The Most Bizarre Things That Have Been Found On Google Maps

Go on Google Maps, and you’re bound to find more than just directions to your preferred destinations. From weird glitches and haunting sights to people doing the strangest things, there’s a treasure trove of hilarious things to see there. Most people never know when a car’s going to go past taking pictures for Google Maps. That means they’re often caught unawares doing some of the weirdest things. Sure, some people plan to do strange stuff on camera, but others simply don’t have luck on their side. There are also instances of the technology itself glitching out and offering up bizarre images or the vehicle simply driving past an area that’s peculiar all year round. It’s incredible the kind of wild stuff you can come across on Google Maps.

Stare into the spiral and you’ll become very sleepy

It’s incredible some of the stuff you see below when you’re on a plane. The aerial view puts certain things into perspective and makes them a lot clearer to understand. That includes sights like this, which you’ll see if you ever fly above the Red Sea Governorate in Egypt. Consisting of perfectly carved holes and peaks in a spiral pattern, it’s quite a beauty to behold.

Some think it’s a message to outer space; others believe it was designed by aliens themselves. Whoever was responsible for it, though, there’s no denying that it’s quite a hypnotic pattern. If it started spinning around, you’d probably feel very sleepy quite quickly. It’s a good thing, then, that it’s a fixed point in the ground.

His hiding spot was revealed during a game of hide-and-seek

When playing hide-and-seek, there’s nothing worse than someone outing your hiding place. Unfortunately for this kid, that’s seemingly what Google Maps has gone and done. It caught a photo of him hiding behind a trash can, presumably in an effort not to be seen by his friends.

Thankfully, the pictures on the website don’t change instantly, so it’s unlikely that anyone could use them to find his whereabouts. Then again, we don’t know how long this game is going on for. Maybe it’s only over once everyone’s been found, meaning if his hiding spot is a good one, he could be there for a while? For his sake, we hope that’s not the case because it would probably be boring to hide there for so long.

Sometimes you have to walk the long, empty road alone

When you can’t get a ride to where you need to go, sometimes you’ve got no choice but to walk. It doesn’t matter if your destination is miles away; it’s either go hard or go home. It can be good to spend some time walking alone in nature. It’s an excellent opportunity to clear your head and deal with any issues that might be plaguing your life.

However, it’s probably not tons of fun to do when you’re lugging a suitcase with you. It’s a shame that the Google Maps driver couldn’t offer this woman a ride when they drove past. Instead, they had to just leave her walking down this long, empty stretch of road by herself. At least the sun was shining.

It looks like Rudolph’s been scaring off some of Santa’s other reindeer

If you don’t get any presents this holiday season, it might be because Santa’s missing a reindeer. Luckily, Google Maps managed to track the animal down running along this road. However, we’ve no idea whether they were able to catch the creature and return them to the North Pole. Maybe they decided to use the reindeer to their advantage and attach them to their car?

A flying vehicle would definitely make taking all those photos a lot easier. You may have thought the aerial shots on Google Maps were from satellite, but actually, they might have been from this car. If this picture was taken years ago, who’s to say that this car hasn’t been flying around snapping photos ever since?

And so they said unto the aliens: “come downtown and play”

Speaking of messages to outer space, it’s hard to believe this could be anything other than that. Someone managed to get on this building and write “come downtown and play” in letters large enough for Google Maps to pick up clearly. Perhaps the author was just writing this for people flying overhead in planes, or maybe they were hoping to entice aliens down to Earth?

Let’s face it; this wouldn’t be the first instance of someone wanting to make contact with extraterrestrials. We’re not sure that they’d comprehend what this message was saying, given we’ve no idea if aliens even understand English. If they do, though, perhaps they’ll see this and decide to give downtown a shot? Maybe they just want to be friends?

It turns out that butterflies and UFOs have more in common than you thought

Plenty of people believe they’ve had alien encounters before. Of course, most of them are nothing more than someone thinking they saw something strange in the sky. All it takes is an unexplained light or object up above for the conspiracies to begin. We don’t deny that there have definitely been some bizarre sightings over the years.

