Last week, Nicaraguan troops accidentally invaded Costa Rica, while attempting to reclaim territory they thought had been taken from their country. The source of the problem was apparently an incorrect border line on Google Maps. This isn’t the first time a Google Maps error has provoked an international incident – see this previously linked post for more.

Perhaps a bigger problem than Google Maps itself, however, is the reactions people have to it. In this case, the trouble seems to stem from the troops’ hot-headed commander Eden Pastora, who ran the accidental invasion. The progression from “looking at a map on the web” to “sending in the troops” should really include a “verify this information” stage.