when was the last google maps photo taken

Google Maps' satellite view is a "top-down" or "birds eye" view; most of the high-resolution imagery of cities is aerial photography taken from aircraft flying at 800 to 1,500 feet (240 to 460Â m), while most other imagery is from satellites.[4] Much of the available satellite imagery is no more than three years old and is updated on a regular basis.[5] Google Maps uses a close variant of the Mercator projection, and therefore cannot accurately show areas around the poles.

Google Maps

Google Maps is a web mapping service developed by Google. It offers satellite imagery, street maps, 360Â° panoramic views of streets (Street View), real-time traffic conditions (Google Traffic), and route planning for traveling by foot, car, bicycle (in beta), or public transportation.

Google Maps began as a C++ desktop program designed by Lars and Jens Eilstrup Rasmussen at Where 2 Technologies. In October 2004, the company was acquired by Google, which converted it into a web application. After additional acquisitions of a geospatial data visualization company and a realtime traffic analyzer, Google Maps was launched in February 2005.[1] The service's front end utilizes JavaScript, XML, and Ajax. Google Maps offers an API that allows maps to be embedded on third-party websites,[2] and offers a locator for urban businesses and other organizations in numerous countries around the world. Google Map Maker allowed users to collaboratively expand and update the service's mapping worldwide but was discontinued from March, 2017. However, crowdsourced contributions to Google Maps were not discontinued as the company announced those features will be transferred to Google Local Guides program.[3]

The current redesigned version of the desktop application was made available in 2013, alongside the "classic" (pre-2013) version. Google Maps for Android and iOS devices was released in September 2008 and features GPS turn-by-turn navigation along with dedicated parking assistance features. In August 2013, it was determined to be the world's most popular app for smartphones, with over 54% of global smartphone owners using it at least once.[6]

In 2012, Google reported having over 7100 employees and contractors directly working in mapping.[7]

Google Maps provides a route planner,[8] allowing users to find available directions through driving, public transportation, walking, or biking.[9]

Like many other Google web applications, Google Maps uses JavaScript extensively.[10] As the user drags the map, the grid squares are downloaded from the server and inserted into the page. When a user searches for a business, the results are downloaded in the background for insertion into the side panel and map; the page is not reloaded. Locations are drawn dynamically by positioning a red pin (composed of several partially transparent PNGs) on top of the map images. A hidden IFrame with form submission is used because it preserves browser history. The site also uses JSON for data transfer rather than XML, for performance reasons. These techniques both fall under the broad Ajax umbrella. The result is termed a slippy map and is implemented elsewhere in projects such as OpenLayers.[citation needed]

In October 2011, Google announced MapsGL, a WebGL version of Maps with better renderings and smoother transitions.[11]

The version of Google Street View for classic Google Maps requires Adobe Flash.[12]

Google Indoor Maps uses JPG,.PNG,.PDF,.BMP, or.GIF, for floor plan.[13]

As Google Maps is coded almost entirely in JavaScript and XML, some end users have reverse-engineered the tool and produced client-side scripts and server-side hooks which allowed a user or website to introduce expanded or customized features into the Google Maps interface.

Using the core engine and the map/satellite images hosted by Google, such tools can introduce custom location icons, location coordinates and metadata, and even custom map image sources into the Google Maps interface. The script-insertion tool Greasemonkey provides a large number of client-side scripts to customize Google Maps data.

Combinations with photo sharing websites, such as Flickr, are used to create "memory maps".[clarification needed What are memory maps?] Using copies of the Keyhole satellite photos, users have taken advantage of image annotation features to provide personal histories and information regarding particular points of the area.

After the success of reverse-engineered mashups such as chicagocrime.org and housingmaps.com, Google launched the Google Maps API in June 2005[14] to allow developers to integrate Google Maps into their websites. It is a free service, and currently[update] does not contain ads, but Google states in their terms of use that they reserve the right to display ads in the future.[15]

By using the Google Maps API, it is possible to embed Google Maps site into an external website, on to which site specific data can be overlaid.[16] Although initially only a JavaScript API, the Maps API was expanded to include an API for Adobe Flash applications (but this has been deprecated), a service for retrieving static map images, and web services for performing geocoding, generating driving directions, and obtaining elevation profiles. Over 1,000,000[17] web sites use the Google Maps API, making it the most heavily used web application development API.[18]

The Google Maps API is free for commercial use, provided that the site on which it is being used is publicly accessible and does not charge for access, and is not generating more than 25,000 map accesses a day.[19][20] Sites that do not meet these requirements can purchase the Google Maps API for Business.[21]

The success of the Google Maps API has spawned a number of competing alternatives, including the HERE Maps API, Bing Maps Platform, Leaflet and OpenLayers via self-hosting.[citation needed]. The Yahoo! Maps API is in the process of being shut down.[22]

In September 2011, Google announced it would discontinue a number of its products, including Google Maps API for Flash.[23]

Google Maps is available as a mobile app for the Android and iOS mobile operating systems.

The Android app was first released in September 2008,[24][25] though the GPS-localization feature had been in testing on cellphones since 2007.[26][27][28] Google Maps was Apple's solution for its mapping service on iOS until the release of iOS 6 in September 2012, at which point it was replaced by Apple Maps,[29][30] with Google releasing its own Google Maps standalone app on the iOS platform the following December.[31][32]

The Google Maps apps on Android and iOS have many features in common, including turn-by-turn navigation, street view, and public transit information.[33] Updates in June 2012 and May 2014 enabled functionality to let users save certain map regions for offline access,[34][35][36][37] while updates in 2017 have included features to actively help U.S. users find available parking spots in cities,[38][39][40][41] and to give Indian users a two-wheeler transportation mode for improved traffic accessibility.[42][43]

Google Maps on iOS received significant praise after its standalone app release in December 2012, with critics highlighting its detailed information and design as positives.[44][45] However, the apps have received criticism over privacy concerns, particularly a location history tracking page that offers "step by step" location logging, with privacy advocates advising users to disable the feature,[46] and that an April 2014 privacy policy change enabled Google to have a unified login throughout its iOS apps, helping it identify each user's interactions within each app.[47]

In Google Maps, URL parameters are sometimes data-driven in their limits and the user interface presented by the web may or may not reflect those limits. In particular, the zoom level (denoted by the z parameter) supported varies.[48] In less populated regions, the supported zoom levels might stop at around 18. In earlier versions of the API, specifying these higher values might result in no image being displayed. In Western cities, the supported zoom level generally stops at about 20. In some isolated cases, the data supports up to 23 or greater, as in these elephants or this view of people at a well in Chad, Africa. Different versions of the API and web interfaces may or may not fully support these higher levels.

As of October 2010, the Google map viewer updates its zoom bar to allow the user to zoom all the way when centered over areas that support higher zoom levels. In the classic version, customized (split) Map and Street View views can be saved as parametrized URL links and shared by users. In the 2013 redesigned version, a much smaller overview window becomes interactive upon hovering it and enables a user to change the location and rotate the Street View and save a parametrized view, as well.

Google Maps first started as a C++ program designed by two Danish brothers, Lars and Jens Eilstrup Rasmussen, at the Sydney-based company Where 2 Technologies. It was first designed to be separately downloaded by users, but the company later pitched the idea for a purely Web-based product to Google management, changing the method of distribution.[49] In October 2004, the company was acquired by Google Inc.[50] where it transformed into the web application Google Maps. In the same month, Google acquired Keyhole, a geospatial data visualization company (with controversial investment from the CIA), whose marquee application suite, Earth Viewer, emerged as the highly successful Google Earth application in 2005 while other aspects of its core technology were integrated into Google Maps.[51] In September 2004 Google acquired ZipDash, a company that provided realtime traffic analysis.[52]

The application was first announced on the Google Blog on February 8, 2005,[53] and was located at Google. It originally only supported users of Internet Explorer and Mozilla web browsers. Support for Opera and Safari was added on February 25, 2005, however, later browser requirements excluded Opera as a supported browser. It was in beta for six months before becoming part of Google Local on October 6, 2005.