However, most of the time, these things can be easily explained. Just take this photo, for example. One look at this on Google Maps, and you might believe you’re face-to-face with a legitimate UFO. Sadly, you soon realize that this isn’t an alien spacecraft but rather a butterfly chopped in half by the camera. It’s nothing more than a glitch trying to confuse your eyes.

This is the final resting place for hundreds of brave planes

Most people get on a plane to travel from one country to another. However, sometimes it’s not the destination that’s worth the flight more than the sights you see along the way. Anyone traveling over Tuscan, Arizona, might be fortunate enough to see this on their travels. It’s the Airplane Boneyard, the resting place for hundreds of old aircrafts.

You see graveyards for humans everywhere, but rarely are these places designed for other things. However, Tuscan decided to be different and dedicate an entire boneyard to these planes. Again, it’s something that’s best admired from above because that’s where you can see the entirety of it in all its glory. Thankfully, Google Maps has this picture for everyone not getting on a plane anytime soon.

When all your clothes are in the laundry so you have to wear your frog suit

Everyone has their own fashion taste. What one person wears another might dislike, but that doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with either of their styles. We’re all different, and that’s something worth embracing. Saying that, you can’t always help being taken aback by a person’s outfit choice, especially if it’s anything like this.

We must admit that we don’t encounter too many people walking around in frog suits. However, as this photo on Google Maps proves, it clearly happens. They could be dressed like this for a party, a charity event, or simply because they felt like it. Whatever their reasoning, though, we must confess that it’s a little creepy the way they’re peering around the corner. It turns this outfit from laughable to sinister just like that.

Halloween might be over, but these decorations are here to stay

Don’t worry; you haven’t suddenly clicked onto a horror movie. We wouldn’t blame you if you thought so, though, because this image is terrifying. If you walked by someone’s home and saw this in the window, you’d understandably be concerned. You might wonder what was going on inside that all these people were trying to escape.

However, after looking at it for a while, you’d realize that those bodies aren’t moving, which is when it would click that they’re just a decoration. These terrifying silhouettes were hung up in October, making them perfect for Halloween. Hopefully, the decorations were removed the following month, even if they remained in place on Google Maps. The thought of them still being on the website is a little unnerving, though, to be honest.

All dressed up and ready to commit a burglary

Speaking of Halloween, these people look dressed and ready for trick or treating. It’s not uncommon to open your door and see kids and adults alike looking like this for the spooky occasion. It’s a bit of lighthearted fun when they’re standing on your front porch asking for candy. When you see them dressed like this in the middle of the road, though, it’s a bit more unsettling.

The fact that they’re just standing there staring at the camera gives the impression that a highway robbery’s about to go down. For the people driving the Google Maps car, we hope that’s not the case. We’re sure these people don’t mean any harm, even if they do give off a questionable vibe.

This is the one house in the neighborhood that doesn’t photograph well

Every time a photo supposedly shows supernatural or otherworldly activity, the picture is never clear. It’s usually dark, grainy, or blurry, making the subject matter hard to believe. The explanation for the quality of the photo usually differs, but perhaps the reasoning is simply that the camera had a strange moment? It happens on Google Maps quite often.

The homes around this one look perfectly fine on the website. For some reason, though, this building is discolored and grainy, like it’s one of those haunted houses. Maybe the camera is trying to tell us that there’s something off about the home? It messing up isn’t a random glitch but rather a sign that there’s something to be wary of in this neighborhood.

Pittsburgh is home to a giant’s roast dinner

Of all the things to make a statue of, a roast chicken isn’t usually at the top of the list. However, this giant poultry was spotted on Google Maps in Pittsburgh with no explanation for its presence whatsoever. We enjoy a good roast, but we’re not sure we’d want to honor our love for the meal with something like this.

Everyone’s different, though, so who are we to question their choice of yard decoration? We wonder if you can get other components of the meal this size too. Why not just recreate an entire roast dinner in the yard? That way, the chicken won’t look so lonely standing there. Plus, it may get people’s stomachs rumbling, which would be good for any restaurants nearby.

