GOOGLE MAPS THE WORLD: An In-Depth Look At Google's Massive Global Mapping Operation

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Since 2005, Google has mapped 28 million miles of road in 194 countries. And it won't rest until the whole planet is on its servers. Tom Chivers reports on the mammoth operation and asks: is it ruining the way we travel?

Are you planning a holiday to North Korea? Probably not. But if you are, your job will be a lot easier now that Google Maps covers the place. You could, if you like, use it to navigate your way from Yongbyon nuclear site, along Nuclear Test Road (as it is, apparently, called) and to Camp 22, one of the many scenic prison-labour camps along the country’s border with China.

What’s more, you can do it all on beautifully rendered satellite photos of the area. Of course, you’d struggle with mobile internet connectivity, but even that, nowadays, needn’t be a problem – you can download the maps before you go. Frankly, it is surprising that the Pyongyang Office of Tourism doesn’t make more of the facility.

Indian Government: Casual Sex Means You're Legally Married

AP Photo / Manish Swarup

NEW DELHI — In India, there's no sex without marriage — literally, according to a new court ruling.

“Any couple who choose to consummate their sexual cravings, then that act becomes a total commitment with adherence to all consequences that may follow,” the Madras High Court ruled in a recent palimony case in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.

The grammatically inclined will note that's not actually a sentence. That’s true of most of the clauses in the judgment. But the meaning is decipherable: In Tamil Nadu, if two single adults have sex, even a one night stand, the legal system may consider them to be married.

In context, the ruling made sense. The court simply upheld a lower court judgment awarding monthly support to a woman who had lived with a man for several years and had two children with him. The father attempted to skirt financial obligations by asserting that they had never married.

This Smart Bike-Sharing Startup Is Looking To Blaze A New Path

viaCycle

viaCycle was originally hatched by five engineers during post-graduate studies at Georgia Tech University.

The startup viaCycle is a different type of bike-sharing model. It's a "Smart Bike-Sharing" company looking to blaze a path through Atlanta and eventually the rest of the country.

What makes viaCycle different from programs like Citi Bike in New York City?

The bikes will be GPS-enabled, meaning users can lock and unlock bicycles through a phone call, text, or mobile app.

The company also won't have to build docking stations because the bikes don't need one — the app will show users the nearest area to pick up and drop off their rentals. This means the bikes can be locked to any standard bike rack, which also cut costs by one-third when compared to other similar kiosk-based sharing systems.

Here Are All The Easter Eggs In 'Monsters University'

Disney and Pixar's big prequel to 2001's "Monsters Inc." came out last weekend. 

"Monsters University" had a great opening weekend debuting to $82 million. 

While most were excited to see the duo of Mike and Sulley (Billy Crystal and John Goodman) reunited on screen together during their college days, others were probably more excited with the thrills of the hidden gems in any Pixar flick.

Pixar is notorious for hiding a few iconic symbols in each of its films along with a hint at its next movie.

Disney publicly released a few of these little Easter Eggs along with high resolution photos. 

Check them out below along with a few others we've compiled from around the Web and with our own eagle eyes.

Did you spot these while seeing the film?

The Pizza Planet Truck

The famous "Toy Story" truck appears in nearly every Pixar film. In "Monsters University" it pops up outside the JOX fraternity house in its driveway.

Disney / Pixar

ANALYST: 'Brace Yourselves, A Huge Week For The Market Starts In A Few Hours'

bitzcelt / Flickr

There are still a couple more hours left of the weekend, but the clock is ticking.

Kit Juckes, a currency analyst at Societe Generale, warns of what's about to come:

Brace yourselves, a huge week for market starts in a few hours' time with Chinese manufacturing PMIs.  Policy meetings galore and a payroll number to boot. Fireworks are a given, even without minor considerations like the 4th of July!

Indeed, the first of every month is PMI Day, and starting Sunday evening, we'll be covering regional manufacturing reports as they come out (first from Asian countries, then from Europe early Monday morning, and then in North America).

