While we’ve often heard that we learn something new every day, it’s sometimes easy to forget how we picked up on that knowledge.
For instance, although I was taught about the Civil Rights Movement in high school and learned in detail about the death of Emmett Till during those lessons, I had already found out about who he was after listening to Kanye West’s “Through The Wire” about a year earlier.
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I suppose that when someone makes an off-hand reference to an event, it only makes us more curious to know what they’re talking about.
But that’s far from the only surprising way the world can pique our curiosity and encourage us to learn new things. Some odd photos are just strange enough to make sure we never forget our new information…even if we want to.
Just because something looks innocent, that doesn’t mean that it always is.
This Dory nightlight might make kids a little less afraid of the dark, but that will only be because they’d rather look at a shadowy void than this.
They also might not be too keen on watching Finding Nemo anymore.
Correlation is not the same as causation, but this definitely seems like more than a coincidence.
Whether the people involved intended to be there or not, it seems as though America’s caves are full of tragic mysteries.
This spoon has a pretty unusual shape, but that’s not how it started off.
Apparently, the uploader’s grandmother has been using this same spoon to stir her coffee for 45 years and the end of it has been filed down into a straight edge as a result.
These little balls certainly look strange, but the material they’re made of isn’t usually worth noticing.
That’s because we’re looking at balls of heavily compressed lint that this person found while they were taking a dryer apart.
While it’s not unusual to see marks where birds have flown into windows, they’re rarely this detailed.
Based on the sharp definition of the wing imprints compared to the rest of the bird, it seems as though we can tell which areas hit the window the hardest.
This likely would’ve been much harder to decipher if someone hadn’t left this little hint.
But thanks to a very bored uploader, you know know how to write “Wasup Fam” in Morse Code if you’re ever so inclined.
This looks like some bizarre super turbine, but that’s more of a testament to how neatly they were placed than anything.
In fact, we’re looking at 14 different wind turbines installed in a surprisingly straight line.
I’ve heard that black bears were smaller than polar bears, but the difference is a lot more stark than I would’ve expected.
Some more experienced hikers may not be so surprised to see how close we are in size to black bears, but it’s kind of weirding me out to learn that I’m as tall as one.
If millipedes really make you uncomfortable, you probably won’t be visiting this part of Africa anytime soon.
I, for one, would probably have some difficulty taking this photo without flinching at the feeling of their little legs brushing against my hands.
No matter how Route 66 looks now, it’s probably a whole lot nicer to behold than it was in 1955.
As we can see here, that was a time when people thought nothing of throwing their garbage out the window as they drove around.
I can only imagine the cleanup efforts it took to get rid of this stuff.
This iconic image of Abraham Lincoln didn’t start off that way.
As confirmed by the Library of Congress , this was originally supposed to depict politician John C. Calhoun, but Lincoln’s head was later superimposed over his body.
Even in the 19th century, there were ways to mess around with photos.
With such a close perspective, it’s a little hard to tell what we’re even looking at.
Fortunately, the uploader let us know that although they just received new shoes, the brass fittings on them have already turned green.
Commenters suggested this patina was intentionally brought about for stylistic reasons.
Not only is this house number creative and easy to spot, but it’s more accurate than you might expect.
Obviously, it depicts the right address, but I also mean that it’s composed of five pieces of driftwood.
You wouldn’t have to work very hard to convince people that this former German fortification went through the D-Day invasion.
It’s possible that Allied forces tested it to see how much shelling it could take after it was captured.
Although it remained standing, those missing pieces may well have struck anyone perched inside during combat. It’s not as safe as it looks.
It takes a sharp eye to notice what’s difference about this dog blanket, but it’s definitely worth noticing.
If you give up, I’ll tell you that the little white dog next to the chihuahua in the middle has a little wheelchair.
And he looks pretty excited about it.
Apparently, kids throughout the world have very different tastes.
For instance, this show was supposedly entertaining for children in Lithuania, but I’d expect it to terrify kids from a lot of other places.
This orange sky may be nice to look at, but it would likely feel miserable to live with.
That’s because this area has this orange hue thanks to the wildfires that are currently ravaging parts of Australia. Of course, an ominous glow still beats being in the thick of it.
While people can do some odd things with what they hunt, this deer skeleton wasn’t placed here by any person.
Instead, it was essentially slammed into this position by an avalanche. Although we already know how deadly they can be, it’s still odd to see the aftermath of their sheer power.
This oil burn produced a scab that caused a part of this person’s tattoo to slightly flake off.
Although any run-ins we’ve had with our own dead skin does a lot to show our skin’s impermanence, it’s still weird to see that how true that is when you go deep enough and see a supposedly permanent tattoo wear away.
This dead spider manages to look even more unappealing that it did when it first gave up the ghost.
That’s because it is apparently covered in mold, which makes it seem almost alien and probably inadvisable to touch.
