25 Funny Things on Google Maps
Ranked #216 in Internet, #8,139 overall
Funny Pictures and Words found on Google Maps
Did you know there's some really funny things you can see from space? Google maps lets us explore the wacky and crazy things people have mowed into fields, painted on roofs, or added to roundabouts.
NOTE: It's easier if you click each "View in Google Maps" link which opens the map to the correct coordinates/zoom in a new window. My embedded Google maps keep losing the zoom, sorry.
Left: Mysterious question mark in Bretagne, France.
NOTE: It's easier if you click each "View in Google Maps" link which opens the map to the correct coordinates/zoom in a new window. My embedded Google maps keep losing the zoom, sorry.
Left: Mysterious question mark in Bretagne, France.
Happy Valentine's Day From Planet Earth
Small heart-shaped island: it's not photoshopped!
View on Google Maps The island's owner is, unsurprisingly, trying to capitalize on his newfound celebrity from Google Earth, despite the fact that the island is actually a rather inhospitable barren blob.
Happy St. Patrick's Day Card from Ireland
Just Click the Link This Time
View on Google MapsHere's a fun maze south of the Dublin airport on the other side of the freeway, er...what do they call major roads in Ireland?
Holy Bat Signal, Batman!
Who knew Bruce Wayne had a summer home in Illinois?
View on Google Maps Alas, no Batmobile in the driveway.
Deep in the Heart of Texas
...is a farmer who's very proud of his last name.
View on Google Maps This is a ranch where a farmer cleared away most of the trees for grazing his cattle, but left some woodland standing. NASA uses it to calibrate satellite and aerial photography instruments. It's three miles long! (source)
Playing Mind Games with Airline Passengers
Zoom in 11x or just click link
View on Google Maps Oh nooooez, I'm on the wrong plane! This rooftop is visible on the final approach to the General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (off the map to the south).
Giant Pac-Man Game in Massachussetts
Zoom in 11x and follow Breckenridge Road SE
View on Google MapsI'd love to have my neighborhood turned into a giant Pac-man game, but the crunching sound would keep me up at night. (P.S. Did you know the Google Pac-Man Doodle cost millions of dollars and work hours?
A Bagel Store Being Attacked By a Giant Spider
Zoom in 11x on this building and examine the roof.
View on Google MapsI want one of these, but I think my homeowner's association might object. (Update 3/17/12: Oh, no, did they remove it?)
Attack of the Fifty Foot White Guy
Zoom in 11x or click link
View on Google MapsI think Munich is about to set a record for the world's largest jaywalker.
Stealth Bomber in Swimming Pool
Zoom in 11x on marker and examine pool to east
View on Google Maps Google maps kept this swimming pool blurred for a while, but the secret is out: stealth bombers are amphibious!
#Hashtag #Cruiseship
Zoom in 9x
View on Google Maps For many years, there was a strange sign in San Diego that read, "Cruise ships use airport exit." Apparently this ship followed the sign, made a wrong turn, and got trapped in a forest of Twitter hashtags. (Where it survives as a mall.)
Farm Animals Make Their Own Crop Circles
One of the few field patterns that has persisted multiple years
View on Google MapsThe fields south of this farm appear to have been decorated by the barnyard residents -- no, not THAT kind of decoration; these critters are more artistic.
Gulliver Is Still Tied Down
Zoom in 9x, then examine circular park SW of traffic circle
View on Google MapsJust to the southwest of this traffic circle, poor Gulliver of Gulliver's travels is still being tormented by the Lilleputians. In fact, you can join them.
Avebury Village: Stone Age Scenery
Zoom in 8x and pan around
I love Avebury, a village inside a Neolithic stone circle (see my old Avebury photo gallery).
View on Google MapsThe slightly wobbly earthen circle is the henge surrounding the village. As of August 2011, there's a crop circle just NE of the village; they appear frequently near Avebury and around Stonehenge thanks to an especially active group of crop circle artists in Wiltshire.
View on Google MapsThe slightly wobbly earthen circle is the henge surrounding the village. As of August 2011, there's a crop circle just NE of the village; they appear frequently near Avebury and around Stonehenge thanks to an especially active group of crop circle artists in Wiltshire.
The Atacama Giant, Chile
Zoom in 10x, examine top edge of map (scoot it down slightly)
View on Google Maps There's a ton of huge glyphs in the deserts of Chile and Peru created by the Inca and Tiwanaku civilizations from about 800 AD up until the Conquistadors stamped out the old civilizations in the region.
I Thought He Lived at the Bottom of the Sea?
View on Google MapsI stand corrected. Spongebob Squarepants lives in the bottom of a swimming pool in Germany.
UFO Landing Pad and Lights
One of SEVERAL, actually...
View on Google MapsThe Dutch town of Houten has created an official landing pad for UFOs, complete with traffic advisory lights. To my surprise, when I Googled for it, I learned that there are also a UFO landing pad in St. Paul, Canada and another in Ares, France which has actually been visited.
In Case You're Starting to Feel Lost
"You Are Here" T-shirts on Zazzle
If You REALLY Need Coffee...
Take a close look at the shadow...
View on Google MapsThere's an enormous blue coffee pot on the lawn just south of the Pater Larsens Kaffe facility.
Fingerprint on Lens
Zoom 8x, recenter on light oval at top center, zoom 2x
View on Google MapsWho knew that you could get a fingerprint on the lens of a satellite camera?
I Sense Sarcasm, Captain
(airport off screen to north)
View on Google Maps A farmer in Belgium expresses his appreciation for the nearby airport.
Marriage Proposals on Google Maps
Fairly common nowadays...
