…but why write about things like that when we can show you a giant Einstein head made out of Lego bricks!

Yes, the symbol of scientific intellectual rebellion is just as familiar these days as an icon of advertising. From giant posters on Broadway chiding passers-by to assert themselves, to giant adverts for real estate developers painted on the sides of inner-city tattoo parlours, Albert Einstein is indeed everywhere – and he’s here to sell!¹

For example, check out this fairly detailed mural of Einstein on a windswept beach on the side of this Sao Paulo surfboard shop. His Hawaiian shirt even gets painted different colours based on the season.

Quite strangely, Einstein is the mascot for a barber shop in Taipei, because if there’s one hairstyle anyone wants to emulate, it’s Albert Einstein’s. ‘Yeah, I’ll have the “just inserted my finger in an electrical outlet”, thank you.’

Then, of course, there are the businesses which have aped the man’s name entirely. In particular, Einstein seems to be popular with restaurants. A university cafe like this one at the University of Toronto? Makes sense. A pizzeria in Prague? Not so much.

The most unlikely Einstein-related business, however, may be this dance club in Muro del Alcoy, Valencia, which prominently features a mural of Einstein next to a DJ in the middle of a set. One can only wonder which side old Albie would have taken in the UK funky/two-step revival debate.

This Einstein Day, don’t get sucked in by all of this crass commercialism. When your family is gathered around the wormhole in the sitting room tonight to sing relativity carols and watch Yahoo Serious movies, remember the real reason for the season.

Locations: Alberta, Australia, Brazil, Czech Republic, New Jersey, New York, Ontario, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan / Categories: Monuments, Street Views, Weirdness

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The images will come from a specially-developed SVII camera, that takes 360-degree images every 4–6 seconds while dragging a diver along at 4km/h.

The SVI camera used for testing

To give us an idea of what we might see in the 50,000 panoramas that are expected from the expedition, a small sampler from Heron island has been uploaded to the Catlin Seaview Survey site, which already shows us some of the amazing beauty of the reef.

When completed, the shallow reef survey will have 360-degree imagery from 20 sites across the 2300km-long Great Barrier Reef. The project also includes a deep-water survey using camera-equipped robots, and a mega-fauna survey tracking migratory sharks with GPS.

Also featured in the sample imagery is HMAS Protector, a flat-iron gunboat that served in both World War I and II, and was sunk here as a breakwater in 1943.

Locations: Australia / Categories: Islands, Site News, Street Views, Watercraft

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While it may look as though 8 large trailers have plummeted nose-first from the sky, they were in fact carefully placed by Frank Bates, who happens to own a nearby RV dealership. Google’s 45-degree imagery gives us a great look at the installation from the air.

This blog post has good images and information about the trailers, and the official website has a bunch of links and a documentary video. The neighbours are less than impressed with this apparent advertising ploy, but Bates is insistent that it is a true piece of art¹ inspired by his visit to Cadillac Ranch in Texas

We visited Cadillac Ranch back in the early days of this site. The satellite imagery hasn’t improved, and while there is now a Street View, it’s sadly from the very early low-resolution systems.

We visited Carhenge – another well-known car sculpture – in our Monumental Wannabes post last year. If you have a few hundred thousand dollars to spare apparently it’s now for sale.

We switch modes of transport briefly for a visit to a monument in Santa Rosa, California, that at first glance appears to be a fuzzy obelisk.

Closer observation reveals that it’s actually constructed of bicycle frames – three hundred and forty of them (and one tricycle) according this Wired article. Created by Mark Grieve and Ilana Spector the sculpture is named Cyclisk and stands almost 20m tall.

Google’s newly-released Street View imagery of Belgium allows us to see another bicycle sculpture in the town of Brakel, which is on the route of the Tour of Flanders spring classic race.

Returning to car art, we move to Sydney, Australia, where a large rock appears to have played a key role in a terrible accident involving a red Ford Festiva.

This is actually a sculpture named Still Life With Stone and Car, by artist Jimmie Durham, and it was created through the relatively simple process of, um… dropping a large rock on a car.

