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How did people travel or find their way around a new city before google maps or GPS was invented?

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Cybersai

Banned
Jan 8, 2018
11,631
Seriously, if it wasn't for google maps on my phone, or the GPS tracker in your car where you can input directions on where to go...I'd be totally lost.

Every time I go into the city and have no idea where I'm going, I type in the address or destination on google maps on my phone and just follow it like I'm in a videogame. I seriously pretend I'm in an open world videogame like Zelda Breath of the Wild or Assassin's Creed or GTA and put a "waypoint" on my map or follow the GPS on the tracking and just walk along as it tells me.

For those of you who travel to new places, other countries, or just need help finding new stores/restaurants or places to go where you live, how the hell would you find your way around without google maps? I seriously have no idea how people traveled back in the 80's or 90's or even early 2000's. Thank god I was too young back then because I'd be lost.
 
Mona

Mona

Banned
Oct 30, 2017
26,151
6z7Vq.jpg
 

Deleted member 17630

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
1,288
Buy maps at convenience stores, stop and ask for directions, write down directions on a piece of paper before you left, stop at a payphone and call for directions if you had the number written down. Google Maps is one of the most useful recent inventions mankind has made.
 
Biske

Biske

Member
Nov 11, 2017
8,273
Hand to drive around like an asshole trying to find places, trial and error.

Or god forbid, ask people and remember things.
 

Deleted member 39587

User requested account closure
Banned
Feb 6, 2018
2,676
Maps. They have a directory with every street which then refers to a sector on the map (e.g. A1 or C5). Finding the number is rather easy once you reached the right street.
 
ascii42

ascii42

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,798
Along with maps, as everyone else has suggested, there's asking a local for directions. Which led to the common "husband won't stop and ask for directions" joke.
 

Deleted member 14002

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
5,121
Pearlys map books

91uY89wTagL.jpg


Look up a street name in the index, it gives you a page number, a letter and a number.

You go the the page, look at the relevant spot on the grid and look at the maps and figure it out.

Asking for help at gas stations, people giving you directions from a location you know how to get to (eg. Go south on this highway, get off at this exit, go left on John st), and calling them from a pay phone when you got lost were all a thing.
 
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Pwnz

Pwnz

Member
Oct 28, 2017
14,279
Places
Massive maps. In the states, usually a book with pages per state. Large cities would have a zoomed in area, but usually you had to manually get around by street signs near the destination.
 
Border

Border

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
14,859
When you stop using GPS to go everywhere, you will actually begin to learn a city's layout and have a better sense of direction.
 
ShortNasty

ShortNasty

Member
Dec 15, 2017
1,008
I guess the question I have is why you think it's called "google maps"? Or like, what you think your GPS location is laid over during visual representation? But that's all just snark.
 
spam musubi

spam musubi

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,381
Paper maps, asking around for directions from locals. Back when I used to live in Turkey in the 90s and we traveled, we'd just follow road signs to get to the city/district then just ask folks for directions. Usually you get people who point you in the general vicinity, then you go there and ask the people there and they give you more specific directions. Rinse and repeat.
 
PeakPointMatrix

PeakPointMatrix

Member
Oct 25, 2017
19,104
Cybersai said:
Seriously, if it wasn't for google maps on my phone, or the GPS tracker in your car where you can input directions on where to go...I'd be totally lost.

Every time I go into the city and have no idea where I'm going, I type in the address or destination on google maps on my phone and just follow it like I'm in a videogame. I seriously pretend I'm in an open world videogame like Zelda Breath of the Wild or Assassin's Creed or GTA and put a "waypoint" on my map or follow the GPS on the tracking and just walk along as it tells me.

For those of you who travel to new places, other countries, or just need help finding new stores/restaurants or places to go where you live, how the hell would you find your way around without google maps? I seriously have no idea how people traveled back in the 80's or 90's or even early 2000's. Thank god I was too young back then because I'd be lost.
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I feel like I'm going to regret this because your answer will make me feel old, but OP, how old are you?
 
javiBear

javiBear

The Fallen
Oct 30, 2017
886
I see its time for one of those 'why can't you guys just be normal' type of threads eh?
 

Ravensmash

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,797
Going to have to join in here and say maps.

Google Maps is just a streamlined version of a paper map.
 
David Addison

David Addison

Member
Oct 28, 2017
661
-paper maps
-street signs
-building numbers
-driving instructions provided in advance (for example, a new store opening)
-occasional verbal interrogations of flesh-based bipeds in the area
 
PeakPointMatrix

PeakPointMatrix

Member
Oct 25, 2017
19,104
Just so this thread isn't just a pile-on, does anyone else find it insane that there are still people needing to pull over and ask pedestrians for directions? I guess not everyone must have a smartphone. But it seriously feels like even calculators have some kind of GPS built in these days. It happens so often to me.

ascii42 said:
Over 30 according to the "How are people supposed to make a living on $10-13 hour jobs?" thread.
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He/she is older than me!?

6g7ibIK.gif
 
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