And that's just the beginning: We have plenty of labor data coming up this week (as well as other data) which will culminate in this Friday's Non-Farm Payrolls report. Given the focus on whether the Fed is ready to pull back from its easing at all, Friday's report will be given an extraordinary amount of scrutiny.

Juckes, meanwhile, summarizes the big discussion still surrounding the Fed, and whether Bernanke made a mistake recently by coming off too eager to tighten.

Sunday Saw 'The Biggest Protest In Egypt's History'

Mahmud Khaled/AFP

Hundreds of thousands of Egyptian demonstrators gather outside the presidential palace in Cairo during a protest calling for the ouster of President Mohamed Morsi on June 30, 2013.

The people of Egypt are out in full force today to protest against President Mohamed Morsi, whom many believe has lost his legitimacy after becoming the country's first democratically elected president.

A sea of bodies formed in front of the presidential palace as the sun set. 

A military source told AFP that "millions" of protesters took to the streets. "It is the biggest protest in Egypt's history."

Opposition leaders are calling for the resignation of the Muslim Brotherhood leader, the dissolution of Egypt's Islamist-dominated elected parliament, and the shelving of Islamist-drafted constitution to set up a new round of elections and a new constitution.

10 Guns That Have Shaped The Course Of American History

Wikipedia

With more than 90 guns per 100 citizens and a constitutional right to bear arms, the United States has a close history with guns.

A new book, American Gun, details the 10 firearms that have the biggest stake in American history.

The author is Chris Kyle, a legendary Navy SEAL who died in April as a result of gunshot wounds when a Marine veteran with post traumatic stress disorder turned his weapon on Kyle at a Texas shooting range.

As a Navy SEAL sniper, Kyle holds the record for the most confirmed kills in American military history, with 160, but he perhaps killed as many as 255. The insurgents in Iraq placed a bounty on his head and called him the Devil of Ramadi.

Public School Kids Trash Multi-Million Dollar Home In End-Of-Finals Party

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Public school students trashed a £2 million home in Hampstead they had hired for an end-of-term party when the event turned into a 'riot’ that ended with clashes with police.

The sixth form pupils at a top north London private school had rented the £750-a-night house to celebrate finishing their exams.

But as more and more guests started arriving, the party spiralled out of control, with revellers dousing the furniture with petrol and smashing the owner’s crystalware.

The party then moved celebrations onto the road outside. When police arrived, the students began fighting in the street, creating scenes that local residents said were similar to the London riots.

The house is just yards away from the homes of a number of celebrities, including actor Tom Conti, Esther Rantzen, the TV presenter, and footballer Thierry Henry.

UBS Is Trying To Bring A Grand Prix Race To New York

REUTERS/Christian Charisuis

Swiss investment bank UBS has been appointed by the organisers of the planned New York Grand Prix in a bid to secure $100m (£65.7m) of funding to enable the race to go ahead in 2014.

The 3.2-mile track is on public roads in Port Imperial, New Jersey. It snakes alongside the Hudson river and would give the race a spectacular backdrop of Manhattan's historic skyline.

The plans are close to the heart of Formula One's chief executive Bernie Ecclestone, as he has been trying to hold a grand prix in the New York area since the 1980s. There have been numerous false starts, most recently in 2011 when New Jersey governor Chris Christie announced with great fanfare that the race, known as the Grand Prix of America, would take place in June 2013.

28 Triumphant Moments From The Smashing NYC Gay Pride Parade

Walter Hickey / Business Insider

Last week the Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act, which forbade the federal government from acknowledging same-sex marriages administered by individual states. 

As a result, LGBT families can finally be seen as equal to straight families in the eyes of the government, something that confers immense legal protections and tax features to the LGBT community. 

The ruling couldn't have come at a better time. Days later, New York City would be celebrating Pride events all weekend, culminating in a Pride Parade of 50 floats and 300 individual contingents down Fifth avenue and into Greenwich Village. 

That scheduled event — which took place earlier today — took on a whole new meaning following the DOMA hearing. Check out these pictures to see why. 

