Google Maps is one of those apps that many of us rely on daily (myself included). Whether it’s finding the fastest route, checking traffic, or scoping out the best-rated spots in town, it’s an essential tool.
But besides its usual functions, Google Maps has plenty of surprises if you know where to look. These people did just that—scanning satellite images and street views—and ended up stumbling upon things they never expected. From curious to downright bizarre, here are some of the strangest discoveries they made.
Scroll down to check them out, upvote your favorites, and maybe try your hand at it yourself. You never know what you might find!
#1 Louisburg, Kansas
Stan Herd lives nearby and he does amazing work similar to this. He’s done big ads and was even in an oreo Comercial for his field art.
Image source: VolumeRich6345
#2 Gigante De Tarapaca. Norte De Chile
Image source: Patrick Ortiz Downing, Google Maps
#3 A Lot Of People In Athens Were Caught With Undisclosed Pools
In the Greek city, those with pools are supposed to pay a special tax for them. There were 324 pool declared in Athens’ suburbs — but after looking at Google Maps, authorities found out there were actually 16,974 pools in the area.
Image source: spiege
#4 40 Year Old Man Went Missing After Night Out. 22 Years Later, A Local Man Spotted A Car In The Lake In Google Maps. When It Was Searched, The Missing Man’s Skeletal Remains Were Found
Image source: Crookstaa
#5 Is Your Bike In Here? Neighbour From Hell Is Arrested After 500 ‘Stolen’ Bikes Are Discovered In His Back Garden In Pile So Big That It Is Visible From Google Earth
Image source: dailymail
#6 Teen Finds Bike Nabbers On Holland Street View
After a teen in Groningen, Holland had his bike taken, he couldn’t get the police to do anything about it. But six months later he found photo evidence using Google Street View. Cameras captured an image of the alleged culprits trailing behind the victim prior to taking the bike.
The 14-year-old used the image to help authorities apprehend two suspects.
Image source: theregister, Google Maps
#7 Shipwreck North Sentinel Island
The story of the shipwreck on North Sentinel Island revolves around the MV Primrose, a cargo ship that ran aground near the island in 1981. The crew initially believed it was a routine stranding, but they soon realized the danger when the indigenous Sentinelese, a fiercely isolated tribe, began appearing on the beach armed with bows and arrows. The crew was stranded on the ship for several days, defending themselves with makeshift weapons and calling for help. Eventually, they were rescued by helicopter, narrowly avoiding contact with the Sentinelese, who remain one of the most isolated groups in the world.
Image source: Own_Salamander_3802, Google Maps
#8 Ax Prank In Edinburgh Caught On Google Street View
Playing around with the Google Street View car can be fun, but as these mechanics from Edinburgh discovered, sometimes having too much fun can have consequences. The two goofs forgot about the pranks until the photos were uploaded to Google months later and a concerned citizen called the police. The images depict a man assailing the other.
Luckily, one of the cops who “solved” the case had a friend who had his car serviced at the mechanic’s shop where this took place. Dan Thompson, the shop’s manager, told authorities: “It was in the spur of the moment […] It seemed like the obvious thing to do so I threw myself on the ground and Gary grabbed a pick-axe handle from the garage.”
Image source: independent, Google Maps
#9 Group Of Buildings In China Spelling Out The Word “Antibody”
Image source: PetrifiedHistory, Google Maps
#10 Downed Japanese Fighter Plane On Palau And The Photos I Took At The Location: 7°32’40.9″N 134°31’50.7″E
Heard of this from a guy who served on Palau. He only knew it was near a shooting range the US military uses. With the help of google earth I found the possible location and went there during my visit to Palau a few years back.
Image source: alex_1982, Google Maps
#11 Lying Spouse Caught Red-Handed In UK
If you’re going to get caught lying to your spouse, you should try to make it count. Not like Donald Ryding, who was caught smoking in his driveway by Google Street View long after he told his wife that he’d kicked the habit. The car captured an image of Ryding trying to be furtive outside of his Merseyside home in England.
Mrs. Ryding said, “I couldn’t believe it – there was no denying it now we’d seen him smoking. When Street View first launched, they didn’t blur out faces, but there was no need to with him – he was covered by a cloud of smoke anyway.” Burn.
Image source: thejournal, Google Maps
#12 Disturbing Message Spotted On Google Earth Near Cesar Chavez Ave In La: ‘Help,’ ‘Trafico,’ ‘Lapd,’ And ‘Federal’ Written In Debris
Image source: rj_motivation
#13 I Found The Eiffel Tower And Fake Cities And Fake Highways In A Military Base In The Chinese Desert With Tanks Artillery And Planes ( 42°14’11.32″N 112°44’24.22″E)
Image source: EMACRAFTO9, Google Maps
#14 Random R In The Mountains In Cali
it appears to be the “Redlands R”. Put there by university student in 1913.
