Google Maps Updated With Skyfall Island Japan Terrain 107
MojoKid writes "The latest in the Bond film series, Skyfall, was certainly one to remember. And not all of those memories were pleasant. The head villain's island lair was a particularly spooky place. The decaying wasteland depicted in the film was a shadow of Hashima off the coast of Nagasaki Prefecture in Japan. Due to its unique flat shape, the island is most widely known in Japan by its nickname Gunkanjima — aka 'Battleship Island.' In some circles, it's called 'Dead Island.' Google actually sent an employee to the island with a Street View backpack in order to capture its condition and a panoramic view for all to see in 360 degrees. You can take a virtual walk across the island now, and Google also used its Business Photos technology to let you peek into the abandoned buildings, complete with ancient black-and-white TVs and discarded soda bottles."
40 years (Score:5, Interesting)
All it took was 40 years to transform a modern island into something that looks like Mayan ruins. If something ever happens to humanity, in only a century or two we'll have been erased from history.
A puzzle for you (Score:5, Interesting)
Here's a thought problem for you.
Modern humans descended from ape-like creatures on the order of 3 million years ago. Bonobos [wikipedia.org] are further back on the evolutionary scale, call it 5 million years before they become intelligent (massive guesstimate).
Suppose we leave the planet. Would the Bonobos be able to determine that another intelligent species came before them? I can think of no place on the planet that wouldn't wear down and wash away the signs of our civilization.
Suppose we leave the planet, but would like to leave a message. Where should we put it, and in what form? I can think of no place on the planet that would be safe from erosion, and any satellite orbit would decay long before 5 million years had passed. (LAGEOS 1 was predicted to remain in orbit for 8.4 million years, but may only last a couple of hundred thousand [science-frontiers.com] years.)
Now consider the reverse. Suppose there was an intelligent species on Earth before us. Where could we look for evidence? If they left a message for us; assuming that they want it found, where would it be?
I wish they do this next (Score:5, Interesting)
North Brother Island [google.com]
I see they have some pictures of spot locations, but a full street view walk around would be nice.
Somehow I found pics of this abandoned area creepier, even before I found at it was the place Typhoid Mary was locked up.