You don’t want any food on you when there are this many seagulls around

When you live near the coast, you get to know the local wildlife pretty well. Seagulls tend to be everywhere in these areas, much to everyone’s annoyance. They hang around searching for whatever scraps of food they can get, sometimes even having the nerve to swoop down and steal stuff right out of your hands.

A gull on its own might not always be brave enough to do this. However, when they’re in a pack like this, all bets are off. The last thing you’d probably want to do in this area is walk around with food out. Those birds would swarm around you in an instant with no chance of escape. You’d be lucky to get out of there with your life, let alone your food.

The latest innovation in driving technology is the human-snowmobile hybrid

Vehicle technology is constantly developing. You look at some of the stuff people were driving a decade or two ago, and you can see just how much things have changed. Fast forward the same amount of time, and who knows how different vehicles will look. They may well all look like this snowmobile that has merged the power of an engine with the legs of a human.

We’re not sure how effective a combination like this can be, but there must be a good reason why someone designed a vehicle this way. It’s not just Google Maps having another glitch and cutting off a person’s top half when taking a photo. That’s definitely more outrageous than this kind of human-snowmobile hybrid.

When you can’t catch a plane to Antarctica, so you call for a unicycle instead

Not enough people ride unicycles anymore. You see plenty of people on bicycles or motorbikes, but it’s rare you’re ever gifted a sight like this. We’d say we’re disappointed, but then again, if unicycles were everywhere, photos like this wouldn’t capture our attention so much. It’s hard not to be intrigued by someone riding around like this acting as if it’s the most normal thing in the world.

The unicycle isn’t necessarily even the most bizarre thing about the picture. It’s the stuffed penguin being carried behind it that really steals the focus. Why is it there? Where are they going? This photo brings up so many questions yet no answers. Perhaps Google Maps can tell us everything that we need to know?

Nagoro village is home to hundreds of life-sized human dolls

You can encounter some bizarre things in Japan, and Nagoro village is one of them. Anyone that feels uncomfortable around life-sized dolls would probably have a nightmare if they went here. The village is filled with them, all made by Tsukimi Ayano in honor of the former residents.

She began her project by recreating her late father before going on to make hundreds of people who’d either moved away or departed this world. It’s a nice way to honor those who aren’t around anymore, but it’s still hard not to see the village as the perfect location for a horror movie. You can just imagine all those dolls coming to life and moving of their own accord, an image that’s too terrifying to think about.

Nothing to see but identical triplets going for a walk

Looking at this picture, you might think you were watching a music video. Plenty of artists have used digital trickery to make multiple versions of themselves appear on screen together. However, that’s not what’s going on here – not intentionally anyway. Google Maps didn’t plan on having this guy feature so many times in this one photo.

However, something obviously went wrong when the pictures were being taken, meaning he popped up more than intended. We suppose it’s better than having his body cut in half or parts of him appearing in places that they shouldn’t. There could be worse things than having two versions of yourself come to life. It would certainly make it easier to get things done every day.

A dark field full of clothed figures definitely isn’t scary

If Nagoro’s village of dolls wasn’t horror movie-worthy, this definitely is. A shot like this might not seem that creepy until you find out that the figures in this field aren’t human. Suddenly, the thought of these entities coming together is a little terrifying. The forest in the background just makes things worse because horror movies love utilizing such a location.

Plus, there are also dark clouds in the sky, which affect the lighting of the photo and make everything that little bit darker. If we were driving the Google Maps car and saw this, we’d probably turn around and leave. However, there’s supposedly nothing to fear with this photo. Apparently, all those clothed figures are just scarecrows, so they can’t harm anyone… Right?

This company would be nothing without its adorable feline mascot

Google Maps has picked up some weird and creepy stuff over the years. Thankfully, it’s discovered plenty of cute things, too, such as this adorable cat. A feline in a conductor’s hat is charming regardless of the context. However, it’s clear that this wardrobe choice isn’t a one-time thing.

The sign on the bench makes it apparent that this cat is here all the time wearing this headgear. We’re not sure what the sign says, but we can only assume that the adorable feline works here and is something of a mascot for the travel company. We don’t see anything to complain about with that. More companies should have cute mascots like this that are always available to pet and fuss over.

