These ten unusual Google Street View scenes—originally collected by SlashGear in 2022—range from costumed figures to a cow caught in a blur. “Best” is subjective: this is a playful selection, not a definitive ranking, and some scenes have no confirmed explanation. Street View captures imagery rather than live video, so the images may be months or years old and may no longer be available at the same locations.
10 unusual Street View scenes
The descriptions below reflect the scenes and context reported by SlashGear; they do not establish who arranged a scene or why it appeared. Images and available dates can change, so treat each location as a lead to check rather than a guarantee that the original view is still there.
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The horse-headed diner
A person wearing a horse head sits at a small table with a peeled banana and plastic flamingos. SlashGear says the image was archived from 2014. The arrangement looks deliberate, but the source does not identify who staged it.
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Pigeon people in Japan
People wearing pigeon masks appear on the Tamagawa Aqueduct Greenway in Japan in imagery dated 2013. SlashGear wonders whether it was a Street View stunt; that is speculation, not a verified explanation.
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The Flaming Lips’ Halloween display
SlashGear describes a Halloween decoration at the Oklahoma City home of Wayne Coyne, including a bathtub scene and a “blob in the bath” banner. It attributes the account to a 2010 Pitchfork report, but the specific history is not independently confirmed here.
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The Stig near Inverness
A figure dressed as The Stig, Top Gear’s helmeted racing character, appears near the A82 south of Inverness, Scotland, in imagery dated 2009. SlashGear says the connection, if any, to an official BBC stunt is unclear; the scene does not establish BBC involvement.
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A blurred cow in Cambridge
A cow appears blurred in a Street View image. The joke is that automated privacy blurring may have mistaken the animal for a person. Google says it automatically blurs identifiable faces and license plates, but does not explain this particular image, so the cause of the cow’s blur is unknown.
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Street View cars at a Monterey marina
SlashGear points to a group of Street View cars gathered at a marina in Monterey, California, and imagines where the vehicles go after a shift. The retirement story is the article’s joke, not a reported account of what the cars were doing.
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A blurred Google office in Munich
SlashGear reports that an office building housing Google offices in Munich was blurred after a request and later became visible. That specific history has not been independently verified, and it does not establish who requested or changed the blur. Google’s general guidance says eligible property owners or residents can request additional blurring and that an applied blur is permanent on that image.
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Another horse-headed figure near Aberdeen
A person wearing a horse head appears near Hazledene Road outside Aberdeen, Scotland, in imagery dated 2009. SlashGear offers no verified explanation for the appearance.
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A street gathering in Severn, Maryland
SlashGear describes people and a television in a street in Severn, Maryland, in imagery dated 2012. The source does not establish what was happening or whether the gathering was staged.
Rank #4
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A Doctor Who-style police box in London
A London police-box installation associated with Doctor Who is presented as a pop-culture easter egg. SlashGear says users could enter a larger interior in Street View, but its present-day availability has not been verified. It is a themed installation, not evidence of a real time machine.
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Why Street View images can be surprising—or misleading
Street View combines imagery captured by Google and contributors. Google says adjacent camera views are stitched into 360-degree images. The result records a moment in a place; it is not a live camera feed. In Google’s words, “Street View imagery is not real time.” Captured images can take months to process and may be months or years old when they appear.
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A still image often leaves out the context that would explain an unusual scene. A costume may be a prank, a planned photo, or simply a moment caught by a passing camera. Unless a reliable source documents the explanation, the image alone cannot settle it.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to look for older Street View imagery
Google provides historical imagery only where multiple dates have been archived. Availability varies by location, so these steps let you check for older views; they do not guarantee that a particular scene remains accessible.
In Google Maps on a computer
- Open Google Maps and find the location you want to inspect.
- Drag Pegman onto a mapped area where Street View is available.
- Select See more dates to open the available imagery thumbnails.
- Choose a date to view that archived image, if one is listed.
In Google Earth
- Open Google Earth and navigate to the location.
- Enter Street View by selecting an available camera view.
- Use the Street View timeline to select an available date.
The specific scenes in this list may have changed or disappeared since SlashGear’s 2022 article. Check the location in Maps or Earth before assuming an older image is still available.
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What Google’s blur policy does—and does not—tell you
Google says it automatically blurs identifiable faces and license plates in Street View imagery. Residents or property owners can also submit qualifying requests for additional blurring. Google says a blur is permanent once applied. These rules explain the general privacy process; they do not identify why any particular person, animal, or building in this list appears blurred.
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