What is cecil the turtle?

Cecil the Turtle is a famous animal who gained notoriety in the 1950s as the first living creature to complete a transcontinental trip using a GPS before it was called a GPS. He was a small, dark green turtle who, in 1952, was equipped with a primitive transmitter and placed in a box on top of a Jeep traveling across the United States for 96 days. The journey covered more than 3,000 miles (4,800 km) and was intended to test the accuracy and usefulness of the nascent GPS technology. Cecil became a celebrity after the trip, and his handlers even arranged for him to meet President Harry Truman. Today, Cecil is still remembered as a symbol of the pioneering spirit and early use of GPS technology.