ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Open Location Code

Have you ever tried finding your way to a place using a map or a GPS device? Well, sometimes it can be really hard to figure out exactly where you are, especially if you are in a new place. That's where something called an Open Location Code can help you.

An Open Location Code is a kind of code that helps people find a specific location on a map or GPS device. The code is made up of a series of letters and numbers that represent a certain place on Earth. It's like a secret code that only certain people know how to read.

To create an Open Location Code, you first need to know the latitude and longitude of a place. Do you know what latitude and longitude are? Those are the special coordinates that tell you exactly where you are on the Earth's surface. They are like the X and Y axes on a graph, but for the whole Earth instead of just a piece of paper.

Once you have the latitude and longitude of a place, you can use them to create a series of letters and numbers that make up an Open Location Code. These codes are designed to be easy to remember and easy to use, even if you don't know the exact latitude and longitude of a place.

For example, let's say you want to find a park in your town. The latitude and longitude of that park might be really hard to remember, but with an Open Location Code, you can just remember a simple series of letters and numbers like "6PH57C6F+J6". That code represents the exact location of the park, and you can use it to find it on a map or GPS device.

So there you have it, an Open Location Code is a special code that helps people find specific places on Earth using a series of easy-to-remember letters and numbers. Pretty cool, huh?