Swimming perilously close to the shore of Delray Beach, Florida, are almost definitely two of the mythical creatures that are the Giant squid! The first does look slightly fat for a squid, but I’m willing to throw doubt aside in this case.

And if that isn’t enough grounds for baseless speculation as to the existence of these elusive molluscs, another is seen just to the east (I’ve enhanced the contrast for added credibility).

Not that I need any extra credibility of course…

When I was younger, it was always one of my favourite ‘facts’ that “millions of years ago crocodiles and alligators were, like, hundreds of feet long”. Of course it’s difficult to argue with a statement this naïve, but we do know that the biological order of large reptiles known as Crocodilia has remained pretty much unchanged for a staggering 84 million years.¹

Imagine my joy then, when I learned of a 200 foot-long gator in Florida! Imagine too, how my joy turned so quickly to disappointment when I saw the low-resolution shots that cover the Jungle Adventures alligator farm. They’re so poor that I can’t even spot a 200 foot-long alligator!

This got me thinking however… “What was the largest alligator in the world before this elusive specimen?” The answer of course, is the world’s second largest gator! What a beaut, eh?

Miraculously also in Florida, at Jungleland, this 126 foot-long monster has an evil glint in its eyes, and is so big it could easily eat cars like biscuits! Wait a minute… it IS eating a car! Yes, it’s chowing down on a safari jeep like it was a [Graham Cracker/Tim Tam/Hob-Nob]!²

All of which makes me rather glad that crocs and gators aren’t any bigger than they already are.

Thanks to Kurt Leucht and Felippo. Read more about the world’s largest gators at Roadside America.

Aaiieeeee! Run for the hills! There’s a Monster Dog on the loose!

Apparently our submitter found this mega-pooch while she was looking at real estate listings in the area – but says that she’s no longer sure if she wants to live in an area that’s terrorized by giant dogs.

However, here at GSS, we reckon a guard dog of that size would be a pretty effective burglar deterrent…

Thanks to Christina Ross.

Back on May 1st 1981 a de Havilland Dove twin-engine aircraft was leaving Sebring, Florida for Miami and suffered an engine failure.

The pilot was forced to crash land in a nearby field and the aircraft ended up in the shallows of lake Istakpoga. Luckily all the crew walked away unscathed.

What’s surprising about this story is that, 26 years later, the plane is still there. Presumably recovery from the lake was too expensive for the owner so it has been left for the fishes.

You can see a closer aerial shot of the plane (complete with graffiti) on Air Britain.

Previously on Google Sightseeing: Mystery Plane Crash and Addis Ababa-Bole Airport Crash (recently updated).

Thanks: JesterDan001

Since 1925, the Goodyear Blimp has been an integral part of American sports culture, probably more famous than the tyre company whose logo is along the side.

Goodyear have built more than 300 blimps over the years and today there are three which officially share the “Goodyear blimp” name.

The “Spirit of America” has been California’s blimp since 2002 and has a full-time crew of 18, which covers pilots, engineers, cameramen, etc.

The ‘Spirit of Innovation‘, seen here flying over its hometown of Pompano Beach, Florida, was named last year in a web-based public poll (and that was the best they could come up with?).

The third of the fleet, ‘Spirit of Goodyear’ sadly can’t be seen on Google Earth as yet. However, worldwide there’s at least another 3 blimps with the Goodyear emblem.

In Brazil, flying over the city of Sao Paulo, is ‘Spirit of the Americas‘.

And roaming around Europe somewhere are two blimps, both called “Spirit of Europe“. Here’s one of them, parked in a English airbase.

On a slightly related note, can you guess which company produces the most tyres annually. Goodyear? Michelin? Pirelli? All wrong: the correct answer is LEGO, who produce 306 million tiny tyres each year

More Goodyear blimp info on the Official Website, Wikipedia and MyAirship.com

Thanks: JosieNorden and Virtual Globetrotting.