Google Maps Helps Portland Chloe O'Brians Triangulate Source of Pipe Bomb

On Sunday night, geo-developer Reid Beels was sitting in a restaurant in Portland when he heard a loud bang. It seemed he wasn't the only one, as the twittersphere was soon thick with (no doubt) WTF-style exhortations from around the Oregon city's users. As no one could immediately get to the bottom of it, Beels set up a map using the My Maps app on Google, and invited people to collaborate, using different-colored pins.

Over 1,000 people added pins--100 in the first hour--and the map has...