These sculptures, designed to be observed by our descendants from dozens to thousands of years in the future, would be designed to weather away into their future shape.
Build a hill, carefully apportioning materials weathering at different rates, and get it to slowly morph into the sphinx over millenia.
Plant a forrest using a variety of trees and landscape it using flame retardants, so if and when it burns, it'll show a grimace
Initiate canals a long a river bed to see line art appear as the water carves new canyons-- theircompetitor, Apr 16 2005 Tmeteam (they often view the ground & the archaeology from helicopters) http://www.channel4.com/history/timeteam/ [po, Apr 16 2005] Grimace? http://images.usato...s/03-11-grimace.jpg [ConsultingDetective, Apr 16 2005] Baked, in a way http://www.tvacres....magazines_maxim.htm [theircompetitor, Apr 28 2006] And now discovered http://maps.google....3561&t=k&iwloc=addr [theircompetitor, Jan 22 2007] (?) Neat Image from Mars http://www.foxnews....tian-tree-illusion/ [theircompetitor, Jan 13 2010] Martian Elephants http://cosmiclog.ms...t-face-on-mars?lite [theircompetitor, Apr 07 2012] Earth as Art http://www.wired.co...pular-earth-as-art/ [theircompetitor, Jul 24 2012] Algorithm finds face like structures http://io9.com/an-a...n-the-ear-510075519 [theircompetitor, May 30 2013] Had to dig deep, but here's one of my biggest +'s-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Apr 16 2005 Trouble is - it's like waiting for your own great great grandchildren.
Sniff...-- DenholmRicshaw, Apr 16 2005 Last year, in a forest deep in germany, a swastika of trees was discovered from a helicopter. It was cut down(the trees), seems the nazis had the same idea.
Great idea though, nice joke examples+-- zeno, Apr 16 2005 Not quite the same, popped into my head - Splash out on a bit of plastic surgey and have your diaries minutely etched into your skeleton for people to find much later. Example - "3rd metacarple, Thursday: Can't move, entire body is infected and swollen, will die soon. Drunk nurse did obscene graffiti on my femur. Damn."-- weedy, Apr 16 2005 wee don't see weedy much, which is a shame...
archaeology from the air is fascinating. see time team.-- po, Apr 16 2005 My computer died and I was skint for a long time. I've got a new mac-mini now. Prepare, beware. Cheers po.-- weedy, Apr 16 2005 +1 btw.-- po, Apr 17 2005 This slid by me. Good one [tc].-- Shz, Oct 20 2005 The Centurians, upon landing on the White House lawn in 2008:
"Take us to your female leader".
"Ah...sir, though Hillary came close, John McCain is actually Presient. I'll go ahead and..."
"Never mind that, where is Eva?"
see link-- theircompetitor, Apr 28 2006 Edited this idea to add the link for the interesting Martian image, but find my last annotations more interesting :)-- theircompetitor, Jan 13 2010 According to a documentary I saw, extra rock was left on the Mt Rushmore figures so that erosion would improve them over their first few thousand years.-- spidermother, Apr 07 2012 We hillbillies have been doing this for decades; viewed through the bottom of a Mason jar still wet with white- lightnin, just about every natural feature resembles something interesting. Until you go blind, anyway.
I think I'll plant my, um, 'tomatoes' in an interesting pattern this year. It'll give the DEA guys something pretty to look at while they're FLIRing for meth labs.
Seriously, though, big [+] for this one. Wicked cool idea.-- Alterother, Apr 07 2012 And if you can't get all of Earth Wind and Fire, at least hire the horn section.-- Cedar Park, Apr 09 2012 [+] Not that I like the idea, but I like to see ideas that have a lot of pastry.-- pashute, Jul 26 2012 Check out the link -- an algorithm that finds face like geographical features, pretty cool.-- theircompetitor, May 30 2013 random, halfbakery