When you’re trying to make a getaway but your behind is too big for the escape route

When you get caught doing something you shouldn’t, the fight or flight response kicks in. Plenty of people believe they can avoid punishment if they make a break for it, and it seems some animals share that instinct too. Unfortunately, not every escape route is perfect for a quick getaway. This gate, for instance, probably wasn’t the smartest thing to jump through.

They saw the hole and instinctively believed they could get through it. However, while they managed to slip their front half through, their back end is still wedged on the other side. The Google Maps car caught them at an unfortunate moment as they were trying to squeeze through the gate. Hopefully, they managed it and didn’t get trapped in that hole.

As toilet paper pranks go, this one could use some work

You never want to get on the wrong side of pranksters. Who knows what they might inflict on you or your home if you upset them. This person was actually pretty lucky that this was all they were subjected to. Their efforts to TP this home were pretty poor, with the pranksters not even covering the tree in an entire roll’s worth of toilet paper.

Perhaps they were short on time, or maybe they were caught red-handed and made a break for it? Either way, they definitely didn’t leave anyone quaking in their boots. Then again, they were fortunate enough to have their efforts captured on Google Maps, so we suppose that’s something. At least they have some sort of legacy online.

Only in Japan would you encounter a group of people wearing pigeon masks

When Japan gets weird, it doesn’t hold anything back. The country is home to some bizarre, potentially horror-inspiring sights, but this has to be one of the strangest. Imagine driving the car for Google Maps only to come across a group of people all wearing pigeon masks and looking directly at you.

The headgear is creepy enough on its own, but it wouldn’t be so bad if everyone were just doing their thing and ignoring the camera. However, because they’re all looking directly into the lens, it gives this image real horror movie vibes. Who are these pigeon people, and what do they want? Are they here to steal all our bread, or are they after something more sinister? We’re not sure we want to find out.

It’s a table for one until true love comes and joins them

Setting up a table on the side of the road is weird. Sitting at it in a horse mask while eating a banana is even weirder. We’re not sure what inspired this person to do this, though we wouldn’t be surprised if they knew the Google Maps car was coming. It would be crazy to think this person sits out here like this every day, right?

Maybe they’re looking for love, and this is their way of finding it? They think that if they wait out here long enough, another person in a horse mask will come along and fill that empty chair. At least now that this is documented on Google Maps, such a person would know where to go.

It came from beneath the sea in search of Google Maps

If you’re going to be caught on Google Maps, you may as well make your appearance entertaining. That’s something these two can happily say they’ve achieved thanks to this bizarre photo. We’ve no idea why they’re in the middle of the road when they’re dressed to go diving. Perhaps they’re on their way home after a day in the water?

Maybe their diving activities got cut short because one of them upset the other? That would certainly explain why the person at the back looks like they’re chasing their companion. Then again, looking at what’s in their hand, it could be that they’ve teamed up and are trying to hunt someone else down instead. The Google Maps driver, maybe? Luckily for them, they’re safe in their car.

When your van’s in the shop, so you have to move your dentist’s chair with a bicycle

Usually, if you’re going to transport a bulky item somewhere, you’d get a truck to do the job. After all, such vehicles are generally the right size for these items, and they tend to do a decent job of keeping them safe. Unfortunately, these two apparently didn’t have any vehicles like that at their disposal.

So, they instead had to rely on their bike and a trolley to get this dentist’s chair from A to B. They seem to be doing a decent job. However, we can’t imagine it’s easy to cycle anywhere when you’re pulling something like that along. That’s probably why there are two of them here. Let’s just hope they don’t make any quick turns and lose the chair on a corner.

He was a skater boy; now he’s a concrete boy

Google Maps cameras are supposed to be a force for good, but if this picture’s anything to go by, that’s not always the case. Sometimes, they go rogue and use their powers for evil, including melting people into concrete. That’s seemingly what happened to this skateboarder when the Google Maps car drove past.

They had no reason to suspect that everything was about to change when they suddenly found themselves becoming one with the ground. To make matters worse, they lost their legs in the process, so now they’re just an upper-body holding onto a skateboard forever. If this is what these cameras are capable of, we never want to cross them. They clearly have a dark side that they’re not afraid to show off.

