Here’s What Boston Looks Like on a Google Treasure Map

April Fools...

Google seems to have had a very fun time planning for this year’s April Fools as you can see by visiting Google Maps, where the normal view can be replaced with a Treasure Map. Yarrrr, here be a screenshot of Boston:

googlemap

 

They’ve added some other fun touches, including a street view tool that looks like a telescope lens. In a video, Google alleges that the map belonged to infamous pirate William “Captain” Kidd, and was found while Google expanded its “underwater Street View” somewhere in the Indian Ocean. Apparently, it contains clues to buried treasure. Funny, we didn’t realize artificial land like the Back Bay and East Boston already existed back when Kidd was mapping the city …?


That’s not even the only prank Google is pulling today. They’re introducing something called “Gmail Blue” which they claim is a total reinvention of Gmail, but is, in fact, just a regular Gmail window … tinted blue:

And Google Nose, which allows you to search by scent…

Add to that a video in which YouTube announces that they’re deleting everything on their site tonight and a Hulu homepage that allows you to watch fictional TV programs like the violent Simpsons cartoon-within-a-cartoon “The Itchy and Scratchy Show” and you’ll start to realize that you need to tread very, very carefully on the internet today.