Staring up from what looks like a neon sign graveyard in Las Vegas is this giant Pirate Skull. Aaaar!

I’m guessing this is a disused prop from Treasure Island Casino, where they have a regular pirate show out the front.

Thanks: MediumMonkey

Taking its name from the nearby city of Dohuk, also spelled Dahuk, Dohuk Dam supplies the city with drinking water and has a 45m wide Kurdistan flag painted onto the Dam. Top to bottom the flag is red, white and green with a yellow sun in the middle.

Dohuk is located in Iraqi Kurdistan, an autonomous political entity located in Northern Iraq, although Kurdish nationalists call this “South Kurdistan” with “North Kurdistan” being in, uh, Southeast Turkey. I’m confused.

So, despite being technically in Iraq, the people here proudly fly the flag of Kurdistan and painted it on their dam - unlike the Kurdish regions of neighbouring countries Iran, Syria, and Turkey - where flying the flag is a criminal offence.

Thanks: Rawand Nawroly & J. L. Precup

The Potsdamer Platz is a huge traffic intersection and square in Berlin. In the 20s and 30s it was one of the busiest traffic centres in Europe and was the heart of Berlins’s nightlife. As is sadly the case with much of Berlin, it was bombed and shelled at the end of the second world war into nothing but rubble. After the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 the square was revitalised as a sign of the new Germany. The buildings surrounding the square were completely rebuilt, many being designed by world class architects including Renzo Piano (most famous for the Pompidou Centre in Paris). The square and surrounding streets are now full of amazing architecture much of which is stunning from the air. I’ve selected some of the best below but just scrolling around the area there is a lot to see!

Thanks: Lars

Seated at the top of 268 steps in the Po Lin Monastery in Hong Kong, is the Tian Tan Buddha - the world’s largest ’seated outdoor bronze statue of the Buddha’. The 34 metre tall sculpture can be seen facing the long set of steps rising towards it; his right hand is raised, representing the removal of affliction and his left hand lies on his knee, signifying human happiness (Wikipedia page).

That Buddha not big enough for you? In Ushiku Arcadia, Japan, you’ll find Ushiku Daibutsu, which is officially the world’s largest statue. Yes bigger than Liberty, Mother Motherland, and even The Motherland (here’s a visual comparison of the world’s tallest statues).

(thumbnail rotated 180 degrees)

“Surely it’s all plinth?” I hear you cry! Nope, this thing is 100 metres tall without the plinth (the plinth is only 20 metres). Ushiku Daibutsu is vast, enormous and gargantuan all at the same time! The Wikipedia page informs us that this Buddha has a 1.2 metre nose, a 20 metre face and a 7 metre (30 foot) finger!

Wow. That’s a big finger.

Thanks to Stephan Irle, Ray Chan, Tom Cole and Roy Burroughs.

Here’s a plane in flight, here’s another one, and another. Ah, there’s hundreds of them - Boring! Now, here’s a School Bus In Flight. That’s much more interesting!

This is actually the City Museum in St. Louis. Built in an old shoe factory, the roof decor features two aircraft fuselages and a school bus.

Thanks: B.J. Olejnik