Georainbolt, we challenged the man who memorized Google Maps

Georainbolt

GeoGuessr is a very simple online game, at least in theory: the computer shows the player a random photo chosen from the huge Google Street View database and the player has to guess, getting as close as possible, the position where the photo was taken. Whoever gets closest and in the shortest time wins. It was launched in 2013 by a Swedish IT consultant, Anton Wallén , and was immediately quite successful, thanks to the addictive effect deriving from the extreme immediacy of the gameplay and the element of competitiveness (and probably also the lockdown that forced everyone in home). Like every game, GeoGuessr also has its champions: one of these is Georainbolt , born Trevor Rainbolt or "the Google Map guy" , as those who recognize him on the street call him. Because Trevor, precisely by virtue of his incredible skill and accuracy, has become a social media star, with almost a million and a half users following him on his TikTok profile.

Indeed, this boy's performances are amazing : can locate images by looking at them for only a tenth of a second, can locate distorted, black and white, pixellated, decomposed and mixed images, can identify a place by only looking at the vegetation, or the asphalt, or the earth at the edges of the roadway. He manages to determine the position of a photo even blindfolded, having a companion describe it to him: it is impossible not to be amazed by his shows, and it is impossible not to wonder how he does it, how it is possible, and above all if he is not cheating; therefore, we reached him and asked him about such dexterity. Spoiler one: Georainbolt doesn't cheat. Spoiler two: Georainbolt claims that anyone can achieve their same results. Spoiler three: Georainbolt says there are players far stronger than him.

TikTok content This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.

TikTok content This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.

Trevor Rainbolt is originally from Arkansas and is twenty-four years old. And until not too long ago he knew little or nothing about geography: "I've never been interested in geography - he told us - what interested me was the world, its different cultures. As for geography in the strict sense, things like knowing the names of cities or flags of states, I think my level was similar to that of an average American, that is, very poor. The stereotypes about this are completely true." And he found himself trying GeoGuessr by chance, at school, to deceive boredom. With bad results, at least at the beginning ("I confused Mexico with Malaysia", he says). Then came the pandemic, and with the pandemic the restrictions. So a lot of time to spend indoors. “First I started watching videos of people playing games. Then I went back to playing, and I realized that I was getting good. And the “training” got more and more intense. I spent practically all of my free time working out: four or five hours on weekdays after work, and up to eight hours on weekends. This is a game with a very long learning curve, and what matters is just practicing and memorizing. There's no escaping” .

Obviously, we couldn't resist and tried to put him in trouble:

Music credit: Antonio Vivaldi, The Four Seasons - Performed by Reinhold Barchet (role: Violinist ), Karl Münchinger (role: Conductor), Stuttgarter Kammerorchester (role: Orchestra). Creative Commons

As anticipated, therefore, Georainbolt does not cheat. So how does he do it? "First of all, we need to learn three basic things - he patiently explains to us - the driving side of the nations, the shape of the car license plates and above all the types of posts on the sides of the road: each of them is characteristic of a country. Other information can come, for example, from the position of the Sun: if you know that the photo was taken towards the north and you see the Sun, then you are in the southern hemisphere, and vice versa". And then, again: “The best way to learn, however, is to play for a long time. You can memorize a lot of notions, but until you see thousands of photos you will never learn what a nation really looks like. And you'll never get good at it." Trevor claims to have developed, over time, a sort of sixth sense that leads him to understand an image as a whole by crossing all the clues present and that this process now takes place automatically: he says he "feels the vibrations" of a certain place. Yet he still has room to improve: “I'm rather weak on Indonesia and Russia, huge nations. Of course, I can tell when I'm in Russia or Indonesia, but it's hard to pinpoint the region. And then there are cities in the United States and Canada, which are very similar: the decision is often 50%-50%, unless there are many road signs visible. In that case I can better distinguish the two countries. In any case, I really think I will dedicate myself to Russia and Indonesia ”.

In the meantime, however, he is also learning how to deal with popularity: “It's all so crazy. I published my first post in January, and today I'm followed by so many people. Every day there is someone who recognizes me and stops me on the street: they call me 'the Google Maps guy'. No one knows my name, but everyone tells me I'm the Google Maps guy. It is funny" . What's Trevor the Google Maps guy up to now? “ Two months ago I quit my job and decided to travel the world for real, changing country every two months. At the moment I live in Germany. And in December I really think I'll go on a tour of Italy".