Photos Of Things You Might Be Glad You Haven’t Seen Before
The world is an amazing place with a rich history and countless phenomena that you could spend your whole life learning and still not know everything. However, we may be better off with some things, as shocking and amazing as they are, remaining a mystery to us.
Here are some interesting things about the world that you probably haven't seen before (and might wish you hadn't seen).
This Helmet Is From 490 BC
This Corinthian helmet and human skull are relics from the Battle of Marathon, which took place during the first Persian invasion of Greece in 490 BC.
The helmet survived with the warrior's skull inside it.
These Are Bees Swarming To Kill A Murder Hornet
Murder hornets, which have recently made their way to North America for the first time, apparently aren't beloved by the bees.
In this photo, they're trying to swarm and overheat this hornet to kill it.
Penguin Egg Whites Stay Clear When Boiled
I don't know who decided to boil a penguin egg, and I don't particularly want to know.
But it's interesting that different birds' egg whites actually don't all actually turn white when cooked.
To Help You Understand The Terms You Hear On Medical TV Shows
Medical scans are a noninvasive technology that allows doctors to get a better idea of what's going on inside your body.
All the different scan names can get confusing, but this diagram shows the difference between each one.
An Artist's Rendition Of Pangea
Scientists believe that all the landmasses on the Earth were originally connected as one large continent: Pangea.
An artist attempted to show where modern-day borders would fall on Pangea before the continents drifted apart.
This Is What The Inside Of A Passenger Plane Used To Look Like
It's shocking to see in comparison to the current neat rows of seats we're used to seeing on planes.
But this is what the cabin of a passenger plane looked like in 1930.
This Computer Store Has Been Left Untouched Since 2002
Since the beginning of the digital age in the 1990s, technology has changed at an extremely rapid rate.
In fact, it's hard to believe the contents of the store were the latest models less than 20 years ago.
A Temple Cut Directly Into The Rock
This is the Kailasa Temple located in Ellora, India.
Completed in the 8th century AD, the entire structure was carved directly out of the rock and is the largest rock-cut temple in India.
This Is The Largest Eagle In The World
This is the harpy eagle, a bird so big that it kind of looks like a person in a bird costume.
It's the largest and most dangerous raptor in the rainforest.
The Cherry Blossom Tunnel Of Germany
Located in the town of Bonn, Germany, this street lined with Japanese cherry blossoms is one of the most beautiful in the world.
The trees were gifted to Germany by Japan in the 1980s, but they have a short blooming period, so this is a rare sight.
This Carving Dates Back 10,000 Years
This 10,000-year-old carving of a giraffe was found in the Sahara desert.
It is actually believed that the Sahara desert used to be a lush, green land, meaning that giraffes likely lived in the area back then.
Camouflage At Its Best
Thousands of years of evolution have helped animals become extremely well-suited to survive in their respective habitats.
Not only do owls have 360° vision, but many also blend almost seamlessly into their environments.
This Is A Very Resilient Tree Trunk
The Old Man of the Lake is a 30-foot-tall tree stump, most likely a hemlock tree.
It's been bobbing vertically in Oregon's Crater Lake since at least 1896.
It's A Bit Of A Tight Squeeze
The Corinth Canal is a narrow passage that connects the Gulf of Corinth, a deep inlet of the Ionian Sea, to the Saronic Gulf of the Aegean sea.
It is 4 miles long and only 70 feet wide at sea level.
Not Your Average Commute To School
This photo was taken in 1959 in Modena, Italy.
In order to go to school, these children had to cross the river by pulling themselves across it using this cable and pulley system.
These Are Prosthetic Fingers
Most of us have seen a prosthetic leg or a prosthetic arm in our life, but prosthetic fingers are a relatively new medical invention.
They still haven't reached popular use yet.
Well, That's Awfully Gruesome
This statue completed by Marco d'Agrate depicts Saint Bartholomew, an early Christian martyr who was allegedly skinned alive.
If you look closely, you'll notice that’s not a robe that he’s holding—it's his flayed skin.
This Is The Rarest Pasta In Italy
Su filindeu is a handmade Italian pasta that only three women in the world know how to make.
It is so difficult and time-consuming to make that it wasn't available to the public for 200 years.
These Are Vietnamese Mossy Frogs
This species of frog is dominantly found in northern Vietnam and southeastern China.
Their skin, which resembles moss on a rock, acts as camouflage from predators, and they curl into a ball when scared.
This Is A Photo Of The Everglades
Approximately 200,000 alligators live in the Everglades, but over 1.5 million live in the state of Florida alone!
Despite popular beliefs perpetuated by films, it is quite rare for alligators to eat humans. They do attack at times, so it's best to steer clear of gators altogether.
A Sundial That Delivers A Readable Time
This sundial was 3D-printed with grooves so that, depending on the heigh of the sun, the light coming through it would create a readable time like a digital clock face in the shadow.
This is pretty cool.
Imagine If Jungle Gyms Were Still This Tall...
This photo of children playing on their local playground was snapped in 1912.
Compared to the shorter and much safer options available to children in most parks and schoolyards now, these really forced you to be a good climber.
