Just when you think you know everything and you’ve seen it all, the world turns up more unusual and interesting things. Heck, one of the things on this list was brand new to the world, or at least brand new to people, within the last year!
So, it’s a good reminder to not take life for granted. There’s always a good excuse to get out into the world and see it for yourself. You never know, you could turn up something nobody has ever seen before — or at least see something old from a fresh, new angle .
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1. This Irish fisherman reeled in a pretty incredible catch: the rack from a 10,000-year-old Irish Elk.
One of the largest deer species known to have existed, Irish Elk could boast antlers up to 12 feet wide.
2. This beautiful, deep scarlet mineral is called rhodochrosite, and it has rings like a tree because it formed as a stalactite.
Which is not an invitation to go around knocking down stalactites — many countries protect them as natural heritage objects.
3. Before and after an earthquake struck Hokkaido, Japan, triggering a series of landslides.
We’re used to seeing pictures of buildings reduced to rubble by quakes, but seldom do we see the toll they can take on the landscape.
4. Here’s a graphic depiction of just how much text you’re scrolling past when you blindly accept the Terms & Conditions for some social media platforms.
Really, is it any surprise the vast majority of us just hit “accept” and hope for the best?
5. It’s estimated that Lithuania’s famous Hill of Crosses is home to more than 100,000 crucifixes and other religious icons.
Nobody knows for sure when people started planting crosses on this hill, but they still do — and Jewish and Muslim pilgrims have been known to make their own additions to the sacred hill, too.
6. In Maastricht, a 700-year-old cathedral went through a number of transformations throughout its history, and is now home to a gorgeous bookstore.
Since Napoleon invaded in 1794, forcing out its original Dominican inhabitants, it has been a parish, a warehouse, an archive, and a storage shed for bicycles.
7. Have you ever seen a giraffe surrounded by snow?
A rare snowfall in South Africa made for an unusual scene — and one that is highly unlikely to last once temperatures return to normal.
8. That green field in the foreground isn’t grass — it’s algae.
This is the Little Venice canal in London, and I have to think that the algae isn’t representative of the actual Venice.
9. At the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina, Saudi Arabia, massive umbrellas can be opened to protect pilgrims from the scorching sun.
And, one has to assume, for the rare occasion when it rains.
10. These photos of the San Francisco skyline were taken 108 years apart.
Although it’s not surprising to see all the buildings that have sprung up in the city’s core, it’s interesting to see that the green space has been preserved, and even upgraded, but many fewer people seem to be using it.
11. There is a mailbox on this wall along the River Thames.
Mystified people out for a paddle spotted it, and obviously it’s not a working mailbox, but nobody has come forward so far to claim responsibility for putting it there.
12. These string beans turn an amazing array of colors, finishing a striking purple.
You too can grow these magical beans, fittingly called Royalty Purple beans. When cooked, they turn a more familiar green.
13. These stamps come in 50 million and 50,000 denominations.
They were issued in Germany during a period of hyperinflation, which required some unusual and downright ridiculous denominations for money and stamps alike.
14. Canadian firefighters, on the left, meet up with American firefighters, on the right, before tackling the Horns Mountain Fire in Washington State.
The fire crossed into British Columbia in late August 2018, and firefighters from both countries have battled to contain it.
15. While out on a Lake Superior beach in 2017, Erik Rintamaki of Michigan discovered that some of the rocks on the beach glowed.
He took his discovery to a local university, where the geologists told him he’d found something entirely new, which he calls “Yooperlites.”
16. These records are both 47 years old, but only one has had its color degrade.
And it’s not from excessive playing. It’s not known why the one on the right looks so different, but the same effect has been seen in other records released by TMOQ between 1970 and 1974.