In April 2005, Google created Google Ride Finder using Google Maps. In June 2005, Google released the Google Maps API. In July 2005, Google began Google Maps and Google Local services for Japan, including road maps. On July 22, 2005, Google released "Hybrid View". Together with this change, the satellite image data was converted from plate carrée to Mercator projection, which makes for a less distorted image in the temperate climes latitudes. In July 2005, in honor of the thirty-sixth anniversary of the Apollo Moon landing, Google Moon was launched. In September 2005, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Google Maps quickly updated its satellite imagery of New Orleans to allow users to view the extent of the flooding in various parts of that city. (Oddly, in March 2007, imagery showing hurricane damage was replaced with images from before the storm; this replacement was not made on Google Earth, which still uses post-Katrina imagery.)[54][55]

From January 2006, Google Maps featured road maps for the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, and certain cities in the Republic of Ireland. Coverage of the area around Turin was added in time for the 2006 Winter Olympics. On January 23, Google Maps was updated to use the same satellite image database as Google Earth. On March 12, Google Mars[56] was launched, which features a draggable map and satellite imagery of the planet Mars. In April, Google Local was merged into the main Google Maps site. On April 3, version 2 of the Maps API was released.[57] On June 11, Google added geocoding capabilities to the API, satisfying the most developer-requested feature for this service.[58] On June 14, Google Maps for Enterprise was officially launched.[59] As a commercial service, it features intranet and advertisement-free implementations. Also in June, textured 3D building models were added into Google Earth.[60]

In July, Google started including Google Maps business listings in the form of Local OneBoxes in the main Google search results.[61] In December, Google integrated a feature called Plus Box into the main search results.[62] On December 19 Google added a feature that lets one add multiple destinations to their driving directions.[63] Beginning in February 2007, buildings and subway stops are displayed in Google Maps "map view" for parts of New York City, Washington, D.C., London, San Francisco, and some other cities.[64]

On January 29, 2007, Local Universal results were upgraded and more data included in the main Google results page.[65] On February 28, Google Traffic info was officially launched to automatically include real-time traffic flow conditions to the maps of 30 major cities in the United States.[66] On March 8, the Local Business Center was upgraded.[67] On May 16, Google rolled out Universal search results, including more Map information on the main Google results page.[68] On May 18, Google added neighborhood search capabilities.[69] On May 29, Google driving directions support was added to the Google Maps API.[70] The same day saw the launch of Street View, which gave a ground-level 360-degree view of streets in the major cities of the United States.[71]

On June 19, reviews were allowed to be added directly to businesses on Google Maps.[72] On June 28, draggable driving directions were introduced.[73] On July 31, support for the hCard microformat was announced.[74] On August 21, Google announced a simple way to embed Google Maps into other websites.[75] On September 13, 54 new countries were added to Google Maps in Latin America and Asia.[76]

On October 3, Google Transit was integrated to make public transportation routing possible on Google Maps.[77] On October 27, Google Maps started mapping the geoweb and showing the results in Google Maps.[78] On October 27, Google Maps added a searchable interface for coupons in the business listings.[79] November 27 saw the launch of "Terrain" view, showing basic topographic features. The button for "Hybrid" view was removed, and replaced with a "Show labels" checkbox under the "Satellite" button to switch between "Hybrid" and "Satellite" views.[citation needed]

On January 22, 2008, Google expanded the Local One box from three business listings to ten.[80] On February 20, Google Maps allowed searches to be refined by User Rating and neighborhoods.[81] On March 18, Google allowed end users to edit business listings and add new places;[82] the following day, unlimited category options were added to the Local Business Center.[83] On April 2, Google added contour lines to the Terrain view.[84] In April, a button to view recent Saved Locations was added to the right of the search field.[citation needed] In May, a "More" button was added alongside the "Map", "Satellite", and "Terrain" buttons, permitting access to geographically related photos on Panoramio and articles on Wikipedia.[citation needed] On May 15, Google Maps was ported to Flash and ActionScript 3 as a foundation for richer internet applications.[citation needed] On July 22, walking directions were added.[85] On August 4, Street View expanded to Japan and Australia.[85] On August 5, the user interface was redesigned.[85]

On August 29, Google signed a deal under which Geo Eye would supply them with imagery from a satellite,[86] and introduced the Map Maker tool, which allows any user to improve the map data seen by all.[85] On September 19, 2008, a reverse business lookup feature was added.[85] On September 26, information for the New York City Metropolitan Transit Authority was added.[85] On October 7, GeoEye-1 took its first image, a bird's-eye view of Kutztown University in Pennsylvania.[87] On October 26, reverse geocoding was added to the Maps API.[85] On November 11, Street View expanded to Spain, Italy, and France.[85] On November 23, AIR support for the Maps API for Flash was added.[85] On November 14, a new user interface for Street View was introduced.[85] On November 28, maps, local business information, and local trends for China were introduced.[85] On December 9, 2008, 2x Street View coverage was introduced.[85]

On March 19, 2009 Street View was launched in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.[88] In May, a new Google Maps logo was introduced.[89] In early October, Google replaced Tele Atlas as their primary supplier of geo spatial data in the US version of Maps and use their own data.[90] Later that month, the railroad design was updated,[citation needed] and maps in several areas were changed to include paper streets and lot lines showing up on the map interface.[citation needed]

On February 11, 2010, Google Maps Labs was added. On March 11, 2010, Street View in Hong Kong and Macau were launched.[91] On May 25, 2010, public transportation routing for Denmark was added by integrating with Rejseplanen.dk.[92] As of DecemberÂ 2010[update] Internet Explorer 7.0+, Firefox 3.6+, Safari 3.1+, and Google Chrome are supported.[93]

On April 8, 2011 Google announced that it would begin charging for API usage by commercial sites over a limit.[94] They also introduced a premium licensed service.

On April 19, 2011, Map Maker was added to the American version of Google Maps, allowing any viewer to edit and add changes to Google Maps. This provides Google with local map updates almost in real time instead waiting for digital map data companies to release more infrequent updates.

On January 31, 2012, Google, due to offering its Maps for free, was found guilty of abusing the dominant position of its Google Maps application and ordered by a court to pay a fine and damages to Bottin Cartographer, a French mapping company.[95]

On May 30, 2012, Google Places was replaced by Google+ Local, which now integrates directly with the Google+ service to allow users to post photos and reviews of locations directly to its page on the service. Additionally, Google+ Local and Maps also now feature detailed reviews and ratings from Zagat, which was acquired by Google in September 2011.[96]

In June 2012, Google started mapping Britain's rivers and canals in partnership with the Canal and River Trust. The company has stated that it will update the program during the year to allow users to plan trips which include locks, bridges and towpaths along the 2,000 miles of river paths in the UK.[97]

It was announced on October 11 that Google updated 250,000 miles of roads in the US.[98]

In December 2012, the Google Maps application was separately made available in the App Store, after Apple removed it from its default installation of the mobile operating system version iOS 6. In the face of numerous complaints about the newly released Apple Maps application, Apple CEO Tim Cook was forced to make an apology and recommend other similar applications.[99]

On January 29, 2013, Google Maps was updated to include a map of North Korea.[100]

On March 27, 2013, Google launched Google Maps Engine Lite, a simplified version of its commercial Maps Engine product which is meant to eventually replace the My Maps feature.[101]

On April 23, 2013, Street View was launched in Hungary and Lesotho, expanding the coverage of Google Maps' 360-degree mapping imagery to fifty countries. During the same time period, Google also completed the "largest single update of Street View imagery" ever, with photos of over 350,000 miles (560,000Â km) of road across fourteen countries.[102]

As of May 3, 2013, Google Maps recognizes Palestine as a country, instead of redirecting to the Palestinian territories.[103]

Google announced on its Google Maps blog on May 15, 2013 that a new upgraded version of Google Maps is available for use by those registered Google users who request an invitation. The new Google Maps can create a customized map that is specific to the behavior of each user, revealing highlights that are based on the information that is entered, and providing useful local information such as restaurants. A new feature is a carousel that gathers all Google Maps imagery in one location and contains an Earth view that directly integrates the 3D experience from Google Earth into the new maps. The new version is also more closely connected to Google+ and the local businesses that are displayed are based on each user's Google+ network. Advertisements in the new Google Maps have been redesigned and short sections of advertisements are placed directly onto the map itself, alongside the business name.[104][105]

In August 2013, Google Maps removed the Wikipedia Layer, which provided links to Wikipedia content about locations shown in Google Maps using Wikipedia geocodes.[106]

On February 21, 2014 Google introduced a new Google Maps interface, but did not become the default interface until April 29th, 2015.

