YOU can search for a house in Argleton, find out what the local weather is like, and even plan your route to it on the internet.
But the one thing you can’t do is visit it. Because, despite appearing on popular search engine Google’s map tool, it doesn’t actually exist.
Search for “Argleton” and you’ll find it listed a stone’s throw from the A59 south of Ormskirk, West Lancashire, near to Town Green train station, but how it came to be there is still a matter of mystery. Some think it may be a misspelling of Aughton, though that village also appears alongside the phantom Argleton. Others have suggested it could be a trap to catch out people pilfering copyrighted maps.
Roy Bayfield, head of corporate marketing at Edge Hill University, decided to visit “Argleton” to see what it looked like, after a colleague found it on the internet. He said: “The interest has surprised me. I just spent an afternoon walking around taking pictures and messing around on a blog that I thought would interest three or four of my friends.
“But now it’s been twittered all over the world and people in different languages are coming up with all sorts of reasons why Argleton is there.” A Google spokesperson said: “Google Maps data comes from third party data sources. While the vast majority of this information is correct, there are occasional errors.
Who cares…as long as it has a liquor store.
I would assume this started as a copyright trap that the knowledge of was lost either through time or by takeover.
Or it was a low level GIS data entry drone with a sense of humour that slipped it past his superiors.
I agree with laxdude, for centuries cartographers have put subtle mistakes in maps in order to catch people who are copying their work. Still goes on today as more of a tradition
It’s simpler than that. Map companies frequently make “mistakes” that are simply markers with which they identify copyright infringement. In other words, they check other people’s maps to see if the same mistakes are made. If they are, they sue them for copying their maps.
They’ve been doing this for decades.
I bet Aughton was entered twice, one misspelled. Then some software algorithm decided it was two different places because the text strings didn’t match. Or maybe it is indeed a copyright protection measure that places a misspelled city next to the right one as a pretty convincing excuse for the error.
I know this is the UK, but in the US there are thousands of place names that were thought of by someone, added to a map by someone else and then forgotten by the sands of time forever.
Also, another inconsistency in mapmaking is that a subdivision with 400 homes and over 1000 residents in an unincorporated area will not appear on a state map, but an old incorporated town with 200 residents will get shown.
You mean those dragons and sea monsters on the map aren’t real?
#6, chuck,
Alphie is going to be upset to find out those mythical beings are really figments of our imagination. Next, someone will explain how Jesus is also a myth.
As a lifelong Argleton resident, I can assure you the place exists. Our pub stills serves a free lunch with our midday pint, the town whorehouse is staffed by a regularly rotated cadre of 19 year old Ukranians, we get free health care from an unlicensed but affable old veterinarian, the constable hasn’t missed a nap in 20 years and our town hobby is creating crop circles to mystify idjits like Adam Curry. Aye, Argleton is a great place to live. Drop by for a visit. If you can find us, I’m buying…
#8, Andy,
Is your town one of those that disappears, only to reappear once every century?
Map makers put in deliberate mistakes all the time. Thomas Brothers of California are famous for this. But they usually put in a fake street. I’ve never heard of them putting in a fake town.
In the county where I am from there is a town called Naples on the maps. It even shows up on Google Maps if you look for it. There is nothing but a farm there. The town was a dream of a developer 100 years ago. But has never actually gotten approval to break ground. Yet, there it is on some maps.
Mr Fusion:
You unlock this town with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension. A dimension of sound. A dimension of sight. A dimension of mind. You’re moving into a land of both shadow and substance of things and ideas. There’s the signpost up ahead. You’ve just crossed over into… Argleton.
#11, Andy,
You don’t work for the Visitor Bureau or the Tourism Bureau I take it.
😉
Palin said she can see it from her house and used the printout to get there.
Cor man. This story is ANCIENT!
Ain’t you not heard of Brigadoon?
You obviously need more of the Scottish water.
Cures all bad thoughts – and all diseases – been known of for centuries.
#13, Greanities,
Does she need bus fare? I’ll donate a couple of bucks.
If it’s a mistake I’ve found there isn’t a real effective way to get Google to correct mistakes.
There is a town near where I live called Taylorville in IL but it’s incorrectly labeled as “Langleyville” for some reason.