Image source: Savanna_Krewz, redlands
#15 After A Successful Escape From A Prison Sentence, Runaway Gioacchino Gammino Lived Unnoticed For 20 Years. Until He Chatted In The Wrong Spot, That Is
The convicted murderer, considered one of Italy’s most wanted criminals, had been working as a chef under a different name in the town of Galapagar (near Madrid in Spain). Google Maps imagery showed a man who looked suspiciously like Gammino chatting outside a fruit and veg shop, and it was confirmed to be him by police later.
Image source: theguardian
#16 Disappearance Of 83-Year-Old Woman After Two Years Solved Thanks To Google Street View
Paulette Landrieux disappeared on November 2, 2020 without leaving a trail. At the time, the police spread a search message for the ‘potentially confused woman’, but even after a large -scale search she was not found.
The public prosecutor recently wanted to close the file unsolved after two years. But a person who made a final attempt caused a breakthrough: the man searched for the images of her house on Google Street View. There, as a miracle, you could see how the woman crossed the street to her neighbor’s house.
The police then searched the garden of that man and found the corpse of Landrieux on the bottom of a hill, in the direction of the Meuse (Maas) river. The woman probably fell, but an autopsy must give a definitive answer.
Personally, as a researcher, I would study Google Maps the first day in such a case, but maybe it was not yet on Street View at the time.
Image source: andorraliechtenstein, Google Maps
#17 Found A Sunken Jeep Near Key West, Fl Via Google Maps. So A Friend Of Mine Went To Check It Out In Person
Image source: KevinByMail, Google Maps
#18 Missing Michigan Car Visible On Google Maps
In 2015, a car that had both been missing since 2006 was found while employees at a Michigan mortuary home were decorating their building for Christmas. While looking in a nearby pond, they saw what looked like the roof of a car, promptly solving a nine-year-old missing person case. It turns out that the car had been visible on Google Street View this whole time.
Authorities did not suspect foul play, as it appears 72-year-old Davie Lee Niles may have driven into the body of water by accident.
Image source: mlive, Google Maps
#19 Unmarked Village In The Middle Of The Amazon Rainforest
Image source: reddit.com, Google Maps
#20 A Florida Man Illegally Dumped His Boat Near His Home, Eventually Facing A $5,000 Fine
The fee for legal dumping would have been just $18. Police spotted the illicit dumping via Google Maps.
Image source: nbcnews
#21
On a corner of Sagrada Família, in BH, there was a man who would sit next to a lamppost all day long. He had been spotted by the google maps car since 2015 in the same place. Recently, he disappeared. I was worried and went to find out what had happened
Image source: correafabios
#22 I Noticed On These On Google Earth. Today On “Failed Camouflage” We Learn That Hiding Under Trees Isn’t Always The Best Strategy
Image source: brownsofagamer123, Google Maps
#23 Thanks, Google Maps
Image source: tomyan112
#24 A Possible Offender On The Run In South Africa
This image was captured in South Africa in 2010. While the man depicted in the image capture looks like an escapee from the United States, many pointed out he could be a municipal worker. In South Africa, some municipal workers wear orange as part of their uniform.
It’s unclear where the man is running from or what he’s running towards.
Image source: express, Google Maps
#25 A Weird Pentagram Is Discovered In Kazakhstan
People were understandably freaked out when, in 2013, a pentagram appeared to be carved into the ground in a deserted part of Kazakhstan. Thanks to Google, the image came to public attention. No sign of life appears to be even close to the creepy symbol. In fact, Lisakovsk is the closest city to this patch of land, and it’s about 12 miles away.
Before conspiracy theories could spin out of control, archaeologist Emma Usmanova told LiveScience: “It is the outline of a park made in the form of a star.” Still, some don’t believe Usmanova and think it could be linked to a more sinister, darker secret.
Image source: nbcnews, Google Maps
#26 What Are These Artifical Looking Small Hills Near Area 51
Atomic testing site..Nevada test range
Image source: truthseeker_92
#27 B-2 Stealth Bomber
This B-2 at Whitman AFB seems to be shown disabled after sliding off the runway. You can see the plane leaning on its left wing and emergency personnel around.
Image source: GreenReport5491, Google Maps
#28 I Found This Looking Around Pyongyang
Image source: takofire, Google Maps
#29 This Is The Largest Coca-Cola Logo In The World I Found It On Google Earth -18.5292 -70.2500
Image source: our-free-books, Google Maps
#30 Plane Without Wings Found On Google Maps
I pulled up Google Maps just to see the taxiway configuration and the plane isn’t there. It sure looks like the same general image as in OP’s post, it even has the black rectangle next to where the plane is/was. It’s entirely possible Google edited the image because someone reported it due to this post, but all I can say is the wingless plane isn’t there now!
Image source: RXBarokk, Google Maps
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