On April 12, 2014, Google Maps was updated to reflect the 2014 Crimean crisis. Crimea is shown as the Republic of Crimea in Russia and as the Autonomous Republic of Crimea in Ukraine. All other versions show a dotted disputed border.[107]

In April 2015, on a map near the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi, imagery of the Android logo urinating on the Apple logo was added via Map Maker and appeared on Google Maps. The vandalism was soon removed and Google publicly apologized.[108] However, as a result, Google disabled user moderation on Map Maker, and on May 12, disabled editing worldwide until it can devise a new policy for approving edits and avoiding vandalism.[109]

On April 29, 2015, users of the classic Google Maps were forwarded to the new Google Maps with the option to revert removed from the interface. The old url schemes also forwarded to the new Google Maps, making it impossible for users to use the classic version. However, on various blogs users have found workarounds to continue using the classic Google Maps.[110] One blogger also launched a petition directed to Google CEO Larry Page, asking him to give back the option to use the classic Maps, which has received over 17,000 signatures.

On July 14, 2015 the Chinese name for Scarborough Shoal was removed after a petition from the Philippines was posted on Change.org.[111]

On June 27, 2016, Google rolled out new satellite imagery worldwide sourced from Landsat 8, comprising over 700 trillion pixels of new data.[112] In September 2016, Google Maps acquired mapping analytics startup Urban Engines.[113]

On February 6, 2017, Google Maps for Android was updated with new UI including improvement of transit times, traffic data, local places and recommendations feature.[114]

On October 16, 2017, Google Maps was updated with accessible imagery of several planets and moons such as Titan, Mercury, and Venus, as well as direct access to imagery of the Moon and Mars.[115][116]

On November 15, 2017, Google announced a significant update to the Google Maps formatting. Locations and points of interests will change based on the perceived user intent. The example they used was of a driver seeing gas stations on their map where a transit user using Google Maps in the same location would get train stations.[117]

In honor of the 36th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing on July 20, 1969, Google took public domain imagery of the Moon, integrated it into the Google Maps interface, and created a tool called Google Moon.[118] By default this tool, with a reduced set of features, also displays the points of landing of all Apollo spacecraft to land on the Moon. It also included an Easter egg, displaying a Swiss cheese design at the highest zoom level, which Google has since removed.[citation needed] A collaborative project between NASA Ames Research Center and Google called the Planetary Content Project integrates and improves the data that is used for Google Moon.[119] Google Moon was linked from a special commemorative version of the Google logo displayed at the top of the main Google search page for July 20, 2005 (UTC).[120]

Google Mars provides a visible imagery view, like Google Moon, as well as infrared imagery and shaded relief (elevation) of the planet Mars. Users can toggle between the elevation, visible, and infrared data, in the same manner as switching between map, satellite, and hybrid modes of Google Maps. In collaboration with NASA scientists at the Mars Space Flight Facility located at Arizona State University, Google has provided the public with data collected from two NASA Mars missions, Mars Global Surveyor and 2001 Mars Odyssey.[121]

Now, with Google Earth 5 it is possible to access new improved Google Mars data at a much higher resolution, as well as being able to view the terrain in 3D, and viewing panoramas from various Mars landers in a similar way to Google Street View.

On August 27, 2007, Google introduced Google Sky, an online space mapping tool that allows users to pan through a map of the visible universe, using photographs taken by the Hubble Space Telescope.

Google launched an experimental Google Maps-based tool called Ride Finder, tapping into in-car GPS units for a selection of participating taxi and limousine services. The tool displays the current location of all supported vehicles of the participating services in major US cities, including Chicago and San Francisco, on a Google Maps street map. As of 2009[update] the tool seems to be discontinued.

In 2007, Google Maps began offering traffic data in real-time, using a colored map overlay to display the speed of vehicles on particular roads.[66] Crowdsourcing is used to obtain the GPS-determined locations of a large number of cellphone users, from which live traffic maps are produced.[122]

In December 2005, Google launched public transport route planner Google Transit on Google Labs, a 20% project of Chris Harrelson and Avichal Garg.[123] Google Transit launched initially with support for Portland, Oregon, and now includes hundreds of cities in the United States, Canada, Europe, Africa and Australasia. The service calculates route, transit time and cost, and can compare the trip to one using a car. In October 2007 Google Transit graduated from Google Labs and became fully integrated into Google Maps.[124] Google has provided real-time transit updates for selected locations since 2011.[125][126] Google created the General Transit Feed Specification (formerly 'Google Transit Feed Specification') as a simple way of exchanging transit information. GTFSs are needed for information to be provided on Maps.

The coverage of Google Transit is publicly available. It is spread worldwide, in hundreds of cities and sometimes in entire countries such as China, Great Britain, Japan and Switzerland. Information is also available for most major cities in the United States and in Canada. In other areas, Google Transit only provides routing for some agencies or modes, for example in Paris. In others only the Transit map Layer is available, but no routing, for example in Vienna because local providers refuse to provide GTFS data.[127][128]

On March 10, 2010, Google added the possibility to search for biking directions on Google Maps. Optimal routes are calculated from traffic, elevation change, bike paths, bike lanes, and preferred roads for biking. An optional layer also shows different types of biking paths, from bike-only trails to preferred roads. This service is available in the US[129][130] and Canada,[131] and is in beta testing in some other countries such as Singapore. In May 2013, Google Maps' biking direction added 6 more European countries: France, Ireland, Germany, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and Poland.

In April 2007, My Maps was a new feature added to Google's local search maps. My Maps lets users and businesses create their own map by positioning markers, polylines and polygons onto a map. The interface is a straightforward overlay on the map. A set of eighty-four pre-designed markers is available, ranging from bars and restaurants to webcam and earthquake symbols. Poly line and Polygon color, width and opacity are selectable. Maps modified using My Maps can be saved for later viewing and made public or marked as unlisted, in which case a user will need the saved URL with a 42-character unique ID.

Each element added to a My Map has an editable tag. This tag can contain text, rich text or HTML. Embeddable video and other content can be included within the HTML tag.

Upon the launch of My Maps there was no facility to embed the created maps into a webpage or blog. A few independent websites have now produced tools to let users embed maps and add further functionality to their maps.[132] This has been resolved with version 2.78.[citation needed]

On May 25, 2007, Google released Google Street View, a new feature of Google Maps which provides 360Â° panoramic street-level views of various locations. On the date of release, the feature only included five cities in the US. It has since expanded to thousands of locations around the world. In July 2009, Google began mapping college campuses and surrounding paths and trails.

Street View garnered much controversy after its release because of privacy concerns about the uncensored nature of the panoramic photographs.[133][134] Since then, Google has begun blurring faces and license plates through automatic and face detection.[135][136] A side effect of this is that many unrelated objects, such as traffic signs, road information, and street advertising, have often been blurred.[citation needed]

In late 2014, Google launched Google Underwater Street View, including 2,300 kilometres (1,400Â mi) of the Australian Great Barrier Reef in 3D. The images are taken by special cameras which turn 360 degrees and shoot in every 3 seconds.[137]

In December 2009, Google released Aerial View, consisting of angled aerial imagery, offering a "bird's eye view" of cities. The first cities available were San Jose and San Diego. This feature was available only to developers via the Google Maps API.[138] In February 2010 it was introduced as an experimental feature in Google Maps Labs.[139]

In July 2010, Aerial View was made available in Google Maps in select cities in the United States and worldwide.[140]

Google Latitude was a feature from Google that lets users share their physical locations with other people. This service was based on Google Maps, specifically on mobile devices. There was an iGoogle widget for Desktops and Laptops as well.[141] Some concerns were expressed about the privacy issues raised by the use of the service. On August 9, 2013, this service was discontinued,[142] and in Mar 22, 2017, Google incorporated the features from Latitude into the Google Maps app.[143]

Google retired its Flu Vaccine Finder in April 2012, but worked closely with HealthMap to launch HealthMap Flu Vaccine Finder.[144]

Monopoly City Streets was a live worldwide version of the game Monopoly using Google Maps as the game board. It was created by Google and Hasbro. The game has since ended.[145]

In March 2011, indoor maps were added to Google Maps for Android, giving users the ability to navigate themselves within buildings such as airports, museums, shopping malls, big-box stores, universities, transit stations, and other public spaces (including underground facilities). In July 2013, a revised version of Google Maps added support for Apple iOS devices, including iPads and iPhones.[146] Google encourages owners of public facilities to submit floor plans of their buildings in order to add them to the service.[147] Map users can view different floors of a building or subway station by clicking on a level selector that is displayed near any structures which are mapped on multiple levels.

