The Historical Marker Database (HMdb.org) is an online database that documents locations of numerous historical markers in the United States as well as other countries. The database was launched in 2006 by computer programmer J. J. Prats. The HMdb served as the basis for the database for the online

augmented reality Augmented reality (AR) is an interactive experience that combines the real world and computer-generated content. The content can span multiple sensory modalities, including visual, auditory, haptic, somatosensory and olfactory. AR can be de ...

game

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, which was then later repurposed for

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. The HMdb was launched in 2006 with 179 markers that Prats had personally documented. By 2015 the site listed more than 74,000 markers. In addition to listing markers in the United States, the site also lists some markers from more than 40 other countries. By the start of 2018, the site documented more than 100,000 markers. The HMdb has been described as "

crowdsourced Crowdsourcing involves a large group of dispersed participants contributing or producing goods or services—including ideas, votes, micro-tasks, and finances—for payment or as volunteers. Contemporary crowdsourcing often involves digita ...

", and according to the site's self-description, "Anyone can add new markers to the database and update existing marker pages with new photographs, links, information and commentary." The HMdb displays historical event locations using

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. Artist

Paul Druecke Paul Druecke (born 1964, Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is an American artist who works at the intersections of poetry, sculpture, video, and photography. His work was included in the 2014 Whitney Biennial at the Whitney Museum of American Art and anthologi ...

described the HMdb as "a different sort of catalogue", one that "allows geeks like me to explore historical plaques throughout the United States." Druecke did a series of charcoal drawings depicting official state-sponsored plaques. In 2011, Silvio Lacetti argued that the HMdb "offers a wonderful opportunity" for history teachers to instill interest in students by being "a Columbus leading his or her young crew on journeys of local historical discovery", enabling them "to search, discover and learn" through historical markers.

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