Nothing screams Inception like a picture within a picture

Are you familiar with the sci-fi action film ‘Inception?’ It involves people going into dreams, sometimes going several layers deep and putting their lives at risk. This photo is kind of like that but less life-threatening. The Google Maps camera took a shot of this painter in the middle of a project.

He’s painting the scene that’s in front of him, which you can also see in the photo. So, it’s basically a picture within a picture. All the image needs is for the artist to draw a tiny version of himself painting or for someone to take a photo of the Google Maps car snapping the shot. Then, it will be a picture within a picture within a picture.

The sky is blue, the grass is green, and the water is… Red

You don’t need a college degree to know what color water is supposed to be. That’s one of the first things you learn in school, along with the understanding that the grass is green and the sky is blue. With this knowledge ingrained in us so early in life, it can be quite concerning to come across an image like this.

The Google Maps camera took this photo of a lake, but the water isn’t even close to the color you expect it to be. Thankfully, it doesn’t look like this all the time. Allegedly, it was this color due to run-off from a local butcher. That’s slightly less disturbing than what it could be, but that doesn’t mean it’s not still terror-inducing.

Finding the perfect balance between riding dangerously and falling over

The concept of equal weight distribution and what happens when something isn’t balanced is relatively basic physics. You probably learn about it reasonably early in school because it’s another one of those essential things you need to know. Unfortunately, it seems that this person might have been sick the day they were teaching it, judging by this photo.

We’re not sure how they’re still managing to drive, despite their bike being at an angle. Perhaps the Google Maps camera caught them just before they toppled over? Hopefully not because it would be far more impressive if they managed to get from A to B driving like this. Plus, falling off a motorbike can cause significant damage, so we wouldn’t want them getting hurt.

Skiing can be a year-round activity if you believe hard enough

When you’re a skiing enthusiast, summer can be a disappointing time of year. Warm weather and sunny days mean your chances of hitting the slopes are relatively slim. Sure, you can visit one of the many indoor skiing establishments designed to recreate alpine activities during such months.

However, these aren’t always as satisfying as being out in the open air zooming down a real slope. Some people would rather try skiing on a mountain without snow than go to such a place. This guy is apparently one of them. Google Maps caught him in the middle of skiing down a grassy hill without any snow in sight. We’re not sure how easy this was to do, but we expect it posed something of a challenge.

Dabbing on a bike is the next big craze

Most people don’t know when they’re going to cross paths with a Google Maps vehicle. Typically, the first time they know anything about it is right before the camera snaps a shot of them. They have just a second or two to react before they’re immortalized on the website forever – or at least until a new photo is taken. What people do with that little warning varies significantly.

Some don’t do anything, preferring not to draw attention to themselves. Others try to do something outrageous – successfully or not – in the hopes of making their mark on the internet. Then there are those who react simply but effectively, like this person who dabbed while riding their bike. Here’s hoping they didn’t lose balance afterward and fall over.

This is the one point on Earth where the different universes converge

Google Maps really does have some hilarious glitches. We’re not sure what happens with these cameras to make them act so bizarre, especially when all the other photos turn out fine. This particular glitch saw a road get photographed half a dozen times and then squashed together like so. It gives off the impression that each of these images is an alternate universe, and this photo showcases a portal between them all.

We’d love it if we could visit this spot and actually jump between dimensions and see what’s happening in other timelines. We wonder what things would be different and whether any of the other worlds are better – or worse – than the one we live in. Unfortunately, these alternate universes aren’t real; this is just a glitch.

Mess with the wrong pranksters and they’ll make sure you regret it

Don’t you just hate it when you leave your car for five minutes and return to find it covered in cellophane? It’s just the worst because then you have to unravel it all to get back into your vehicle and drive away. Unfortunately, if you get on the wrong side of pranksters, this is a potential problem you have to deal with.

Whoever was responsible for this definitely knows what they’re doing better than those people with the toilet paper. That cellophane is wrapped nice and tight, so removing it probably won’t be a quick job. We’ve got to wonder what this driver did to earn such a horrific prank. Maybe it was just a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time?