Originally called Google Business Photos, initially offered in April 2010 to select cities around the United States,[148] Google Business View has expanded to 27 different countries,[149] including over 180 cities in the United States. The program is run by Google but the photography is taken by specially certified photographers (called Google Trusted Photographers). The regions currently being served are the US, Canada, Spain, Italy, the UK, France, Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, Ireland, Australia, Germany, Russia, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Poland, Belgium, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, India and New Zealand. Photographers can take up to 200 panoramas per business location.[150] Google has set up a website where interested businesses can get more information.

Previous versions of Google Maps (now called "classic maps") had a feature called 'My Places', allowing users to create maps with many locations saved as markers or 'pins'. These maps were used to reference places frequently visited or planned to be visited, planning or recording trip itineraries, etc. For example, a person could create a map of their favorite restaurants and share it with friends. Users could customize the look of markers, add comments to each marker, create routes, etc. These maps could easily be shared and were accessible from any browser when signed in, and from the mobile app for android. Multiple users could also collaborate on editing maps, and formerly maps could be made public to search by other users.

In 2013 Google started phasing out the 'My Places' features, including'my maps'. My Places is not included in the 'New Google Maps' for browsers, or in the Android app since version 7 launched in July 2013. Currently users can revert to 'Classic Maps' from web browsers to access, edit, and download their maps, this will not be possible once the option to revert to classic maps is removed. Google initially stated that the feature would be returned to future versions of the mobile app when version 7 was launched.[151] However, since then there have been no indications that google plans to do so, and as of version 7.7 in March 2014, the feature has not been added. Many users have complained about the lack of this feature, with no response from Google.[152] Some users have downloaded prior versions of the Google Maps app, before version 7, which still support 'My Maps', though the feature can be unreliable.[153]

Currently users can download their maps as.kml files which can be used by Google Earth and third-party apps, and also import the maps into Google Maps Engine.

Google 'My Maps' allow user to download and print high resolution maps.

In 2017 Google made Street side mapping of the ISS, using photographs taken by the astronauts and cosmonauts on the ISS.

See ISS on Google Maps

Google Maps interface links through the "Wikipedia layer" to the geo-tags placed in English Wikipedia articles, but does not support non-English ones, reducing its usefulness in non-English languages and in non-English speaking territories. It also links to photos with GPS tags from Panoramio.[citation needed]

Isochrone maps can be generated using the Google Maps API.[154]

The Google Maps terms and conditions[155] state that usage of material from Google Maps is regulated by Google Terms of Service[156] and some additional restrictions. Google has either purchased local map data from established companies, or has entered into lease agreements to use copyrighted map data. The owner of the copyright is listed at the bottom of zoomed maps. For example, street maps in Japan are leased from Zenrin. Street maps in China are leased from AutoNavi.[157] Russian street maps are leased from Geocentre Consulting and Tele Atlas. Data for North Korea is sourced from the companion project Google Map Maker.

In areas where Google Map Maker was available, for example, much of Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe as well as the United States and Canada, anyone who logged into their Google account could directly improve the map by fixing incorrect driving directions, adding biking trails, or adding a missing building or road. General map errors in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Liechtenstein, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, Switzerland, and the United States could be reported using the Report a Problem link in Google Maps and would be updated by Google.[158] For areas where Google used Tele Atlas data, map errors could be reported using Tele Atlas map insight.[159]

If imagery was missing, outdated, misaligned, or generally incorrect, one could notify Google through their contact request form.[160]

In November 2016, Google announced the discontinuation of Google Map Maker as of March 2017.[161]

Google Maps has difficulty processing ZIP code data when dealing with cross-boundary situations. For example, users are unable to obtain a route from Hong Kong to Shenzhen via Shatoujiao, because Google Maps does not display and plan the road map of two overlapping places.[162]

Sometimes the names of geographical locations are inaccurate. An example of this type of error could be found in Google Maps Laona, Wisconsin. In this instance Google Maps identified one of the town's two major lakes as "Dawson Lake";[163] the USGS, State of Wisconsin, and local government maps all identify that map feature as "Scattered Rice Lake".[164] Another example was Samoa, labeled with "Western Samoa", accurate only as recently as 1997.

In 2011, Google Maps mislabeled the entire length of US Route 30 from Astoria, Oregon to Atlantic City, New Jersey as being concurrent with Quebec Route 366.[165]

In 2009, Google Maps labelled a street in Padova, Italy as "Via Mussolini", suggesting it was named after the dictator Benito Mussolini. In fact, the street is called IV novembre.[166]

Users are allowed to suggest corrections using the "Send feedback" button. These suggestions are reviewed, and either accepted or declined; the user is informed when this decision occurs.

Google collates business listings from multiple on-line and off-line sources. To reduce duplication in the index, Google's algorithm combines listings automatically based on address, phone number, or geocode,[167] but sometimes information for separate businesses will be inadvertently merged with each other, resulting in listings inaccurately incorporating elements from multiple businesses.[168]

Google allows business owners to verify their own business data,[169] and has also recruited volunteers to check and correct ground truth data.[170]

Google Maps can easily be manipulated by businesses which aren't physically located in the area they record a listing.[171] There are cases of people abusing Google Maps to overtake their competition where they place a number of unverified listings on online directory sites knowing the information will roll across to Google (duplicate sites). The people that update these listings do not use a registered business name. Keywords and location details are placed on their Google Maps business title which overtake credible business listings. In Australia in particular, genuine companies and businesses are noticing a trend of fake business listings in a variety of industries.[172]

Street map overlays, in some areas, may not match up precisely with the corresponding satellite images. The street data may be entirely erroneous, or simply out of date: "The biggest challenge is the currency of data, the authenticity of data," said Google Earth representative Brian McClendon. As a result, in March 2008 Google added a feature to edit the locations of houses and businesses.[173][174]

Restrictions have been placed on Google Maps through the apparent censoring of locations deemed potential security threats. In some cases the area of redaction is for specific buildings, but in other cases, such as Washington, D.C.,[175] the restriction is to use outdated imagery. These locations are fully listed on Satellite map images with missing or unclear data.

Due to restrictions on geographic data in China, Google Maps must partner with a Chinese digital map provider in order to legally show China map data. Since 2006, this partner has been AutoNavi.[157]

Within China, the State Council mandates that all maps of China use the GCJ-02 coordinate system, which is offset from the WGS-84 system used in most of the world. google.cn/maps (formerly Google Ditu) uses the GCJ-02 system for both its street maps[176] and satellite imagery.[177] google.com/maps also uses GCJ-02 data for the street map, but uses WGS-84 coordinates for satellite imagery,[178] causing the so-called China GPS shift problem.

Frontier alignments also present some differences between google.cn/maps and google.com/maps. On the latter, sections of the Chinese border with India and Pakistan are shown with dotted lines, indicating areas or frontiers in dispute. However, google.cn shows the Chinese frontier strictly according to Chinese claims with no dotted lines indicating the border with India and Pakistan. For example, the South Tibet region claimed by China but administered by India as a large part of Arunachal Pradesh is shown inside the Chinese frontier by google.cn, with Indian highways ending abruptly at the Chinese claim line. Google.cn also shows Taiwan and the South China Sea Islands as part of China. Google Ditu's street map coverage of Taiwan no longer omits major state organs, such as the Presidential Palace, the five Yuans, and the Supreme Court.[179]

Feature-wise, google.cn/maps does not feature My Maps. On the other hand, while google.cn displays virtually all text in Chinese, google.com/maps displays most text (user-selectable real text as well as those on map) in English. This behavior of displaying English text is not consistent but intermittent â€“ sometimes it is in English, sometimes it is in Chinese. The criteria for choosing which language is displayed are not known publicly.

