There’s a lot to learn about this world. Some things are pretty helpful to know, while others fall under the umbrella of totally useless info. But you know what? Learning is still good, no matter how useful that info is.
And these pictures will definitely teach you some new things. What you do with that knowledge is up to you. But hey, at least you’ll have learned something.
“Thailand supermarket ditches plastic packaging for Banana leaves.”
Did you know that you could use banana leaves as food packaging? Because I didn’t (or maybe I did and forgot). Honestly, it seems like such an obvious fix for sustainability. Banana leaves are biodegradable, after all.
They’re super huge, too.
“My entire life I have lived 10 mins away from an ancient Neolithic burial ground (1000 years older than Stonehenge) and I only just found out about it.”
Yep, the UK has a lot of pretty neat old monuments and artifacts laying around. People have lived there for a long time, after all.
I’m sure you could find all sorts of random burial grounds all over the island.
“These women, as well as Alan Turing, worked as code breakers at Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire during WWII and helped break the German enigma code.”
A lot of brave men fought in WWII, but it’s important to remember the women who helped a tremendous amount, too. It’s so cool to see a team of smart women who did their part to help end the war!
“The Queen of England outlasted the commemorative tree.”
If that tree was planted in 1953, it means that it’s nearly 70 years old (68 to be exact). So Queen Elizabeth has been queen for 68 years. She outlasted this tree, which probably should’ve lived a lot longer. And honestly, I feel like she’s going to sit on that throne for a long time still.
“AT&T sent me a brand new Galaxy Note 10 out of pity for still being on 3G.”
I… didn’t know cell providers did things like that. I guess, though, people need to upgrade their devices every now and then.
Trading in your phone for the newest model every year may be overkill, but… 3G was, like, 2 Gs ago (not to mention LTE).
“My local library moved into an old grocery store.”
Fun fact: grocery stores and libraries are actually a lot alike. They both have shelves that line every wall and aisle, full of things people are there to try and find. They can both be hard to navigate, too.
Putting a library in an old grocery store? Makes total sense to me.
“My hotel used to be a prison.”
Some old prisons become condemned, abandoned places with ghost stories attached to them. Other old prisons…become hotel rooms? I definitely didn’t know this was a thing until recently, and I can’t say I’d want to stay in one.
I just don’t know. It would seem really weird.
“Dad created plasma in the basement. Apparently it is the 4th state of matter and is created under a vacuum with high voltage.”
The word plasma is itching at an old high school science class memory. It is, in fact, the fourth state of matter (alongside solids, liquids, and gases), but I didn’t know people could just make it in their basement. Weird.
“Tom Brown, retired engineer, has saved around 1,200 types of apples from extinction over 25 years.”
It’s so funny, when we go to the store to buy fruits and vegetables, we always see the same handful of varieties of any kind. There are a few more apples than anything else, though.
Still, the fact that there are hundreds, if not thousands of apple varieties? That’s just wild.
“The small Peruvian town of Santo Tomas celebrates ‘Takanakuy’ every December 25th. Men, Women, and Children settle grudges with fistfights.”
“Then everyone goes drinking together, ready to start the new year with a clean slate.”
Well, that’s one way to settle your differences. It would definitely make for a super eventful holiday party.
“Jabuticaba tree, only in Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Bolivia – the fruit grows directly on the trunk and branches and tastes like blueberry yogurt.”
That’s a pretty odd tree, I’m not going to lie. The way the berries just grow directly on it makes it look like it’s covered in bugs. But look a little closer, and it’s really just sweet, edible fruit.
Egyptian man standing atop the statue of Ramses II at Abu Simbel, 1865 (colorized), a century before the entire complex was dismantled and moved to a higher hill to make room for the Aswan High Dam.
“Before the relocation, the temple loomed over the west bank of the Nile River for 3,000 years,” rgatoNacho states.
…That’s some pretty deep history. At least the statue is still there.
“Interior and controls of my garbage truck.”
If you were ever wondering what the inside of a garbage truck looks like, look no further! It’s incredibly complicated-looking, probably just as complicated as any of us would expect.
Driving a garbage truck seems like it would be one tough job for sure.
“Local credit union celebrating Ukrainian independence from the USSR. Ukrainian Village, Chicago.”
Yep, back in 1991, the Ukraine, a USSR territory, declared its independence, and officially changed its name to Ukraine. There’s no “the” in front of its name, and there hasn’t been for three whole decades at this point.
“A cool looking butterfly hanging out in the rain.”
This butterfly looks so majestic and rare, but it’s actually called a common rose butterfly , so it’s probably not that rare after all.
To the people of South and Southeast Asia (which is its habitat), this butterfly is probably really, well, common.
“In the Atacama Desert in Chile, there’s 3,000-year-old, densely packed shrub called llareta.”
Man, plants are weird. These clumps of moss may look like moss-covered stones, but they’re actually all plant.
In some ways, they also kind of look like abnormally large head of broccoli. I wouldn’t try eating them, though.
“This is a coral nursery where corals are grown in nutrient rich water. After a year they’re taken from the structure and graphed on an existing reef.”
Considering the fact that the coral reefs around the world are dying, this is probably a great way to keep them going. These reefs are integral to underwater ecosystems, and should be preserved at all cost!
“Circle I Made With Only Straight Lines.”
By definition, circles are round. But, did you know that you could make one with straight lines? It takes a lot of work, measuring, and accuracy, but it’s possible. After all, that’s exactly what happened in this picture here.
Turns out math is kind of cool after all.
“In 1992, the Miami Zoo put 30 flamingos in the bathroom to protect them from Hurricane Andrew.”
This is definitely the last thing anyone would expect to see in a public restroom. But, at least the flamingos were safe during this storm. And they seem to be having a good time occupying themselves in the mirror there.
“Moss growing on my basketball net.”
Wow, moss really can grow just about anywhere. Who would’ve thought it would completely cover the net portion of a basketball net?
It probably took years for it to get like this, though. Why do I have a feeling the net doesn’t get used that often…
