What3words

May 7, 2018

Some friends told me about this nice service over the weekend.
What3words has the whole globe divided in squares 3m by 3m, similar to meridians and parallels, but denser.
So far, nothing special.
The genius comes from how these squares are referenced. Normal global coordinates use a combination of numbers, the integer for the closest meridian on the west and southern parallel, the decimals to get more precise on where inside that big square. This is functional and very precise, great - for example - for computers that use numbers to do anything. But for us humans, series of numbers aren't so easy to remember.
That's where what3words shines by referencing each of its squares with and only with 3 words.
Here's how, then, anything on the planet can be easily localized and remembered. Statue of liberty? planet.inches.most. Tour Eifel? teams.sizzled.ambient. URLs are very nice too, following the intuitive scheme of map.what3words.com/coordinates, just look at the links above.

PS: funny how both of the two iconic place I used as examples were built by the same man.

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