In 2005 the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization (ANSTO) complained about the potential for terrorists to use the satellite images in planning attacks, with specific reference to the Lucas Heights nuclear reactor; however, the Australian Federal government did not support the organization's concern. At the time of the ANSTO complaint, Google had colored over some areas for security (mostly in the US), such as the rooftop of the White House and several other Washington, D.C., US buildings.[180][181][182]

In October 2010, Nicaraguan military commander Edén Pastora stationed Nicaraguan troops on the Isla Calero (in the delta of the San Juan River), justifying his action on the border delineation given by Google Maps. Google has since updated its data which it found to be incorrect.[183]

On January 27, 2014, documents leaked by Edward Snowden revealed that the NSA and the GCHQ intercepted Google Maps queries made on smartphones, and used them to locate the users making these queries. One leaked document, dating to 2008, stated that "[i]t effectively means that anyone using Google Maps on a smartphone is working in support of a GCHQ system."[184]

Google Maps is based on a close variant of the Mercator projection.[185]


what is stan's sister's name in south park

Shelly Lynn Marsh is Randy and Sharon's daughter and Stan's older sister. The character was voiced by Mary Kay Bergman until Bergman's death, and Shelly has subsequently been voiced by Eliza Schneider. Her new voice artist is April Stewart.

List of South Park families

The following are fictional characters in the American animated television series South Park.

Randy and Sharon Marsh are the most prominent set of parents on the show. Their first names are derived from the first names of series co-creator Trey Parker's parents.[1] and Parker describes Randy as "the biggest dingbat in the entire show." [2] Randy is voiced by Parker. Sharon was originally voiced by Mary Kay Bergman, later Eliza Schneider, and is currently voiced by April Stewart.

Shelly has an extremely aggressive temper and has very little respect for Stan and his friends, usually referring to them as "turds". In "An Elephant Makes Love to a Pig", she physically abused him, hurled him around their house, and in the feature film South Park: Bigger, Longer, Uncut, she demolished a wooden chair over his head. This does not mean she hates her brother, as in the former episode she lies to protect him from being sent away. There have been other moments when she also seems to have superhuman strength, and once had the ability to lift a piano over her head with ease, seen during "Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics". She does help Stan when he is in real danger, although in "Pre-School" this was apparently only because she wants the privilege of beating up her brother all to herself.

In the episode "Cat Orgy", Shelly was dating Skyler, a 22-year-old who has his own band. Shelly also internet dated a boy named Amir in the episode "Over Logging" who she later met in California but could not properly look him in the eye.

Shelly is prominent in the episodes "An Elephant Makes Love to a Pig", "Chickenpox", "The New Terrance and Phillip Movie Trailer", "Cat Orgy", "Over Logging", "Pandemic", "Pandemic 2: The Startling", and "Broadway Bro Down".

"Grampa" (Marvin) Marsh is Stan's grandfather. He is voiced by Trey Parker, who also provides the voices for both his son Randy and his grandson Stan. In "Something Wall-Mart This Way Comes" Sharon acknowledges to Sheila that Marvin is her father (although she may just refer to her father-in-law that way). According to the episode "Death", Grampa is 102 years old. It is also revealed in the episode that he helped his grandfather commit suicide. In the episode "Grey Dawn", he revealed that he worked 55 years in a steel mill and he flew Spitfire fighter planes over Germany in World War II. He is also familiar with typically British words as "wanker" and "poofter". Both Grampa Marsh and his own grandfather call their grandsons "Billy", even after being corrected multiple times. In "Cash for Gold, Grampa becomes one of many elderly citizens to be tricked into buying fake jewellery from a corrupt TV shopping channel.

Jimbo Kern (sometimes portrayed as Kerns or Uncle Jimbo) is uncle to Stan. Earlier episodes indicated him to be the brother of Stan's mother Sharon, but an interview with Stone established him as the half-brother of Stan's father, Randy,[3] though their fraternal relationship is rarely explored on the show. Jimbo is voiced by series co-creator Matt Stone. Jimbo is a Vietnam veteran and gun enthusiast, owning a local firearms store and leading an outdoors lifestyle. He is often accompanied by his war buddy Ned Gerblansky. Jimbo frequently keeps company with the town's working-class citizens, and often expresses a blue-collar point of view during the show's frequent satire of both liberal and conservative politics. Jimbo and Ned were inspired by characters series co-creator Trey Parker used to draw during high school.[4] It is hinted in the episode "It Hits the Fan" that Jimbo is gay, as he is the only character apart from Mr. Garrison who can say "Fag" without being bleeped. However, he was seen in the episode "Scott Tenorman Must Die" peeking at the title antagonist's mother when Cartman saw that she was removing her bra; putting his possible homosexual identity in question.

Jimbo is shown on numerous occasions to drive a Hummer.[5][6][7][8][9] He likes to place bets on local sporting events, such as elementary school football games[10] and boxing matches.[11] Jimbo campaigned in opposition of a proposal to change the South Park flag because the flag depicted the town's racist past. As a show of friendship with Chef, Jimbo agreed to a compromise with supporters of the change.[12] Jimbo has also publicly voiced his opinion on other occasions, such as when he was displeased with a fireworks ban,[9] and clashed with protesters of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.[13]

Aunt Flo Kimble was Sharon's aunt. She appears solely in "Spookyfish" although characters mention that used to visit the Marshes every month, and stay for about five days that turned Sharon into "a total bitch". During the episode, the goldfish she had given Stan for Halloween killed her, and this upset Sharon, because now Aunt Flo could never visit her again. Her monthly routine of visiting, the standard time her visits lasted, and Sharon's reaction to them, was a parody of menstruation. Similarly, her death parodied menopause, as the phrase "a visit from Aunt Flo" is a common euphemism for menstruation. Aunt Flo also had Parkinson's disease and sounded like Katharine Hepburn when she spoke.

Sir Ike Moisha Broflovski (born Peter Gintz)[14] is the adopted baby brother of Kyle, born in Canada. He has appeared in the series since the very first episode. Ike has black hair, and, like all Canadians portrayed on the series, is depicted as having small beady eyes and an ovoid head which is completely divided in two, and separates completely from the lower half whenever he talks.

Ike's original birth name was Peter Gintz. He was put up for adoption by his Canadian parents, Harry and Elise, after Canada had been 'devastated by the cola wars'. Although Kyle initially rejected Ike upon finding out that he was adopted, Ike idolizes his brother and Kyle watches out for him and often shows a great deal of affection towards his little brother. As seen in It's Christmas in Canada where Kyle travels great lengths to find and rescue his little brother after being taken against his and his families will to Canada. In a recurring gag during some earlier season episodes, Kyle would exclaim "Kick the Baby!" and proceed to kick Ike like he was kicking a field goal in a football game.

It is revealed in season four that Ike is a genius and is sent to kindergarten a year early. At age 3, he composes sheet music, reads John Steinbeck novels, and watches The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer every night. On his first day at school, he ran for class president and won, and at Jewbilee camp, he recreates Leonardo da Vinci's the Last Supper using macaroni. He was knighted in "Royal Pudding" after saving the Canadian Princess and was involved in Barack Obama and John McCain's plans to steal the Hope Diamond in "About Last Night..."

Throughout the show's run, Ike's dialogue has consisted of sound bites provided by various small children of the show's production staff. Despite Ike being a genius, his dialogue mostly consists of toddler-like, nonsensical babble, such as "I pooped my pants" or "ring around a rosy". Later season episodes depict him as speaking more coherently. His body was temporarily taken over by the spirit of Michael Jackson in the episode "Dead Celebrities". In the episode "Canada on Strike" he stands out in the cold for days waiting for the strike to end. He embarked on a sexual relationship with his adult kindergarten teacher in the episode "Miss Teacher Bangs a Boy", which gives him admiration and envy from nearly every person in town who finds out about it other than Kyle. In the seventeenth season episode "Taming Strange", Ike (voiced by Eric Bauza who was credited as True List), experiencing precocious puberty due to accidentally taking steroids intended for Tom Brady, becomes hostile towards Kyle, and has developed habits that include speaking of engaging in sex acts with child entertainment characters (which Ike refers to as "taming strange"). The brothers eventually reconcile when Ike, after realizing that while rebellion is part of growing up, decides he would rather let it happen naturally instead of pushing it.

