World’s Largest KFC Logo
Friday, 16th November 2007 by Alex Turnbull
This gigantic image of the KFC Colonel was constructed from 65,000 1-foot-square tiles laid out in the Mojave desert.
The advert took six days to construct, and was announced to the public almost exactly a year ago. However the images were not available on the Google Earth default layer until now.
As part of the publicity stunt it was widely claimed that this was "the first logo to be visible from space". Of course, regular readers (and owners of our book) will be well aware that this is a complete pile of utter nonsense.
For the truth about the first, and largest logo visible from space (or not, depending on how you define "visible" and "space") see our post on the subject from last year.1
Thanks to Rhodri Metcalfe Davies.
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Note however that this image of the KFC logo is owned by DigitalGlobe, meaning that what we can see here was in fact taken by a satellite. ↩︎
About the author
Alex has decided that his title will be Senior Vice President of Stuff.
If they hadn’t already announced this, I’d almost think it was a Photoshop job! I mean, doesn’t it look a little too clean and shiny?
Apropos of nuttin, what are the green circles (or semicircles) to the lower left of the Colonel? Are they farms? (Looks like there’s a building in the middle of each, not sure..)
@Dan
Those circles are center pivot irrigation. Most of the Midwest of the USA is covered in them.
@Dan again
I know what you mean about this possibly being a photoshop. But think how small one pixel of those pixels is.
Those are center pivot irrigation fields. the “buildings” in the middle are actually the hub of the system.
Basically the system swings an arm in a wide arc that irrigates the field.
Ah, thanks Yeti and Bill.
Possibly not the first, probably not the best cultural symbol of our times, but certainly one of the best realized large scale graphics.
Cetner pivot irrigation is ubiquitous in North America. Here’s one in the process of being harvested:
https://www.googlesightseeing.com/maps?p=&c=&t=k&hl=en&ll=45.856692,-119.637015&z=16
You can barely see the barely see the Readymix logo from 2,000 ft., let alone space. I couldn’t see it at all when I scrolled to 2 meters. There is no way you could see this logo from space.
Oh, the KFC logo you have a better chance of seeing, at least it has color.
This logo isn’t far from Area 51.
I don’t see ‘with the naked eye’ in the claim that the logo is visible from space … Of course you can see the logo from space … with the right magnification.
I still can’t tell if these are holes or mounds, but I know for a fact neither should have a perfectly square removable ceiling or floor. Thanks for posting something near “Area 51” so I could bring this up.
“I still can’t tell if these are holes or mounds, but I know for a fact neither should have a perfectly square removable ceiling or floor.”
Based on the shadows I’d have to say they’re depressions.
Them are the sites of underground nuclear tests …
Yea, just click on hybrid and it says it’s a bomb test site. Nellis AFB.
Oh, and I think the original guy was being sarcastic.
The idea that ‘center point irrigation covers most of the Midwest of the USA’ is ludicrous. As is the thought it ‘is ubiquitous in North America’. Go find some images of rural Indiana, Illinois, Iowa for a refutaion of those thoughts.
Do remember the KFC image is located in the Mojave Desert. A far piece from the Midwest. ‘Center point irrigation’ is fairly common in arid regions of the western United States. Even someplace as dry as the Mojave Desert.
Hess — you want to be a pedant, OK. “Ubiquitous” wasn’t the right word. Perhaps “common” is better. And, I said “North America”, not specifically Illinois, Indiana, Iowa. Sorry if I wasn’t precise enough for you.
… Please …T.W.
‘Pedant’ would be OK . . .I have been called worse.
If I had made a comment about the ‘ubiquitous moors of Scotland’, I would have expected someone to challenge that statement. After they were done laughing . . ..
Words have very specific meanings.
Perhaps even ‘common’ is too loose of a descriptor for the amount of center-point irrigation practiced in ‘North America’. A quick google search finds no statistics but I would guess that less than 10% of farmland in ‘North America’ is in ‘center-point irrigation’ production.
Hey, just trying to share my knowledge and insight. As my kids would say …whatever.
T.W. .
I still wonder how people can eat that stuff… My girlfriend call Kentucky “Kenfucké”. (French-Canadian) LOL. Nice logo tough.
im glad were wasting money on stupid stuff like this when children are starving. thats awesome. thank you kfc..
Gee, imagine how many starving kids you could feed from the cost of that computer and monthly internet connection. How you enjoying that glass house?
see the construction here… http://www.michaelcastellon.com/2006/11/kfcs-logo-first-to-be-seen-from-space.html