Anyone who has used online mapping services for directions probably has encountered the occasional odd set of directions for commonly travelled paths. Perhaps the most direct route wasn’t suggested to get to a destination. The Register has noted a number of such oddities in Microsoft’s MapPoint - the latest being the placement of a hotel in the middle of the English Channel. Other cartographic aberations include driving directions from Norway to the U. K. via the North Sea, and Wales to Ireland via the Celtic Sea. Other curiosities are listed by The Register but the most interesting one is the ad by Microsoft’s Windows Server System that moves Switzerland to Russia.

Update (9:44 AM): NPR has a related story of errors in online mapping services. gisuser apparently thinks this is a little too much. However, speaking with experience, it’s generally the cartographer that gets blamed for mapping errors, not the data creator or provider.