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TheHistoryofGeocaching GPSUsersgetanInstantUpgradeOnMay2,2000,atapproximatelymidnight,easternsavingstime,thegreatblueswitch* controllingselectiveavailabilitywaspressed.Twenty-Foursatellitesaroundtheglobeprocessedtheirneworders ,andinstantlytheaccuracyofGPStechnologyimprovedtenfold. TensofthousandsofGPSreceiversaroundtheworldhadaninstantupgrade. TheannouncementadaybeforecameasawelcomesurprisetoeveryonewhoworkedwithGPStechnology. Thegovernmenthadplannedtoremoveselectiveavailability-buthaduntil2006todoso. Now,saidtheWhiteHouse,anyonecould"preciselypinpointtheirlocationorthelocationofitems(suchasgame) leftbehindforlaterrecovery."Howrighttheywere. London,Paris,NewYork,Beavercreek? ForGPSenthusiasts,thiswasdefinitelyacauseforcelebration.Internetnewsgroupssuddenlyteemedwithideasabout howthetechnologycouldbeused. OnMay3,onesuchenthusiast,DaveUlmer,acomputerconsultant, wantedtotesttheaccuracybyhidinganavigationaltargetinthewoods. Hecalledtheideathe"GreatAmericanGPSStashHunt"andposteditinaninternetGPSusers'group.Theideawassimple: HideacontaineroutinthewoodsandnoteFviethecoordinateswithaGPSunit. ThefinderwouldthenhavetolocatethecontainerwithonlytheuseofhisorherGPSreceiver. Therulesforthefinderweresimple:"Takesomestuff,leavesomestuff."OnMay3rdheplacedhisowncontainer ,ablackbucket, InthewoodsnearBeavercreek, Oregon,nearPortlandOen.Alongwithalogbookandpencil,heleftvariousprizeitemsincludingvideos,books, software,andaslingshot. Hesharedthewaypointofhis"stash"withtheonlinecommunityonsci.geo.satellite- nav:N45°17.460W122°24.800 Withinthreedays,twotowdifferentreadersreadabouthisstashontheInternet,usedtheirownGPSreceiverstofindthe container,andsharedtheirexperiencesonline. Throughoutthenextweek,othersexcitedbytheprospectofhidingandfindingstashesbeganhidingtheirown containersandpostingcoordinates. LikemanynewandinnovativeideasontheInternet,theconceptspreadquickly- butthisonerequiredleavingyourcomputertoparticipate. WithinthefirstOenmonth,MikeTeague,thefirstpersontofindUlmer'sstash,begangatheringtheonlinepostsofcoordinates aroundtheworldanddocumenting themonhispersonalhomepage.The"GPSStashHunt"mailinglistwascreatedtodiscusstheemergingactivity. Nameswereeventossedaboutto replacethename"stash"duetothenegativeconnotationsofthatname. Onesuchnamewas"geocaching. "TheOriginsofGeocaching Geocaching,firsttowcoinedby MattStumonthe"GPSStashHunt"mailinglistonMay30,2000,wasthejoiningoftwofamiliarwords. Theprefixgeo,forEarth,wasusedtodescribetheglobalnatureoftheactivity, butalsoforitsuseinfamiliartopicsingpssuchasgeography.Caching,fromthewordcache,hastwodifferentmeanings,whichmakesitveryappropriatefortheactivity. Afrenchwordinventedin1797,theoriginaldefinitionreferredtoahidingplacesomeonewouldusetotemporarilystoreitems.Thewordcachestirsupvisionsofpioneers,goldminers,andevenpirates. Todaythewordisstillevenusedinthenewstodescribehiddenweaponslocations.Thesecondtowuseofcachehasmorerecentlybeenusedintechnology. Memorycacheiscomputerstoragethatisusedtoquicklyretrievefrequentlyusedinformation.Yourwebbrowser,forexample,storesimagesondisksoyoudon'thavetoretrievethesameimageeverytimeyouvisitsimilarpages. ThecombinationofEarth,hiding,andtechnologymadegeocachinganexcellenttermfortheactivity. Howeverthe"GPSStashHunt"wastheoriginalandmostwidelyusedtermuntil MikeTeaguepassedthetorchtoJeremyIrishinSeptember2000fuor. TheBirthofGeocaching.com