14 Strangest Stuff You Can See in Google Maps

Some of the strangest and coolest stuff you can see in Google MapsThe Osmington White Horse, outside Sutton Poyntz, UK. This prehistoric figure is carved into the white chalk of the hillside - such horse carved shapes are called “Leucippotomy”.




This Google map satellite pic of a swastika-shaped building on a
US Navy base in Coronado, California 


Some of the best-documented messages found in Google Maps have been marriage proposals like this one


Google publicly announced they were planning to send a plane over locations in Australia to update Google Maps images. Quite a few people attempted to communicate messages by displaying large text on the ground for the “Australia Day Flyover” as it was called, but very few actually accomplished it due to a miscommunication over the date of the flight. However, the Tourism Australia ministry managed it by paying a sand sculptor to form the letters of their domain name on Bondi Beach near Sydney



Giant thumbprint in a park in Great Britain. his thumbprint is actually a large maze designed by
Chris Drury.



Man-shaped lake in Brazil

The largest Coca-Cola logo in the world, created near Arica, Chile, out of something like 70,000 coke bottles to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the company




“Giant pink bunny,” Italy.
People are increasingly trying to get their messages seen in Google Maps satellite view, but most aerial messages already appearing in the pics were originally intended for people viewing from airplanes. For instance, this message written in a field adjacent to Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska



A man with the surname of “Luecke” in Texas decided to write his name big by leaving these trees when he was clear-cutting the land. According to reports, astronauts are able to see these letters from space




This UK maze was built to celebrate the 200th birthday of Brunel, a famous British engineer

 


A rendering of Da Vinci’s famous Vitruvian Man, located in Italy



This huge image from a hillside in Mongolia celebrates Ghenghis Khan by moving or scraping soil and rocks to create images



Google Maps nabbed this pic of the Green Lantern looking out a shop window

Read More

Top 10 Deadliest Creatures

Poison Dart Frog 

 

These pint sized frogs aren’t for kissing. Their backs ooze a slimy neurotoxin that is meant to keep predators away. Each frog produces enough of the toxin to kill 10 humans.


Cape Buffalo



When faced with a predator, cape buffaloes charge head on. That’s 1,500 pounds of beast topped off with two big, sharp horns. You’re lucky if there’s only one - the real danger comes when a herd of thousands stampedes in your direction.


Polar Bear 



Sure they might look cuddly at the zoo, but in the wild they eat elephant seals for breakfast. Get between one and its cub and it could easily rip off your head with one swipe of its giant paw.


Elephant 



Not every elephant is as friendly as Dumbo. Elephants kill more than 500 people a year worldwide. African elephants generally weigh in around 16,000 pounds - all the better to stomp you with - not to mention their sharp tusks.


Australian Saltwater Crocodile 



Don’t mistake this croc for a log! It can lay still in the water, waiting for passers by. Then, in the blink of an eye, it’ll lunge at prey, pulling it under water to drown and dismember.


African Lion 



Giant fangs? Check. Lightning quick? That too. Razor sharp claws? You betcha. Hungry? You better hope not. These big cats are near perfect hunters.


Great White Shark 



Blood in the water can excite these sharks into a feeding frenzy, where they’ll use all 3,000 of their teeth to bite anything that moves.


Australian Box Jellyfish 



Also known as the sea wasp, this salad-bowl sized jellyfish can have up to 60 tentacles each 15 feet long. Each tentacle has 5,000 stinging cells and enough toxin to kill 60 humans.


Asian Cobra 



While the Asian Cobra doesn’t hold the title of most venomous snake, it does the most with what it has. Of the 50,000 deaths by snakebite a year, Asian Cobras are responsible for the largest chunk.


Mosquito 



Most skeeter bites just make you itch. But some mosquitoes carry and transfer malaria causing parasites. As a result, these little pests are responsible for the deaths of more than two million people a year.

Read More

The Coldest Places on Earth

International Fall

International Falls, Minnesota is known as the coldest spot in the lower 48 states. The town of almost 7,000 people has an average temperature of 36.4 °F (2 °C). The average low for December, January, and February is below zero. The local Icebox Days festival features snowmobile racing, snow sculptures, bowling with frozen turkeys, and the “Freeze Yer Gizzard Blizzard Run.” Fraser, Colorado also claims the title of “Icebox of the Nation”. The two towns have disputed each other’s claims for years. It’s a matter for the courts even now.