Kyle Schwartz is Kyle Broflovski's irritating and stereotypically Jewish cousin from Connecticut, with certain mannerisms distinctly modeled after Woody Allen. Kyle Schwartz has a tiny body and large head and breathes heavily all the time due to asthma. He has poor eyesight for which he wears large glasses. As voiced by Trey Parker, Kyle Schwartz sounds like Tony Curtis' impression of Cary Grant in the film Some Like it Hot. Curtis' real name was Bernard Schwartz, which may explain Kyle's surname. The character's first appearance was in "The Entity" when he had to stay with Kyle and his family because his mother was in the hospital. At the end of "The Entity", Schwartz receives a $5 million check after the "IT", a vehicle he invested in, was banned and the airline companies were bailed out. Schwartz was also hired by Cartman as an accountant to see if his behavior throughout the year put him on Santa Claus' Nice or Naughty list in Red Sleigh Down; he informed Cartman that if he cured cancer and AIDS, he would still owe Santa two presents. He later appears in the season 9 episode "The Losing Edge" as a reverse ringer the other kids bring in to make their team lose.

Cleo Broflovski (1928-1999) was Sheila's mother and Kyle's grandmother, who died three months before "Korn's Groovy Pirate Ghost Mystery". The boys dig her up in an attempt to scare the fifth-graders on Halloween. The prank backfires as her body is eaten by stray dogs due to the boys having hidden the body unprotected near the harbor.

Liane Marie Cartman, originally voiced by Mary Kay Bergman and later by Eliza J. Schneider and April Stewart, is the generally sweet-natured mother of Eric Cartman; though in later seasons, she has been shown to be a more proactive mother and who doesn't tolerate his antics or foul language. Her promiscuity, often with total strangers, was a running gag initially. It seemed as though all of the adults in South Park had slept with her (including the women). Although in episode 7, she is indicated to be a "crack whore", she says in "The Poor Kid" that she has not done drugs in some time, and works two jobs, even though she and Eric are the second-poorest family in South Park (at least of those whose children attend South Park Elementary) after Kenny McCormick's.[15] It is first revealed that she is a hermaphrodite (and so is Eric’s father), though in episode "201" it is revealed that Eric's real father is Jack Tenorman, the father of his nemesis Scott Tenorman a member of the 1991 Denver Broncos, and the rouse about her being a hermaphrodite was made up to maintain the Broncos’ reputation since “they were having a good year”

Jack Tenorman is the father of Scott Tenorman. He dies in the season five episode "Scott Tenorman Must Die", when he and his wife are shot dead by a farmer who had been told by Cartman that they were going to kill a pony he owns.

In the season two episode "Cartman's Mom Is Still a Dirty Slut", Cartman is told that Liane is a hermaphrodite (has both male and female genitalia) and that she is actually his father, having impregnated an unknown woman. However, in the season fourteen episode "200", Mr. Garrison tells Cartman that this was actually a cover-up. In the following episode "201", it's revealed that it was a lie the entire town told to protect the Denver Broncos American football team, especially since they were in the midst of a Super Bowl run. Jack, a Broncos player, was Cartman's actual father and Liane is his mother after all, meaning also that his nemesis Scott Tenorman is his half-brother. Cartman, however is more distraught to learn that he is "half ginger", than to realize that he fed his own father to his half-brother.

Scott Tenorman is Jack's son, and Cartman's half-brother. Scott and Cartman have an ongoing feud with each other. In his first appearance in "Scott Tenorman Must Die", Scott is depicted as a bully to Cartman, selling him his pubic hair, stealing his money and publicly humiliating him, which further encourages Cartman to keep their feud alive. Their feud temporarily dies down after Cartman feeds Scott his parents' remains in the form of chili. In the season nine episode "The Death of Eric Cartman", Cartman, with help from Butters Stotch, attempts to officially end their feud by giving Scott a fruit basket. It is revealed in "201" that Scott is the leader of the "Ginger Separatist Movement" and wants revenge on Cartman. Scott also takes glee in the facts of informing Cartman that they share the same birth-father, the fact that their father was a ginger and that Cartman already had him killed. He was the antagonist in the 2012 game South Park: Tenorman's Revenge.

The extended Cartman family is shown in the episode "Merry Christmas, Charlie Manson!", where Eric and the others go on a trip to Nebraska to visit them for Christmas. Most of his relatives (except for his grandmother) appear to be physically similar to him; all fat (this is in direct contradiction to the episode "Fat Camp" in which Eric's mother Liane states that the Cartman extended family is in fact not genetically fat as she had led her son to believe), with the same speech impediment and catchphrases such as "Kick-ass!", "I'll kick you squah in the nuts", "Respect mah authoritah!", and "No, kitty that's my pot pie. No, kitty that's a bad kitty!". The family returns in the episode "Cartmanland" at his grandmother's funeral, where she leaves her entire estate (valued at $1 million) to Eric, citing that all the other family members would have spent it all on crack. His grandparents' names are Harold and Mabel; his uncles are Howard (who is imprisoned in the Nebraska state penitentiary, and who "attends" Thanksgiving dinner every year via closed-circuit television) and Stinky. He has an aunt, Lisa, and three cousins, Fred, Alexandra (who is thin like Liane, unlike the other Cartmans), and Elvin. He also has a great-grandmother, Florence, and a relative named "Fat Bob".

Stuart and Carol McCormick are both unemployed alcoholics raising their son Kenny, older son Kevin and youngest daughter Karen under poverty-stricken circumstances. Stuart is voiced by series co-creator Matt Stone and Carol, who was originally voiced by Mary Kay Bergman, is currently voiced by April Stewart.

The McCormicks are one of the poorest families in the town of South Park, living in a small, dilapidated house overrun by rats. Aside from Stuart once mentioning that he was missing work,[16] he and his wife have always been portrayed as being unemployed with little means of income; they are involved in methamphetamine production,[17] and Eric Cartman has mentioned numerous times that they are dependent on welfare.

Stuart was childhood friends with Gerald Broflovski, and the two worked together as teenagers at a pizza store. Having been unable to hold a steady job since, Stuart later felt contempt for and had a falling out with Gerald after Gerald went on to attend college and became a lawyer.[18] Early in the show's run, it was revealed that the McCormicks' house was actually a play fort Stuart and Gerald built when they were young.[18] The two later reconciled their differences, and Stuart has been portrayed as maintaining a friendship with Gerald and other adult characters on the show by hanging with them at a local bar.

Kevin McCormick is the rarely seen eldest McCormick child. He has parted, messy brown hair that sticks up and has a messy face like his parents. His age is unknown. He has only spoken on two occasions and was voiced by Trey Parker with a rough voice similar to the former characters Bill and Fosse, though with a Southern accent.

Karen McCormick (voice of Celeste Javier) is the youngest of the McCormick children. She first appeared briefly in "Best Friends Forever". Her first prominent role was in "The Poor Kid", in which she and her brothers are placed in foster care, and Kenny adopts his Mysterion persona in order to protect and comfort her. Mysterion is also known as her guardian angel.[15]

Kenny's unnamed grandfather appears in "Fat Camp" which has Kenny giving him a "sensual full-body massage" in front of a live audience for money. Kenny's grandfather is also mentioned in "Chickenpox", where Gerald Broflovski implies that he was an unemployed drunk much like Stuart. He also appears to have masturbation problems.

