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GPS coordinates lead demolition crew to destroy wrong house

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(@perry-williams)
Posts: 2187
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http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/13/gps-coordinates-lead-demolition-crew-to-destroy-wrong-house/

Tired of blaming GPS on petty mishaps like the destruction of cars, a demolition crew in Georgia has managed to accidentally destroy an entirely wrong house based on GPS coordinates. Oddly enough, it wasn't even the first time they'd been by: the man who cuts the grass noticed that the power box was missing from the home and holes were punched into the walls about a month ago -- it was suspected as vandalism, but it now seems that the stealthy, directionless demolition company was to blame. The demolition company says it had "paperwork" authorizing the destruction, complete with the coordinates and a description of the home, which the owner's father had built with his own hands "brick by brick."

 
Posted : January 8, 2011 3:42 pm
(@daniel-s-mccabe)
Posts: 1457
 

Not the first, nor the last.

 
Posted : January 8, 2011 3:51 pm
(@beer-legs)
Posts: 1155
 

Damn GPS. They better sue the GPS manufacturer for selling faulty equipment....

 
Posted : January 8, 2011 4:36 pm
(@bill93)
Posts: 9834
 

That story is a year and a half old. It was discussed back then on the old forum.

I don't recall if we ever found out how the coordinates were derived.

 
Posted : January 8, 2011 6:00 pm
(@dave-karoly)
Posts: 12001
 

not really new...

several years ago a roofing contractor's demo sub stripped the roof off the wrong house because the contractor gave the sub the wrong street address of the house. The funny part of the story was he tried to sell the owner on paying for the roof but he would throw in the demo for free or something like that.

The owner made him put an entirely new roof on the house for free of course.

 
Posted : January 8, 2011 9:15 pm
(@cliff-mugnier)
Posts: 1223
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Gotta admire the cojones the contractor had ...

... to attempt the sales job!

HA!

 
Posted : January 9, 2011 9:49 am