Updated on 04-24-2015 by Malarie Gokey: Added news that the person who made the Android has been found, and Google plans to remove his “artwork.”
He used the custom map-enhancing tool called Google Map Maker, which lets users submit changes to maps in their area on the public version of Google Maps. Nitricboy added one part of the drawing at a time, so as to not arouse suspicion, and the end result was the large Android peeing on an Apple logo. Although moderators have to approve ideas that are submitted with the tool, it seems that the moderator on duty that day either had a good sense of humor or was phenomenally lazy. He also may not have noticed the pattern, since the drawing came to his desk in segments.
And so the Android stands in Pakistan, peeing on an Apple logo with perfect aim. He even looks like he might be having a good chuckle while doing it. It’s hardly the first time we’ve caught Android in the act of raining on Apple’s parade, but it’s especially funny that the Android’s act of defiance was first spotted on the same day as the Apple Watch launch. Coincidence? I think not.
Google has yet to take down the piece of local folk art. The coordinates are 33°30’52.5″N 73°03’33.2″E, and it “stands” about 2,500 feet tall (nearly half a mile) and 2,500 feet wide, making it about 6.25 million square feet large. You could fit almost 109 American football fields in that amount of space. And for one more reference, the new 2014 Godzilla is only about 500 feet tall.
We don’t know how long the cheeky Android will be there, so you’d best check it out soon. We’ve already taken a screenshot for posterity’s sake. Google told the Next Web that it’s working to take the addition down.
A Google spokesperson said that its “sorry for this inappropriate user-created content,” adding that “the vast majority of users who edit our maps provide great contributions.”
However, enterprising Maps users often pull of stunts like this, adding clever additions to Google Maps when nobody’s watching. Not too long ago, NSA leaker Edward Snowden got his very own space at the White House, in the “Snow Den.” That particular addition was swiftly removed by Google, probably at some sort of official request. So far, the audacious Android has lasted much longer in Pakistan.