Stephen "Chris" Willis and Linda Stotch are Butters' parents. Stephen, a handsome yuppie, is voiced by Trey Parker, and Linda by Mona Marshall. The couple began appearing towards the end of season 4, in correlation with their son becoming a more significant character. In his first role as a major character, Stephen was discovered to have been frequently going to a gay movie theater and a bath house to have casual sex with men.[19] This led Linda to a psychotic break and she attempted to kill Butters by driving her car into a river. Butters survives, blissfully ignorant of everything. The couple then had to concoct a story about their presumably dead son being abducted by a "Puerto Rican man", which leads to later appearances by O.J. Simpson and Patsy and John Ramsey. Claiming to Linda that he only did so out of curiosity, Stephen promises to suppress any future homosexual urges.[19]

Stephen and Linda were portrayed in another episode as having established a friendship with the parents of the show's other main child characters, joining them for book club meetings[20] and vacationing with them in Aspen.[21]

In keeping with the show's tradition of portraying adult South Park residents as irrational, Stephen constructed a mountain bunker as a proverbial "ark" to provide shelter for John McCain supporters who thought Barack Obama's victory in the 2008 presidential race would bring about chaos and the end of civilization.[22] Stephen adheres to a strict method of running his household, such as demanding that items in the kitchen pantry be alphabetized, noting that a well-organized pantry is "what keeps a family together".[23]

Linda, despite being a strict disciplinarian herself and rarely objecting to the punishments her husband imposes on their son, is usually shown to be a sympathetic mother towards her son. Serving on the city council as the town's treasurer, she is also an engineer.[24]

Stephen and Linda exhibit somewhat extreme reactions and a notable level of selfishness in their relationship with their son, often causing them to overlook or ignore Butters' attempts to communicate. In the episode "Marjorine", both are visibly distressed by Butters' (faked) death with Stephen going so far as to attempt bringing him back to life. When Butters returns home intending to expose the hoax, both parents think he is a demon spawn and chain him up in the basement. Though disgusted and afraid to approach their son, they nonetheless lure a woman to their home and kill her in order to "feed" Butters.[25] They both often seem to care for Butters, but were willing to sell him to Paris Hilton in "Stupid Spoiled Whore Video Playset". Their mixed sentiments are a likely cause of Butters' anxiety and neuroses.

Butters has an aunt and uncle living in Los Angeles as seen in the episode "AWESOM-O". He mentions having cousins in Florida in "Major Boobage", and an Uncle Bud who he admits sexually molested him in "The Return of Chef". He has a grandmother who suffered a stroke, the cause of which was seeing Butters on national TV with prosthetic testicles attached to his chin. The grandmother also appears in the episode "Butterballs" in which she visits the Stotch family and bullies Butters whenever his parents are not looking.

The Tweaks are Tweek's family. Tweek's parents run a coffee shop called Tweek Bros. Coffee (a parody of Dunn Bros Coffee). It was nearly put out of business by the major coffee corporation, Harbucks. After a large feud both businesses learned to work together. The Tweaks are their own product's most devoted fans. Even their son consumes several cups of coffee a day (despite his age), hence his constant twitching and general nervousness. Despite the family's passion over coffee, it is implied their product tastes unpleasant and was originally successful simply because theirs was the only coffee store in town until Harbucks moved in. They usually have heart-to-heart talks with their son in times of concern or crisis (such as child abduction or their company going out of business), but they often oversimplify or exaggerate the problems, making Tweek's paranoia worse â€” generally speaking, every time Tweek has a new concern or problem his parents tend to aggravate it. Richard Tweak wears a maroon jumper with a barista name tag and black trousers. He has a long pointed nose and dark curly brown hair. Mrs. Tweak, whose first name has not been revealed on the show, wears a blue dress with a white apron, and long light brown hair.

Tweek's parents have appeared in several episodes, most notably "Gnomes" and "Child Abduction Is Not Funny". They play a major role in South Park: The Stick of Truth, it is revealed they send their son to pick up a meth delivery daily, and it is an essential ingredient in their coffee. They put Meth in Tweek's coffee with the claim that it will calm him down, but it's far more likely to be the direct cause of his paranoia and shakes, but from observing their own calm, focused natures don't seem to use it themselves. Mr. Tweek is voiced by Trey Parker and Mrs. Tweek has been voiced by Mary Kay Bergman and Eliza Schneider, but did not speak again for over ten years until "Informative Murder Porn", when she joined the men of the town and Linda Stotch to get their crime dramas back by playing MineCraft.

The Blacks are Token's family. They are, as their son's name references, the "token" black people on the show, and Token Black is the "token black kid" at school. As well as being the only African-American family in South Park, they are also the town's richest family. In "Here Comes the Neighborhood", it is revealed that Token's mother is a chemist (although Randy Marsh is considered the only scientist[26] in South Park, despite the presence of other scientists in later episodes), and his father Steve is a lawyer. They are sometimes called Bob and Linda from an ambiguous exchange in "Proper Condom Use", but Token's father is referred to as Steve in "The Return of the Fellowship of the Ring to the Two Towers".

Cartman always makes fun of Token for being black, frequently employing racist stereotypes. Token's last name in the series was originally "Williams". The name "Black" is given, because he is the only black child in South Park. Part of the humor of Token's character is that despite mostly subverting the characteristics of the traditional token black character, he sometimes unwillingly fulfills it, such as finding out he instinctively knows how to play bass guitar, which Cartman insisted all black people know, or an uncontrollable desire to pay to see Tyler Perry perform comedy.

Clyde's family are the Donovans, though they were also referred to as the "Harris" family in one episode. Clyde's father, Roger, has been stated in different episodes to be a geologist (although Randy Marsh is considered the only scientist{{season 3, episode 2, "Spontaneous Combustion"[27]}} in South Park, though others, including further geologists, have appeared since) or in the episode "The List", it is said that Clyde's father owns a shoe store at the Mall. Clyde's mother, Betsy (originally Martha) is of Dutch ancestry. Both characters come to the foreground in "Reverse Cowgirl", when Betsy is shown to verbally abuse Clyde frequently for leaving the toilet seat up, an action that eventually leads to her death when she becomes trapped in the toilet and could not be freed. A sister has been mentioned, but has not been seen. Roger has continued to appear since his wife's death. Betsy Donovan was voiced by April Stewart until her final appearance, where she was voiced by Trey Parker.

The family was accidentally referred to as the "Harrises" in "Lice Capades", however, this was changed back to Donovan in the later re-airings of the episode.

Wendy's family are the Testaburgers. The Testaburgers seem fairly well-off and functional, although it appears they don't pay much attention to their daughter or listen to her. They do intercede when she seems to be behaving badly. Wendy's mother tries to prevent her daughter from getting breast implants in "Bebe's Boobs Destroy Society", while Wendy's father is indignant when she wants to dress like a whore in "Stupid Spoiled Whore Video Playset", although he was eventually convinced to allow it by the store's whorish clientele. They also refused to listen to her excuses for beating up Cartman in "Breast Cancer Show Ever", and forced her to promise it wouldn't happen again. In the episode "Night of the Living Homeless", it is revealed that Mrs. Testaburger is the city planner and she defends the homeless from the other council people.

Mr. Testaburger has been voiced by both Trey Parker and Matt Stone.[citation needed]

Bebe's family are the Stevenses. From what has been shown of them, they are very stereotypical. The mother, Mrs. Stevens, appears in "Bebe's Boobs Destroy Society", where it is implied that she is dumb and managed to get by relying on her looks. In that episode, Bebe is more smart and thoughtful than her mother, though she seems more interested in make-up and boys than Wendy. Bebe's father is briefly seen in "Stupid Spoiled Whore Video Playset".

The Tuckers are Craig's family. The family consists of Craig, his insanely tall, portly, redheaded father, Thomas Tucker, who is balding with an orange semi-mohawk, his mother, Laura Tucker, and his younger sister Tricia Tucker. Little is known of them except that flipping one another the middle finger appears to be the family norm. Craig's family's tendency for flipping each other off has been heavily ingrained into Craig, who for the first several seasons is implied to have been sent to either the principal's or counselor's office on a daily basis because of the habit, which has largely faded out of view since the sixth season. In the episode "Pandemic", they got into a heated argument with the Broflovskis and Marshes when their son disappeared.

All members of the Tucker family were first seen in the episode "Tweek vs. Craig", and were not seen again in their entirety until the "Pandemic" duology (Craig's sister only appeared in a photograph), but Mr. and Mrs. Tucker have made short cameos throughout the series. The Tucker family is featured prominently in the episode "The Magic Bush" as Laura's unshaved pubic hair is recorded by drone planes and becomes a viral video.

