Air Force One is the callsign for any aircraft that has the President of the United States on board, most commonly one of two specially adapted Boeing 747s.

One of them is seen here in Yuma, Arizona, where the President was making a speech about Immigration Control on May 18, 2006 (Yuma is on the US/Mexican border).

(Incidentally, there are lots of Police closing all of the roads south of Yuma on Avenue B, so the President’s motorcade must be around there somewhere!)

The fleet consists of two Boeing 747-200B aircraft, designated VC-25, specially fitted to enable the President and his entourage to conduct its business from the air. Inside, there are separate areas for the media, Secret Service and the President’s family, which includes bathrooms and dining quarters. Unlike a regular Boeing 747-400, the VC-25 can refuel in midair.

Usually its home is Andrews Air Force Base, Washington DC. The ‘President’s Wing’ can hold both of the VC-25 aircraft, as well as 3 Marine One helicopters.

In order to train the Secret Service how to protect the President when he is onboard, there is a mockup VC-25 at the James J. Rowley Training Center, near Washington DC, as well as a mockup of Marine One next to it. Once in the air however, it’s up to the anti-missile systems and electromagnetic pulse resistors to keep it safe.

Naturally, there is much more information on Air Force One over at Wikipedia. There’s even a nice floor plan available. If you really want to get a good look inside, the film Air Force One is said to have a particularly accurate recreation of the interior.

Thanks to Aaron, Adam J, Airman, Cr@X, Dan Hadad, david, gmr2048, KLashNekOff, PapaPenguin, patrick, PoopyPants, Rob, Siavash Shiva, SnowManson, Stephan, Tim, Travis Mitchell and TVGenius.

This is God’s Ark of Safety in Frostburg, Maryland. The brainchild of Pastor Richard Greene, this is a church… that’s also a full-size replica of Noah’s Ark.¹

Well it would be… if Pastor Greene had ever gotten round to finishing it. Construction began all the way back in 1976, and even today it’s little more than a frame. Clearly the Pastor isn’t expecting the next Great Flood to happen anytime soon.

More at the official site and the Wikipedia page. Thanks to Aprillo and Eric Bennett.

With the continually increasing quality of images on Google Maps/Earth, it’s hardly surprising that the cameras are capturing ever more private moments of people’s lives. Perhaps then it was only a matter of time before the very end of someone’s life was published on the Internet for the whole world to see.

Here’s two examples of funerals taking place, one in the Queen of Heaven Cemetery, Chicago, and the other at the Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Washington DC Silver Spring, Maryland. In both shots you can see a crowd of mourners surrounding the grave and also the funeral procession parked nearby.

Update: From the comments, Chris pointed out a third funeral in progress at the Holy Cross Cemetery, Colma, CA (where several notable San Franciscans are buried, including Joe DiMaggio).

Thanks to Yoshi, Don Bruns and Chris.

At a capacity of 91,665 FedEx Field is the largest stadium in the NFL. This explains the VAST amounts of parking around the stadium, there’s even helicopter parking.

Thanks: Tony Scida, Peter, Duncan McKenzie, Steve & Charlie

And the nominees for this year’s Google Sightseeing ‘Coolest Looking Bridge Shadow’ Award are as follows…

Ironcladlou for the wallet-burning Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in New York, New York.

Punk floyd, Greg Small, Duane Homick, PegO and TZ for the fantastic Ambassador Bridge which links Windsor, Ontario with Detroit, Michigan. (Windsor is on the south and Detroit is on the north side of the river.)

Steve Hale for the the world’s (second) tallest suspension bridge, the Fred Hartman bridge in Baytown, Texas.

But the winners are… (Drum-roll please!)

Tim, Dave Isaacs and khendron for the 1.6-mile-long Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland!

Congratulations guys!