"Where the Streets Have No Name"

The Rogers Healy Blog

Posted July 1, 2010 by

"Where the Streets Have No Name"

Claiming that my husband, “Bob” is directionally challenged would be a understatement. He often calls me on his commute home from work and I hear a woman's voice in the background. I know her well, Bob has had an intimate relationship with her for years, she’s "Sara" his GPS. Despite the fact that we have lived in the same place and Bob has worked at the exact location since 2008, he still depends on her to help him navigate the familiar streets he drives every single day.

Depending on her programming, Sara usually takes Bob from point A to point B without issues, but she lives up to her alter ego, who we call “the b*tch in the box” on occasions when she has lead us astray (note that I gave her that name). “Recalculating route” she says with disappointment when we choose not to follow her path. Still, Bob gets in the car every day and types in the address and embarks on his journey, he has more confidence in her than he has in his own sense of direction.

I noted the article below in my favorite Sunday read, and I found it especially fascinating. Turns out Bob is not the only one who has attachment issues with his GPS device. There’s a real person associated with “Sara’s” voice and actual research has been done proving that people (men and women) prefer the soothing sound of a woman’s voice when receiving directions. This lead me to an idea; what if I could record my own voice and have that be the background noise I hear over the phone during Bob's commute home from work! Do you think he would be as attached to his GPS then?

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/27/fashion/27FamilyMatters.html?scp=2&sq=gps&st=cse

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