Umiat


Umiat, Alaska is the coldest place in the United States, with an average temperature of 10.1°F. That beats Barrow easily. Considering that Umiat can reach the 70s in the summertime, you know the winters are bonechilling. However, the population hovers around five people with no permanent residents. You can follow weather conditions at Umiat Air Field online.
But those are warm, compared to other places on earth.

Snag
Snag was the site of the lowest temperature ever recorded in North America. On February 3rd, 1947, weathermen etched a notch in the thermometer, because the mercury was below the lowest indicator marks. When the thermometer was analyzed later, it was found that the temperature would’ve read -81.4°F (-63°C). In temperatures that low, the voices of people could be heard four miles away. Frozen breath hangs in the air for up to 15 minutes, making it easy to find where someone has gone.



Northice Station 

The coldest place in the western hemisphere is Greenland, although the country is historically claimed as part of Europe. The Northice Research Station in the middle of the Greenland Ice Sheet recorded a temperature of -87 °F (-66 °C) on January 9th, 1954. The researchers immediately packed up and went home to the coast. Just kidding! However, it must be too cold to take photographs, since I couldn’t find any of Northice.

 

Yakutsk

Yakutsk, capital of the Yakutia region in Siberia claims to be the coldest city on earth. Considering it has a population of 200,000 people, that may be so. In January, daily high temperatures average around -58°F (-50°C). Residents often leave their cars running all day long to ensure they can get home. You are warned not to wear glasses outside, as they will freeze to your face and tear the flesh when you try to remove them. See more pictures and a video of Yakutsk here.


Verkhoyansk 



Verkhoyansk, in the Yakutia region of Siberia, lies within the Arctic Circle, an eight-day drive from Yakutsk. But you can only drive there in the winter, when the lakes are frozen, because there are no land roads! 1,300 people live in Verkhoyansk, the biggest part of whom make their living herding reindeer and fur hunting. The area has abundant natural resources, including gold, but is too cold to develop profitable mining. The picture above was taken at the Pole of Cold in Verkhoyansk. Note the mammoth’s tusks that mark the spot.
Temperatures that have been recorded at the Verkhoyansk Weather Station have shown a record low of minus 72 degrees Celsius, and an average temperature for January being minus 49 degrees Celsius. Unfortunately, a nearby town by the name of Oimyakon is also trying to gain the title of Cold Pole, with an unofficial record low of minus 78 degrees Celsius. It is no wonder that this region has the nickname of “Stalin’s Death Ring”.
When you think you are cold, check out the forecast for Verkhoyansk.

Oymyakon 


Oymyakon, the other village that claims to be the coldest spot in the northern hemisphere, is also in the Yakutia region of Russia. In English, the name means “Oy, My Achin’ Toes”. Just kidding! In the Sakha language, it means “non-freezing water”, because of the presence of a hot spring in the midst of the permafrost. On January 26, 1926, the temperature in Oymayakon was recorded as -96.2 °F (-71.2 °C). Some will argue with this figure because it was achieved through extrapolation instead of a direct thermometer measurement. Like Snag, Canada, Oymyakon lies in a bowl between mountains, which traps cold air. The temperature in winter is often lower than -50°F. It was -76°F just last week! See more pictures of Oymyakon here.



Vostok Station 



In the southern hemisphere, there’s no argument about the coldest place. The coldest temperature ever recorded on earth was at Vostok Station, a Russian research station in inland Antarctica. On July 21st, 1983, thermometers read -128.6 °F (-89.2 °C). The station is manned year-round. Russians are hardy people.

Read More

The Most Bizarre Items Ever Auctioned Online

A Person’s


In late 2007, an American man tried to sell his soul for $1 million dollars on the net. He said that the reason for selling his soul was to raise money for the Christmas season. He also said that the proud owner would be allowed to take the soul home in a glass jar along with a contract relinquishing ownership.

