Deserts are usually seen as vast ranges of sand and heat, with next to no civilization and a strong lack of basic living requirements such as water. While this is all true, the definition of a desert actually extends to a place which recieves little rain on dry terrain, meaning no plant growth.
This defenition means that, as crazy as it sounds, Antarctica is a desert, as are several other unlikely areas as seen below.
The collection below includes full deserts, sand ‘art’, and even a small desert in the unlikely location of Poland…
As the nations of planet Earth have developed, so too have the buildings and landscapes, with some of them leading to odd or different features from the norm.
Below is a selection of some odd sights from around the world of satellite imagery:
American actor John Travolta seems to be both a big fan of flying and a very rich man. How else can you explain a mansion in Ocala (Florida, USA) with a private airport / runway, complete with a private passenger jet, and a collection of planes that he can just drive out of the hangar and go for a spin whenever it suits his fancy? Not sure that many other people in the world can claim to own something like this…
Sometimes the architect of a building wants his work to be noticed a bit more than the normal level of appreciation, so will look to find an inventive way of designing a functional building with stand-out visual qualities.
Below is a look at some of the more notable designs seen around the world that seem to make an effort to look different, proof that you do not need to use paint or clay to create a work of art…
The Republic of Molossia, ‘founded’ in 1977 and claiming land 22 years on, is one of many self-proclaimed (and uncrecognized by anyone else) ‘micronations’ seen around the world.
The micronation Molossia, located in Nevada, USA, is a home-based project for ‘President’ Kevin Baugh, who considers his house, shed, and 1-acre garden a separate territory from the US, and as seen by the picture, seems to take his ‘dictatorship’ very seriously indeed, and even gets his wife, children and pets involved.
Creating a string of building projects in his property, Baugh has even gone as far as creating a website, customs office, tourist board (around 10 annual visitors), and official ‘facts’, such as a national currency, food, and sport, amongst other strange projects. Officially, though, Baugh is a US citizen, and has to pay his taxes like everyone else, but in Molossia, this inconvenience is known as ‘foreign aid’. Whatever next for this non-existent nation?
Whether by nature (usually meteors) or by weapons (testing or in action), some areas of the world have a large dent in them, known as craters, a result of the impact. Some areas managed to work around this, even building or rebuilding civilizations over the top, while others were just made in an already deserted area, to never be used since.
Below are a collection of impact craters as seen from the air:
Any vehicle, before hitting the public roads as a safe and well-run machine, must undergo a series of tests to prove that it matches both its own targets, and the specifications of national law.
Although much of this work is done in the factory of the manufactor, there are some factors which need actual road testing, such as actually driving the car. Below is a collection of some of these locations, including one used in the Marshall Islands by the US Military for planes and weapons…
When people are made aware of the fact that Google are coming with their helicopters and cars with cameras (which is usually quite rare, as most images do appear as ‘natural life’), it is a common response to try and organise an image that people will see and remember.
These groups of people below most probably contain a few of those that heard that they would be photographed from the sky, and formed large patterns that would hopefully be seen by the world, with the locations of these people formations currently listing as Calais (France), and Hyogo (Japan):
If you are having trouble in designing a pencil ‘maze’ game, or are just looking for some tricky new material in this type of brainteaser to excercise your mind, you could do worse than looking from the skies for new inspirations, challenges, or just good views.
Plenty of parks or attractions have a maze as a crowd-pleaser, and if they look difficult from the air, they are almost certainly more stressful if you are at ground level…
Interesting and different designs for mazes, seen from the sky, include several that are related to the stereotypes of the area. In the British Isles, this includes a clover in Dublin, a ship in the Isle of Wight, and farm animals in Norfolk…
When you have a bit of money to spend on a swimming pool, sometimes you want to stand out from the usual squares, circles, and rectangles, but something such as a triangle is not enough for you flashy design needs, you could always follow the lead of these budding architects, and buy or design a pool that can be picked out easily in a satellite image.
Designs that are linked below include a guitar, a baseball bat, and a dolphin…
American actor John Travolta seems to be both a big fan of flying and a very rich man. How else can you explain a mansion in Ocala (Florida, USA) with a private airport / runway, complete with a private passenger jet, and a collection of planes that he can just drive out of the hangar and go for a spin whenever it suits his fancy? Not sure that many other people in the world can claim to own something like this…
The Republic of Molossia, ‘founded’ in 1977 and claiming land 22 years on, is one of many self-proclaimed (and uncrecognized by anyone else) ‘micronations’ seen around the world.