Funny Pictures and Words found on Google Maps
Did you know there's some really funny things you can see from space? Google maps lets us explore the weird and crazy things people have mowed into fields, painted on roofs, or added to roundabouts.
NOTE: It's easier if you click each View on Google Maps"View on Google Maps" link which opens the map to the correct coordinates/zoom in a new window. Embedded maps on Squidoo behave a little weirdly.
Left: Mysterious question mark embellished a construction site in Bretagne, France. (Alas, a new building seems to have covered the spot.)
NOTE: It's easier if you click each View on Google Maps"View on Google Maps" link which opens the map to the correct coordinates/zoom in a new window. Embedded maps on Squidoo behave a little weirdly.
Left: Mysterious question mark embellished a construction site in Bretagne, France. (Alas, a new building seems to have covered the spot.)
Happy Valentine's Day From Croatia
Small heart-shaped island: it's not photoshopped!
View on Google MapsThe island’s owner, unsurprisingly, tried to capitalize on his newfound celebrity from Google Earth, despite the fact that the island is actually a rather inhospitable barren blob.
Happy St. Patrick's Day Card from Ireland
Forget crop circles; they've got leprechaun lawn pranks!
View on Google Maps
Here’s a fun maze south of the Dublin airport on the other side of the freeway, er…what do they call major roads in Ireland? I can’t find out any information on this maze, but the property appears to be guarded by attack dogs. Bummer.
Holy Bat Signal, Batman! (Japan)
He's abandoned Gotham and moved to Okinawa!
View on Google Maps
The former bat signal swimming pool in Illinois has been repainted by homeowners with more taste — booooo! — but luckily, Kadena Airbase in Okinawa, Japan has taken up the slack. Batman has traded in the Batmobile for a jet fighter!
So just how is Batman portrayed in Japanese media? Apparently with all the taste and sophistication of the Adam West TV show. (Right: Bat-Manga!: The Secret History of Batman in Japan)
The former bat signal swimming pool in Illinois has been repainted by homeowners with more taste — booooo! — but luckily, Kadena Airbase in Okinawa, Japan has taken up the slack. Batman has traded in the Batmobile for a jet fighter!So just how is Batman portrayed in Japanese media? Apparently with all the taste and sophistication of the Adam West TV show. (Right: Bat-Manga!: The Secret History of Batman in Japan
)Deep in the Heart of Texas
...is a farmer who's very proud of his last name.
View on Google Maps
This is a ranch where a farmer cleared away most of the trees for grazing his cattle, but left some woodland standing fore wildlife. NASA uses this three-mile-long landmark to calibrate satellite and aerial photography instruments! (Source)
Playing Mind Games on Airline Passengers
This is actually in Wisconsin
View on Google MapsThanks to the quirky humor of one Mark Gubin, this rooftop has been visible on the final approach to the General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (off the map to the south) since 1978.
Giant Pac-Man game in Massachussetts
Visible as late as 2012, but I think it may be gone now
Location on Google MapsI’d love to have my neighborhood turned into a giant Pac-man game, but the crunching sound would keep me up at night. UPDATE: I’ve taken a screen cap, just in case, because the 45° view seems to show it’s been paved over recently.
Giant Pink Plush Rabbit in Italy
This one keeps getting creepier
View on Google MapsGoogle Maps doesn’t really give you an indication of just how terrifying this giant pink bunny rabbit really is. That is a lot of knitting. Update 2014: Looks like it’s well on its way to rotting back into the hillside.
Attack of the Fifty Foot White Guy (Germany)
Munich sets record for world's largest jaywalker?
View on Google MapsHere’s photos by the artist showing the construction of “Walking Man.” Oddly enough, this figure is standing outside and was commissioned by a reinsurance company whose building complex is equally artsy, but more neoclassical than modern.
Stealth Bomber in Swimming Pool (Missouri)
Flying under the radar
View on Google MapsGoogle maps kept this swimming pool blurred for a while, but the secret is out: stealth bombers are amphibious! This swimming pool is located on the grounds of Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, home of the B-2 Stealth Bomber.
#Hashtag #Cruiseship
Subliminal message: don't forget to tweet/reblog this page!
View on Google MapsFor many years, there was a strange sign in San Diego that read, “Cruise ships use airport exit.” Apparently this ship followed the sign, made a wrong turn, and got trapped in a forest of Twitter hashtags. (Where it survives as a mall.)
Farm Animals Make Their Own Crop Circles
From the same English shire that gave us Worcestershire Sauce!
