Google’s Street View Welcome Party
Tuesday, 5th August 2008 by James Turnbull
As the Street View car passed Google's California head offices, the Googleplex, hundreds and hundreds of Google Employees came out to form a huge welcoming committee for the passing camera car.
There's loads of things to see, as many employees have clearly prepared for the event! For example, here's a life-size yellow Street View guy:
Elsewhere, in a clear nod to our very own discovery of a fight on Street View, a couple of Googlers are engaged in a slight altercation.
In another self-referential move, a couple of people are taking part in a tiny Tour-de-France!
The in-jokes don't stop there either - one Googler took the opportunity to make a "Web 2.0" marriage proposal! See his website to find out if she accepted.
There's tons more silliness all up and down the street, as it seems the entire Googleplex came out for the event - so have a browse and share your best finds in the comments!
Thanks to GmapsMania.
Here’s a guy holding a sign that says “compiling”, who is watching another man swinging a large branch at a third man, who appears to be defending himself with a very small plastic sword.
View Placemark,,2,0.23934507092998775&ll=37.425338,-122.083919&spn=0.012866,0.026715&t=h&z=16
No, I couldn’t really explain it either…
I’m getting a errors just now too, saying “We’re sorry, street view is currently unavailable due to high demand”…
That’s a reference to xkcd!
Here’s the guys from Google Analytics with a very, uh… statistical presentation:
View Placemark,,2,6.287828463401802&ll=37.427331,-122.085035&spn=0.012371,0.026715&z=16
This must be the Wally of Google: https://www.googlesightseeing.com/maps?p=&c=&t=h&hl=en&ll=37.421529,-122.086258&z=17&layer=c&cbll=37.423628,-122.089928&cbp=1,72.45164815641203,,2,12.016918253635094
(now why would this comment not pass the spam filter?)
here’s a cyclist partially buried in the road — must be some hard pedaling!
https://www.googlesightseeing.com/maps?p=&c=&t=h&hl=en&ll=37.421529,-122.086258&z=17&layer=c&cbll=37.423448,-122.089839&cbp=1,99.07375197415138,,1,26.151340858306042
who’s this?
https://www.googlesightseeing.com/maps?p=&c=&t=h&hl=en&ll=37.421154,-122.087009&z=17&layer=c&cbll=37.420905,-122.083622&cbp=1,15.696875095130224,,2,2.6343317496189336
I like this group of four people doing “Y M C A”. YMCA!
And these folks doing a Rockettes style line leg kick.
Rockettes!
Here is another street fight. https://www.googlesightseeing.com/maps?p=&c=&t=h&hl=en&ll=37.429069,-122.080336&z=15&layer=c&cbll=37.421078,-122.086962&cbp=2,311.4184560993054,,2,6.338058538266555
I haven’t spotted anyone flashing yet.
the fight scene looks like what hollywood calls a pulled punch -fake punch-
Big purple teddy bear:
https://www.googlesightseeing.com/maps?p=&c=&t=h&hl=en&ll=37.420887,-122.083965&z=17&layer=c&cbll=37.423712,-122.089972&cbp=1,100.20306472900307,,2,15.929082564897246
I didn’t actually realise the frivolities continue right around the other side of the complex too. Here’s a man in a dressing gown with a towel on his head:
https://www.googlesightseeing.com/maps?p=&c=&t=h&hl=en&ll=37.420887,-122.083965&z=17&layer=c&cbll=37.423283,-122.085777&cbp=1,212.89655704647862,,2,7.285743798503292
Hmm…so much for the automatic face blurring…
Here’s a human pyramid of 6 people:
View Placemark,,2,7.279037332947925&source=embed
And here’s a more impressive one of 10 people:
https://www.googlesightseeing.com/maps?p=&c=&t=h&hl=en&ll=37.420887,-122.083965&z=17&layer=c&cbll=37.423125,-122.084817&cbp=1,187.7140244972229,,2,8.154374704807207
Which is right beside somebody, uh… murdering a Linux Penguin.
https://www.googlesightseeing.com/maps?p=&c=&t=h&hl=en&ll=37.420887,-122.083965&z=17&layer=c&cbll=37.423125,-122.084817&cbp=1,169.85177959926398,,2,8.429884908888834
INVISBL TUG OV WAR
https://www.googlesightseeing.com/maps?p=&c=&t=h&hl=en&ll=37.420887,-122.083965&z=17&layer=c&cbll=37.423413,-122.086473&cbp=1,177.3959160734562,,0,10.631633978339556
Muggles!
https://www.googlesightseeing.com/maps?p=&c=&t=h&hl=en&ll=37.421751,-122.084187&z=17&layer=c&cbll=37.423026,-122.083481&cbp=1,184.85332536947635,,2,8.084417894429112
Someone wake me when they find girls sunbathing.
Hey look everyone magically disappeared!
The $100 laptop!
I’m linking to Link!
This guy just looks hilarious
So that’s where she was!
A bicycle built for six?
A drug deal!?
Coming to a street near your, Firefox Portable!
Arh – bless!
https://www.googlesightseeing.com/maps?p=&c=&t=h&hl=en&ll=37.421751,-122.084187&z=17&layer=c&cbll=37.423175,-122.085186&cbp=1,191.99530620639268,,2,10.412142695562952
You do have to wonder who was manning the phones…
@Steve: All excellent finds! I think the hilarious guy looks like a vampire from “I am Legend”.
The re-enactment of Street View’s alleged drug deal is the best thing in this whole thread, as they’re all totally distracted from their own joke by a madman with a yellow thing on his head. Hilarious!
It seems that there are quite a few hot chicks working at google. Perhaps I should plan a career change. Or perhaps I’m desperate…
@Steve – Thanks for your great finds!
The ‘drug deal’ one in particular led to a small pang of pride in Google Sightseeing! Would be great to think they maybe had discovered some of these things from the site. 😀
I ♥ Streetview:
View Placemark,,1,9.417586425073752&ll=37.424861,-122.082567&spn=0.016018,0.031908&z=16
Amazing, isn’t it? Finally something to see in Streetview!
Now it’s up to the Google Sightseeing employees to come up with something even better… 😉
@rob – never mind the phones – who was looking up all those websites when you type something in the google box (thats how it works isnt it?)
@koen – i too couldnt help noticing all the ‘hot chicks’ (we call them ‘fit birds’ round my way) and also noticed the large amount of very nerdy very unattractive men who work for Google aswell – so i would say that you probably wouldnt have to try too hard in ‘copping off’ (as we also say round my way)