Sometimes, you look at a picture, and may think something along the lines of, “wow, that’s cool.” And then you’ll go on with your day like it never happened. But have you ever wondered what makes those pictures so special?
Sure, you can take a lot of things you see on the internet at face value. But some pictures, like the ones here, have really cool backstories that make them even better (yes, it’s possible).
“Staying in a rented house on vacation with a lot of antiques, I noticed the light/pale green color of some of the glassware and grabbed my big UV light. It’s a cabinet full of uranium glass!”
So, the Reddit user who posted this ended up finding glow in the dark glass. Cool right?
The name doesn’t lie, either. Uranium glass has some uranium in it , which is what allows it to glow. I’d be creeped out but amazed at the same time if I saw these for real.
“The place where Julius Caesar was murdered is now a sanctuary for cats.”
You know the story. Some 2000 years ago, Julius Caesar ruled Rome, got killed during the Ides of March, etc. etc.. Well, this is the place where it all went down, right in the heart of the city. Nowadays, it’s another tourist destination in Italy, but this one happens to be filled with cats!
“The Kiss of Death is a marble sculpture made in 1930 and was found in Poblenou Cemetery in Barcelona. It depicts death, in the form of a winged skeleton, planting a kiss on the forehead of a young man.”
Sculptures often tell stories of the people depicted in them. This one’s story is pretty clear — considering it’s called the Kiss of Death and all. As ominous as it is, it’s beautiful in a really haunting way.
Located at the grave of Josep Llaudet Soler in Barcelona, Spain, it’s a 20th century creation nestled in an 18th Century cemetery.
“This Portuguese Street Art Created From Trash.”
The best art makes you think (yes, even if the art is funny). This street art, created by Portuguese artist Boraldo II uses trash to depict animals.
The intent is pretty clear; pollution is harmful to the environment. The art itself is great, but the fact that he has so much access to trash is alarming.
“I make drawings using the letters and numbers from old / unwanted typewriters.”
It’s hard to believe that this artwork was drawn using a typewriter! But UK artist James Cook does this for a living, recreating scenery and portraits using nothing but the letter and number keys on different typewriters he’s collected over the years.
Considering I can’t even type a sentence without having to use the backspace at least 4 times, I’m impressed.
“This abandoned ship sits on the side of a major highway in Ontario.”
If you ever find yourself north of the border (specifically, near Niagara Falls, Ontario), you may find this abandoned ship on the side of the QEW highway.
This ship wasn’t actually used for travel, though. It’s a replica of the ship Jaques Cartier used to come to Canada from France back in the 1500s, made in the ’60s. Still really cool, though.
“A cement truck crashed near Winganon. Oklahoma in the 1950s and the mixer was too heavy to move. It’s still there; locals have painted it to look like an abandoned NASA capsule.”
The funny thing about this Oklahoma roadside attraction is that no one really knows when it got there. The best guess, though, is sometime between the 1950s and the 1970s . Apparently, it’s had numerous paint jobs from locals, but nowadays it looks like part of a NASA spaceship, which makes it a must-see for people passing through.
“5 min from my house, son and I stumbled across the anchor from the freighter Nordmeer, which ran aground in Thunder Bay… now a wedding gift and driveway decoration.”
There’s so much more to the story, as Redditor A2mm points out: “The sign he’s reading details that the Nordmeer ran aground in Thunder Bay in the 60s, in Lake Huron near Alpena, Michigan.”
The current owner purchased the anchor from the salvage company and presented to his wife as a wedding gift and it has sat at the end of their driveway on display since.”
Don’t be fooled by the perspective; that thing’s huge!
“This Barometer/Altimeter my great grandfather used. I believe it was made in the 1920s era.”
I feel like any artifact from centuries (or just one century) ago have stories we’ll never know. People who used them for different things, who’ve lived whole lives before our own relatives were even born. It’s so cool.
This piece at least gives us a bit of a clue. It was made by Josef Rodenstock, who founded a company that specializes in ophthalmic lenses. It’s still around today !
“Been playing a game of dinosaur hide and seek in my front yard with my friend and her son.”
What may look like a random collection of toy dinosaurs in different parts of someone’s yard is a lot cuter when you know the whole story. I don’t know about you, but a game of dinosaur hide and seek sounds like a lot of fun.
“The largest Banyan tree in the World, inside the AJC Bose Botanical Garden, near Kolkata. A single tree having around 3,600 aerial roots that give the appearance of a complete forest.”
That’s a big tree! But when you look at it, it just looks like a forest filled with a bunch of different trees. It’s amazing how trees can grow and expand beyond a single space.
It looks like the gardens where this tree lives is pretty old, too, dating back to 1786 .
“Growing an apple in an apple whose seed came from the same apple.”
I don’t know why, but an apple tree sprouting from an apple seed that’s still inside of its apple is not only kind of a tongue twister, but really cool. It’s like a full-circle moment or something. Nature can really be wild.
“In what might be the oldest known “Beware of Dog” sign, is this amazingly preserved tile mosaic from Pompeii which features an image of a dog and the words “Cave Canem” which loosely translates to “caveat” (beware) and “canine” (dog).”
