In the unlikely event that you forgot which Canadian city you reside in, a bizarre new billboard in Toronto is reminding residents that they are not, in fact, in Vancouver.
The billboard, which features minimalist text on a white background reading “this is not vancouver. nice,” and a webcam image of a man in a blue shirt, is proving quite the confusing new addition on a stretch of Yonge.
Unless, of course, you’re active on TikTok and other video-sharing platforms, where the man behind this mystifying billboard is something of a celebrity.
The ad campaign comes from Google Maps expert Trevor Rainbolt (who goes by just his surname on social media), known online for his astounding GeoGuessr skills.
If you’ve never seen this guy’s videos, he can zero in on pretty much anywhere in the world on Google Maps with alarming accuracy based on the most insignificant clues like blurry images of vegetation or even the type of power lines seen on the side of the road.
The 26-year-old American content creator’s accounts on TikTok, X, Instagram, and YouTube have a combined 8.6 million followers, and even if you don’t know his name, there’s a chance you’ve caught a glimpse of his mapping sorcery while scrolling through videos.
But every Achilles must have an undefended heel, and despite his impressive prowess and near-photographic memory of locations across the globe, Rainbolt just can’t seem to figure out Toronto or Vancouver.
Take one video from January 9, for example, where Rainbolt was challenged to a map titled “Colors of the Rainbow,” in which he had only one minute per round to make his guess about where an image was captured.
In a YouTube video titled “MAKE IT STOP,” he is dropped off at an intersection in Vancouver’s Mount Pleasant neighbourhood with a street name that only fueled his confusion.
“No. No, no, no, no, no, no,” said Rainbolt as he agonized over the Google street view image. “Ontario Street? Why does it say Ontario Street.” In the end, that misleading clue proved his downfall, and he incorrectly chose Toronto.
That Ontario Street red herring was just one of many cases where Rainbolt’s apparent weakness for Canadian locations was put on full display.
But he wasn’t willing to accept defeat and went on a mission to memorize practically every building — including interiors — in Vancouver. He didn’t stop there, posting a recent video in which he claims to have memorized every single building in Toronto.
After botching another guess in Canada, Rainbolt, in a moment of frustrated determination, said, “I’m going city by city until I memorize every single location inside Canada,” before a jump cut to him proudly declaring, “So that’s exactly what I did.”
“I just memorized every single building inside Toronto. I’m not kidding, guys.”
He then proceeds to identify the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts at Richmond and University based solely on a photo of its carpeting.
“I’ve memorized every room inside Toronto.”
Rainbolt then quickly identifies the Allan Gardens Conservatory and the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. He even manages to tackle a trick question with the interior of a building in Mississauga.
“I know every piece of carpet, what every wall looks like. Canada: I’m coming for you.”
To celebrate his geographic knowledge conquests over Toronto and Vancouver, Rainbolt has installed a pair of billboards in the cities.
A billboard installed over Yonge Street north of Lawrence Avenue West in North York is something of a victory trumpet for Rainbolt, who can now say with confidence that this is not Vancouver.
A complementary billboard has been installed in Vancouver, subtracting the “not” from the version seen in Toronto.
