What good is a photograph if it doesn’t teach you anything? Well, realistically, it might be a really pretty pic. But if you’re looking for a little more than just visuals, and want to look at things that’ll pique your curiosity, you’ve certainly come to the right place.
Strong side shades.
This pair of sunglasses features a different shadow for each lens. It isn’t a random occurrence, either — when each eye has a dramatically different prescription, details like this will become apparent.
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How times have changed.
Anyone is going to recognize the thing on the right as a typical banana. But the fruit on the left is closer to the OG banana, with hard seeds throughout. After decades of selective breeding, modern bananas barely resemble their ancestors.
Harlem Globetrotters’ game balls must be something else.
I could never achieve this, because I can’t spin a basketball on my finger to save my life. But if I could, and if I did it for a long time, the finger divots would look like this.
Octo-octo-octopus.
Everyone knows that the octopus gets its name because of its eight tentacles. But what do you call this octopus that has 96 tentacles? Nintetysixtopus just doesn’t have the same ring to it.
Subtle changes.
U.S. currency feels like it hasn’t ever changed, but it’s actually constantly getting minor tweaks. The $5 bill from 1950, seen above, was printed before “In God We Trust” was made a part of all U.S. currency.
Petrified crab.
This crab claw was once crab-colored, but it’s undergone opalisation. This is the same process that turns regular wood into petrified wood. As you can see, it’s created a unique color palette.
Am I a joke to you?
Elephants are somewhat goofy looking with their long trunks, but they still maintain a sort of dignity. Their extinct ancestor, the platybelodon, just couldn’t help but look dumb.
Books for days.
This photo of the old Cincinnati Library, which was built in 1874 and demolished in 1955, shows why old libraries are often referred to as “the stacks.” Each wall here has thousands of books.
The highest garbage dump in the world.
By now, it’s well understood that Mount Everest is covered with garbage. But it isn’t until you see a pic — one where the ground is barely visible for all the trash — that the problem comes into focus.
A true hybrid.
This bird is hard to place. Is it some kind of bird of prey, or is it a colorful parrot? As it turns out, it’s kind of both. This is the kea, the only mountain-dwelling parrot in the world.
What, you don’t have one?
If you know your airplanes, you’ll probably recognize this as the nose cone from a Concorde — the fastest passenger jet in history. Apparently, this photo is of a random garage in Kansas City.
Throwback to the past.
Yes, that’s a Blockbuster billboard in the 2020s. Turns out this can be found in Bend, Oregon, where the last remaining Blockbuster Video can be found. It’s an independent shop at this point, but it retains that Blockbuster aura.
Class can begin.
This Belgian zoo has seen an unexpected friendship blossoming on its premises. A family of orangutans and a family of otters have decided to make nice and can be seen hanging out together.
Once in a million years.
Someone figured out that May 5, 2020 can be displayed by simply holding a mirror up to “2020.” I don’t know what can be done with this knowledge, but it’s an interesting quirk.
Winter on the Great Lakes.
Lake effect weather can cause some pretty nasty winter storms. People who live in the Great Lakes region — like the occupants of this house on the Lake Erie shore — understand this well.
Blending in.
This military backpack would presumably be pretty undetectable in a woodland setting. But it doesn’t need to be out in the woods to hide a chameleon who has the ability to change its pattern.
Salt bae.
This scene in Garmsar, Iran shows the region’s massive natural salt deposits. When I picture a salt mine, I picture a small space — not this stadium-sized hole in the ground.
Art reflects life.
In 2015, a species of frog was discovered that resembles a certain Muppet friend, Kermit. This species of frog has the coolest name ever, Diane’s bare-hearted glass frog, but is also called the Kermit frog because of the similar appearance.
Some serious wheels.
This here is a fully-restored 1958 Golden Sahara II, dressed to the nines in neothane glow-tires produced by Goodyear. Apparently Goodyear created these tires in the ’60s, and had a large campaign promoting them, but they never really took off. That’s really a shame. These are cool as hell.
Modern luxuries.
This is the interior of a passenger plane circa 1930. I never want to hear anyone complaining about modern planes and flights ever again.
Nature taking its toll.
This user had been documenting the natural decay of this abandoned church since 2012. Seeing the difference between 2019 and 2020 is weird. That looks less like nature and more like someone else coming through and tearing half the place up.
The fanciest cat in town.
This is a Norwegian Forest Cat, cats that lived in the wild forests of Norway until just before World War Two when their domestication was first sought. While this one looks sleek, mostly they end up super wide due to fur thickness, so you’re either getting a super model or a bowling ball.
A crown of clouds.
This is the island of LÃtla DÃmun in the Faroe Islands of Denmark. It often has one singular cloud resting on top of it. While no one lives there, it is a very important bird breeding site!
Making a molehill out of a mountain.
The Kailasa Temple in India was carved out of one, giant, singular rock. Just thinking about that while looking at this gives me anxiety. Imagine the mess one small, small mistake could have made.
A different kind of canyon.
This is an ice canyon in Greenland and, if you’re like me, you didn’t even know ice canyons existed before this. It’s also amazing how peaceful and calm this looks for somewhere so cold and so potentially dangerous.
Turning back time.
On the bottom you’ll see modern-day Curetes Street in Ephesus, Greece, and on top is a reconstruction of what it might have looked like in Ancient Greece! It’s sad how often the use of bright colors is erased from Greek history. That place looked stunning in its heyday!
The most beautiful gift.
Did you know there are cherry blossoms in Germany? They were gifted to the Germans by Japan after the reunification, and planted back in 1990. Now, every April, they bloom and create these amazing street views.
All this to store water?
This is an elaborate water tower in Poland, which not only puts our water towers to shame, but also looks more like a wizard hideout than anything else.
Going gray.
These are two photos of the same bald eagle taken years apart, showing how their white head grows in, replacing juvenile brown plumage. Good to know eagles start getting white hairs when they get older, just like humans.
Like lily pads, but also not.
These are “salt islands,” or masses of salt that bunch together in the Dead Sea. Imagine getting a cut on your foot walking on one of these, yikes.
Ancient artists.
These 10,000-year-old giraffe drawings were discovered in the Sahara Desert. 10,000 years ago, the Saharah wasn’t even a desert, it was full of greenery and had lots of life, meaning seeing a giraffe out there wouldn’t have been too uncommon.
The earth at work.
These mountains show the awesome power of plate tectonics. As the massive plates are pushed together, they have the power to fold solid rock like it’s a piece of tissue paper.
Driving with a view.
There are nine islands in the mid-Atlantic near Portugal, the Azores, where hydrangeas bloom beautifully almost everywhere, leading to beautiful scenes like this!
Frozen.
The wind on the peak of Gran Sasso Mountain in Italy can get pretty vicious at times. When it’s paired with precipitation, it can get frozen in place like this.