Since before recorded history, we’ve been hanging around with humankind’s most loyal companion. But it’s still weird to think that people had pets, even back during ancient Roman times. Looks like they had the same kinds of problems we did, though.
“Sidewalk hit by lightning.”
Wonder what kind of force could crack a piece of concrete like this? Well, there are plenty of things that could’ve done this, like heavy machinery. Or lightning, apparently. If a lightning strike can do this to a sidewalk, I don’t even want to imagine what it could do to a person…
“THIS IS EMBROIDERY. Amanda Cobbett, a British textile artist, used about 250,000 stitches of 30 colors of thread for the piece on the left.”
You mean those aren’t actual random bits of moss and tree bark? That’s way too cool! I can’t believe that anyone would have the patience and talent to put something like this together. You really have to understand how colors work in order to pull this off.
“The world’s oldest diving suit “Old Man”, manufactured in the 18th century – Finland.”
I…wonder if it worked. At the very least, it would be a convincing Halloween costume (even though I’m pretty sure they didn’t celebrate Halloween back then the way we do today). Seriously, though, why are things made in the 1700s always so creepy?
“‘We all quit’: Burger King staff leaves note to management on store sign.”
The story behind this is pretty sad. The workers at this Burger King location in Lincoln, Nebraska, all quit at once, according to Today . The working conditions weren’t good, and upper management didn’t do much to help them. Good for them for getting out, though.
“This rattlesnake was found bathing in the puddle created from a cow hoofprint.”
That rattlesnake really doesn’t give a care, does it? It found a bit of water to cool down in and took the opportunity. It doesn’t matter that the puddle was created by a random cow who just so happened to walk in that spot.
I dunno. I just think the random things that happen in nature are so interesting.
“Drove past this building that looks like a picnic basket in Ohio.”
Ah, yes, the World’s Largest Basket. Driving by it, you might be surprised to see such a sight. But for locals of the Newark, Ohio area, this isn’t only their claim to fame, but it’s one of many . Yup, there are other giant baskets around the area, too.
“A lawn grew from the bird seed I put in my bird feeder house. I cut it today after mowing my real one.”
The funny thing is, even though I know that bird seeds are seeds, it never occurred to me that they could actually grow into something. So it’s really nice that this birdhouse could be completed with a little landscaping that’s surprisingly close to home.
“Cut into a plum, found pit had exploded and crystals had formed.”
Plums are stone fruit (they have a pit, like peaches and apricots). The pit of stone fruit are apparently prone to splitting if temperatures start fluctuating and getting wonky. The crystal stuff looks cool, but I’d probably just avoid eating it.
“An obelisk found this morning in Detroit Lakes, MN.”
Since sometime in 2020, monoliths have been randomly appearing all over the world, in various States and other countries. No one knows who’s building them, or why, but they’re kind of cool in a way.
I guess this is another one of them? Who knows, though?
“I was remodeling a home a couple years back and I came across a laser light used for security. It was disguised as a wall outlet. There was a receiver on the other side of the room. The height of 1960 stealth technology.”
It’s kind of cool how technology from several decades ago can be surprisingly advanced for its time. Like the fact that someone put a laser light in an outlet as a security feature. It feels like something out of the really old James Bond movies.
“This bottle has directions in case you’ve never used a bottle before.”
Looks like an ordinary bottle, but it has an extra set of instructions that no one should need. You don’t need a PhD in order to figure out how to open a bottle. But I guess someone out there will need that extra push to get the job done.
“My dad mows around a square of grass so the bees can sit on the flowers.”
If you ever see a manicured lawn with an overgrown rectangle in the middle, this may be why. It’s nice to give the bees something to stop at, especially if you don’t have a lot of the plants that attract them in your lawn. And who doesn’t want to help the bees?
“This sunflower was ruined in a storm but it was determined to shine no matter what happened to it. Be more sunflower.”
What looks like an ordinary plant mid-growth is really a story of resilience. This little sunflower is going to come back, probably better than ever. It’s true what they say, nature always finds a way.
“Peel Regional Police Cst. Akhil Mooken just revealed this as his squad car. Find it patrolling around in Peel, Ontario, Canada.”
Imagine seeing that police cruiser roaming around your city? If you just so happen to be from Peel in Ontario, Canada, you actually might.
What a cool car. It looks more like a taxi than a police cruiser, though.
“Art that gives the illusion the wall has holes in it.”
I will always be amazed by art like this. Can you imagine how much time it must’ve take to get the colors, spacing, and shading just right to get it to look like the building is see-through? I know for a fact that I could never pull this off.
“The astronauts of Crew-2 enjoying their last day on Earth before they travel to space tomorrow to spend the next six months on the ISS.”
Seeing people sitting around on a beach isn’t a huge deal. Unless those people in question are astronauts who are going to be in outer space for the next several months.
Also, saying that this is their last day on Earth is really ominous. Good thing they’re astronauts!
“Here are my removed & genetically modified white blood cells, about to be put back in to hopefully cure my cancer! This is t-cell immunotherapy!”
I don’t think I’ve ever seen white blood cells on their own like this. I guess the name doesn’t lie.
Hopefully the procedure went well!
