From time to time, I share some geeky new tool I am using for blah-blah-blah and those items seldom get any traction. Nobody has heard of the tool (for annotating, curating or writing etc) and does not itch where I do.
But today, and briefly, I'll point you to an app that could literally save your life--and has done so for lost hikers and car accident victims invisible in a ravine off the road and out of sight of search teams.
You can put the app on your phone today and never use it.
But if you have and need it, you're covered. You will be able to tell friends precisely where to meet you at FloydFest; where you be picnicking in Central Park; or where you wife can find your parked car at the airport (without a Find My Car app.)
By finding precisely I mean to locate you or target item within a 10' x 10' square, anywhere on Earth--including over water. Imagine your boat is stalled out of sight of land. There are not landmarks to reference. But send the Coast Guard you location--using just three English words--and they will come straight to you.
WHICH IS EASIER: 51.520847, -0.19552100 ←→ /// filled.count.soap
MORE RESOURCES…
You can read about the history of What3Words--how it came about a decade ago, as one man's solution to a problem locating sound crews at big musical events.
You can see the concept applied to the entire globe, and find that it has already been adopted by some car nav programs and municipal EMS systems.
And you can easily find the three-word combo for the one-in-57 trillion 10’ x 10’ squares where you sit just now.
Once you have your three-word location, NAVIGATION to the target destination is passed onto a mapping app, with a pointer compass to guide you as you get close.
How to map the globe using 3-word combinations and a bit of math
What3words - Wikiwand
What3words: The app that can save your life - BBC News
SCAVENGER HUNT USING WHAT3WORDS
Soon, we'll create a scavenger hunt for our grandson using What3Words. We'll hide his long-overdue birthday present somewhere not far from his house.
He'll get clue #1 that gives him three odd words. We’ll let him puzzle on that a bit. Then, after we tell him about and download the app, the first clue will lead to clue #2 and three more common English words; and from there, to his package.
And by the way, his secret cache at the end of the hunt will hold the board game….