h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

@ Orcus

The Giants of Jazz in Sydney, 1973: Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Art Blakey, Sonny Stitt, Kai Winding and Al McKibbon...

Oh and when I was at junior school living in Windsor back in the early 70s. Concorde used to fly over every afternoon and hit the sound barrier. we never tired of running out and looking at it.
Except for Tuesdays because we were all watching Spiderman

A lunar eclipse at Arbor Low.

It was made even cooler by the fact it had been so cloudy we didn't think we gonna see anything at all, but at the appointed time, the clouds cleared and gave us really good view.

+1 Orcus

You lab types always get to play with cooler stuff than us engineers

Coolest military thing I saw was a Type 21 Frigate go from about 8 kts to full speed - in it's own length!! The helicopter pad disappeared under a huge plume of spray as she just picked up her skirts and sprinted. Awesome.

The temple of Apollo in the Ionian city of Didyma Turkey

Frank Sinatra, Liza Minnelli, and Sammy Davis Jr playing at Lansdowne Road.

Playing rugby?

Quite cheesy, but my wife actually turning up on our wedding day. Right up until she said her vows I was nervous that she'd change her mind.

Several thousand students (of which I was one) on an anti-racism march in London in the 90s, all people passionate about what they were marching for, and educated about the problem rather than just quoting sound bites.

My dog giving birth when I was a kid, I'd never seen anything like it, and while I was initially grossed out (I was very young) it was incredibly cool and interesting.

And of course, my reflection in a mirror

Were you initially grossed out by that too?

My son when he was born. I would say the birth of my daughter too, but about two hours before she was born my wife ripped my glasses off my face and threw them across the room for some reason, shattering the lenses. I couldn’t see much after that…

A hovercraft threading the Needles

Standing on a hill beside Hadrian’s Wall in the Northumberland National Park and looking back as far as the horizon, seeing the Wall snake across hill after hill after hill as far as the eye could see, and knowing I’d followed each and every curve of the wall, and walked up every one of those hills.

A sea Harrier hovering close in front of me over Southampton Water as part of the Sea Wings 2000 air display, creating a giant air bubble.

Alum Bay on a sunny day, with the 21 different colours of sand.

<BB<

Manhattan frozen solid at the end of "The Day After Tomorrow."

The Boston skyline as seen through a telescope from the top of Mount Wachusett fifty miles to the West.

Pictures of the Earth as seen from space .

Scenes from "After Hours" and "Atonement" that swiveled around 360 degrees in one take. I left the theaters feeling a bit dizzy but awed.

The camera panning in toward a meadow where Julie Andrews/Maria Von Trapp is about to sing [accompanied by a large but invisible orchestra ] in "The Sound of Music."

Buttercups. Any buttercups any time I've seen them. They seem almost magical. Ladybugs on a February or March day when they gather on the inside of the windows.

Frogs. Any frogs anywhere, anytime. I can't resist the urge to see if there are frogs in any stream or body of water that I find. if the frogs are hopping around in my Father's garden [as they often do in the summer], that's good, too. Toads are not quite as cool, but I respect them and feel hope for the future if they're around.

The view of the Charles River in my neighborhood, facing downstream. I almost expect to see Alice and the White Rabbit having a picnic on the grass across the river. Or Mole, Badger, and Mr. Toad plotting some silly action. Many years ago I saw a CD-ROM about Shakespeare, and the *one* thing I remember about it was scenes in which people rowed boats up and down the Avon River.

The Mississippi River. I only ever saw it once in person, but I love pictures of it. I enjoyed M<ark twain's "Life on the Mississippi" immensely.

Gnomon... yes. Then and every time

Not sure if it's coolest but one of the some of the most beautiful sights I've seen have been seen on my still-newish found hobby of long distance cycling.

Highlights include last weekend where I saw two chalk horses on the hills in the South Downs in Wiltshire, the beautiful Forest of Dean and the valleys of the Brecon Beacons but most outstanding of all was the scenery in Ceredigion Wales last year when I rode a solo ride from Chepstow-Abergavenny-Brecon - Llanwyrtyd Wells - Tregaron - Rhayader - Hay on Wye - Montmouth - Chepstow.
The real highlights were between Llanwyrtyd Wells - Tregaron - Rhayder where I rode through some utterly deserted (apart from me) wild landscape including the stunning Elan Valley and the Rhayader Mountain road. Without taking up cycling I'd never have seen these places and in a rather strange twist of fate I'd never drive them either as it would be 'too far'

>>>>>Coolest military thing I saw was a Type 21 Frigate go from about 8 kts to full speed - in it's own length!! The helicopter pad disappeared under a huge plume of spray as she just picked up her skirts and sprinted. Awesome.<<<<<

It's even cooler when you're stood under the helicopter pad at the back of the ship when she does that... (Type 22 in my case)...
Not cool, but the funniest thing I've ever seen is when the same ship goes from full speed to all stop in the same length... Had a sadistic skipper who used to do that on family's day, with loads of civilians onboard to admire the show... Those of us who knew what was coming slowly backed up, out of the way, but when she stopped, that huge roostertail suddenly catches up with the ship and everyone on fantail gets totally soaked.

Probably the coolest military think I've seen is the end of a display by a Harrier at an air show, when it slowly flew along the runway at walking speed, turned to the audience and bowed.

It's cool to land safely at an airport when you've been aloft for five or six [or more] hours. I never lose the feeling that being so high in the air for so long is somehow unnatural. It's wonderful to be on solid earth again!