Google says barge may be a gadget showroom
Tech giant debunks wild rumors about the purpose of its vessel in San Francisco Bay
SAN FRANCISCO — The mystery behind a floating barge that was recently found in San Francisco Bay has been solved. And yes, Google has confessed.
On Wednesday, the search engine giant issued a statement that debunked the wildest of rumors, though still offered only the barest of explanations.
“Google Barge … A floating data center? A wild party boat? A barge housing the last remaining dinosaur? Sadly, none of the above,” a Google spokesperson said in a statement released Wednesday. “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.”
With this confirmation, the shoulders of nerds and conspiracy theorists around the world slumped in disappointment. No Death Star. No Borg cube. No TARDIS. Just a showroom for new gadgets. The statement is largely in line with reports last week. Those stories indicated that the structure on the barge, a rectangular box made from stacks of large metal shipping containers, was for entertaining Google clients and demonstrating new technologies, such as Google Glass.
Indeed. A Los Angeles Times article Monday looking at the mystery behind the barge uncovered a lease for Hangar 3 on Treasure Island, where the structure was built, that said the purpose of the project was “fabrication of a special event structure and art exhibit only and for no other purpose.”
CNET originally broke the story that Google was building something on Treasure Island out of shipping containers. But the original story speculated that it might be a f loating data center, based on patents Google had obtained for creating such a facility.
Since then, a second barge was spotted near Portland, Maine. And there appears to be paperwork for a total of four barges.