Context. Backstory. Additional information.
Whatever you want to call it, it sure adds a lot to our understanding of a picture. The pic itself might stand by itself — but knowing the full story makes it that much richer.
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A doodle a day.
You’re looking at a very small sample of the tiny doodles done by one bored train commuter. Starting in 1971, he doodled with felt tip pen on newspapers to help pass the time.
Full circle.
This dude looks proud, and he should. He’s standing in his favorite game shop, the place he’s frequented since he’s a kid. What makes this pic special is the fact that they’re now selling a game that he designed.
Better late than never.
Love knows no bounds. Thirty years ago, this couple lost touch with one another after their high school graduation. They were able to reconnect (Thanks, internet!) and now they’re married.
Vintage edition.
Dr. Frederick Banting can be seen here wheeling a child with diabetic keto-acidosis on a stretcher. Thanks to the work of Banting and his colleagues, insulin was derived to help save afflicted children.
A helping hand.
These two are strangers to one another. But when the young man on the right saw that the old man was nervous about getting on an escalator, he offered to help.
Sweet music.
The Redditor who posted this says this public piano was no longer functional…that is, until they arrived one day to see a non-commissioned piano repairman fixing things up out of the goodness of his heart.
Daniel Radcliffe’s a madman.
Yes, that is the full cast of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire . Turns out Daniel Radcliffe wanted to create a one-of-a-kind Christmas card, so he gathered the cast during an underwater scene and got them to pose for the pic. The antlers and noses are photoshopped, btw.
Derpy and desperate.
At first blush, it’s just a pic of an adorably derpy greyhound. But thousands of greyhounds like this need homes in the wake of Florida banning greyhound racing.
No beginning, no end.
More than two decades ago, this man’s five-year-old gave him a ring. It was just a keyring, but the gesture was meaningful. Now, even though that kid is now 27, their dad still wears the ring.
Business can be tough.
So this guy decided to buy up a warehouse full of terrible-looking hoodies at a discount. He couldn’t sell the hoodies, not even for two bucks a pop. But he was able to repurpose them into handtowels, so at least there’s that.
A special moment.
This couple is in a tough place. The husband is dealing with esophageal cancer while his wife is undergoing chemotherapy. Normally, she’s not able to visit him in hospital. But doctors allowed them to embrace in the courtyard.
Must feel good.
This older Australian man is giving blood for the last time. Because he has a rare blood type and is a frequent donor, he’s been credited with saving an incredible 2.4 million babies.
Play it again.
This western band received a request from a 97-year-old Pearl Harbor veteran. He recalled hearing San Antonio Rose as his ship left for war. That’s a pretty tough request for this band to turn down.
Heartbreaking.
Jorge Garcia is seen embracing his two U.S.-born kids. Despite living in the country for three decades, Garcia was deported by ICE. Because he arrived in the U.S. as a 10-year-old, he’s not eligible for DACA.
By the power of green lasers.
The ongoing protests in Hong Kong have captured the world’s attention. Local police have criminalized laser pointers, saying they can burn papers. Here, protesters prove the police completely wrong.
I’ll take a hot dog and some Fritos.
This 13-year-old Minneapolis boy set up a stand to raise money for his school clothes. A neighbor called the police on him. The police showed up to buy some food and help him secure a permit.
Loneliness.
This small diorama is a replica of a hoarder’s apartment, created by Miyu Kojima. Kojima’s job is to clean up after kokokushi, or lonely people who have died alone and remained undiscovered for a long time.
Be my eyes.
The woman on the right is blind. The man on the left serves as her eyes, reading her signs, letting her know what’s on sale, and describing anything of interest.
Into thin air.
This is the last known picture of snowboarder and mountaineer Marco Siffredi, who became the first person to snowboard down Mt. Everest in 2001. For his second attempt, in 2002, he wanted to try a new run, and was never seen again.
Barrier breakers.
In one of the most unlikely unions you’ll ever hear about, a Muslim woman from Pakistan married a Hindu woman from India, and they recently celebrated their first anniversary together.
Helping hands.
Charities like A Walk on Water pair experienced surfers with kids with special needs to help them catch a wave as part of their therapy, and it’s clearly a hit with this guy.
Heroes.
These two men, 65-year-old Mohamed Rafiq and 70-year-old Mohamed Iqbal Jave, are being thanked by Norway’s police for subduing a heavily armed man who had entered their mosque, intent to do harm to as many people as possible. Thanks to their bravery, scores of lives were saved.
Stylin’.
“My grandfather lost my grandmother in February,” wrote the uploader. “He decided to get out more. Here he is in Milan living his best life.”
One of a kind.
“I asked Keanu Reeves if he had ever signed one of these. He said no,” wrote the uploader. “So I present to you the only NES copy of Bill and Ted signed by Bill and Ted.”
Rite of passage.
“My lifelong friend tried to sneak a tender candid photo of me holding her new baby for the first time,” the uploader wrote. “Instead, she captured the EXACT moment her baby ripped a man-sized fart, straight on my lap.”
The power of love.
This couple, both of whom have Down syndrome, were told not to marry, but went ahead anyway. Here they are 25 years later, still together and as in love as ever.
Helpers gonna help.
These firefighters responded to a medical emergency at an apartment complex, and before they left, the decided to help someone who was moving out. “It was 103 degrees, and they were very kind,” the uploader wrote.
The kindest cut.
This girl had a head full of zip ties as part of her donation to Wigs for Kids. “She’s been waiting a while and excited about helping other children with permanent hair loss,” the uploader wrote.
Warm and fuzzy thoughts.
“My sweet 91-year-old grandma makes these hats, scarves, and slippers by hand and donates them to her local hospital and church,” wrote the uploader.
Selfie time.
Rep. Janelle Bynum, an Oregon state legislator, was out canvassing when someone called the police on her. An officer from the sheriff’s office arrived at the scene and took the opportunity to pose with her.
Going all out.
With Northern White Rhinos in serious danger of extinction, with only two females and no males left, these scientists are still trying to save the species. This is the look as they successfully harvested 10 eggs from the females, which they hope to fertilize with frozen sperm taken from the last male before he died.
Fire+water.
The effects of fires in the Amazon rainforest are being felt in urban areas. This is some of the rainwater collected in São Paulo, Brazil. Smoke has made the water pitch-black.
Midnight in the afternoon.
These are the skies that produced that inky black rain water — and it’s not the middle of the night. Smoke from those fires in the Amazon made it seem like the middle of the night at 3:00 in the afternoon.
An attentive audience.
These pooches in theater seats are all service dogs training to be good audience members if and when their future owners attend the theater with them. They were treated to a performance of Billy Elliot at the Stratford Festival in Ontario.
The whole fam.
Yes, this is just one family, the extended family of 104-year-old Holocaust survivor Shoshana Ovitz, who requested that all her children, grandchildren, and descendants get together at the Western Wall in Jerusalem for a picture.