Originally placed near the Opera House, the sculpture was later moved to its current location where a pair of signs help dissuade any unknowing passers-by from calling the police to report the accident.

Sadly, this kind of cruel vehicular torture isn’t isolated – in 2009 we visited two places where cars have been impaled in the name of art.

In Toronto this car appears to have been abandoned for so long that it has been reclaimed by nature.

Commonly known as The Garden Car, it is more officially called the Community Vehicular Reclamation Project. More details can be found in this blog post.

Perhaps the most bizarre vehicular artwork can be found in rural Vermont, in the form of a large concrete gorilla holding aloft a Volkswagen Beetle.

The story behind its creation can be found at Roadside America.

To wrap up, a few artworks about which I haven’t been able to find much information. First, another Airstream trailer which has been converted into a spaceship in a park in Sacramento, California.

In Albuquerque an old Chevrolet has been tiled for some reason, and mounted on top of an arch.

And finally, in Geldrop, the Netherlands, a tiny old Fiat 500 has been bronzed and topped with a statue of a girl – the work of artist Carla Rump.

If you know of any other vehicular art, please post it in the comments. I’d particularly be interested to know if anyone from Stockholm knows if this bus-made-of-cars is visible on satellite or Street View. I really wanted to include it in this post but couldn’t find a precise location for it.

Locations: Australia, Belgium, California, Florida, Netherlands, New Mexico, Ontario, Texas, Vermont / Categories: Other Vehicles, Street Views, Structures, Weirdness

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On King Street, the central thoroughfare through Newtown, it’s only appropriate that we find a mural dedicated to Martin Luther King, Jr.. The black-and-red colours and the yellow sun represent the Indigenous Australian movement.

This building was painted with an image of the front page of the 10 July 1992 Sydney Morning Herald. It’s since been defaced by some graffiti, as you can see.

At the corner of Enmore Road and Bailey Street, this menagerie of jungle animals is on the rampage:

On the side of a dry cleaner lies this tribute to magic mushrooms, while the side of this old garage hosts grievances from local residents:

Call us crazy, but we believe this was painted by a gang:

Here’s a modernist cityscape with flowers and sheep:

Here we find Skippy the Bush Kangaroo, two peasant women and Mr. Spock. Your guess is as good as ours as to what the connection between them is.

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Some artists prefer poetry, even if it’s right above some bins next to the most passive-aggressive no-parking sign ever:

Plenty of businesses have gotten in on the act for themselves. For example, this yoga studio has decorated itself in a soothing aquatic theme.

This building on John Street incorporates trees, beaches, and oceans into its motif.

And what better image for an African restaurant to have on its wall than a map of Africa? Although with South Sudan’s recent independence, it may need a small touch-up…

That’s just a small glimpse of the vast number of artistic works to be found around Newtown. A Street View or a Google/Flickr image search can occupy you for hours. Get started by visiting the Newtown street art Wikipedia page, or for a deeper look, the Flickr account Newtown Graffiti.

Locations: Australia / Categories: Buildings, Large Type, Street Views, Weirdness

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The stereotype associated with private islands is a tropical paradise in the middle of the ocean covered in palm trees and rimmed by white sand beaches. Perhaps nothing meets that stereotype more than the Polynesian atoll of Tetiaroa, which was purchased by Marlon Brando in the 1960s for US$270,000 while scouting locations for Mutiny on the Bounty.

Brando’s goal was to turn the atoll into an eco-luxury resort, but there are surprisingly few amenities or buildings (even the air strip is rather plain). Prior to Brando, the atoll was used as a copra plantation, and the planted rows of Coconut palms are still quite visible.

At the other end of the spectrum are the eleven Bahamian islands of Musha Cay owned by illusionist David Copperfield (who modestly renamed them the ‘Islands of Copperfield Bay’), which operates as one of the world’s most exclusive resorts with rooms starting at US$37,500 per night (minimum three night stay, telephone use not included!)

Next stop is Fiji and Mago Island was bought in 2005 by Mel Gibson. Gibson also inherited an entire village when he bought the island, which is home to the island’s caretakers. The island has been left untouched for the most part other than the scar left by an airstrip.

