A picture can say a lot on its own, but sometimes you need a bit of context to understand it even more.
These pictures have some pretty intense backstories . They may be sad, or uplifting, but they all have at least one thing in common. And that thing is how much they’ll make you think. You’ll definitely want to stay tuned and see for yourself.
“Pakistan breaks a World Record by planting 50,000 Trees in one minute.”
When you see a picture like this, you can’t help but wonder what all these people are doing. But what they’re doing just so happens to be something amazing, something worth marveling at. Planting 50 thousand trees in one minute is impressive to say the least.
“There used to be a field of wheat in the heart of Manhattan.”
Pictures like this just go to show you how different the world is today than it was a few decades ago. Manhattan has taller buildings and a lot less green space than it once did. Who would’ve even thought it had wheat fields?
“Just found an old roll of biodegradable poop bags, they really do disintegrate like advertised.”
It’s really good to see something that makes nice on its name. It’s important to dispose of pet droppings, but plastic is also bad. At least we know these biodegradable bags actually work really well.
“This rock collection from my mother-in-law’s basement has a uranium sample. Measured it at work: .2 mrem/hr.”
This rock collection is powerful. Literally. Uranium is a radioactive material, and probably shouldn’t be in a random rock collection. And yet, it’s kind of cool that it exists in there, too. I wonder how the person who collected it got it in the first place.
“My view before flying into a storm front last night at sunset.”
Pictures like this show both the power of nature, and the fact that storms are actually really small when you think about it. Rain doesn’t fall all over the world at once. Clouds move. This picture illustrates that perfectly.
“I took the plastic wrapper off the family TV remote, this was my mother’s response the next day.”
Sometimes, the power of an image doesn’t come from someplace inspirational, or important. Sometimes it just shows the principle of the matter. This person’s mom has rules, and those rules better be followed. Or else things like this will happen.
“Allyson Felix, USA’s most decorated track and field athlete in Olympics history with her daughter.”
I always wonder how the kids of famous people feel. Celebrities, musicians, athletes, they have kids. Do those kids, like, know that their parents have such huge impacts on society and culture? Like, do they really know?
“Too many new developments in Houston TX, suburbs.”
The upside of urban development is more housing for growing populations. The downside, you lose out on a lot of natural spaces. And a lot of farms, too.
It looks like the people here aren’t super excited about losing all the farms in the area.
“New Yorkers watching the Seinfeld finale in Times Square, 1999.”
I think there’s something kind of powerful about people from all walks of life, coming together to watch a series finale. And it’s even cooler here because it’s the ’90s, and technology isn’t even that good yet. They really muscled through that. Together.
“Railing in Naples has braille describing the view for blind people.”
At first glance, this railing looks like it has water droplets on it. But when you realize it’s braille, it makes the picture even better. We need more things like this in the world. It doesn’t take a lot of effort to make public spaces more accessible.
“Took over a month to finish this pencil drawing. I’m pretty excited to see daylight again.”
There’s a lot to marvel about this picture. For starters, that tiger drawing was done entirely with pencil, which is impressive in itself. But it also took more than a month to complete, which shows how devoted the artist was. Well done!
“This is Mill Ends Park in Portland, Oregon and is the smallest park in the world according to the Guinness Book.”
There’s something about this park that’s so inspiring, despite the fact that it’s literally just that tiny tree along a road. Maybe because it reminds us that something small can still be powerful? I don’t know, but I love it.
“I just really want to show off how well my surgeon did realigning my tattoo. Incision goes all the way through the bottom spiral.”
It’s amazing how, despite the fact that this person had an incision along their tattoo, you can barely even see it! Surgeons are incredible; you have to have some super steady hands to do that.
“We couldn’t see each other for her 100th birthday but today my Oma turned 101!!”
The past year has been tough on a lot of us, but I can only imagine how difficult it must’ve been to be in a retirement home, isolated from your family.
Good to see that this woman got to celebrate 101 with her family. Here’s to 102!
“I proposed to my girlfriend on top of Mauna Kea!”
I think most of us dream of being proposed to (or proposing) at the nicest possible place. And this location definitely takes the cake. I imagine she said yes, and not just because the proposal happened behind the most inspiring view ever.