View on Google Maps
The fields south of Top Barn farm appear to have been decorated by the barnyard residents — no, not THAT kind of decoration; these critters are more artistic.
UPDATE spring 2014: Uh oh, the field’s all plowed up. Well, it’s still early. Wait until summer?
The fields south of Top Barn farm appear to have been decorated by the barnyard residents — no, not THAT kind of decoration; these critters are more artistic.UPDATE spring 2014: Uh oh, the field’s all plowed up. Well, it’s still early. Wait until summer?
Gulliver Is Still Tied Down
Fantastic playground in Valencia, Spain
View on Google MapsJust to the southwest of this traffic circle, poor Gulliver of Gulliver’s travels is still being tormented by the Lilleputians. In fact, you can join them. Here’s more close-up photos of Parque Gulliver’s awesomeness.
Avebury Village: Stone Age Scenery
Not far from Stonehenge in Wiltshire
View on Google MapsI love Avebury, a village inside a Neolithic stone circle (see my old Avebury photo gallery).
The slightly wobbly earthen circle is the henge surrounding the village. As of August 2011, there’s a crop circle just NE of the village; they appear frequently near Avebury and around Stonehengethanks to an especially active group of crop circle artists in Wiltshire. (Update spring 2014: Looks like Google maps is preserving the 2011 crop circle for posterity :) )
The slightly wobbly earthen circle is the henge surrounding the village. As of August 2011, there’s a crop circle just NE of the village; they appear frequently near Avebury and around Stonehengethanks to an especially active group of crop circle artists in Wiltshire. (Update spring 2014: Looks like Google maps is preserving the 2011 crop circle for posterity :) )
The Atacama Giant, Chile
About 1000 years old, 280 feet tall
View on Google MapsThere’s a ton of huge glyphs in the deserts of Chile and Peru created by the Inca and Tiwanaku civilizations from about 800 AD up until the Conquistadors stamped out the old civilizations in the region. Here’s a little more information about the Atacama Giant on a fascinating page about the “Top Ten Geoglyphs in the World.”
UFO Landing Pad and Lights
One of SEVERAL, actually...
View on Google Maps
The Dutch town of Houten has created an official landing pad for UFOs, complete with traffic advisory lights. To my surprise, when I Googled for it, I learned that there are also a UFO landing pad in St. Paul, Canada and another in Ares, France which has actually been visited.
The Dutch town of Houten has created an official landing pad for UFOs, complete with traffic advisory lights. To my surprise, when I Googled for it, I learned that there are also a UFO landing pad in St. Paul, Canada and another in Ares, France which has actually been visited.Cemeteries in Odd Places
Do you want fries with that?
View on Google MapsUnfortunately, the human race keeps on being fruitful and multiplying, which leads to a certain amount of urban sprawl around formerly rural cemeteries. Here’s the family plot of the 1800s Burks family farm, now enclosed in a mall parking lot right next to a McDonald’s. Ouch.
Fingerprint on Lens
Chris Drury's "Fingermaze" in Hove Park, Brighton
View on Google MapsWho knew that you could get a fingerprint on the lens of a satellite camera?
Here’s a webpage on the “Fingermaze” with a teacher’s information packet. Also, here’s another great maze in Leicester.
Here’s a webpage on the “Fingermaze” with a teacher’s information packet. Also, here’s another great maze in Leicester.
I Sense Sarcasm, Captain
Borsbeek, Belgium, near Antwerp Airport
View on Google Maps
A farm in Belgium expresses their appreciation for the nearby Antwerp International Airport. I notice they wrote in English; apparently they understand how to go viral on Google Maps.
UPDATE 2014: Oh, hey, “Yes we love airplane noise” has been replaced with a brand spanking new solar panel farm. You go, Germany! (German subsidies last decade, now at an end, pioneered the way to make solar power in Germany cost the same as conventional power, except it requires nothing but maintenance rather than new fuel sources. At this point Germany’s energy is at 25% renewable and working towards 40%).
A farm in Belgium expresses their appreciation for the nearby Antwerp International Airport. I notice they wrote in English; apparently they understand how to go viral on Google Maps.UPDATE 2014: Oh, hey, “Yes we love airplane noise” has been replaced with a brand spanking new solar panel farm. You go, Germany! (German subsidies last decade, now at an end, pioneered the way to make solar power in Germany cost the same as conventional power, except it requires nothing but maintenance rather than new fuel sources. At this point Germany’s energy is at 25% renewable and working towards 40%).