Perhaps the king of islomania¹ is Virgin gazillionaire Sir Richard Branson, who boasts three islands to his name: Necker and Mosquito in the British Virgin Islands (his own private resort and an ecotourism project, respectively), and Makepeace Island in Queensland, which is currently being turned into a private resort for Virgin employees.

Some celebrities eschew the tropics for a private piece of land in their own backyards, such as Celine Dion, whose mansion sits on Île Gagnon in the Rivière des Mille Îles at Laval, Quebec.

The island’s mansion and swimming pool are clearly seen here but Street View can only get as far as the estate gates (which one must assume were put in place as sound insulation by Lavallois tired of hearing that bloody Titanic song).

True to type, adventurer/TV presenter Bear Grylls went with something a little more rudimentary, purchasing the treeless Welsh island of St. Tudwal’s Island West, which is home to not much more than a simple lighthouse and a stone cottage. The island’s cliffs are probably well-suited to a man who climbed Everest at age 23.

Of course that’s just scratching the surface of celebrity-owned islands. Do you know of any other private islands of the rich and famous on Google Maps? Let us know about them in the comments!

Locations: Australia, Polynesia, Quebec, The Bahamas, Wales / Categories: Islands

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The course is composed of seven holes at various existing golf courses in Western and South Australia, plus eleven holes specially constructed at various roadhouses along the highway. For 60 Australian dollars, you can buy a scorecard and start play at either end (Kalgoorlie on the west end or Ceduna on the east end), getting your card stamped as you progressively play your way through the holes. The ultimate reward? A certificate stating that you have played the longest golf course in the world.

We start off the course from the east end with holes 1 and 2 at Ceduna Golf Course. Already, one gets an impression of the dry, sparse conditions of the Nullarbor Links – and these two holes are part of an existing course!

Things get even drier as the links visit the third hole at Penong, a village that relies on windmill pumps to generate water. Here are the tees:

The course then enters the heart of the Nullarbor and visits holes constructed at the various roadhouses along the way. The fifth hole (Dingo’s Den) at Nullarbor Motel is the longest of the links at 585 yards (538 m), with the tee right behind the blanched motel and the green consisting of the lone patch of vegetation at the top of the picture.

The roadhouse holes consist of synthetic tees and greens with natural desert landscape in between. At Border Village, one actually tees off from the parking lot next to a giant kangaroo.

Crossing into Western Australia, golfers will travel through the Eucla Pass to get to the eighth hole, abruptly dropping to near sea level and the expansive Roe Plains below, re-emerging at the oasis of Madura, where at 136 yards (125 m), the shortest hole on the course can be found.

The long par-4 eleventh hole is at Caiguna, most famous for being at the eastern end of the ’90-Mile Straight’, the longest straight stretch of road on earth.

The twelfth hole at Balladonia is called ‘Skylab’, and for good reason. In July 1979, the space station re-entered the atmosphere here and fell in chunks all around the area, some of which are on display at the motel.

The course comes back to civilisation on holes 14 and 15 at Norseman Golf Club, which is positively dwarfed by the massive dry Lake Cowan next door. The sixteenth hole at Kambalda is called ‘Silver Lake’ after nearby Lake Lefroy, a 212 sq mile (550 sq km) salt flat that is popular among land sailors and has been the site of numerous land speed record attempts.

The course ends (or begins) with two holes at Kalgoorlie Golf Club, where Street View gives you a glimpse of the clubhouse and one of the fairways.

You can visit the Nullarbor Links website to view more photos, explore the stories behind all 18 holes, and figure out just how to go about playing them all! (The course record, by the way? 78.)

Locations: Australia / Categories: Deserts, Stadiums and Sport, Street Views

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Most meteors that arrive at Earth burn up in the atmosphere, and others are washed away by our moving surface and erosion. Regardless, if you know where to look, you might be surprised how many impact craters you can find. As with part one of this series. we’re going to look at some of the most visible:

Clearwater Lakes, Canada – These two lakes were formed simultaneously from a meteor that broke apart in our atmosphere and crashed into the surface over 290 million years ago. The largest of the lakes is over 20 miles (32 km) across! As you can guess by their name, both are known for their remarkably clear water.

