A 12-year-old boy in England used Google Maps to learn about a place his family was planning to visit. To his surprise, he found a location with a name that was extremely mysterious, one that even his parents had never heard of. The online community is buzzing with curiosity, wondering what this place actually is.
Today’s advanced technology provides many conveniences, and in some cases, it also sparks a lot of curiosity.
The boy, Rory Chapman, 12 years old, from Wallasey, England, was recently shocked by his discovery on Google Maps.
That day, Rory was using Google Maps to learn more about a location that the whole family planned to visit, which is the Hilbre Islands at the mouth of the River Dee, situated between England and Wales. This archipelago consists of three islands: Little Eye, Middle Eye, and Hilbre.
12-year-old Rory Chapman. (Photo: Liverpool Echo).
On these islands, there are pathways that only appear at low tide, so Rory wanted to check which routes he could walk on when they arrived. Suddenly, Rory spotted a location marked with a tourist symbol (depicting a camera), named Hole to the Centre of the Earth.
Rory told the Liverpool Echo: “I was using Google Maps with my mom to study Geography, and I had seen Hilbre Island before. I knew quite a bit about the places on the island, but I had never seen this location before. At that moment, I was very surprised and thought: ‘What’s going on? Did they just drill a really deep hole on the island leading to the center of the Earth?’”
Rory’s dad posted a photo online to ask if anyone knew about this strange location. (Photo: Google Maps).
Rory asked his dad, Sean, 36, but Sean was just as surprised as his son, so he posted online to ask. Sean’s post attracted many comments, but no one had an answer. They only expressed their astonishment, such as:
“That’s amazing! I’ve never heard of a place like that!”
“Maybe there really is a hole leading to the center of the Earth, so anyone who goes near should be careful.”
What’s even more curious is that shortly after, this location was removed from Google Maps, making everyone even more eager to find out what the “hole to the center of the Earth” actually was.
The mysterious location Rory found has now been removed from Google Maps. (Photo: Google Maps).
The Hilbre Islands are a local nature reserve and are also of great interest to scientists. No one has yet been able to clearly explain the strange “hole” that Rory discovered.