Author Jane Austen Will Become The Face Of The New £10 Banknote

After a furore erupted over the decision to replace Elizabeth Fry with Winston Churchill on £5 banknotes, the outgoing Bank of England governor, Sir Mervyn King, explained it was all a terrible misunderstanding. Those fearing that the achievement of women in British history would no longer be represented by anyone other than a hereditary monarch need not worry; the white, male faces on our banknotes – Charles Darwin, Adam Smith, Winston Churchill, John Houblon, Matthew Boulton and James Watt – will one day be joined by everyone's favourite spinster aunt. Jane Austen is "quietly waiting in the wings" to appear on the £10 banknote, King promised.

The Collapse Of The Honeybee Industry Could Cost Hundreds Of Billions Of Dollars

Honeybees don't just produce honey: The hard-working insect is also fundamental to the world's food supply.

One-third of the food we eat depends on insect pollination, mostly by honeybees that are raised and managed by beekeepers.

The value of insect pollinators on world agricultural production, which accounts for their role in producing better quality and quantity of harvests, was estimated at $208 billion in 2005.

That figure does not even include the retail value of what honeybees pollinate — everything from apples and cherries to broccoli and pumpkins — or the honey that bees produce. In the United Kingdom alone, where honeybees contribute an added crop value of about $413 million, the estimated retail value is north of $1 billion.

The 25 Most Influential Ad Execs On Twitter

Gini Dietrich / YouTube

Gini Dietrich is the 11th most influential ad exec on Twitter.

When we asked our friends at PeekAnalytics to tell us who the most influential ad execs on Twitter are, we expected to get back a list of the usual suspects. You know, the most famous CEOs at the biggest agencies, plus Seth Godin, Lee Clow's Beard, and perhaps KBS+'s Lori Senecal, who once bought promoted tweets for herself.

In fact, none of the huge names of advertising are influential on Twitter, according to PeekAnalytics. The company ranked our Twitterers by "social pull" as opposed to mere total followers. Social pull is a "metric which takes into account not only the quantity of each audience's connections across 60 social networking sites, but also how active and connected, and therefore influential, those connections are."

Why The Dodo Bird Went Extinct

Public domain

The dodo, or Raphus cucullatus if you want to get fancy, is an extinct species of flightless bird that was native to the tiny island nation of Mauritius before it sadly died out. But enough of the Discovery Channel stuff, you’re reading this to find out how this sucker went extinct. And the answer is, well, complicated.

It’s commonly believed that the dodo went extinct because Dutch sailors ate the beast to extinction after finding that the bird was incredibly easy to catch due to the fact it had no fear of humans, (why it didn’t fear the creature many times its size is a mystery for another day). This is, for the for the most part, pretty accurate. It is noted that after sailors landed and settled on the island in 1598,  the dodo’s population rapidly declined and other sources confirm that the dodo was indeed hunted by sailors looking for an easy snack, since the dodo’s ungainly gait and lack of a third axis of movement made it relatively easy to catch.

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What It's Like To Be In Heat So Bad It Makes Your Eyes Hurt

AP Photo/Chris Carlson

FURNACE CREEK, Calif. (AP) — Associated Press photographer Chris Carlson is no stranger to heat. He grew up just outside Palm Springs, Calif. On Friday, he returned to his desert roots, leaving his home near Los Angeles and driving to the hottest place on earth on one of the hottest days of the year. Below, he describes what it is like to be in triple digit heat in Death Valley:

___

By 9 a.m., the two bags of ice I loaded in the cooler are gone and the floor of my rental car looks like a storage bin at a recycling plant. Hydration is essential.

I know what to expect in Death Valley: Unrelenting heat so bad it makes my eyes hurt, as if someone is blowing a hair dryer in my face. I don't leave CDs or electronics in the car because they could melt or warp. I always carry bottles of water.

