I've been using Mapquest a lot recently and I've been wondering how the service began.
Did the company hire people, give each employee a key to a car, and instruct them to take copious notes on distances and turns as they traveled across a geographic region?
Yeah, right - you're saying to yourself.
Well, it's possible.
One of my first jobs after high school was a summertime gig with the state. I was given a car and a measuring wheel, and told to make mileage notes to within a tenth of a mile.
I drove to specific developments, parked the car, and started measuring mileages from the nearest main road. I walked up and down every street in the development, taking every conceivable combination of twists and turns. The reason for my daily strolls was to establish boundary lines between school districts.
It was a great job. Folks would come out of their houses to ask what I was doing, then walk along and chat for a block or so.
If Mapquest builds their database the same way perhaps I'll submit an application. I've always wanted to see more of the country. To get paid while I'm doing it.... well you couldn't beat that with a stick.
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