Google Earth can measure the distance between your house and the Louvre

Not content to simply measure kitchen tables using augmented reality anymore, Google is thinking bigger. A lot bigger. The latest update to Google Earth is the ability to measure the distance between two points on the globe. In a blog post, the search juggernaut says that it's been one of the most requested features. The Measure tool goes live in Chrome today and will be added to Android this week, with iOS getting in on the party "soon."

So yeah, you can now zoom in on your neighborhood and measure exactly how long each block is, and find out its area (length multiplied by width) if you so desire, or measure the distance between your house and the Taj Mahal. You know, to settle a bar bet or fill in a spot in your noggin with random trivia about your neighborhood. Or, just to slack off at work in a new way in case you've run out of Voyager stories.