Scientific Advice On How To Spend Your Dollar To Buy The Most Happiness

Courtesy of Shawna Sharie

We live in America with two bits of contradictory received wisdom — that you’d be a lot better off if you made more money, and that money can’t buy you happiness. Now two scholars suggest another way of thinking about the relationship between cash and joy: To a large degree, how you spend is just as important as how much you spend. Michael Norton, an associate professor at Harvard Business School and coauthor – with Elizabeth Dunn – of Happy Money: The Science of Smarter Spending, answered questions from Mind Matters editorGareth Cook.

Gareth Cook: What is the biggest misconception people have about the relationship between money and happiness?

Michael Norton: One of the things that my coauthor Liz Dunn and I hear again and again when we ask people about money and happiness is a simple phrase: more is better. In general, we all believe that having more money is going to make us happier. And, while it’s true that having more money doesn’t usually make usless happy, it’s also true that simply having more money doesn’t guarantee happiness. After all, most of us have a friend, family member, or coworker who is relatively wealthy who certainly doesn’t strike us as particularly happy.

New York City's Startup Scene Is Rapidly Becoming The Hub For Innovation And Investment

">Daniel Goodman / Business Insider

Inside the offices of Tumblr

Foursquare, Mashable, and 10gen.

What do a major social network, happening news website, and a rising database company have in common?  They are all ‘Made in New York.’

Just a couple of days ago, Techcrunch announced that famous incubator AngelPad was opening up a large office in New York City.  The incubator, which was previously fully based in Silicon Valley and has raised $100 million for its startups, now views New York as its new hub for East Coast investments.

That news highlights a major new trend developing since 2007 but accelerating rapidly in the past year: the Big Apple’s rise as the new hub for startup creation and investment.

Cool Things About Mobile, Alabama That I Didn't Know Before Last Week

Julie Zeveloff/Business Insider

Mobile, Alabama, got pretty miffed several months back when I included it on a list of "miserable" cities, based on health and wellness statistics from Gallup.

So when a local mayoral candidate invited me down to prove me wrong, I booked a flight. I'd never been to Mobile before, and figured it would be a good chance to learn about a new city beyond a set of numbers.

I won't say that I got an unbiased view: During my three days in Mobile, I was wined, dined, and shown the best side of the city. There are blighted neighborhoods, crime (though violent crime numbers are down in 2013), and room to improve citizen health.

But I found that Mobile is actually a pretty cool town. It's got a long history, great seafood, and people who made me, a New Jersey native, understand the meaning of "Southern Hospitality." 

Keep checking back here to read more about my trip over the next few weeks.

Disclosure: A couple of months ago, I included Mobile, Alabama on a list of the "most miserable cities in America," based on Gallup data. Sandy Stimpson, a mayoral candidate in Mobile (#3 on the list) objected to my characterization, and offered to fly me down and show me how great the city really is. After a little prodding, I agreed to a visit. Stimpson is paying my travel expenses and arranging my travel in the city. I'm not planning to cover the mayoral race, but will be writing about my trip here.

Report: US Bugged Offices And Spied On Internal Networks Of European Union

Hannelore Foerster/Getty Images

BERLIN (Reuters) - The United States has bugged European Union offices and gained access to EU internal computer networks, according to secret documents cited in a German magazine on Saturday, the latest in a series of exposures of alleged U.S. spy programs.

Der Spiegel quoted from a September 2010 "top secret" U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) document that it said fugitive former NSA contractor Edward Snowden had taken with him, and the weekly's journalists had seen in part.

The document outlines how the NSA bugged offices and spied on EU internal computer networks in Washington and at the United Nations, not only listening to conversations and phone calls but also gaining access to documents and emails.

Stunning Pictures Of American National Parks

With everything from vast deserts and gorgeous beaches to sprawling mountain ranges, America is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful countries in the world—and nowhere is that more evident than in the national parks.

The National Park Service oversees 401 areas throughout the U.S. and U.S. territories and has nearly 300 million visitors each year.

You don't have to be a hiking fanatic to enjoy these places. You can swim, kayak, bird watch, walk, bike, drive, camp, or just relax in the country's national parks. 

