In the 1970s, the peace artist and former Sister of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Corita Kent painted the Rainbow Mural on a gas tank in Dorchester, Massachusetts. Driving into Boston, this landmark made you smile. Since then, he Japanese have been doing their own version of gas-tank art—adding the spark of wit, transforming the otherwise Death Star–like globes into big friendly balloons. Over the past year, various international and Japanese blogs have been showing that the practice has heated up. So, if you haven’t seen them already, here are a few specimens from the Pink Tentacle, where you can see more, and to which we give thanks.

Kiryū, Gunma prefecture

Shibata, Niigata prefecture

Tomisato, Chiba prefecture

Niigata

Morioka, Iwate prefecture
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