Timmy's parents are named Richard Burch and Helen Burch, and apparently suffer from the same form of intellectual disability as Timmy himself. When they are interviewed on television in "Timmy 2000", all they can say are their own names, just like their son.

Formerly named Swanson (and often misspelled Vulmer), this is Jimmy's family. His father, Ryan Valmer, dresses much like Stephen Stotch, and apparently likes coffee and sexual-exchange talk. At the beginning of the episode "Night of the Living Homeless", Mr. Valmer displays the title "Chief of Fire Department". It is unknown if being the Fire Chief is his actual job or if he volunteers for the fire department in his spare time. Very little is known about his mother, Sarah Valmer, but she appears to be very emotional and caring towards him. Jimmy's parents also say (in the episode Krazy Kripples) that the reason Jimmy was born with a handicap was that God was punishing them for having made fun of handicapped people in high school.


latin quote let them hate as long as they fear

Atreus featured the line oderint dum metuant ("let them hate, so long as they fear"), later an infamous motto of Caligula.

Lucius Accius

Lucius Accius (/ˈæksiəs/; 170 – c. 86 BC), or Lucius Attius,[1] was a Roman tragic poet and literary scholar. The son of a freedman, Accius was born at Pisaurum in Umbria, in 170 BC. The year of his death is unknown, but he must have lived to a great age, since Cicero[2] (born 106 BC, hence 64 years younger) speaks of having conversed with him on literary matters.[3]

He was a prolific writer and enjoyed a very high reputation.[4] The titles and considerable fragments (about 700 lines) of some fifty plays have been preserved.[3] Judging from the titles and fragments, scholars have surmised that most, if not all, of these poems were tragic in nature (although Pliny the Younger does rank him among the erotic poets).[1][5]

Most of his poetical works were imitations or free translations of the Greek,[3] especially Aeschylus. The earliest of these was most likely the Atreus, which was performed in 140 BC, but which is now lost.[6] He also wrote on some Roman subjects, one of which, an examination of the tyranny of L.Â Tarquinius Superbus and his expulsion by Lucius Junius Brutus, titled Brutus, and was probably written in honor of his patron D. Brutus.[1][7] His favorite subjects were the legends of the Trojan War and the house of Pelops.[3] While only fragments remain, the most important of which were preserved by Cicero, they seem sufficient to justify the terms of admiration in which Accius is spoken of by the ancient writers. He is particularly praised for the strength and vigor of his language and the sublimity of his thoughts,[8][9] and although the grandiloquence of his literary style was on occasion mocked by some of his peers,[10] he continued to be cited by other writers long after his death.[1]

Accius wrote other works of a literary character: Libri Didascalicon, a treatise in verse on the history of Greek and Roman poetry, and dramatic art in particular; also Libri Pragmaticon, Parerga, and Praxidica, of which no fragments remain; and a hexameter Annales[3] containing the history of Rome, like that of Ennius.

Accius also attempted to introduce innovations in Latin orthography and grammar, most of which were attempts to change written Latin to more faithfully reproduce its actual pronunciation. Few of these caught on,[1] although his preference against giving Greek names Latin endings had quite a few supporters, particularly Varro, who dedicated his De antiquitate litterarum to Accius.[11]

A spelling convention of writing long vowels double (such as aa for long

Accius was politically conservative, and generally noted for his dignity and reserve. He did however believe that one with literary gifts, such as himself, ought to be accorded more respect than someone who, through no effort of their own, was merely born to nobility.[1] He was, by some accounts, a self-important man,[12] and some writers expressed a wry amusement at the larger-than-life statues of himself he had erected in the temple of the Muses.[13]


where does the chippewa river start and end

The river flows from Sawyer County through Rusk, Chippewa, Eau Claire, Dunn, Pepin and Buffalo Counties, in Wisconsin, before emptying out into the Mississippi River. Sediment build-up at the river's mouth forms a delta that protrudes into the Mississippi, creating Lake Pepin in the process.[1] Along the last 15 miles (24Â km) of its course, the main channel forms the county boundary between Pepin and Buffalo Counties.

Chippewa River (Wisconsin)

The Chippewa River in Wisconsin flows approximately 183 miles (294 km) through west-central and northwestern Wisconsin. It was once navigable for approximately 50 miles (80 km) of its length, from the Mississippi River, by Durand, northeast to Eau Claire. Its catchment defines a portion of the northern boundary of the Driftless Area. The river is easily accessible for bikers and pleasure seekers via the Chippewa River State Trail which follows the river from Eau Claire to Durand.

The river is formed by the confluence of the West Fork Chippewa River, which rises at Chippewa Lake in southeastern Bayfield County, and the East Fork Chippewa River, which rises in the swamps of the southern part of the Town of Knight in Iron County, Wisconsin. The rivers' confluence is at Lake Chippewa, a reservoir in central Sawyer County, which is the official "beginning" of the Chippewa River.

Major lakes along the river's route include the Radisson and Holcombe Flowages, Lake Wissota and Dell's Pond, all of which are reservoirs. The largest reservoir by far is the Chippewa Flowage, which is the 3rd largest lake in Wisconsin.

The river's primary tributaries include the Couderay, Thornapple, Flambeau, Brunet, Jump, Fisher, Yellow, Eau Claire, Red Cedar and Eau Galle Rivers.

The river's confluence with the Red Cedar is just north of the Driftless Zone, at which point its floodplain widens out considerably, and includes numerous riverine islands.

The primary settlements along the river's course include Cornell, Chippewa Falls, Eau Claire, and Durand.

Historically, the Chippewa River was important as a floatway for lumbering and papermaking.

The river has a deep wide canyon, likely due to larger water discharges during Laurentide Ice Sheet retreat.

Chippewa River Bottoms is located along the river.

The 1742 Carte de la Louisiane et du Cours du Mississipi as "Rivière de bon Secours ou Hahatonouadeba", and then in the 1757 edition of the Mitchell Map as "Hahatonadeba River", the maps show the transliteration of the Dakota language name for the river Ḣaḣatuŋ[waŋ W]atpa. The word "Chippewa" is a rendering of "Ojibwe." The Ojibwe people controlled most of the upper Chippewa Valley and its tributaries until the Treaty of St. Peters in 1837.

Of the pine forests in Wisconsin in the 1800s, the Chippewa River system held more than even the Wisconsin River. It is estimated that the Chippewa system drained 34% of Wisconsin's pineries, as compared to 21% for the Wisconsin, 14% for the St. Croix, and 7% for the Black. Before logging, the Chippewa Valley probably held about 46,000,000,000 board feet of lumber.[2] Frederick Weyerhaeuser described it as "a logger's paradise, a very large part of its area being heavily forested with the finest quality of white pine timber, while rivers, streams, and lakes offered an excellent network of transportation facilities."[3]

The first sawmill in the Chippewa Valley was probably functioning at what would become Menomonie around 1831. By 1840 Jean Brunet and associates were sawing wood at Chippewa Falls. Floods destroyed these early mills, and the lumbermen rebuilt them.[4] In the late 1800s, Chippewa Falls was said to have the largest sawmill under one roof in the world.[5]

By the 1850s the loggers were binding the sawed pine lumber into rafts which were guided down the lower Chippewa to markets on the Mississippi. Above Chippewa Falls, though, the river was too rough and rocky for large rafts. Masses of individual logs were driven down by log drivers, sometimes called "river pigs." To make the drives more efficient and reliable, the loggers changed the river somewhat, dynamiting troublesome rocks, cutting trees that would snag logs, building up the banks in places, and damming the river and its tributaries. Around 1876 a dam and log-sorting works was built between Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls. In 1878 a large splash dam was built at Little Falls (modern Holcombe), with so much capacity that when fully opened it could raise the Chippewa three feet 100 miles downstream. Over the Chippewa and its tributaries the loggers built at least 148 logging dams, of various sizes and purposes.[2]

The Chippewa River is a popular destination for recreational kayakers and canoers.[6] Paddlers experience a variety of conditions on the river, from calm, slow-moving water to small rapids and whitewater. Fishing is a popular activity: the river is known for musky, smallmouth bass, walleye, and northern pike.