Sometimes when we make one of these lists, we like to leave you hanging by posting mysterious pics and not explaining them. But today, we’re feeling generous. Today, we’re going to explain the backstory for each and every pic.
The mysterious brain.
These images show something absolutely remarkable. On the left is a newborn with spina bifida who was born with only 2 percent of his brain. On the right is the same kid, four years later — with 80 percent of his brain.
It belongs in a museum.
It takes a second to realize what you’re looking at here. It’s an incredibly well-preserved woolly mammoth skull — complete with intact tusks — that was recently excavated in Lima Township, Michigan.
That’s not a parrot.
In fact, it’s not a bird of any kind. It’s actually a woman with expertly applied body paint. Look at the “tail” of the bird, realize it’s acturally an extended foot, and then you’ll see it.
The presidential noogie.
Barack Obama had a reputation as a pretty approachable guy, by presidential standards. This 2009 photo shows Obama obliging a little boy who wanted to know if their hair felt the same.
Part of history.
This veteran of the Korean War looks proud to hold a framed copy of Life Magazine. The cover (dated March 11, 1949) shows his platoon marching in a parade.
A sensible idea.
Japan is noteworthy for really cramming commuters into trains and buses. Unfortunately, this can lead to uncomfortable situations for women who are sexually harassed or assaulted. Designating certain cars as “Women only” is a way to makes things more comfortable.
Aww.
This poor little fawn is terrified. We know this because it’s demonstrating “flattening” behavior, which is designed to hide them in tall grass. Sometimes, they’ll do it in open areas while thinking they’re hidden.
Really ruins the clean lines.
Sony’s iconic wordmark logo has stood the test of time. Turns out the bottom loop of the ‘S’ is the perfect shape for a bird’s nest…and when this happens, the results are predictable.
The right kind of circus.
Most circuses are (finally) getting on board with the idea that keeping wild animals confined for human entertainment is cruel. This German circus utilizes holographic technology to bring elephants to the circus — just without the actual elephants.
They’re staple rich.
If you’ve ever wondered what three decades of discarded staples looks like, wonder no more. This office has collected used staples since the late 80’s, and now they’ve got a giant bin full of aluminum.
Who says only males have manes?
This looks like a couple of male lions, with one noticeably bigger than the other. But the smaller lion is actually a lioness. She’s been able to grow a mane thanks to a unique hormone imbalance.
Just try and crack my code.
This number pad mixes up the numbers each time, so no one can have their code stolen based off a predictable pattern. Let’s see you crack my 1-2-3-4 PIN number now, thieves.
Heroes.
These men look like they’re about to embark on a grim task, and they are. In fact, it’s an unprecedented task. Alexei Ananenko, Valeri Bezpalov and Boris Baranov are bravely going into Chernobyl’s nuclear reactor to make things safe.
It’s an emotional time.
Sure, childbirth is a difficult experience for moms to go through. But dads sometimes have it rough as well. Sometimes, they straight-up miss the birth of their child because they’ve passed out from the stress.
Artistic sky.
This sky looks vaguely inspired by Van Gogh, but it’s just a natural — though somewhat rare — phenomenon. These freaky looking clouds are known as undulatus asperatus clouds.
A unique grad photo.
This photo tells a poignant story. A recent grad poses with her immigrant parents, standing in the fruit fields where they worked. Thanks to their labor, she was able to graduate from college.
That’s not an anime character.
You’d be forgiven for thinking this was some stylized art, though. It shows a swimmer, juuust before they break the water’s surface. For a split second, surface tension causes the water to cling to them like this.
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Is that what I think it is?
This century-old nursing kit has everything an early 20th century nurse might need, including…uh, syringes and cocaine tablets. It’s fair to say that things have changed a little bit since those days.
Smooth operator.
This person snapped a tendon in their thumb when they were an infant, so they’ve never been able to bend it. Bending your fingers is what creates the wrinkles on your joints, so this person has smooth skin on their thumb.
A good day to stay instead.
This is a photo of Western Texas when it started raining over a dust cloud. It turns out that when that happens, it starts raining mud. I’d be trying to get my car into my garage as quick as possible.
Tanning problems.
“I didn’t remove a temporary tattoo before going to Hawaii and now I’m left with an untanned square on my arm :(,” wrote the Redditor who posted this.
🙁 indeed…
My, what heavy wool you have.
This is a photo of Chris the sheep, who wandered away from his flock and was lost in the wild for five years. Since we’ve bred domestic sheep to grow as much wool as possible, with nobody to shear him, Chris grew 88lbs of wool before he was eventually found and shorn.
No more feeling sorry for the dogs left outside.
These dog houses have air conditioning and heating, so you no longer have to leave your poor pup out in extreme weather while you run inside. It only costs thirty cents a minute to leave your dog in one of these temporary houses .
Why aren’t these everywhere?
Underwater bathroom?
This bathroom is bathed in blue light not for stylistic reasons, but for potentially life-saving reasons. Under this light, a user of needle drugs cannot find their veins and may decide against shooting up.
Follow4Follow? Like4Like?
Do you ever see social media accounts with a crazy big following, or a post with way too many likes and it doesn’t make sense? It could be the result of a situation like this, which is a social media click farm. These people are paid to follow, like, retweet, and comment on social media accounts and posts from different phones.
Not as brave as she looks.
If you’re remembering the jellyfish scene from Finding Nemo and flinching, you’re not alone, but don’t worry — these jellyfish are isolated and have lost their ability to sting, so this snorkeler isn’t at risk for anything more than a gross feeling.
It’s not a glitch or photoshop.
This person’s fingers are all double jointed, so he can hold onto cans (and everything else) with the back of his hand. A very cool party trick, but I don’t really want to be at the party this guy is at.
I couldn’t look at myself after doing this.
This person left their mirror in front of a window when they left for work, and it reflected the sun in what could have been a very dangerous way.
This is not a bath bomb.
The water in this sink looks hot pink due to a chemical leak. It’s likely potassium permanganate, which is relatively harmless, although it can cause irritation and some staining of skin.
