A British man got in trouble with his wife after Google caught him smoking on camera and published the image on Street View. Liverpool-based cab driver Donny Ryding had previously suffered a heart attack, so his doctor advised him to stop smoking and eating junk food. His wife, Julie Ryding, said she suspected something was up after finding Hobnob-brand cookies in his car.
Google Street View: Julie Ryding’s husband sneaking a cigarette
Ryding’s wife said she then confronted her husband about the cookies, and he stormed out of the house. Later on she found out a Google Street View car was driving around their neighborhood during the same day of their fight. She then checked their address on Google Maps to see if her husband was up to more bad habits, and that was when she found the photo of him smoking.
His wife told The Echo, “Since it happened, we’ve called it Hobnob day and whenever the family gets together we laugh and joke about it. He did sleep on the couch that night, but he took it all in good spirits and we joke about it now at family parties.”
Ryding reportedly cut back on cigarettes
Fortunately for Ryder and his wife, he is living a slightly healthier lifestyle now. He still smokes but has cut back. He also exercises with three dogs to help him keep moving. Although he isn’t living a completely healthy lifestyle, he hasn’t eaten a Hobnob cookie since the incident.
Google since replaced the image with a more up-to-date image, but curious people can find the old image of Ryding taking a cigarette break with a special feature on Google Maps that lets people look back at Google Street photos from the past. Google users can find older photos by clicking on the upper left side of the Street View address box with the month and year.
