Google Earth as Treasure Map

Some folks may think Google Earth is a cute toy but not terribly useful in the real world. We beg to differ. Did you know, for example, that you can use it to find sunken treasure?

According to the Houston Chronicle, Los Angeles musician Nathan Smith has filed suit in federal court for the right to dig in the waters off the coast of Texas, looking for a ship that sank in 1822 while transporting a king's ransom in gold and silver. The specific location of the site is sealed in court documents, but the land around the site belongs to the estate of Marie O'Connor Sorenson, whose lawyer is contesting the suit because he doesn't want Smith tramping around on the property. And how did Smith figure out that the boat sank there? He scanned the area with Google Earth and spotted a murky image in the water—an image, he claims, that is surely the outline of a ship.

Once he found the image, Smith wandered the coast near the site with a metal detector, searching for signs of the booty. Now, he's convinced that the treasure is just offshore, and he's petitioned the court for the right to start digging in the muddy earth just beneath the waves. If he succeeds (and who doesn't want him to?), Sergey and Larry just might show up to ask for their cut of the loot.