If you have access to the internet, which you clearly do because you’re here on Bored Panda (hi!), chances are you’ve used Google Maps before. When you visit a new place, need to get somewhere in a hurry, or are wondering how early you need to leave before heading to a date, this trusty map app is always there to help you out. Well, at least for the past 18 years it’s been there. Google Maps was launched on February 8, 2005 as a desktop platform that would help people “get from point A to point B”, and today, it’s used by over 1 billion people around the planet every month.

Shortly after Google Maps was released to the world, things got even more exciting. Google Earth came out a few months later, allowing us to view 3D images of the world on our desktop computers. Today, there are over 36 million square miles of high-definition satellite images on Google Earth, detailing over 20% of our planet. By December 2005, Google also launched Transit Trip Planner in Portland, Oregon, to help commuters view transit schedules and routes, but this feature was later added into Google Maps.    

Another beloved feature of Google Maps is its real-time traffic updates. That dreaded red line that estimates how long you’ll be sitting in gridlocks came about two years after Google Maps was launched and is particularly useful for users living in big cities and with long commutes. Soon after, Street View finally came along, allowing us to suddenly be able to stroll down the street virtually, thanks to the help of cameras strapped onto everything from snowmobiles to camels.

And in November 2007, Google Maps introduced a platform that forever changed the way we travel: a mobile app. It was first available for Blackberry and Palm devices, then Androids in 2008 and finally iOS devices in 2012. By 2009, though, the app got an exciting update as turn-by-turn navigation was introduced. Suddenly, we were all able to hear that lovely passive-aggressive voice telling us to "Make a U-turn" over and over again until possible...      

One Google Maps feature that you might not even be familiar with is Street View Trekker, which was introduced in 2012 to take the platform to new heights. By placing their high-tech photo capturing equipment into backpacks, Google sent hikers into the wild to start capturing places like The Grand Canyon and the Amazon rainforest. Even the top of the Eiffel tower can be seen through the lens of Street View Trekker.

By 2014, Google Maps began expanding even more, as they started adding more information to their apps, such as business hours, ratings, prices of restaurants, bars and hotels, etc. And this is why I’ve spent countless hours on Google Maps before. Because I’m constantly on the hunt for the best vegan brunch, coffee shops and cakes that can be found in any city I find myself in…    

If you’ve been using Google Maps for many years, and you’re curious where your travels have taken you, you’re in luck! In 2021, Google launched the Google Maps timeline, which allows users to see where they’ve been on any specific day or any particular place. It can inform you how long you walked or rode on public transit, how long you stopped for coffee at that one adorable café in London, and what time you arrived at your hotel. While all of this tracking can sometimes be creepy, I have to admit I enjoy being able to see this information when I’m feeling sentimental and want to relive a particularly lovely experience.   

While this article might be focusing on how silly and surprising Google Maps is, we have to give the platform credit for being impressively accurate most of the time, especially considering how rapidly it has improved. And if you’re curious how Google Maps manages to be so precise, look no further. Greg Miller wrote a piece for Wired exploring this exact topic. It turns out that one of the keys to Google Maps’ accuracy is just covering ground. They’ve had cars cover more than 7 million miles, which allows them to “algorithmically build up new data layers from information [they’ve] extracted”, Manik Gupta, group product manager for Google Maps, told Wired.

“Those algorithms borrow methods from computer vision and machine learning to extract features like street numbers painted on curbs, the names of businesses and other points of interest, speed limits and other traffic signs,” Greg Miller explains. It can be tricky combining all of the information found on streets, signs, painted on lanes, etc., but Brian McClendon, Google Maps VP, says their technology on that front is improving as well. And when algorithms fail, Miller notes that, “Google employs a small army of human operators (they won't say exactly how many) to manually check and correct the maps using an in-house program called Atlas.”

Despite any bizarre locations or photos found on Google Maps, this platform consistently ranks as the top tier navigation system. “Google Maps covers more of the world than anyone else. Hundreds of millions of places are on the map in 220+ countries. So wherever you live in the world, Google is the most complete map you can find,” GIS Geography notes on their site. “By using machine learning, it’s how Google keeps its base map fresh and relatively error-free. Not only this, but they use the power of AI to navigate you through heavy traffic with real-time data. So when you’re on the move, no better GPS navigation app delivers like Google Maps.”

Traveling is expensive and not always feasible for everyone, so why not take a journey on good old Google Maps? Clearly, you never know what you’re going to find, and you might just come across a hilarious landmark or feature that you’ll want to visit in person one day. I’ve personally used Google Street View with my parents to give them a tour of the city I live in, since they haven’t been able to visit yet, and honestly, it was a great way to get them excited for the trip. Google Maps can be used for much more than simply figuring out which bus to take in the morning (although it is great for that too).

Are you feeling inspired to go on a Google Maps adventure of your own to try and see what you can find? The world is your oyster, and clearly, there are many hidden treasures awaiting you on Google Maps. Keep upvoting your favorite pics on this list, and then if you’re interested in checking out a Bored Panda article featuring maps that might teach you something about our world, look no further than right here!