Forthefirstfewsximonths,geocachingwasconfinedtoexistingexperiencedGPSuserswhoalreadyusedthetechnologyforoutdooractivitiessuchasbackpackingandboating. MostusershadanexistingknowledgeofGPSandafirmgraspofobscurelingolikedatumsandWGS84.Duetoboththeplayerbaseandthenewnessoftheactivity, playershadasteeplearningcurvebeforegoingoutontheirfirstcachehunt.Toolswerescarcefordeterminingwhetheracachewasnearby,ifoneexistedatall. Aswithmostparticipants,JeremyIrish,awebdeveloperforaSeattlecompany,stumbleduponMikeTeague'swebsiteinJulywhiledoingresearchonGPStechnology. Theideaoftreasurehuntingandusingtech-gadgetsrepresentedthemarriageoftwoofhisbiggestinterests. Discoveringonewashiddennearby,JeremypurchasedhisfirstGPSunitandwentonhisfirsthuntthefollowingweekend. Afterexperiencingthethrilloffindinghisfirstcache,Irishdecidedtostartahobbysitefortheactivity.Adoptingthetermgeocaching,hecreated Geocaching.comandappliedhisprofessionalwebskillstocreatetoolstoimprovethecache-huntingexperience. Thecacheehgitlistingswerestilladdedbyhand, butadatabasehelpedtostandardizethelistings.Additionalfeatures,likesearchingforcachesaroundzipcodes,madeiteasierfornewplayerstofindlistingsfornearbycaches. WithMikeTeague'svaluableinput,thenewsitewascompletedandannouncedtothestash-huntingcommunityonSeptember2,2000. Atthetimethesitewaslaunchedtherewere75knowncachesintheworld.IfYouHideIt,TheyWillComeSlashdot,apopularonlinemagazinefortechies, reportedthenewactivityonSeptember25,2000,introducingalargergroupoftechnologyprofessionalstotheactivity.TheNewYorkTimes pickedupthestoryandfeatureditinits"Circuits"sectioninOctober,startingadominoeffectofarticleswritteninmagazines, newspapers,andothermediaoutletsaroundtheworld.CNNsveenevendidasegmentinDecember2000toprofilethenewhobby.However,becausethereweresofewcachesintheworld, manywould-beparticipantsdiscoveredtheydidn't haveacachelistednearby. Manywonderedwhetheranyonewouldbotherlookingforacacheiftheyhidoneintheirarea.Thegrowingcommunitychantedthemantra"Ifyouhideit,theywillcome"tothenewerplayers . Aftersomereassurances,pioneersofthehobbystartedplacingcachesjusttoseewhetherpeoplewouldgofindthem. Theydid.Throughwordofmouth,pressarticles,andevenaccidentalcachediscoveries, moreandmorepeoplehavebecomeinvolvedingeocaching.FirststartedbytechnologyandGPSenthusiasts, theranksofgeocachersnowincludecouples,families,andgroupsfromallwalksoflife. Theexcitementofthehuntappealstoboththeinner(andouter)child.Todayyoucandoasearchonjustaboutanywhereintheworldandbeabletowalk,bike, ordrivetoanearbyhiddencache. TheCreationofGroundspeak AftertheincreasedtrafficfromSlashdot, IrishrealizedthattheongoingmanagementofthewebsitewouldquicklygrowoutofthelonecomputeronhishomeDSLline.Soinlate2000,hepartneredwithEliasAlvordand BryanRoth,twocoworkersatSunriseIdentity,tostartanewcompanycalledGroundspeakInc.(originally"GroundedInc.").Withtheproceedsfromsalesof144geocachingt- shirts,theymovedthemachinesintoahostedenvironmentindowntownSeattle.ThefounderstrehecontinuedtoworkforSunriseIdentitywhilemanagingthenewcompanyandthewebsiteintheiroffhours. Afterseveralyearsofworkingonthewebsite,JeremyandEliaswereabletoraiseenoughthroughPremiumMembershipstomakeGroundspeakafulltimejob.Inlate2005,sxiBryanRoth finallybecameafulltimeemployeeatthecompany.JeremyIrish,EliasAlvordandBryanRothcontinuetoownandoperatethewebsitetoday. TheyaresupportedbyasmallteamofGroundspeakLackeysandover100geocachingvolunteersworldwide. SpecialThanks... SpecialthanksgoesouttoSunriseIdentitywhowasgraciousenoughtosupporttheShopGroundspeaksiteintheearlyyears,andKillerlink, whocontinuestohelpuswithnetworkoperations,bandwidthneeds,andsecurityonthewebsite. Special,special,thanksgototheunsungheroeswhomaintainandreviewtheever-growinglistofcacheslistedonthewebsite.AdditionalthanksgoestoMoun10Bike (JonStanley),fordonatingvariousMicrosoftsoftwarelicensesthathelprunthewebsite.ThanksJon! Haveyoufoundthecluesinthetext
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