Bosumtwi, Ghana – This nearly perfect circular crater is Ghana’s only natural lake. Carved out of crystalline bedrock found in the West African Shield, Lake Bosumtwi was formed over 1.3 million years ago. The crater is an impressive 6 miles (10.5 km) across.

Deep Bay, Canada – Another striking circular crater, this lake in Saskatchewan, Canada was formed around 100 million years ago by a very large meteorite. The impact left a hole 8 miles (13 km) wide that over time filled with water from nearby Reindeer Lake.

Wolfe Creek, Australia – This relatively young and small crater has been preserved in the arid desert of northern Australia. It’s partially buried under the continuous streams of sand that blows through the region. Estimated to be a mere 300,000 years old, this crater is less than a kilometer wide and was only discovered by scientists in 1947.

Aorounga Crater, Chad – Yet another crater somewhat preserved by a desert landscape, the Aorounga Crater in Africa is almost 8 miles (12.9 km) wide. But when the area was scanned by Space Shuttle SIR-C radar, images revealed two more rings of similar size (possibly 2 more craters) to the east of the visible crater. If all of these craters were formed at once, scientists believe the meteor could have been anywhere from a half-mile to full mile across!

Southwest Egypt – This crater is one of the most recent discoveries by scientists using new tools like Google Earth. Found using satellite images in 2008, this small crater in the deserts of southwestern Egypt is only 45 meters wide and perhaps a few thousand years old. It makes you wonder if the Egyptians knew anything about it!

Be sure to check out Part 1 in this series touring Earth’s impact craters.

Locations: Australia, Chad, Egypt, Ghana, Quebec, Saskatchewan / Categories: Deserts, Natural Landmarks

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Uluru (Ayers Rock) is located in the far south-eastern area of the desert. We visited almost exactly 5 years ago, but the imagery has improved considerably since then, so it’s worth another look. There’s even a distant glimpse from the Lasseter Highway courtesy of Street View.

Another well known feature of this desert is Kandimalal – the Wolfe Creek meteorite impact crater, which was discovered in 1947 by aerial surveyors¹. Measuring 60m deep and almost 900m across, the crater is believed to date back fewer than 300,000 years.

There are significant uranium deposits in the region, as well as minerals such as copper and gold – which are mined at a large facility near the isolated community of Telfer.

The arid desert conditions have led to the formation of several salt lakes, including Dora and Mackay.

Nearer the coast, Mandora Salt Marshes are a mix of salt lakes and freshwater springs, where conditions can vary throughout the year. Heavy cyclone monsoon rains even occasionally affect the region, though such rainfall evaporates very quickly – continuing the aridity.

Different zoom levels – presumably images taken at different times – show the variety of conditions here.

The occasional rainfall on the red earth does support shrubs and small trees in some areas of the desert, as we can see in Street View images of the roads that skirt the very edges of the desert.

The Great Sandy Desert is well known for its formations of ergs – long linear sand dunes formed by the prevailing winds which can be seen in many areas.

Turning on the new Street View photo overlay reveals some interesting things in the desert – including this airstrip which appears to be in the middle of nowhere, with no nearby towns or dwellings.

One of the lines² in this image could well be part of the rabbit proof fence – the world’s longest fence, and one of several pest-exclusion fences that segment Australia.

Previously on Google Sightseeing: The Dingo Fence.

Thanks to Thomas James and Dark Orange.

Locations: Australia / Categories: Deserts, Movie Locations, Natural Landmarks, Street Views, World Heritage Sites

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10.  The Big Crab, Miriam Vale

The first of a several sea-food entries on our list, The Big Crab adorns the roof of a restaurant and gas station. The Street View car was impressed enough to stop for gas, though not enough to choose a pump that gives us a better view.

9. The Big Boxing Crocodile, Humpty Doo

Perhaps intended to distract visitors from the not-quite-nursery-rhyme name of this town, this pugilistic predator is not too far from an even larger crocodile – the Gagudju hotel we visited back in 2006.

8. The Big Lobster, Kingston

This colossal crustacean stands over 18m tall – so big it’s clearly visible even on the satellite image – and represents the product for which this area is best known.

