yellow guy across the screen and hurls him in random fashion at some distant point...

That's just sad.

I tried this, never landed on a dam, lots of bridges though.
Trying a bit further i discovered that Google tries to put you on important landmarks in this order:

1. Town squares
2. Churches
3. Closest place to water (bridge, DAM lol)
4. Highways
5. Normal roads

Quote from Fastwalker :

I tried this, never landed on a dam, lots of bridges though.
Trying a bit further i discovered that Google tries to put you on important landmarks in this order:

1. Town squares
2. Churches
3. Closest place to water (bridge, DAM lol)
4. Highways
5. Normal roads

haha, I just tried this. It really likes churches, bridges and town-squares doesn't it?

You may have invented a whole new pastime there.

It needs a "I'm Feeling Lucky" little yellow man.

I went to Russia and there was no Street View

Quote from matijapkc :

I went to Russia and there was no Street View

In Russia, street views YOU!

Just did it again and got FOUR bridges in a row.:feathers:

Interesting xD
First was a little stream, then a bridge over a river, then a church/graveyard..
Then up a mountain road looking down a steep hill which there is...A stream lol

I wonder why this is :/

Quote from DavidTiger :

Interesting xD
First was a little stream, then a bridge over a river, then a church/graveyard..
Then up a mountain road looking down a steep hill which there is...A stream lol

I wonder why this is :/

Quote from Fastwalker :

I tried this, never landed on a dam, lots of bridges though.
Trying a bit further i discovered that Google tries to put you on important landmarks in this order:

1. Town squares
2. Churches
3. Closest place to water (bridge, DAM lol)
4. Highways
5. Normal roads

David, I think Fastwalker's post explains it

Not entirely, but yes to some degree. He has only found the same thing as we have by randomly placing the street view icon and recording results.