Although we haven’t literally reached the point where, as Andy Warhol predicted, everyone achieves world fame for 15 minutes, the nature of viral photos and videos does technically make that possible.
Not only could the most unexpected things make potentially anyone known to millions of people, but that fame can often be fleeting and contingent one one specific thing they did.
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To use an old example, there are likely a lot of people in this world who would stare blankly if you said the name Tay Zonday, but whose eyes would flash with recognition if you instead called him “the Chocolate Rain guy.”
So while we may never know the people behind these suddenly popular photos, they definitely stuck in people’s minds for a reason.
Here we see a night-time photo of both South Korea and North Korea.
Even if their names didn’t make it obvious which is which, the common understanding of South Korea as a technological innovator versus North Korea’s reputation as a nation beset with hardships fills in this image’s blanks.
The premise of this photo seems simple enough. A group of friends decided to take some photos at JC Penny.
However, the man in the front’s sweater gives away that among this group of friends are the punk band Chousand.
That, plus their embracing the awkward aesthetic of these kind of photos, is probably what made this take off.
While most people wouldn’t want to put themselves this close to an angry great white shark, it definitely makes for an engaging photo.
In this case, the lower quality of the shot actually works for it here and makes the deep sea seem even more grim and murky.
This couple recreated this photo from her 21st birthday 28 years later.
According to their child, not only does the dad not dress like this anymore, but he had to track down a wig to complete the scene.
In reality, he’s bald now.
Although Bob Ross is truly irreplaceable, the idea of Jack Black taking up his brush made a lot of people happy.
I wouldn’t get your hopes up for that happening, though. This shot was actually taken from a drawing video Tenacious D used to promote their album Post-Apocalypto .
The only context we have for this truly decadent tray of food is that it’s what they call Southern hospitality.
If I come across this, I just hope it isn’t considered an insult when I can’t finish all of it. The spirit is willing, I swear.
Somebody bought this for two dollars from a thrift shop and decided to reinvent this girl’s style.
Presumably, that hairstyle gave them the perfect inspiration to turn her into a cross between Elvira and Morticia Addams. Closing her eyes was an interesting touch, too.
When cooking is somebody’s job, it’s easy to underestimate how much they have to use their knives.
As you can see, there are only so many times you can sharpen one of these before you essentially run out of knife.
All it took for this wheel to get like this was a drive through some freezing rain.
If nothing else, at least these accidental directions should ensure that the other cars keep their distance.
Plus, we now know what Sub-Zero would bring to a drag race.
If this wasn’t done on purpose, it’s pretty amazing that these mushrooms grew on the perfect book to have them.
Naturally, there’s some debate over whether this book just happened to end up in the right conditions to grow giant mushrooms or whether this was all by design, but it looks cool nonetheless.
This wasn’t just a popular photo because everybody suddenly got every excited about eye makeup, but rather because of the nostalgia trip it induced.
For those who aren’t making the connection, this display looks like the classic question that begins every Pokémon game: Do you pick the fire, water, or grass type?
Not to worry, these aren’t real skulls, but rather charcoal bricks made to resemble them.
Apparently, Japanese artist Sekisadamu made these by grinding charcoal into a powder and mixing them with various plant-based ingredients to form a shaping putty.
This man, Michael W. Moyles, has beaten brain cancer four times and survived for 20 years battling a a disease that usually kills within nine months.
This makes him the first person to ever do this, which is impressive enough before you learn that he’s also worked in the Air Force top secret installation at Cheyenne Mountain.
Unfortunately, at last word, his cancer has returned for the fifth time and his situation is more grim than ever.
This is just a gorgeous shot of a forest in Oldenburg, Germany.
Although, it’s not hard to think that this would only be “OK” were it not for that bright, yellow tree standing out in the center.
It’s the little things, right?
This person posted a picture of the melanin returning to her skin after she burned herself.
As for how that first part happened, the lesson here is to never do any hot glue gun projects with bare legs.
She doesn’t consider it her finest hour.
“I gave the local homeless musician, who was borrowing guitars to busk on the street, my old first acoustic guitar after upgrading.”
“He’s so happy now that he can play whenever he wants, and i honestly hope i made a difference in my community,” reddit user XenithSkylord wrote.
What we’re apparently supposed to notice about this photo is the model’s stretch marks.
And no, they weren’t left in the image by accident. This is apparently part of Target’s policy to use “body accurate” models for its in-store banners.
Not everything needs to be photoshopped away.
Here’s a selfie you don’t see every day.
Reddit user seamuswray shared what they called a “self portrait, oil on canvas.”
Clearly very talented!
There’s a reason why we aren’t supposed to park in front of fire hydrants.
This. This is that reason.
This dad really crushed it.
They wrote , “I’m a single dad of two daughters. My oldest daughter wanted a gross out themed birthday, so I made my first ever cake. She loved it!”
It takes serious guts to take a photo like this with a smile on your face.
But this photo also begs the question —how in the hell did they get up there?!
