20 Cool Sights That Come With A Fascinating Backstory

Most stories are written first, then given fitting photos to go alongside them. They accompany and enhance these stories, bringing to life the scenes invoked via the author's prose.

This list is full of the opposite idea, photos that, instead of complementing a story, are the story. It's time for pictures to be given the spotlight, to really have a chance to show their own!

Quite the hike.

"I work in the building with the longest hallway in America."

In case you're wondering, this is at the Boca Raton Innovation Campus in Boca Raton, Florida, and it just might be the worst 'commute' I've ever seen at a workplace!

Running laps.

"My wife at 8yo kicking grown mens’ ass at RC racing. Circa 1986. (She’s looking the other way because she’s already that far ahead on the track). Credit local newspaper, Courier Journal for the photo."

Only the original.

"Ya'll would rather starve than eat plant based meat. The winter snowstorm of 2022 - Nashville TN."

I understand people have their standards, but even if you're not vegan, the beyond meat products are pretty good! Now is not a time for pride, it's time for survival!

A bountiful gift.

"Japanese government sends individuals quarantining at home free care packages! Shown is for 1 person (me) in Tokyo."

Wow! This is a wild amount of stuff for one person. The comments said this definitely varies depending on the region you're in, but still, this is one mighty generous region!

Wink wink nudge nudge.

"My new $23 car cell phone holder would like to bribe me with most of my money back."

I've gotten a few of these on various things I've ordered for various amounts. I won't reveal whether or not bribery has worked, but I am weak-willed and love receiving money.

"This Twinkie has been on my classroom for 10 years."

Not about this particular Twinkie, but someone in the comments shared a similar story.

"My office in grad school had a twinkie hanging from the ceiling that had been there at least 7 years. When the guy who put it up finally graduated he took it down (after a few drinks) and opened it. It smelled awful. He then snapped the Twinkie open and it smelled even worse inside, like sawdust and rotten bananas. The cream inside had the consistency of spray foam insulation. He scraped off a small bite with his teeth and immediately gagged.

Twinkies do not last forever."

A clever little pun.

"Cleaning out my papers and found this Round Tuit."

I have a wild theory that one day these will be genuine, real tender that you can exchange in stores as an IOU of sorts. It's not a good theory, but I hold it close to my heart.

High octane heist.

"Los Angeles. Thieves have recently taken on cargo trains and these are the empty packages."

Train heists were something I only ever saw in movies and never even thought to consider that they actually do happen. If they weren't, y'know, thieves, I'd admire the confidence.

Glowing talent.

After painting a portrait of author Neil Gaiman with this method, one-half of this artist duo explained the process!

"[...] @swirlgirl31415 paints with a culture of luminous bacteria with a brush on a big Petri dish. I incubate overnight and photograph in the dark. Some familiar faces and themes. We will paint Mary Shelley soon!"

The driest desert.

"Atacama desert in Chile where over 100,000 tons worth of clothes are dumped."

Images like this really leave me wondering why it has to happen at all. Why aren't there more programs in place for clothing 'trash'? Why are people happy to just dump it in another country?

Highly traveled collection.

"This dude on the construction team [I] work with at the airport collects zipper pulls he finds on the ground. There are 4 more of these cables full."

This is certainly one of the more unique collections out there, and one that's likely been years in the making!

Near-perfect replica.

"My 14-year-old daughter took a selfie and tried some photo-realism on her tablet she got for Xmas."

That's amazing! I really thought the one on the right had just been airbrushed or slightly edited, it being a full recreation is really impressive. Your daughter has some serious talent!

Today's standards.

"This house with 2 bathrooms and no useable bedrooms on a 2158sf lot just sold for $1.97M in SF."

Is it sad that, at this point, any news relating to the housing market just doesn't surprise me anymore? Like, sure, yeah, why not, of course it's that bad everywhere.

Anything and everything.

Originally written in Japanese, the caption of this video reads, "A fierce man who operates DOOM with a [rotary] phone has finally appeared. [...] 1-ctrl, 2-left, 3-right 4-top, 5-bottom, 6-space."

It may not be the most convenient way to play, but it sure is innovative!

Generations of pride.

'My auntie graduating from Cal Berkeley In 1952. My grandmother walked from Sierra Mojada, Mexico to the US. She didn’t have an education of any kind but all 7 of her daughters graduated college and most of them got advanced degrees."

"I had a Scuba Diving accident last Friday, now I look like a vampire."

"I was in Cancun last week [...] Last day I went Scuba diving. [...] I apparently did not do a good job of regulating my mask pressure (I thought I was, but clearly did not). This is very different than regulating your ear pressure which you are likely more familiar with.

"After a couple minutes on the bottom I cleared ocean water from my mask and immediately could not see anything well at all. [...] 2 days later I look like this. Pressure damage to my eyeballs makes it look like I got into a fight. No lasting damage [...]."

Facing a lot.

"Yakutat, Alaska got 6 feet of snow, collapsing roofs and prompting an emergency declaration."

This lone person and their single, tiny shovel next to that wall of snow fill me with both despair and inspiration. They are so much braver than I will ever be, but they also motivate me to be better.

A throne of lies.

"The 'Door Close' button fell off of this elevator revealing there is nothing behind it, it’s just a dummy button."

Of course, we all had a hunch this was the case. As sad as it is to behold, we must all let go of the lies our elevator panels tell us.

Self-sufficient.

"I made this closed terrarium ecosystem in a jar with moss wall. It should be able to survive sealed for a long time!"

Owning a tiny ecosystem in a jar would have me feeling too powerful. I'm in no position to become a god.

"What's with these doors?? Found in an old school."

There was a myriad of guesses in the comments about what this is and why it exists, with the best one being that this was once two stories but they took out the floor and went for a vaulted ceiling instead. I guess they just liked the pre-existing door decor?

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