Google "Search by Image"

This might seem silly to some of you, but today, I am thankful for the Search by Image extension in Google Chrome. Do you know how much money it has saved me over the years? I can't think of a free computer feature that has saved me so much in recent weeks.

For example:

$35.99 on a 1774 survey of the Kanawha Valley. Found free from the Library of Congress with one search.

$74.99 on a 1903 edition of the Times Dispatch from Richmond, VA. Found free from the Library of Congress with one search.

This gorgeous photo is by flickr user sgatto.

$38.99 on an image of Vittorio Veneto, Italy. Found an equivalent, modern image on Flickr with a Creative Commons license.

And that was just in one day! And if I forget where I downloaded something from, I can go to images.google.com and upload it, and Google will find the image and help me track it down.

Isn't that just freaking brilliant? They are doing a great job of helping make the world's photos more accessible to the every day person and making it infinitely easier to find ways to enhance my family tree with more video, photos, and documents than ever before.

Thanks Google!