The Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kitty Hawk commemorates the first successful powered flight, which was achieved by the two brothers here on December 17th 1903.

The straight dirt path going from the main memorial to the NNW leads directly to the marker for the launch-point of the first flight (at the end of the path near the two dark structures). So that pilots can visit the memorial there is a modern runway to the west and it’s common for those flying past to dip their wings to the memorial out of respect for the innovators.

Thanks: jadam, Raymond Kallman, Joe McMahon, Chris, Adrian Likins, Tim, Patrick Howard, Chris Wesley, Scott K, Kevin Nutt, Andrew Cembor

Male and female Acid Smileys in Long Beach Harbour. Uh, yeah, I haven’t got much else to say.

Thanks: Jesse Allmyer

Crazy, but there appears to be a biplane, complete with runway, on the roof of 77 Water Street, NY.

So what’s it doing there? NYC Architecture says that it’s a a full-size model of a WWI Sopwith Camel, designed by Rudolph de Harak and built in 1969 - primarily to amuse the inhabitants of surrounding scyscrapers, notably the World Trade Center.

You can rotate around the plane on Windows Live Local, but bear in mind that sometimes the other buildings will obstruct your view. For the ultimate in close-ups, here’s a fantastic photo from a neighbouring building.

Thanks to Chris and Maté Tamasko.

This is a rather cool glider flying over Over, near Cambridge in England. Presumably it’s part of the Cambridge Gliding Club, so here’s some photos taken from what could well be the same glider.

Thanks to Mathieu.

Mexico City is the capital city of Mexico and the second largest “Megacity” in the world after the Tokyo area. After centuries of pre-Columbian civilization, Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés first arrived in the area of Mexico City in 1519. He didn’t conquer the city until 1521, after a 79-day siege that destroyed most of the ancient Aztec city. In 1525 the rebuilt city served as the capital of “New Spain” and the political and cultural center of Mexico. The importance of the city was such that the colonies of Cuba, Florida, and the Philippines were administered from it. In the following centuries there were many different governments, rulers and revolutions for Mexico City leading to an extremely varied architectural and cultural style.

Chapultepec Castle

This castle which roughly translates as “Castle of Chapultepec” or “Chapultepec Palace” is a palace built on top of Chapultepec Hill, in the middle of Chapultepec Park. The palace has had many uses has been used during its history, including Military Academy, Imperial and Presidential residence, observatory and museum. It currently houses the Mexican National Museum of History.

Thank cacafuego

Strange Colours

I’m guessing that this is some sort of image processing bug. As it crops up again, here and here. Anyone got any ideas?

Thanks Carlos & Scott

Estadio Azteca

The Estadio Azteca or “Aztec Stadium” was the location of two FIFA World Cup finals in 1970 and 1986 and the only stadium to host 2 world cups. Opened in 1966, it is one of the largest stadiums in the world with a capacity of 114,600. In 1986 it hosted the quarter-final between Argentina and England in which Diego Maradona scored the so called “Hand of God” goal.

Thanks Carlotto, Eitan Nudel, cacafuego, redstar1, David Barrera, Monasteria, Arturo Hernández & Rod Farley

Big Spiral

I have no idea what this is. Looks like some sort of land-based sculpture.

Thanks Larry PDX, Paul Overbeek & Dave

El Zócalo

El Zócalo is a large square officially called “Plaza de la Constitución”. The square is surrounded by a Spanish-era Cathedral, the modern “Palacio Nacional” and some ancient Aztec temple ruins which were disovered during building works.

Thanks Eitan Nudel

Heroico Colegio Militar

This is the “Heroico Colegio Militar” Mexico’s answer to the USA’s West Point military academy.

It has some interesting architecture, a huge parade ground and check out the size of the flag and the shadow.

Thank cacafuego

Olympic Stadium

The University Olympic Stadium or “Estadio Olímpico Universitario” is a stadium that was built in 1952 and at that time was the largest stadium in Mexico. It has a capacity of nearly 73,000 seats. The stadium hosted the 1968 Olympic Games and was the location for the track & field competitions, football matches, the marathon and the opening & closing ceremonies. It is now the home stadium of the university american football and soccer teams “Pumas de la UNAM” and “Pumas de la Universidad”.

Thanks Maite & Elguero

During my childhood years I was convinced that the excellent Thomas & Friends, a cartoon about a locomotive who liked being really useful but wasn’t too keen on plowing snow, was a work of fiction.

However, as proved by this photo, I was wrong. All these years later Thomas The Tank Engine is still in service having been relocated to the Isle of Wight Steam Railway, where he hangs out with various steam engines and other anthropomorphic vehicles (I think this is George the Steam roller).

Thanks: Adam Sadler

The Leaning Tower of Pisa is a bell tower in the Italian city of Pisa. Originally meant to be vertical the first stone was laid on August 9, 1173 but by 1178 it was pretty obvious that the tower has some stability issues.

In Superman III the evil Superman had no problems straitening out the lean but in reality the tower had to be closed for a decade and local houses evacuated while the world’s engineers made the building stable for at least another 300 years.

To the west of the tower is the cathedral and then the round building is the baptistry. The white square to the north is a walled off cemetery.

Thanks: Scott Ventura, Simone, eRez, Gianni

You would think that deciding on the world’s tallest building would be pretty simple: get a big measuring tape, measure the buildings, biggest one wins. Easy, huh? Well, apparently not. The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat have defined four categories on which to measure the world’s tallest buildings. They are:

1. Height to the structural or architectural top (including spires and pinnacles, but not antennas, masts or flagpoles)
2. Height to the highest occupied floor
3. Height to the top of the roof
4. Height to the top of antenna

The height is measured from the street level of the main entrance (so basements aren’t included).

Kuala Lumpur’s fantastic Petronas Towers comes second place in the architectural height category at 452m, but they are the tallest twin towers in the world. You can visit the sky bridge, although tickets sell out fast.

When Taipei 101 in Taiwan was completed on April 20, 2004 it took the first three of the four tallest building titles with an architectural height of 508m, a highest occupied floor of 438m and a roof height of 448m. Make sure you click through to the Google Local map because this tower has an absolutely monstrous shadow.

Chicago’s Sears Tower once led the way in all four categories but today is only top in the category of height with antenna at 529m. However; this is the largest height overall. Tourists can visit the 103rd floor for fantastic views over Chicago.

All three towers can be compared at Sky Scraper Page.

Thanks: Kyle Gunn, jher, Marcin, wil Grundon, Steve Ransom, Kenneth, Benjamin, Paul, Stilt, Joe Chang & Tim