Hungry Hungry Hippos
Katavi National Park, Tanzania, Africa
View on Google Maps
I’m not quite sure how Katavi National Park managed to add a couple isolated HD aerial photos to an otherwise rather sketchy region of Google Maps, but great googly mooglies, that’s a lot of hippos!
Alien Messages in Newtown, Connecticut
I think they're Pastafarians...
View on Google Maps
Castle Hill Farm’s maze varies from year to year. In 2011, it was a big spiderweb; in 2012, it changed to a couple cow heads sending a cryptic greeting to “Mom,” and the last time I checked, it looked vaguely like the Flying Spaghetti Monster. 2014 Update: they’re still at it; Google maps is showing their 2013 maze, which conveniently has the date.
Castle Hill Farm’s maze varies from year to year. In 2011, it was a big spiderweb; in 2012, it changed to a couple cow heads sending a cryptic greeting to “Mom,” and the last time I checked, it looked vaguely like the Flying Spaghetti Monster. 2014 Update: they’re still at it; Google maps is showing their 2013 maze, which conveniently has the date.Alien Messages in China
Strange lines in the desert
View on Google Maps
There’s a bunch of these in a remote part of China, and they’re enormous. See this article for more examples. My theory is that they’re some stupid government or penal jobs designed to keep some people busy. “Let’s make bizarre maze-grids in the desert and puzzle the Americans!”
Oh, Is THAT Where Nessie Went (Australia)
She sure gets around
View on Google Maps
Apparently Nessie has moved to Bondi, New South Wales, next to a pleasant park for sunbathing. Pleasant, that is, if you’re not worried about the giant crocodile to the southeast of Nessie.
Apparently Nessie has moved to Bondi, New South Wales, next to a pleasant park for sunbathing. Pleasant, that is, if you’re not worried about the giant crocodile to the southeast of Nessie.Giant Floating Man in Australia
Australia once again proving it's awesome
View on Google Maps
This water park in Southport, Australia has a strangely-shaped floating dock.
This water park in Southport, Australia has a strangely-shaped floating dock.The Bulford Kiwi in England
A monument to Anzacs killed at Gallipoli
View on Google MapsIt’s a bit stretched and skinny in the Google Maps version, and it’s not funny at all: the Bulford Kiwiwas created by WWI New Zealand soldiers stationed in Wiltshire, England.
The tradition of carving figures into the chalks of Wiltshire goes back to Neolithic times. See theUffington White Horse for a famous example.
The tradition of carving figures into the chalks of Wiltshire goes back to Neolithic times. See theUffington White Horse for a famous example.
More Vehicles in Odd Places (France)
Some kind of fighter jet
View on Google Maps
Land-locked cruise ships, submarine stealth bombers… France joins the creative parking brigade with a fighter plane in this university’s parking lot.
Land-locked cruise ships, submarine stealth bombers… France joins the creative parking brigade with a fighter plane in this university’s parking lot.Russian Space Shuttle (Moscow)
This makes me sad
View on Google Maps
Sadly, the Buran Space Shuttle never really got going: it had one unmanned test flight and that was all. Here’s the old propaganda-laced website for it, and a morecoherent account on Wikipedia. (Also, here’s my own photos of the Space ShuttleEndeavour settling into her new home in Los Angeles.)
Sadly, the Buran Space Shuttle never really got going: it had one unmanned test flight and that was all. Here’s the old propaganda-laced website for it, and a morecoherent account on Wikipedia. (Also, here’s my own photos of the Space ShuttleEndeavour settling into her new home in Los Angeles.)Psychedelic...trash facility? (Taiwan)
More art for aliens to admire
View on Google MapsTaiwan treats waste disposal as a place for art. I like it! Not only that, but the Beitou Incineratorsports a snazzy observation tower with an aerial restaurant. (The official homepage includes a 360° pan from the top of the tower).
Friendly Oil Refinery (Virginia)
And a hearty howdy to you!
View on Google MapsSomeone had fun decorating these roofs in Norfolk, Virginia. Also, there’s either a sunken ship just north, or else we’ve got another Google Map ghost caused by imperfect stitching of images.
Miniature City in The Hague, Holland
Madurodam: A city within a city
View on Google MapsMadurodam is a huge miniaturized city, airport, and railroad. See this photo gallery — but remember, all those buildings are 1:25 scale! On Google maps, use the nearby parking lot and people-shadows to get a sense of scale. Grab the orange “street view” guy at upper left and drag him onto some of the hot spots for photos.
