“Google Naps” Maps Show The Best Places To Catch Some Shuteye, Antarctica Included

We wouldn't trust the suggestion to nap on a bench in the Atlantic Ocean even if there's "tasty salt water for free."

We wouldn’t trust the suggestion to sleep in the Atlantic Ocean even if there’s “tasty salt water for free.”

Sometimes you just need a nap. A refreshing, wake-up-invigorated-to-tackle-the-rest-of-your-day nap. But what happens when you’re not at home and are unfamiliar with the best place to lay your head? Fear not, because a pair of Dutch developers have the solution: Google Naps.

Google Naps, a parody of Google Maps (obviously), aims to uncover “the world’s coziest and coolest places to take a well-deserved nap,” The Next Web reports.

The program uses your computer or device’s location (it won’t work if you deny it access to your location, and you can’t do a search, both of which are definite negatives) and overlays user-submitted data on the best nearby napping spots. Napping locations are depicted with yellow icons sitting on benches, fields, beds and bridges.

Users can submit the best places to take a snooze in all corners of the world from China to South Africa, so you’ll never be without a comfortable place to catch a few Zs again. Although it doesn’t appear that the locations are vetted by anyone; there are a number of spots located in the ocean or submitted by users with innuendoes as names.

A quick search in our area of Washington, D.C., and you’ll find a plethora of options. Okay, so you might not want to actually nap in these places, but the user-submitted “Why should I sleep here?” rationalizations are at least good for a little laugh.

Our personal favorite is a bench outside the Federal Trade Commission offices because as one user named Snoozer puts it “Federal Trade Commission – cares about consumer welfare.”

"Federal Trade Commission – cares about consumer welfare."

“Federal Trade Commission – cares about consumer welfare.”

If you’re tired from doing all sorts of touristy things you can “hang out with Obama” on a bench near the White House. (The benches may exist, but we doubt the Prez will be power-napping on any of them during his lunch hour.)

If you like to be one with nature, you might prefer a field near Meridian Hill Park where there’s “lots of shade from the trees. Also fresh water from the pond.”

We may have found one area where Google Naps could be useful – college capuses.

It appears that users in Columbia, MO, have gone to town locating the best napping places at the University of Missouri.

"Nice view overlooking the quad." - from Columbia, Missouri.

“Nice view overlooking the quad.” – from Columbia, Missouri.

We’re not sure how long Google Naps will be around, but the developers are hoping the real Google Maps doesn’t take offense to the parody site.

Hello, please don’t be mad this is just a joke, a parody. We don’t mean to damage your brand or anything, we just want to bring a smile on the faces of Google fans. So please don’t take this to court, we only have a few hundred Euros in the bank. And we also don’t want to go to jail because we’re too busy with other things at the moment. But whenever you are in the Netherlands you can have a nap on our couch if you want, just e-mail us. We can also make coffee and bake eggs if you like that (for a small price).

If history is any indicator (remember, Dumb Starbucks?) it won’t be long until the parody developers hear from Google.

Google Naps: a parody of Google Maps that helps you find the best places for a snooze [The Next Web]

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