In Google's quest to provide real-life 'street view' angles in their handy Maps application, the tech giant's roving camera cars occasionally catch the world's residents up to some pretty wacky stuff.
The latest image capture to cause a sensation: a stark naked woman standing outside on the patio of a Miami home in broad daylight, holding a jug.
Of course.
The photo of a street on the edge of the Liberty Square and Gladeview neighborhoods was taken sometime during 2011 by one of Google's roving camera cars, according to the image's watermark.
The company's mapping vehicles regularly drive public streets with a panoramic camera affixed to the roof, the resulting images later uploaded to Google Maps to help people find directions.
In addition to at least one naked 305'er, cameras have collected such wacky highjinks as a Pensacola woman kicking a car, a man entering an adult bookstore, and an apparent burglary in progress.
In fact, inadvertent Google Maps captures have become so popular that a staffer has used the process to propose to his girlfriend and two Norwegian men in wet suits earned their 15 mintues of fame by appearing in Maps chasing the camera car with pitchforks.
Local
As for the Magic City woman caught nude outdoors, kind Google staffers blurred out her face and bathing suit areas after the photo went viral.
Google spokesperson Anne Espiritu says the company takes steps to protect the privacy of people caught doing, well, whatever it is they are doing.
"Once the photographs have been taken they go through computer processing to make them ready for use on Google Maps," she said. "This includes cutting-edge face blurring technology, which helps make sure that passers-by in the photographs can't be identified. We will also blur legible license plates."
Espiritu also said that anyone can ask for images of them or their property to be further obscured on Google Maps by clicking 'report a problem' on the bottom of a street view image.