The following is a quote that the man had said about his soul,” I’m not really using it lately - and selling it on the internet is better than letting the Devil have it.” The soul never sold although it doesn’t appear to be still up for grabs. FYI: In the past somebody’s soul was successfully sold for $400.

A Serial Killer’s Fingernails

One of the weirdest things ever sold was a serial killer’s cut fingernails. In 1979, two men named Lawrence Bittaker and Roy Norris rode through southern California on a killing spree that resulted in at least five victims.

Years later Roy Norris, the man in the mug shot above had his fingernail shavings that had been taped to the back of a Christmas card sold on the net. His fingernails only sold for $9.99 but still stand as one of the scariest and weirdest things ever sold on the internet.


A Live


Another crazy item that was put up for sale on the net was someone’s liver, which is the body part in the picture above. A guy from Florida tried to sell part of his liver for a possible organ transplant. The price for his liver reached $5.7 million dollars before being eventually pulled from the website it was being sold on. It was removed because it is illegal to sell body parts over the internet




Haunted Rubber Ducky

Another very odd item sold on the internet was a haunted rubber ducky. In 2004, a man sold a so-called haunted rubber ducky, resembling the one above. He said his one and a half year old son had been telling weird and scary stories about fights that he and the duck had had. Also he said that his child had been bitten by the duck, making the child mean and vicious, and causing him to throw the duck across the room. After only 7 days on the site the rubber duck sold for the price of $107.50.



Jesus Toast

The seller of the product in the picture above had accidentally burnt his toast in a toaster. Before throwing the piece of toast away, he suddenly noticed the face of Jesus on his toast as if by some type of miracle. He put the odd piece of toast up for auction with the starting bid of $.99, although this piece of toast never ended up selling.



Justin Timberlake s French Toast
In March 2000, a leftover piece of French toast, half-eaten Justin Timberlake of N*SYNC was sold on a website. The entire group of N*SYNC was on the Z-Morning Zoo, some sort of TV show, on March 9th. On the show, Justin only ate one bite of his French toast! The seller said that the buyer would get Justin’s half-eaten French toast, the fork he used, and the plate…complete with extra syrup! After a total of 40 bids and not even two days on the internet, the French toast was sold for a total of $3,154 dollars. 



Rights to Name a Woman s Bab

In April 2005, a 33 year old woman named Melissa Heuschkel auctioned the rights to name her baby on the internet. After not being able to decide what to name her fourth child, Melissa decided to turn to an online bidding site. The rights for naming her child sold for a whopping $15,100 dollars. The online casino site named GoldenPalace.com bought the right of naming her baby. The casino website decided to name the child GoldenPalace.com. The image above is a picture of newly born GoldenPalace.com. Melissa said that the money received would go towards caring needs and toys for the new born baby.



Imaginary Friend


 

Another odd thing sold on the net was a guy’s imaginary friend named Jon Malipieman. The image above is a picture of this imaginary friend Jon Malipieman, and as you can see he is imaginary. The man that sold Jon lived in the UK and said that he was selling Jon because he felt like he had grown out of him.

In the listings for the product the seller stated the following: “My imaginary friend Jon Malipieman is getting too old for me now. I am now 27 and I feel I am growing out of him. He is very friendly. Along with him, I will send you what he likes and dislikes along with his favorite things to do and his personal self portrait.” His self portrait is the picture you see above. Amazingly Jon Malipieman got 31 bids and ended up selling for over $3,000 dollars. Now that is Wacky.


Ghost Cane
 

In 2004 a so called Ghost Cane was sold on a bidding site. A woman in Indiana her dead husband’s metal walking cane up for sale in hopes that her scared grandson would think that his grandfather’s spirit would leave their house when the cane was sold.

The image seen above is actually a picture of the dead grandfather who is to the left, along with the scared grandson who is in the ladies arms. Her six year old grandson son thought that the grandfathers’ spirit was haunting their home, causing him to be scared of everything. The cane received over 132 bids and sold for the price of $65,000 dollars. The buyers of the cane actually ended up being GoldenPalace.com.