“I was diagnosed with prenatal depression. Today we took the first photograph of pregnant me.”
Pregnancy is a difficult time. For most, it’s also exciting. But it has its psychological effects, too.
This picture has so much power behind it. It shows that even when facing the challenges of pregnancy, you can prevail.
“This ancient olive tree that was standing for 2500 years, was turned to ashes in Evia, Greece.”
The wildfires that devastated Greece recently have done damage to more than just people’s homes. So much nature was destroyed, too. Olive trees, which are known to live for hundreds or even thousands of years, didn’t even stand a chance.
“Amazing detail on “West Wind” by 19th-century sculptor Thomas Ridgeway Gould.”
I’ll never get over how amazing sculptures are. The fact that someone can carve a stone to look like cloth draped over a person’s leg? That’s true talent. It makes me want to go out and learn a new craft.
“In 2013, the first bone of the new biggest dinosaur was discovered in Argentina. It’s as long as 4 school buses and as tall as 10 T-Rex’s.”
If that’s the size of one bone (bigger than an adult human!) then I don’t want to see the rest of it. It would be one big dinosaur, probably too big to even move that fast. It makes me glad they’ve all died out.
“My grandma’s house (Italy) was used as a Nazi base during WWII.”
“In 1943 the Germans walked everyone up a hill and mined the whole village, except my grandma’s house. After the Nazis left, the Canadians arrived and took base in my grandmas house too. The village was rebuilt later on.”
Wow, talk about a lot of history in one house.
“My grandfather next to his LEGO collection he did during the pandemic.”
The one (sort of) good thing about the pandemic was that it allowed a bunch of people to take on new hobbies. Some people baked, others learned an instrument. This man built a bunch of LEGO trucks. And wow, do they ever look cool!
“Wife took this photo, she pointed out that the base of the antlers looks like cat paws. Can’t unsee.”
Okay, so maybe this one is a bit more silly than powerful, but it’s still kind of neat. That deer really does look like it has cat paws on his head, after all. I wonder if he knows, or even cares.
“My son wanted to play in the rain, and I took my favorite picture so far.”
Sometimes the best backstory is a simple one. This little lad wanted to play in the rain, and that’s the sole reason behind such a beautiful photo.
I wonder if the kid had as much fun out in the rain as he probably hoped.
“I saw a real life human using payphone today.”
20 years ago, 15 years ago, even 10 years ago, seeing someone make a call on a payphone wouldn’t seem that strange. Today, it’s a pretty rare occurrence. But they still exist, because people still need them from time to time.
“Got married on top of a mountain in Colorado yesterday.”
After so many months of people being apart, it’s really nice to celebrate people coming together. A wedding is a beautiful thing no matter where it’s held, but it seems especially beautiful when it happens on top of a mountain.
“30-somethings heading back to college? Finally a trend I’m ready for!”
Education is so important. No matter where you decide to learn or when you do it, the fact that you’re learning is what’s really important.
Anyone can go to college, and it’s nice to see pictures of people deciding to go back to school!
“An origami Samurai I designed and folded over 2 months, from one uncut square of paper.”
This origami samurai would be impressive enough if it were made of multiple pieces of paper. But the fact that this one is made out of a single square, folded over and over again, is just amazing. There really is not limit to what the human mind (and hands) can achieve.
“While in an airport a woman suggested we take a picture with a girl that was ‘going to be big one day’ and we rolled with it.”
I guess that woman wasn’t wrong. After all, Simone Biles has gone on to be one of the best gymnasts to ever exist!
“Shout out to all the farm dogs in the world! Port survived a wolf attack while defending the lambs!”
And Port was a good girl! Amazing, even. She did her job so well. After an injury like that, she’ll have to be retired. But at least now she can live out the rest of her days in peace with people who love her.
“My mum and I hours after she was diagnosed with stage four cancer.”
Sometimes, even when faced with death, it’s important to celebrate life. This woman didn’t let her diagnosis stop her from celebrating her kid’s first birthday. It just goes to show that you can’t take any moment for granted.
