OK, guys, prepare yourselves—this is going to be a fast but very useful tip. At least, I hope it’ll be useful! If it isn't, don't tell me, all right?

So as you may be aware, when you pinch and zoom within Apple Maps, you’ll see a graphic scale of distance in the upper-left corner.

Unfortunately, though, that scale disappears as soon as you stop zooming in and out, right? Yes, but there’s a way to make it stay there. If you touch the screen with two fingers, that guide will appear and stay until you take your fingers off the screen.

I find this very handy for estimating distance, especially when I’m going to be walking. I mean, I could see the travel time between two points by getting directions, but who’s got time for that? It’s much faster to just use this to get an estimate.

Whew, that was quick! You’d think I wouldn’t pad the end of this article with silliness, wouldn’t you? Well, you’d be wrong. I am QUEEN of silliness, dear readers.