Europe

Struve Geodetic Arc

The Struve Geodetic Arc was a network of triangulation points developed in the 19th century, in an attempt to accurately calculate the size and shape of our planet. 34 of the original 265 points are clearly marked and were recognised…

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Tuesday, 21st September 2010

Ghost Town: Craco

In the far south of Italy there is a medieval hill town called Craco which was abandoned due to the instability of the ground it had stood on for centuries. Historians believe a community was first established in the area…

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Thursday, 9th September 2010

Distilleries of Islay

Fans of single-malt scotch whisky associate single malts from the Isle of Islay in Scotland with bold and peaty flavors. Not every whisky produced on the island is heavily peated, but that's the signature flavour of the distilleries along the…

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Thursday, 2nd September 2010

The Russian Woodpecker

Last week a top-secret Russian shortwave radio station, UVB-76, began broadcasting a coded message for only the fourth time in 28 years. Today we're exploring another shortwave system within the radioactive zone surrounding Chernobyl, The Russian Woodpecker The Russian Woodpecker…

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Monday, 30th August 2010

Airport Emergency Training Locations

As a moderately frequent flyer, I enjoy looking out for fire and emergency training locations at airports. It's fascinating because, for anybody who is even vaguely nervous about flying, the sight of a twisted and charred fuselage is probably the…

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Friday, 27th August 2010

“The Buzzer” speaks! (Voice transmission confirmed at UVB-76)

Regular readers may remember our post from 2009 about a Russian shortwave radio station, UVB-76, that has been emitting a short buzz tone on the AM frequency almost continuously since 1982. In the following 28 years the buzzing had only…

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Wednesday, 25th August 2010

Welcome to Google Sightseeing!

Google Sightseeing takes you on a tour of the world as seen from satellite or street views using Google Maps. Our team of authors present weird and wonderful sights as suggested by readers.

Like this site? We published a photo book of the best entries, you should buy a copy.