WHAT IS BLUE SWITCH DAY?
We often underestimate our reliance on GPS, yet, over the course of 25 years, it has fundamentally reshaped our lives and the world we inhabit.
Imagine how different our daily routines would be without GPS technology. Among many other things, paper maps would be necessary to navigate from point A to point B and turn-by-turn delivery tracking would be impossible. Notably, geocaching would never have come into existence.
This transformation traces back to a pivotal moment on May 2, 2000.. dubbed Blue Switch Day by geocachers. Before May 2000, Selective Availability restricted accurate GPS technology to military use.
However, on Blue Switch Day, the U.S. government made a landmark decision which opened up accurate GPS technology for public use. Geocachers commemorate this day as a milestone, marking it with pride and celebration.
The advent of precise GPS technology brought a new era of possibilities, fostering innovation and exploration worldwide. It’s no coincidence that the very next day, on May 3, 2000, the first geocache was hidden, giving birth to the game of geocaching.
Geocaching HQ created a souvenir for geocachers to celebrate Blue Switch Day 2025. To earn this souvenir, geocachers must find one geocache, Event Cache, or Adventure Lab between May 2–4, 2025
Come out to the pavilion at Medal of Honor Park and have some donuts with us, as we celebrate this game we love so much.
This will be a quick meet and greet, and maybe a little geochat before we're off to hunt down some of those coveted smileys.
SEE YOU THERE :)
