Longest-Serving Pol Lets Google Glass Pick Dinner
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Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — As the longest-serving member of Congress in U.S. history, Rep. John Dingell is getting a lot of attention, most recently from Google, whose futuristic technologies were unimaginable when Dingell first took his post in 1955.
According to Dingell’s spokesperson, Christopher Schuler, the congressman “had a grand ol’ time” when he got a visit from a Google representative who let him test out Google Glass, the tech giant’s connected eyeglasses which overlay digital information on the real world.
After learning how to operate the new technology, Dingell, D-Mich., made his first query. “Directions to a good Chinese restaurant,” he asked before receiving directions to Young Chow on Capitol Hill.
“This is quite a machine!” he added.
Dingell’s staff posted a video of the Congressman wearing Google Glass on his Facebook page. The post stated that Dingell wanted to try the technology because he is “proud to have Google in Ann Arbor” and that the experience “sure made finding a place to eat dinner tonight even easier!”
While Google’s presence in Dingell’s congressional district is undeniable, he isn’t the first politician to try the technology before it’s available to the masses.
Rep. Michele Bachmann made waves on social media when she tried on Google Glass at a GOP demo in May of this year. Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich also has ties to the new technology after winning a Twitter contest that allowed him to be one of Google’s explorers. His winning Tweet mentioned plans of using Google Glass during zoo and museum visits.
According to Open Secrets, Google contributed $3,820,612 to political candidates in the 2012 cycle, and spent nearly $28 million to lobby Congress from 2011-2012. Twenty-three members of Congress own Google shares, though not Dingell.
ABC News was unable to reach a representative from Google for comment.
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