We found some spectacular pictures of national parks, monuments, seashores and heritage areas around the country that will make you appreciate how beautiful the U.S. really is.

Saguaro National Park, Arizona

Alexa Dishes On Her Beauty Regime — & It's Depressingly Simple

For those of you who’ve been waiting years for the inside scoop on Alexa’s grooming secrets, rejoice, because your dreams are finally coming true. Sharing words with The Telegraph, Chung gives the breakdown of her “super low maintenance” beauty routine, which obviously, we have spent the morning studying. 

Letting us in on her beauty box, she shares that it’s a Laura Mercier tinted moisturiser that enhances that English Rose glow and YSL lippies that perfect her pout, whilst Eyeko is her go-to for liners and lashes. (All duly noted, Alexa, and added to our baskets.) When it comes to skin care, Kiehl’s is a favourite, whilst oils are the secret to those perfect pins. In keeping with her nonchalant attitude, she adds, “I'm not fussy about the brand as long as they are really nourishing and smell nice.” (Nice smelling oils, got it.)But, what about those shiny locks, Alexa? Well, she praises her team of people for helping out, there. (Along with the oodles of INOA products she scores for being the new face of the L’Oreal brand.) Besides washing her ombré tresses day in, day out with INOA colour care shampoo, she, like the rest of us, swears by dry shampoo for a “quick fix” solution. 

So, if these are her secrets, how come the final product of our “low maintenance” routine never looks anything like that? (Telegraph)

Study Reveals Why We Have More Sex At Night

Unlike lunch or dinner, there's no set time for getting it on. We can, essentially, do it anytime, anywhere, with anyone (with consent, of course), yet most of us have sex at night. It's not that we're necessarily hornier in the evening, but we've certainly been conditioned to be. Two not-so-recent studies, which have been analyzed and prodded over in the past couple months, show we've learned to nurture our sexual nature. 

The first study comes from 1982, when three researchers evaluated the sexual lives of 78 young, married people over the course of one year. On the whole, researchers found that sexual activity spikes during the weekend. They then got down to the nitty-gritty: They analyzed the subjects' daily rhythms and found a 58-percent spike of action in the evening and a slight resurgence in the morning hours around 6 a.m. Nothing like a good round of bedroom wrestling to start the day off, eh? A second study, done in 2005 by Roberto Refinetti, expanded on the 1982 study by increasing the age spectrum of its subjects and introducing possible environmental variables. What Refinetti found paralleled the findings of the earlier study and questioned the possible relation to societal standards of what is sleep-time and what is awake-time. 

Caption This! Tatiana Cotliar For Vogue Russia, By David Mushegain

Winning Caption 
"After her long-running stint on Sesame Street was terminated, Big Bird was forced to trade in her frequent flyer miles for a more cost-effective nautical itinerary..." 
— Khia Mercer 

Runner-Up 
"A swimsuit to the beach...how cliché." 
— Claude Russell 

Pop Champagne With Jeff Koons (It'll Only Cost You $20K)

We have a mental list of folks we would not mind popping Champagne with: President Obama, Jay-Z, and the Yankees after just winning the World Series are on our short list. But, hey, we wouldn't say no to a glass of Dom Pérignon with one of the most famous contemporary artists of our time, Jeff Koons. And while owning an original Koon piece will cost you a bit of a fortune, his newest mass (or at least, a bit more mass) offering let's you get your hands on a exclusive Koons x Dom Pérignon bottle of bubbly for, well, a smaller fortune. A measly $20,000. 

As reported by WWD, the collaboration between the artist and the luxe spirits label is being sold along with a miniature version of Koon's "Balloon Venus" — the full-size version is current on display at the Gagosian. Sure, $20K may be a blow to your savings account, but if you truly relish in owning a bit of the artist's work then, at least, may all your pain be Champagne. 

Living By The Ocean Could Make You Healthier

Flickr/DAV.es

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WASHINGTON — The age-old wisdom that being near the seaside is good for your health may be true, studies suggest.

