Google Maps Leak Piss-Take Mistake
Urine the wrong place! Google erroneously call King’s Lane ‘Piss Alley’ on Google Maps.
Notoriously smelly King’s Lane, which runs between King’s Parade and Queens’ College, was briefly labelled as ‘Piss Alley’ on Google Maps. Known by students as a place for the drunk to mark their territory after a night out, even Cam legend and Queens’ alum Stephen Fry labelled the spot by its cheeky nickname in his novel Making History. It is not known who at Google was responsible for the accident, but it seems likely they’ll be in a wee bit of trouble at work on Monday morning.
Councillor Rob Dryden, a former mayor of Cambridge, said: “I can imagine that at nighttime, when people are looking for a toilet and there’s not many people about, they probably go there.
“But it isn’t good for Google to be highlighting it around the world and I would have thought better of Google.
“It’s right that they should correct it as soon as possible.”
Phelim Brady, 20, ex-chair of Cambridge University Labour Club and a finalist at Pembroke College, was among those who spotted the howler.
He said: “I hadn’t heard the name before but when I googled it I saw the history.
“I have come across similar situations where popular nicknames have gone into Google Maps but hopefully it won’t stop any ambulances getting to King’s Lane – it’s more entertaining than dangerous.
“Given last week’s news about how much Cambridge colleges spend on wine, perhaps it’s quite appropriate that part of the lane’s nickname is slang for getting drunk.”
After being contacted by an employee of Cambridge News, Google hastily restored the name of the location to its official one on Saturday, but screenshots of the gaffe remain widely available.