I really wish I knew the story behind some of these images, especially the SUV wreck, with the man sitting at the edge of the roadway hanging his head in a pose of ultimate dejection.

On the one hand Google Street view is a testament to incredible technological power, giving us little still life glimpses of the huge world around us, but it still can't capture all the humanity of life and the many human interactions that happen every day on our planet.

It'd be nifty if these were hyperlinked to the actual Google Maps location, so we could then explore around them.

i tried to track a random one down (based on info in the shot)...looks like the exact shot was taken out, but i'd say it's confirmed real.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=89+Myrdle+Street+Whitechapel+e...

I love this. Wish you could click on the images to see the map.

I'm having a hard time believing these are all actually Google Maps shots. Would have been nice if they had included a link to the image on Maps.

#17 from the end looks like the creek near Google. I'm guessing those are some of the Google Street View people in the picture (one on scooter, one with visible badge, one mad scientist long haired type) :-).

This really is a cross-section of everyday life across the world. Amazing!

Some are kinda NSFW.

Here's a theory on why gov'ts don't like Street View; it exposes their countries' lesser sides, the ones that don't end up on postcards.