What makes a pic go viral? Besides being interesting to look at, there’s no real formula that can guarantee a given pic’s virality. Really, it all comes down to the whims of people on the internet at any given time.
So we can’t tell you why these pics were so hot this past week…but hot they were.
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Mega find.
Lots of people are afraid of sharks when they’re swimming, but modern great whites and hammerheads have nothing on the prehistoric megalodon. Here’s a megalodon tooth, measuring 6.5 inches long.
Stocked up.
Opening up your barbeque for the first time after a long winter can yield some unexpected surprises. This guy found that a squirrel had been using his grill as a secret nut cache.
Precious moment.
Hummingbirds are special little creatures, beating their wings unimaginably fast as they look for sugary fuel to keep them going. With a bit of patience, this photographer was able to get one to land on their hand.
They know how to land…I think.
This looks like either a Photoshop or a tragedy about to unfold, but it’s actually neither. Kurt Braunohler hired a skywriter to write this message over Los Angeles as a gag.
A very good boy.
Irish president Michael Higgins has gone viral before for his resemblance to Bernie Sanders. These pics, showing that he basically takes his adorable dog with him everywhere he goes, have made him go viral once more.
Look at the resemblance.
This photo from 1965 or so shows a young Barack Obama on the beach with his maternal grandfather, Stanley Dunham. It’s incredible how much Dunham looks like modern-day Obama.
Five-alarm fire.
A massive blaze on San Francisco’s waterfront created a dramatic scene, with a massive pillar of smoke reaching to the sky, framed against the predawn light of the San Francisco Bay.
My OCD is satiated.
Sometimes I get stressed out by the fact that my computer cables are an absolute mess. I might not have this kind of cable perfection in my house, but at least I can look at it and dream.
Like a Disney movie.
Cherry blossoms tend to draw big crowds during the few weeks that they’re flowering. But when the crowds die down, other animals clearly enjoy the blooming as well.
Flawless.
The Getty Museum Challenge asks people to re-create famous pieces of work. Here we see Saturn Devouring His Son — one of the most WTF paintings ever — flawlessly depicted.
Aquatic murder cat.
House cats don’t like to get wet, but they can swim when they have to. I don’t know if the same is true of tigers, but judging from the look on this big cat’s face, I wouldn’t want to find out.
Hidden layers.
An excavation just outside of Verona, Italy uncovered a breathtaking mosaic floor from an old Roman villa. It’s hard to believe that something so old could be so well preserved.
So many questions.
This pic was snapped by a guy who was walking by a house that’s getting some landscaping work done on the front lawn. Judging from the statue, the occupants are some seriously cool people.
And they say the perfect fence doesn’t exist.
Fences typically are used to divide. This fence, while it can be converted into “shut your neighbors out” mode, can also accommodate the rarely seen “cross-property picnic table” mode.
Another world.
This photo shows a rugged, winterized tall ship braving the icy waters off Greenland to get an incredible photo with this beautiful blue-white iceberg in the background.
If you know, you know.
Do you watch South Park ? Do you remember the goth characters? If not, I guess this pic won’t do anything for you. But if you do, you’ll appreciate the commitment in this cosplay.
Ties the store together.
This shop in Thailand looks like a cozy little place. Of note is the fact that they’ve converted an old school cabinet TV into an aquarium, which is also used as the front counter.
Hmmm.
If the Museum of Fire sign didn’t tip you off, the massive clouds of smoke might. Does this mean that it’s business as usual for the museum or what?
Friends for life.
I love photos like this that show adorable animals as babies and then as adults. The fact that this cheetah and dog stayed best friends is just the icing on the cake.
The next small step.
So many of us watched the SpaceX launch, returning manned missions to American soil, with child-like wonder. But for the actual kids, it’s downright inspiring. This is how you build the next generation of space explorers right here.
Okay Thor, that’s a good flex.
Capturing the split second of a lightning strike on camera is a pretty cool accomplishment. Getting the kind of strike that’s so close you can feel the sizzle coming off it is on another level.
I can see the resemblance.
This is a side-by-side composite of a man and his twin brother, showing off how they’ve aged a bit differently, but still retain many similarities. Check out the hairline, for one. They’re not exactly identical, but they’re darn close.
Seeing things.
It looks like one of those high-tech holograms, but this effect was created with wire mesh. It’s an art installation by Italy’s Edoardo Trasoldi that re-creates, with eerie precision, a basilica that once stood on the site.
What lies beneath.
In Finland , a school discovered Medieval ruins underneath its gym floor. When the school was first built in the 19th century, the builders knew about some pavement from the 18th century. However, they didn’t realize that even more ruins dating back to the 14th century were below that.
Here for a good time.
A humpback whale was spotted much farther up the St. Lawrence River than ever seen before. They tend to stick to the open ocean, but this humpback ventured at least as far as Montreal, where it stopped to put on a show as it leaped out of the river.
That’s one way to do it.
The owners of this home recognized that their place needed a new coat of paint, so they decided to let their neighbors have some say in what it will look like. That’s not only creative, it’s also considerate.
Undeniably adorable.
When his nanny’s prom was canceled, this little gentleman offered to host her a party in his backyard. He thought of everything, including her favorite food and music, just to make sure she had a special night.
Public figure, public transit.
You never expect to see figures who are high and mighty in government taking the subway like everyone else, but here’s Austria’s president, Alexander Van der Bellen, getting a little cramming done on the train to work. So, he’s just like the rest of us in a couple of ways.
Spitting image.
The photo on the left shows a young girl back in 1987. The photo on the right shows that woman’s daughter at about the same age in 2020.
Not just for kindergarten.
Like so many pre-schoolers out there, Iris Scott’s chosen method of creating art is finger painting. However, her art probably doesn’t end up on very many refrigerators. Unless that’s where you want to hang her artwork after you buy it – I guess that’s your choice.
