Stig, Stig, wherefore art thou Stig?
Friday, 16th April 2010 by Alex Turnbull
BBC TV's Top Gear programme features a famously mysterious racing driver known only as "The Stig", who (ironically for someone so secretive about their identity) can be found in numerous places on Google Street View.
More bizarre however are Google's efforts to remove all traces of him!
When Google first launched UK Street View, we were delighted to find a photo of the The Stig apparently hanging out at the BBC. We were a little crushed upon discovery that is simply a cardboard cutout of the famously reclusive driver.
Then, when Street View visited the roads around Loch Ness, the actual honest-to-goodness real Stig was found!
Clearly he had been waiting there for the Google car - but why? Whatever the reason, Google didn't like it; within a few days the Stig's entire personage had been pixellated beyond recognition (clearly blurring his face wasn't going to be very effective).
If we revisit the banks of Loch Ness today we find that Google has since gone even further, and has completely removed the section of imagery in which the blurry Stig appeared.
But the Stig cannot be silenced! (Well metaphorically, seeing as how he doesn't talk).
Just yesterday Google launched new Trike-captured imagery of Windsor's Legoland theme park - and waiting behind a Lego model of London – it's Street View Stig!
Clearly he wasn't happy with his on-camera performance - because elsewhere we find him sitting atop a Lego Camel (not going anywhere very fast), and posing in front of a huge statue.
Already these images are being blurred out very soon after they are discovered - but why is the Stig so desperate to be seen, and why are Google so determined to make sure he isn't?
The most important question of all however, is how does Stig know where the Street View camera is going to be?1
Update: Google Maps Mania also found the Stig in his natural habitat - driving a racing car (although normally they aren't made of Lego).
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I'd love to know, as despite my best efforts I've never managed to get on. ↩︎
About the author
Alex has decided that his title will be Senior Vice President of Stuff.
Well. I suppose it’s not the real stig and the real one wants to blur his cheap copy…
Some say that his collection of Street View car photographs has caused Google to file a privacy complaint against him. Or that he still uses Ask Jeeves for his internet searches. All we know is, he’s called the The Stig.
Don’t you get it yet? He’s moonlighting driving the GSV car, but doesn’t want Auntie to find out about it in case they fire him…
Google has not legal permission over the character, so he’s scared to be accused on court.
Did you really mean “why are you Stig”? “Wherefore” means “why” (not “where”).
Beat me to it – “wherefore” being misused to mean “where” is one of my pet peeves!
Clearly I didn’t mean where, as it’s obvious that the Stig is right there!
Neither did I mean “Why are you Stig?”, but rather “For what purpose are you Stig?” – tying in perfectly with the theme of my post.
(Note to self: Never ever try and paraphrase a text you haven’t actually read.)
How would one interpret the famous “Romeo, Romeo wherefore art thou Romeo” ? Does that really mean – Why are you Romeo?
Yes. Juliet is asking why her love has to be Romeo, a member of the Montague family, the enemies of her family, the Capulets.
You see, the Stig naturally moves so fast he’s blurry. It takes special cameras that the Top Gear production crew has to capture his true form on film. Any Stig you see that’s not blurry or not on Top Gear is clearly a fraud.
The Stig is the man.
Got lucky myself: saw the car going through our neighborhood on my day off and managed to snap http://www.mobypicture.com/user/peSHIr/view/403051 while it snapped me: http://is.gd/akMZW
I’m also standing in front of my own house, but I’m not telling you where that is exactly. 😉
I want to tell you that I found stig in another place at google map. So I hope you to see that website.