View on Google Maps There's actually quite a few rooftop and field marriage proposals in Google maps. Here's a rooftop marriage proposal in Queens, NY.
Alien Messages in Connecticut
I think they're Pastafarians...
View on Google Maps It varies from year to year. It used to be a big spiderweb, but now, there's a couple cow heads sending a cryptic greeting to "Mom."
There used to be a similar squiggle in Germany, but my Google marker seems to have become unstuck. Perhaps they're both devotees of the the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
There used to be a similar squiggle in Germany, but my Google marker seems to have become unstuck. Perhaps they're both devotees of the the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
Alien Messages in China
Strange lines in the desert
View on Google Maps There's a bunch of these in a remote part of China, and they're enormous. See this article for more examples.
My theory is that they're some stupid government or penal jobs designed to keep some people busy. "Let's make bizarre maze-grids in the desert and puzzle the Americans!"
My theory is that they're some stupid government or penal jobs designed to keep some people busy. "Let's make bizarre maze-grids in the desert and puzzle the Americans!"
Oh, Is THAT Where Nessie Went
She sure gets around
View on Google Maps Apparently Nessie has moved to Australia, next to a pleasant park for sunbathing. Pleasant, that is, if you're not worried about the giant crocodile SE of Nessie.
Giant Floating Man in Australia
Australia once again proving it's cool
View on Google MapsA waterpark in Australia has a strangely-shaped floating dock.
Probably the most beautiful coffee table book ever
I've bought this as a Christmas gift
Amazon Price: $34.95 (as of 05/31/2012)
I've bought this for parents and grandparents as a Christmas present, and love browsing it when I visit. Some of the photos are truly astounding. The ones I love best take an everyday thing like a bazaar or plowed fields and zoom out to make a gorgeous abstract mosaic.
The Bulford Kiwi in England
Zoom in 8x, look for light-colored upside-down Kiwi
View on Google MapsIt's a bit stretched and skinny in the Google Maps version, and it's not actually funny at all: the Bulford Kiwi was created by WWI New Zealand soldiers stationed in Wiltshire, England.
The tradition of carving figures into the chalks of Wiltshire goes back to Neolithic times. See the Uffington White Horse for a famous example.
The tradition of carving figures into the chalks of Wiltshire goes back to Neolithic times. See the Uffington White Horse for a famous example.
More Vehicles in Odd Places
Some kind of fighter jet
View on Google MapsLand-locked cruise ships, submarine stealth bombers... France joins the creative parking brigade with a fighter plane in this university's parking lot.
Russian Space Shuttle
This makes me sad
View on Google MapsSadly, the Buran Space Shuttle never really got going: it had one unmanned test flight and that was all. Here's the old propaganda-laced website for it, and a more coherent account on Wikipedia.
Psychedelic...trash facility?
More art for aliens to admire
View on Google MapsTaiwan treats waste disposal as a place for art. I like it!
Friendly Oil Refinery
Norfolk, Virginia
View on Google MapsSomeone had fun decorating the roofs. Also, there's either a sunken ship just north, or else we've got another Google Map ghost caused by imperfect stitching of images.
Miniature City in The Hague, Holland
Madurodam: A city within a city
View on Google MapsMadurodam is a huge miniaturized city, airport, and railroad. See this photo gallery -- but remember, all those buildings are 1:25 scale! On Google maps, use the nearby parking lot and people-shadows to get a sense of scale.
Video of a Day in Madurodam, the Netherlands
This place is just amazing
Go to 3:30 for the world's largest ducks or the world's tiniest cows.
curated content from YouTube
Which is your favorite funny thing on Google Maps?
Vote in the poll or leave a comment in the guestbook below!
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Even MORE Funny Things on Google Maps
Sites that report odd stuff found on Google Maps
- Bizarre Bridges in Google Earth
- Topographical mapping follows the contours of the land. Bridges do not. Oops.
- Strange Google Earth places - Rodsbot.com
- A large collection of Google Maps oddities.
- GoogleSightseeing.com
- The motherlode of funny pictures and interesting things found on Google Maps, this site will keep you distracted for hours. Also includes a huge amount of odd sights snapped by the Google Street View Car, including insane scuba divers and all sorts of weirdness.
- VirtualGlobetrotting.com
- The focus of this site is not just funny things, but satellite and street views of interesting things and local attractions around the world.
Guestbook
Seen anything odd on Google Maps? Mention it here!
Shameless Plug: 
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BiminiBahamas
May 7, 2012 @ 9:16 am | delete
- heheheeee ... how fun!
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amberchina
May 4, 2012 @ 10:21 am | delete
- Haha, every click I did was like a little surprise! Loved the adventure. Thanks!
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Rankography
Apr 9, 2012 @ 10:35 am | delete
- Great stuff. Very funny
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JeriBaker Mar 28, 2012 @ 11:53 pm | delete
- This was great. Thanks.
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addpeople
Mar 15, 2012 @ 7:28 am | delete
- Fantastic images! Great lense.
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- Load More
Other Weird Stuff on the Inernet
There's so many ways to waste time
Also, my cat. Because one never gets tired of funny cat stuff.
by Greekgeek
Storyteller, former Latin teacher, student of mythology and the ancient world: I've worn many hats, but always I've dabbled in computers and the web.
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The BBC's Planet Earth Series
Narrated by David Attenborough
Planet Earth: The Complete BBC Series
Amazon Price: $19.75 (as of 05/31/2012)
We make fun of his speaking style, but naturalist David Attenborough is the land-based equivalent of Jacques Cousteau. This series is the culmination of a lifetime of bringing the natural world to viewers. Another of my more successful Christmas gifts to several relatives. ;)
