The Horrifying Truth About the Google Barge

io9
November 11, 2013

Photos by Daniel Terdiman
Photos by Daniel Terdiman

For weeks, the internet has been buzzing about Google’s sexy secret project, a massive barge piled with customized shipping containers floating in the San Francisco Bay. Was it a secret data center, soon to be outside national jurisdiction? A rejuvenation lab for Ray Kurzweil? No. The truth is much worse.

This barge sucks.
This barge sucks.

It turns out that Google is using the barge as a marketing device. In an open letter to journalists, a Google rep said, “Although it’s still early days and things may change, we’re exploring using the barge as an interactive space where people can learn about new technology.” Daniel Terdiman, the journalist who broke the barge story in the first place, wrote yesterday that it will also be “a temporary exhibit space.” Here’s an artist’s rendering of what it will look like when complete:

What?
What?

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