People often focus on the threats the ocean poses to human health, whether it's storms and floods, harmful algal blooms or pollution. But research shows that spending time by the ocean has many positive effects on health and well-being, epidemiologist Lora Fleming of the University of Exeter in England, said here on Wednesday (June 26) at a science policy conference of the American Geophysical Union.

Breathtaking Photos Of Classic Rolls-Royces On A Road Trip Through The Alps

A century ago, the Rolls-Royce Ghost entered the Alpine Trial, a week-long endurance rally around Central Europe.

The car did spectacularly, finishing in the top four every day but one, and earning it a well-deserved reputation for reliability.

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the feat, the luxury automaker gathered 47 vintage Ghosts, joined by their 21st century descendant, to recreate the rally.

On June 14, 150 participants from 12 countries took off from Vienna on an 1,800 mile trip that would include Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, and Italy.

On the gorgeous mountain passes and ocean roads, the classic cars make for a beautiful sight.

Rolls-Royce

QUIZ: Which Food Has More Calories?

Shutterstock

Calculating the calories in food is not a perfect science. But we took a stab at it.

We put two foods in a head-to-head competition to see if you can spot the meal or snack that is higher in calories.

The results will surprise you.

Since we only looked at calories and not other nutrition factors like fat, fiber, protein, sugar, and vitamins, the lower-calorie food may not necessarily be the healthier option overall. Still, this quiz is particularly eye-opening if you're of the camp that believes "calories in versus calories out" is the most important part of any diet plan.

This Instagram Post Allegedly Shows George Zimmerman's Attorney Having 'Celebration Cones' For 'Beating Stupidity'

Twitter/TylerJRollinson

There's an Instagram post circulating that allegedly shows George Zimmerman defense attorney Don West having "celebration" ice cream cones with two women.

The caption: "We beat stupidity celebration cones ... #zimmerman #defense #dadkilledit."

West is the attorney on Zimmerman's defense team who told a badly received knock-knock joke during opening statements. He later apologized. 

The authenticity of the Instagram post is questionable since West hasn't yet verified that it's real. Local ABC news station WPLG says West is expected to issue a statement on it soon.

The photo looks like it comes from a user called "mollywestttt," an account that cannot be found through a search on the app.

Melissa McCarthy's 'Heat' May Be Hot Enough To Take The 'White House' Down This Weekend

Fox

Channing Tatum's "White House Down" may feel the heat of Melissa McCarthy and Sandra Bullock's buddy film.

We're rolling into another big summer showdown at the box office this weekend.

Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx's over-the-top action thriller "White House Down" ("WHD") is going head-to-head with queen of comedy Melissa McCarthy and Sandra Bullock's cop comedy "The Heat." 

Analysts have said it's going to be one of the closest box-office weekends with The Wrap predicting earlier this summer "The Heat" would narrowly edge out the "White House" film. 

So far "WHD" had the advantage Thursday evening, earning $1.35 million vs. $1 million in late-night and midnight showings for "The Heat."

However it should be noted Columbia Pictures began rolling out Roland Emmerich's presidential thriller at 7 p.m. as opposed to the funny girl comedy which didn't start showing in theaters until 10 p.m. 

If You Live In New York And You Rent, You're Paying A Huge Tax You Don't Even Know About

John Moore/Getty Images

If you live in New York City, you probably know that your income taxes are high. A combined city and state tax rate of 10.4% kicks in at just $22,000 of taxable income for a single person.

You probably don't know that New York City has some of the country's highest taxes on apartment buildings—and if you're not subject to rent control, much of that cost is flowing through to you as a renter.

Not all property taxes are high here: New York actually has very low taxes on owner-occupied homes. Our property tax system is a perverse cross-subsidy from relatively poor renters to relatively rich homeowners.

If we just taxed all property at the same rate, apartment building taxes would fall by $1,000 to $1,500 per unit.

Here are a few charts that show just how bizarre New York's tax system is, and how renters are getting screwed.