Ship Breaking is primariliry carried out in developing nations such as India and Bangladesh - as their laws on dealing with lead paint, asbestos and general worker’s conditions fall far short of Europe and the US.

Chittagong Ship Breaking Yard in Bangladesh is mostly in low-res, but we can see a couple of ships here which have been beached on the mud flats for dismantling. All the steel from the ships is recycled and I think these are lifeboats.

The workers here are mostly barefoot, have no safety gear and scrap the ships by hand. Greenpeace estimates that due to the potential for structural collapse on the ships, and the hazardous chemicals abound, one worker a day is likely to die. Edward Burtynsky’s photos show just how perilous it is.

There’s even more to see Alang, India, where workers can expect similarly awful conditions. Of note here’s a huge end piece of ship and an aircraft carrier waiting out at sea.

Further reading on Wikipedia and Shoback

Thanks: Nathan, John Kranick, dr_cy_coe, Glenn, Ken Przywara, russ

The marble tomb of the Taj Mahal is supposedly the ultimate symbol of love, being built by the fifth Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan, for his second wife.

I always believed the story that he planned to build a second Taj made of black marble just across the river to the north but those pesky historians say that this is in fact a myth! I’ll have to try and find something that’s true…

Apparently the whole thing was designed to be perfectly symmetrical, with the deceased buried at the centre of the building. The symmetry was later spoiled though, as the emperors son decided to bury the deceased emperor alongside his wife.

There’s a large gallery of ground level pics at this site, a 360 panorama here and loads of info at Wikipedia.

Thanks: Jens Kilian, Fero Gunic, Matthew, Ashutosh Rajekar, gauri, vivek iyer, Tim, Mark Ross & Simone

It looks like the pilot of a small aircraft has crashed into Juhu garden in Mumbai!

Actually, it turns out that this plane has never flown: it has no engine and is made of concrete, which I hear is not the most aerodynamic of materials. Submitter Rushikesh tells us that it is part of a kid’s playpark, and that you can get inside the cockpit and pretend like your flying it!

Thanks: Rushikesh Jukar

A 30 mile chain of limestone shoals connect the islands of Mannar, near Sri Lanka, and Rameswaram, off the coast of India. The bridge is known as Rama’s bridge in Hindu mythology and Adam’s bridge in Christian mythology.

Some archaeologists have claimed to prove the bridge is man-made, although not all are convinced. It does look like a very convenient connection and it is agreed that as late as the 15th century it was possible to pass the bridge on foot.

More about the bridge, as ever, at wikipedia.

Thanks: Jane Turnbull (my mum!)

Updated Post

The Rashtrapati Bhavan is the Official residence of the President of India. At the back of the building you can see the 13 acre gardens with Mughal style canals and fountains.

To the east is the Rajpath (’Kings Way’). Along the Rajpath there is the Republic Day Parade, an annual celebration of the adoption of the Constitution in 1950. As there is not much crowed along the road this could be the dress rehearsal of the parade which is held on the 24th of January each year. The parade starts here and you can follow it all the way along to the India Gate, a memorial built in commemoration of Indian soldiers who died in World War I and the Afghan Wars.

As the procession continues past the India Gate you can see an aeroplane on the north-west side of the roundabout, and on the north-east side the large cylindrical object is apparently a AGNI-II, an intermediate range ballistic missile.

Thanks: Sathish, Bill Kendrick, Manoj Govindan, donald, Ashutosh Rajekar, Ananya Gupta, Sarathy, Clint, Ashok M & DDA

The Bahá’í Faith is one of the youngest of the world’s major religions. There are currently seven Bahá’í Houses of Worship in various parts of the globe, although we can only find two of them available in high-res satellite shots.

Our first temple is in Wilmette, Illinois USA and one submitter noted that it resembles a big egg from the ground.

The second Bahá’í Temple available on Google Maps is also the most famous, The Lotus Temple in New Delhi apparently holds the title of “most visited edifice in the world”, designed to resemble a lotus flower it is composed of 27 free-standing marble clad “petals” and is just over 40 meters tall.

Thanks: Joe Chin, Artem Koronkevitch, Sathish, Saikat Guha, Ashutosh Rajekar, Jay Hinde, Rob B, Tom, Eamon, Esquif & Ananya Gupta