Yes people, this pair of spermatozoon spermatozoa are each nearly half a mile long! At least, I think they’re sperm cells hugely magnified – it’s that or some sort of crazy elongated guitar art?

Thanks to James Bonnette

Perhaps the captain of this barge on the Mississippi has had a little too much to drink, as he appears to have crashed into the river bank. Whoops!

Thanks to Sam Phillips.

A large Geodesic Dome which formerly housed a train servicing and painting operation stands in a state of disrepair in Baton Rouge.

There are efforts to save the dome as architects consider it a fine example of R. Buckminster Fuller’s inventive dome design, which has also been used in the building of Disney’s Epcot Centre. Fuller also designed the Biosphere on Île Sainte-Hélène for Expo ‘67.

Further history of Fuller and the abandoned dome from Gambit Weekly.

Thanks: Cody, Michael & Trey

The Google Maps and Google Earth data has recently been updated with photos of New Orleans taken on August 31st at 10am and showing the extent of the damage to the city and flooding that was brought by Hurricane Katrina.

The most striking image is the extent of the damage to the Superdome, click on ‘Satellite’ to see the “before” shot. Here’s one of the breaches in the levee which has flooded the city, including Highway 610 where you can see the abandoned cars. There’s boats scattered all over the place from this harbour and light planes that have been thrown around at the Lakefront Airport.

Google hope that the imagery will be used in the development of relief websites but if seeing the damage has moved you enough to want to help then the Red Cross are looking for donations and volunteers.

Thanks: Luke Sleeman

Hurricane Katrina has torn through the United States causing untold damage and horrendous loss of life. Katrina has destroyed the eastern part of the I-10 bridge over Lake Pontchartrain (shown here before it was damaged), flooded 80 percent of New Orleans, and damaged the roof of largest domed structure in the world, the Louisiana Superdome.

The worst affected states, by this, the third most intense system to strike the United States in recorded history, are Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. It is believed that Katrina is, (in monetary terms) the most costly hurricane to affect the USA, and sadly may yet also become the most costly in terms of human lives.

For more information about these events, I recommend the Wikipedia page on Hurricane Katrina, which is updated continually as information becomes available.