If you drive past a broken fire hydrant, you’re going to get wet

Accidents happen. That’s just a fact of life. As annoying as it is, you just have to accept that things don’t always go your way, and there’s nothing you can do about it. For this Google Maps driver, they encountered quite a significant accident while out taking photos. It seems this fire hydrant had burst, meaning water was spraying out everywhere.

On a sunny day, something like this can be quite a relief. After all, there’s nothing more refreshing than being sprayed by water when it’s so hot outside. However, the camera couldn’t avoid all this water, so it got pretty wet while going past. Hopefully, this didn’t break the device; otherwise, the driver would have had trouble finishing their job.

When throwing away mannequins, try not to make it look like you’re disposing of people

It seems you need to be something of a horror film fanatic when you work for Google Maps. These drivers encounter so many disturbing sights that if you’re easily spooked, you’re not going to last long in the job. This is definitely one of the freakiest things that a Google Maps camera has ever picked up. At first glance, it looks like a bunch of bodies have just been disposed of in an alleyway.

Thankfully, though, this is one of those instances where appearances are deceiving. It turns out that those bodies are merely mannequins. They’re pretty decrepit ones, hence why someone threw them out. Nevertheless, they’re not the remains of anything living. Whether or not they can come to life, though, is another matter entirely.

Planes in motion can look a little trippy when captured on Google Maps

Taking photos for Google Maps isn’t a quick process. Even if there’s plenty of people going out and snapping shots at the same time, there’s still so much ground to cover. For that reason, you can’t exactly tell people to stay inside and keep clear of the cameras. Life has to carry on, which means flights continue regardless of whether they get caught on Google Maps or not.

The reason this is an issue is because of how a plane can look when a satellite takes a photo of it. This photo is evidence of how it can turn out, with the vehicle looking almost like something out of a 3D movie. It’s probably a bit more trippy than Google would like on their platform.

Google Maps is great for finding directions and looking at derpy cat pictures

Google Maps cameras capture so many wonderful things, but this has to be up there as one of the best. The site isn’t short of animals, as we’ve seen already. Not all of the creatures snapped by Google Maps are running away, though. Some are just sitting around doing their thing, being as adorable as ever.

In the case of this cat, it even noticed the camera and got up close and personal with it, or maybe the camera got up closer and personal with the cat? It doesn’t really matter who’s approaching who here. What does matter is the fact that you can go on Google Maps and see this adorable derpy face on Street View. That’s the kind of content we care about.

The best way to advertise your company is to turn your logo into a crop circle

Branding is essential for any company. If you want people to do business with you, your name and logo need to be out there. The more familiar everyone is with it, the likelier they are to work with you. Just ask Firefox, the search engine with its logo cut out in a crop circle on Google Maps. This unique form of advertisement brings attention to Firefox in so many ways.

You have people seeing it when flying overhead, when browsing Google Maps, or when hearing about a bizarre new crop circle on the news. The company behind the search engine might not have been responsible for going into an oat field in Oregon and making this landmark. However, it’s good advertising nonetheless.

Beware of seaweed monsters when you visit the beach

When you’re chilling on the beach, the last thing you want is for a seaweed monster to appear out of the water and chase you. Unfortunately, that’s what might have happened to beachgoers the day that this photo was taken. The Google Maps camera managed to get a shot of the bizarre creature looking ready to attack.

Hopefully, the person taking the picture was able to get away from them before anything dramatic happened. Even if this were just someone draped in seaweed, you still wouldn’t want to get too close to them. That stuff doesn’t always smell too pleasant, so being covered in it must make you reek quite a bit. We’re not willing to get near this person to find out if that’s the case.

Superheroes can’t save the day without getting a good night’s sleep

When there’s a seaweed monster on the loose, you need a superhero to get rid of them. Unfortunately, these people can’t always be available 24/7. They may have incredible powers, but they need to eat and sleep like the rest of us. There’s every chance that when you need them most, they’re busy getting their eight hours of shut-eye.

We can’t really blame them because they deserve a break with all that they do for the world. If we spent our days fighting crime and saving lives, we’d certainly want some time to ourselves. Anyone needing help while this hero is taking a nap will just have to be their own hero for a change. We’re sure they can handle that.