HN Explorer

Zahnbuerste Suriname?

1 points by dasKrokodil ↗ HN
I was looking at Google Maps for something unrelated, when this caught my eye:

https://goo.gl/maps/sMib3sNNFUA2

Strange, isn't it? Zahnbuerste is the German word for toothbrush, but why would it appear there, non-capitalized?

1 comment

[ 2.6 ms ] story [ 10.8 ms ] thread
mtmail
Because the runway looks like the shape of a toothbrush from above. Either it's a user contribution via Google's my maps maker or it really got the nickname by a pilot. Maps are full of small errors, typos, mistranslations, sometimes (rarely) vandalism, Google Maps is no exception.

The runway on OpenStreetMap https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/315850541 You can leave a note, kind of a bug tracking system, so local mapper can fix things https://www.openstreetmap.org/note/685096#map=15/3.9039/-55.... Google has a 'report an error' feature which is less transparent.

https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/201247295 is a good example from London. The official name of the building is '20 Fenchurch Street' (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/20_Fenchurch_Street) but both loc_name and alt_name say 'The Walkie Talkie'.