Google Earth is an amazing tool that is used by millions of people across the globe. The United States military, as well as the military and governments of numerous nations, use the platform for their daily business while civilians use it to find the closest Starbucks or a way to get to soccer practice without getting stuck in traffic.
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With so many uses, it's not surprising to learn that Google Earth has been used to find some strange and fascinating places. Whether it's something odd on the app's Street View, or a place that only exists in the pages of comic books, there plenty of truly nerdy locations people can check out for themselves.
10 DOCTOR STRANGE'S SANCTUM SANCTORUM
When you think about it, most of the people who work at Google are probably nerds themselves. Seeing as that demographic is the one this site, Marvel, and many other targets, it comes as no surprise that the folks behind making the maps of Google Earth enjoy throwing fictitious places down just for the fun of it.
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Case in point, you can find Doctor Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum right at its address from the comics. Point your map to 177 Bleeker Street in New York City, and you will come face-to-face with pictures and comments about the Sorcerer Supreme's famous residence.
9 A FLOCK OF PIGEON PEOPLE
Google Earth's Street View has provided the world with a glimpse into the lives of people all over the planet. While photos from that program can show anything from some illicit behavior between two consenting adults or dogs chasing after the Street View car, some shots defy explanation.
While it isn't exactly nerdy per se, finding a literal flock of pigeon people standing by for no apparent reason in Tokyo, Japan is certainly strange. It isn't known if these people stood there awaiting the car, or if they just happened to be doing whatever they were doing when it passed. Either way, it's clear the Pigeon People will one day rule the Earth.
8 A TON OF CENSORED STUFF YOU CAN'T ACTUALLY SEE
One of the more interesting aspects of what Google Earth can show you is what it can't. Most governments don't want to have random people (or other governments) snooping in on their business, which is why some places are pixelated or outright deleted from view. In many cases, these locations are the places we nerds would want to check out.
Some of the places you can't see on Google Earth are a large site in the Siberian Tundra the Russians are obscuring, a chemical weapons test site in Nevada, the Royal Palace of Amsterdam, Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany, and the entire nation of the Democratic People's Republic of North Korea.
7 AN AIRPLANE GRAVEYARD
One of the most satisfying things to look at from orbit is Davis-Monthan Air Force Base outside of Tucson, Arizona. The base houses the world's largest aircraft boneyard, which looks exactly like what it sounds like: thousands of aircraft lined up in rows in the Arizona Desert.
While this is a fascinating place to check out online, you can actually visit it and tour the boneyard. Among the many planes housed there are some former aircraft designated Air Force One, numerous types of missiles, and various parts and pieces used in space exploration. There's also a well-curated museum of preserved pieces detailing the history of flight.
6 MAPVERTISING
While some people don't want you to see what's going on within their property, there are plenty of corporations that have recognized the fact that people are looking down on the planet. That fact created what has widely become known as "Mapvertising." The word defines itself: it's a way to advertise via a map, but some companies have taken it to the next level.
This gigantic Colonel Sanders ad was found in Rachel, Nevada, but it's hardly the only company to create such a gigantic ad. Other companies to jump on the bandwagon include Whole Foods, Coca-Cola, Target, and many more.
5 A GIANT PINK BUNNY
Not everything on the planet makes a ton of sense when you see it from space. Take the gigantic pink bunny rabbit sitting atop a hill in the Piedmont region of Italy. The 200 foot long, 20 foot high rabbit, "Hase," was placed on the spot by an art collective called Gelatin as an art project.
The collective spent five years collectively knitting Hase with the intent of watching it decay by the year 2025. It's easily one of the creepiest things you can find on Google Earth, but it's also a testament to the extremes people will go to create something truly unique and fascinating.
4 THE KAZAKHSTAN PENTAGRAM
To many people around the world, the Pentagram represents a connection to the demonic world or even Satan himself. For others, it's little more than a five-pointed star, which can have numerous meanings, most of which are benign and have little or nothing to do with religion. That being said, a gigantic pentagram is certainly an interesting thing to find on Google Earth.
The pentagram measures roughly 1,200 feet in diameter and sits beside a desolate lake in Northern Kazakhstan. It turns out, the site is nothing more than an abandoned park shaped into a star, which was a popular image back in the days of the Soviet Union. There's nothing nefarious about it, but it certainly looks it.
3 AVENGERS MANSION
For most fans of Marvel Comics, checking out a place like Doctor Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum isn't going to be enough to satisfy their geekier urges. Fortunately, you can take a gander at the place the Avengers call home by looking in on 840 5th Avenue, New York, NY to find the Avengers Mansion itself!
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If you click on the image of the gate, you can see the plaque that looks suspiciously like it was pulled from a comic as well as various images other fans have thrown together to commemorate the fictitious location. While it's a cool place to check out online, sadly, the real-world location is an art museum.
2 THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
Of all the places you can see on Google Earth nerds might appreciate, the one place you can see in full detail through the app, but hardly anyone can go to is the International Space Station. It may not physically be on the planet itself, but that doesn't mean the folks at Google and NASA didn't take the time to make it accessible through the app.
You can check out a Street View version of the ISS, which features numerous 3D high-resolution images of the various capsules that make up the largest space station ever created. For most of us, this is the only way to visit the ISS, so take a moment and check it out while you still can.
1 THE TARDIS
The one location that has to be the nerdiest anywhere in the world is the TARDIS. The Doctor's primary mode of transportation (and residence) is sitting out by the street in London, England just waiting for people to come and knock on the door. While the Doctor isn't likely to open it for just any potential companion, it is still possible to go inside and see what he (or she) has been hiding in there.
If you navigate to the TARDIS on Google Earth's Street View, you can go inside by clicking the directional arrow on the blue box. Doing so will take you inside where you can use the 3D high-resolution images to see just what the actual TARDIS looks like from the inside!