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GPS Typo Leads Tourists 400 Miles in the Wrong Direction

by Warren Riddle on July 29, 2009 at 04:54 PM

US citizens get a bad rap for a supposed ignorance of geography, but, according to MSNBC, certain Scandinavians are directionally challenged as well. While taking a holiday in Italy, a Swedish couple attempted to use their GPS to guide them to the resort island of Capri, but they accidentally interchanged two significant letters when typing in their destination.

After the couple believed they had reached Capri, they pulled over to ask for directions to the "Blue Grotto," a scenic system of caves located on the famous island. Bewildered employees at the tourist office told the wayward couple that they were, in fact, in the industrial, landlocked town of Carpi, located 400 miles from their intended stop at the polar opposite end of Italy.


According to MSNBC, Giovanni Medici, a Carpi governmental representative, told Reuters that, "It's hard to understand how they managed it. I mean, Capri is an island." While GPS related mishaps abound, the little gadgets definitely can't account for typos, or completely disoriented drivers with a total lack of any semblance of navigational skills. [From: MSNBC via Gadling]

Tags: capri, carpi, funny, gps, gps mishaps, GpsMishaps, humor, top

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