This hidden Google Earth slider lets you travel up to 80 years back in time. Here's how to try it

Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET You might've heard about that recent viral Street View trend -- the one where people learned they can go back in time and see street-view-level imagery of their house or a loved one's home, and they're getting emotional spotting long-gone relatives, friends, or even trees when they try it for themselves. But did you know you can do something similar with Google Earth? Unlike Google Street View, which only goes back to 2007 and shows you a first-person, panoramic point of view, Google Earth offers 3D views of practically anywhere -- and in some places, you can go back as far as the 1930s with historical imagery. I tried it myself, searching old childhood homes in New York. I could see them going all the way back to the 80s. Also: How to blur your house on Google Street View (and 4 reasons why people do it) Admittedly, the farther I went back, the imagery looked like flat, top-down aerial views, some of which were blurry. But zoom to the 1990s, and the im ... Read full article.