People say a picture is worth a thousand words, but sometimes there’s an even bigger history behind a picture that can only be uncovered with some context.
At face value, the pictures in this list may not be the first ones you would choose to go on your desktop background, but they are just as impactful.
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1. Dirty glass? Scene out of Hitchcock’s Birds? A storm of locusts?
You might be surprised to find out that this is a closeup of a shattered window. How does it shatter so small?
2. “My friend’s new locker has a huge pipe running through it,” wrote Time2DoStuffCiaran.
I just want to know who in the past just kept this locker and didn’t complain? It clearly takes up like 30% of the locker.
3. “The surprisingly high-quality reflection of Michael Scott in my boyfriend’s watch,” wrote Snbridenbaugh.
4. “Photographer caught me watching/filming my dad and sister in their father daughter dance,” wrote SoDakZak.
What a touching moment to share with the rest of the world. Hell, I cry that much at any wedding I go to.
5. “Managed to take a picture of a blue jay right before it bit me,” wrote BLlMP.
6. This isn’t any ole bottle cap. Can you figure out what it’s telling you?
“This bottle cap has coordinates to a campsite,” wrote Gr33ny. A close campsite, though? I ain’t walking 22 miles.
7. You may be wondering why the people on that boat aren’t reacting to the sudden drop-off of water next to them.
“Camera malfunctioned as we motored away from the dock,” wrote Twin_Keel. OK, feeling better about this now.
8. “I accidentally took a photo of the inside of my cats eyeball,” wrote Mrs_New_Vegas.
In case you’re wondering how this is the inside of the cat’s eye, you’re seeing the back of the eye, the retina.
9. Now this is ingenuity in its finest form, right here.
This home was completely protected from the rising flood waters using an Aqua Dam system that actually uses the flood waters to create a dam.
10. “This elevator has a call button 30 ft away so the doors will be open by the time you get to them,” wrote lukeallen1.
I have to say, this is appreciated, but I feel like drunk people would be clueless.
11. This, at first, is horrifying — and I’m not gonna lie, it continues to be horrifying when you find out what it is.
“Molding Cast of Ronald McDonald looks kinda like a torture device,” wrote beanie2411.
12. At first, you may think these colorful drops are just from water paints, but it’s actually the natural parting of water drops over an oil stain in a parking lot.
Why are they all different colors?!
13. It took me a while to figure out what this was because of this rare angle, but then it hit me.
It’s an overhead view of an intricately beautiful honeycomb.
14. If you were walking around outside and noticed a disk like this under some grass, you might not think much of it.
“This disk, hidden beneath dirt and grass along the side of a highway, marks the exact northwestern corner of Texas,” wrote MaelstromTX.
15. Not gonna lie, I thought this table was broken until I realized that it’s really a wheelchair-accessible picnic table.
Everyone should be able to go enjoy themselves at a campsite, right? So cool.
16. “Every time I see news coverage of a protest I remember this image of a single overturned trashcan in front of The Washington Post building,” wrote GallowBamboozle.
The guy on the right side of this photo realizes that this is less than newsworthy.
17. The moment right after giving birth when a mother laughs hysterically at her husband, who just fainted at the sight of their newborn son.
Even more proof that us fathers are only half as tough as the mothers of our children.
18. “Thunderstorm made for some weird looking hail,” wrote Maitulsa. That, um, doesn’t look right, does it?
19. You may not have realized it at first glance, but this World War II veteran took a knee to join those protesting in the NFL.
“Those kids have every right to protest,” he said .
20. “My apartment complex put their pool chairs underwater for Irma,” wrote moarcores. Such a good idea.
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21. “The inside of my lemon has lots of strangely placed compartments,” wrote emynnmuil.
There’s something fascinating but mildly horrifying about the organization of those little pockets. Definitely wouldn’t eat this out of irrational concern.
22. This mystical piece of driftwood that looks like a really chill dragon.
Preserve it and turn this bad boy into a necklace! It also reminds me of the GoT premiere that’s about to go down.
23. The mountainous landscape on the back of this RV blends in perfectly with the actual mountains in the background.
The tree almost lines up perfectly on the right, too! This is even more amazing because this was taken while moving.
24. I’ll give you a second to figure out what is stunning about this image. Yes, the duck is great and all, but that beak!
If you look closely, you’ll notice that this duck’s beak has a wolf’s face on it. Look at the eyes.
25. The whirlpool in this stream created a perfect foam wheel!
This is frightening. I actually might confuse this thing for an inner tube and jump in if I were there.
26. Now that’s a big booty.
This person found a gigantic cheddar puff in their bag of Pirate’s Booty and I’m jealous as hell. Actually, I would prefer if they all came that big.
27. Believe it or not, this image is not photoshopped at all.
The paint was added to select parts of the walls so it would look like you are staring into a colorful portal when lined up the right way.
28. “Frog left his tracks behind on a dewy windshield this morning,” wrote harroldbenjamin.
To be honest, it looks like this frog was pole vaulting across this car’s windshield. You can’t plan this stuff, people.
29. Sometimes, perfect timing goes a long way in making a photo go viral. Take this shot, for example.
“My sister looks like a female Centaur,” wrote Penguinjetski. Kinda wondering where the dog’s head is.
30. I could probably look at this cat for hours. It’s stunning, isn’t it?!
The two-shaded eyes result from a genetic condition known as partial heterochromia. Complete heterochromia is characterized by one full eye being different in color than the other.
31. “Every time I mow the lawn….” wrote joey_r00 on Reddit.
32. This water is so clear in Sweden that Reddit user Suborb had to check for evidence that there was even water.
33. This man posted a before and after shot of his physical progress after ditching alcohol.
“One year of no alcohol has changed my life. I lost 53 pounds and I’m 1000 times happier. I tried to recreate my bloated pic,” wrote Klamsykrawl.
34. This touching picture of a couple kissing was found floating in the ocean.
It’s quite possible that this picture fell into the water right after this moment, in a way preserving it forever.
35. This genius discovered that a condom fits perfectly inside an old Game Boy game case.
I’m tellin’ ya, when a girl sees you crack open this game case and remove a condom, she will be more than impressed.
36. I think most of us had no idea what a baby flamingo looked like until this adorable picture emerged online.
It looks like the flamingo peeking from behind the pillow is surprised also.
37. How perfect is this shot?! Please nobody photoshop a face onto this berry…
This mulberry fell in the exact perfect location to be impaled by a blade of grass. Why does this make me a little sad?
38. An artist made this tree striped simply by pulling off sections of moss from it.
Lookin’ for that Cheshire Cat in the branches somewhere. I wonder how often you truly need to do this to keep the effect. So cool!
39. Can I be this guy? Please. To be clear, this picture was taken on the highway.
He’s literally doing everything wrong here. I’m guessing he’s tired of hearing people honk at him with those yellow headphones.
40. This absolutely stunning double-hearted rose that Reddit user katrinaelle captured.
Reminds me of Alice in Wonderland. You can kind of make out a face if you look hard enough. Look at that lavender!