7. The Big Murray Cod, Swan Hill

This aging movie star is 11m long. Rivers in the region once teemed with cod but populations have suffered as a result of drought and water diversion.

6. The Big Galah, Kimba

Found only in Australia, the Galah is a rose-coloured cockatoo which apparently can purr like a cat when adopted as a pet. Galah is also an Aussie slang term for idiot, which could lead to some confusion if you’re unsure which one the statue is intended to be.

5. The Giant Earthworm, Bass

The superlative Big isn’t enough for this immense invertebrate, so it has to be Giant. Perhaps because the thought of a 3m long blue worm isn’t enough to creep people out, this wildlife museum has created a massive replica of a Gippsland Giant Earthworm, through which visitors can explore the workings of worm innards.

4. The Big Penguin, Penguin

Just in case this Tasmanian community’s name doesn’t make it clear what the main local attraction is, they have constructed a prodigious penguin near the beach.  They’ve also decorated all the garbage cans. And the name of virtually every business in town includes the word ‘Penguin’. I think we get it. Just be thankful the area isn’t known for 3m long blue earthworms.

3. The Big Merino, Goulburn

Another testament to a region’s main export, this remarkable ruminant² is 15m tall and 21m long. It weighs in at almost 100 tonnes and locals have nicknamed it ‘Rambo’.

2. The Big Tasmanian Devil, Mole Creek

We end with a couple of national icons. First, the Tasmanian Devil, shown here guarding the entrance to Trowunna Wildlife Park.

1. The Giant Koala, Dadswells Bridge

Finally, a magnificently massive marsupial – the 14m high bronze and fibreglass Giant Koala.  It apparently survived a recent wildfire, and there had been discussion of renaming it in honour of a koala which became famous during last year’s fires.

There are many other capacious critters across Australia. Let us know where your favourite ones are!

Thanks to Rick Wallach and Big Hans.

Locations: Australia / Categories: Animals, Street Views, Weirdness

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Adelaide

The home of the Australian Grand Prix until 1996, Adelaide’s streets in the East Parklands district transform into the 3.22 km Adelaide Street Circuit once a year for the V8 Supercar’s Adelaide 500 race. The track’s pit straight and paddock complex resides entirely within a horse racing facility at Victoria Park, and the rest of the track snakes through the city streets up and back south of Rymill Park.

Street view offers us pictures of a ride around the entire portion of the track outside of Victoria Park, minus all the retaining walls and grandstands. It’s not hard to follow the track around because most of the circuit (like Speedstick Corner for example), because it looks like it was freshly repaved before the pictures were taken. Don’t get lost running through turn 6 though, it’s supposed to be a parking lot during normal business hours!

As a special treat, the Google satellite images appear to have been taken as the circuit was under construction, so we get to see a lot of the infrastructure that goes into making one of these events. You can see the runoff areas around turn 5 taking shape, as well as some grandstands being assembled along Brabham straight. The event usually brings in over 200,000 fans a year.

Melbourne

In 1996, Melbourne’s Albert Park replaced Adelaide on the Formula One calendar and became the host of the current Australian Grand Prix. The temporary 5.303 km circuit runs on public roads around Albert Park Lake just south of downtown Melbourne, but a permanent, elaborate Formula 1 style pit building was constructed on the south end of the park. The actual racing circuit veers off the main public road in some corners to give drivers sharper turns and more overtaking possibilities. Like Adelaide, Google’s satellite pictures show the Melbourne circuit in an early stage of construction.

The street view car makes a complete lap around the circuit as well, giving us great views of the track and the elaborate pit complex on any average day.

Australia actually has quite a few cities that offer street races throughout the year. The V8 Supercar series has been seen in places like Townsville, Canberra, Surfer’s Paradise, and Bathurst. Now, with all the recent Street View additions in Australia, it’s quite easy to turn laps at a number of these locations…

Turn 5 at Surfer’s Paradise, and Bathurst’s Mt Panorama Scenic Road

Our street circuit series will continue in the future with a look at circuits around Europe.

Locations: Australia / Categories: Stadiums and Sport, Street Views

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