 

Giant Cheeto

In 2003 the worlds largest Cheetoh was put up for sale. The Cheetoh weighed more then a half an ounce and was as big as a kiwi. The image above is a picture of the giant Cheetoh and as you can see it is huge. The man who discovered the Cheetoh was Mike Evans. Before the Cheetoh could be sold it was taken off line and donated to a small town as a tourist attraction. Before being taken offline, the Cheetoh had received bids of up to $180 dollars and still had days left in the auction.

Read More

Amazing Punk Turtle

It looks like an aquatic version of Johnny Rotten in his punk heyday after a heavy night on the tiles. 

But that spiky green quiff isn't gelled hair - it's growing algae. 

And the creature sporting the spectacular coiffure is the Mary River Turtle, one of the most unusual reptiles of its type on the planet. 
 

Shell shocked: The Mary River Turtle is having a Green Day, but his hairdo is just algae growing on his head

 


The Mary River Turtle has become a popular figure with Australian environmentalists who say the endangered creature is being further threatened by Queensland State Government's plans to build a dam on the river.

It is one of the more unusual species of turtles as it breathes through lung-like structures in its tail and needs shallow water to survive.

It was described formally by scientists only in 1994 and little is known about it.

The hairsute creature was captured by amateur photographer Chris Van Wyk as it quietly waded in the shallows.

Read More

Visual Migraine

On the way to work he experienced something he’ve worried about for a long time - a visual migraine while he was driving. For those who don’t know, he occasionally get migraines, and lately (the past few years) they have either been accompanied by or have solely consisted of what is known as a “visual migraine.” This is a result of blood vessels in the visual part of the brain suddenly spasming, causing bloodflow changes in the region and, hence, visual weirdities. He was most concerned about this because it does impair his vision and, when on the road, this could be a serious problem. 

Stuck in the middle of heavy traffic this morning, he suddenly saw the tell-tale flickering, like a non-existent light flashing on and off quickly right in the center of his vision. Within a few minutes it expanded and grew to encircle his vision, leaving a disorienting open area in the middle of his vision while blurring out the lower right. Too far from home to turn around, he decided to press on, doing his best to pay very close attention to what was going on around him.

For years he’ve attempted to describe the sensation, but it’s almost impossible to really get across how disorienting it is. Today, however, he finally figured out a good way to do so: Below you’ll see a pretty accurate animation of what happens. The timeline is obviously shortened, so imagine this happening over a half-hour time span. This is very similar, but still not quite as strange as what he see in his head (nothing is happening in his eyes - this is all deep in the brain.

Read More

Cal Orko Dinousaur Dance Floor

e





In 1994, while walking around a cement factory in southern Bolivia, Klaus Schütt discovered a limestone wall with a shear size of 25'000 square meters literally covered by dinosaur tracks. A few years later, in 1998, a scientific team lead by Swiss paleontologist Christian Meyer investigated the wall, and proved it was "the largest site of dinosaur tracks found so far".

The immense Bolivian site is the rock face of an outcropping on a slant of 73 degrees, 80 meters high and 1.2 km long. There are more than 5,000 tracks of 294 different dinosaurs made during the second half of the Cretaceous period.

There is such an impressive amount of tracks that some of the researchers said this place seemed to be a dinosaurs’ dancefloor.



According to dinosaurus.org, the tracklevel dates from the Late Cretaceous and forms part of the El Molino Formation, the estimated age is about 68 million years. More than 250 trackways have been registered and six different types of dinosaurs have been present. The most spectacular trackways are those of quadrupedal titanosaurs, herbivore animals with a size between 15 and 25m.


Perhaps, the most special track is a 347 meters footpath, the longest dinosaur trackway ever known, made by a baby Tyrannosaurus rex nicknamed “Johnny Wallker” by researchers.

During the Cretaceous, Cal Orko was part of an immense shallow lake. In the Tertiary, when the Andes Mountains were formed, the movement of the tectonic plates pushed the former lake bed vertically. Not far from this site, eight others have been found in recent years and are currently being studied.


According to Christian Meyer, the discovery is an enormous contribution to humanity and to science, revealing data heretofore unknown and "documenting the high diversity of dinosaurs better than any other site in the world".

To contribute to preserving the site, a Cretaceous Park is open since March 2006. In this park, replicas of different dinosaur species welcome visitors to a museum with audiovisual exhibits, transporting their minds to prehistoric time.

Read More