I Never Realized How Small The Earth Is In Comparison To The Sun
Outer space can be really hard for a person who doesn't have a background in astronomy to conceptualize.
So this scale model of the sun vs. the planets of our solar system really adds perspective.
Meet The First Therapy Dog In Recorded History
This is Smoky, a Yorkshire terrier who lived from 1943–1957 and served in World War II.
He went through 12 combat missions, 150 air raids, and was awarded eight stars for his service in supporting the troops.
Not Your Typical Grand Canyon
This is a photo of the Grand Canyon found in Greenland, which is a little icier than the one in Arizona.
Its impressive length (more than 466 miles!) was first discovered in 2013 under a giant ice sheet.
The Coolest Version Of #Twinning
It's pretty well known that the gene for having twins runs through family lines.
So it only makes sense that a pair of twins who married another pair of twins would each make twins.
In A Galaxy Far, Far Away...
These leftover pieces from a filming location for the original Star Wars movie, Episode IV: A New Hope, were left behind in the Tunisian desert.
The location was used as Luke, the main character's, home.
The First Step To Buying A Neon Sign
Back in the day, traveling salesmen were the main way that companies could sell products to businesses.
This is what a neon light salesman carried in his case to show potential clients in 1930.
Never Underestimate The Power Of A Strong Wind
This tree is located near to Greenough in Western Australia.
There, the wind blows so powerfully and consistently that trees that aren't protected by any wind-breaking objects actually grow sideways.
I Am Officially Terrified Of Owls
Albinism is a rare genetic trait that causes animals to have no pigmentation on their bodies and gives them red eyes.
While I have seen a few albino animals before, these huge red eyes terrify me.
The Tomb Is Lined With Lead
This is the tomb of legendary scientist Marie Curie located in the Panthéon in Paris.
Her tomb was created with an inch-thick barrier of lead to protect visitors from radiation because her remains are still radioactive to this day.
PPE, But Make It Terrifying
No, this is not real.
When health protective measures and masks started to be worn in public, this man, who normally works as a special effects designer for film and television, made his own mask and decided to make it a little extra interesting.
This Is The Cutest Rendition Of A Skin Suit
Normally, the concept of someone or something wearing a suit made out of skin is terrifying.
But this gecko who is in the midst of shedding his outer layer looks so adorable.
The Skeleton Of A Stingray
It never really occurred to me that these floppy water pancakes would have any sort of skeletal support beyond a spine.
So this photo simultaneously amazes and terrifies me.
Now Vs. The Original
The great pyramid in Giza is already a wondrous sight to behold for anyone who visits.
So it's maddening to think that the original structure, which was covered in white limestone and tipped with gold, used to be even more magnificent.
Get This Owl A Modelling Contract!
I don't know how I expected owl legs to look, but it definitely was not like that.
As a predatory species, owls tend to snatch their prey up using their claws which are clearly attached to their long legs.
He Who Shall Not Make It Onto The Screen
This was the first design for Voldemort, the antagonist in the Harry Potter franchise.
However, since the films were based off of a children's book series, they decided to make the look a little less terrifying.
This Looks Like The Passageway To Hell
A natural sinkhole opened up in the British area called Cornwall and happened to fall into a mineshaft from the medieval ages that went 300 ft. down into the ground.
Wow, that's deep.
This Is The Skeleton Of A Puffer Fish
I originally thought that a pufferfish had the structure of a balloon with a flat skeleton like most other fish.
However, the skeletal structure extends into the spines and expands with the fish as it puffs up.
Crop Circles, But Make It Trees
These odd tree formations are located in Japan.
The trees were carefully planted, trimmed, and maintained over half a century in order to grow into these circular shapes that look very similar to crop circles.
It Turns Out That Sunsets Are Cool From All Angles
This picture shows what a sunset looks like from space.
The red line across the surface is created because at this angle, the sun has to go through more layers of atmosphere, causing the light to refract off of particles in the air and appear more red.
Wolves Are Bigger Than You Think
Luckily, most people haven't been face-to-face with a wolf, so it's hard for the average person to know just how large these relatives of dogs are.
This one lives in a rescue that cares for wolf-dogs who are taken for domestication then abandoned by owners once they get too big.
An Easy Way To Prevent Plastic Waste
This drugstore in the Czech Republic has stations where customers can bring their own containers to refill shampoo, conditioner, body wash, etc.
More places across the world are offering zero-waste shopping options to prevent plastic waste.
Elephants Just Want To Turn Up
When farmers talk about animals that harm their crops, you often think of insects.
However, these elephants broke into a village in China looking for food, consumed 30 kilograms of corn wine, and passed out, drunk.
This Style Uses Fewer Bricks Than A Straight Wall
It might sound counterintuitive, but this wavy design that's sometimes seen in England uses fewer bricks than a straight wall.
This is because the wave structure adds strength that a straight wall would require at least three layers of bricks to achieve.
This Isn't The First Step To Becoming A Mermaid
In an innovative medical technique, certain types of fish skin can be grafted onto burn or diabetic wounds with the skin.
It draws the human body's own cells to surround the area and convert it into living tissue.
What An Alibi To Have
Can you imagine that the best witness in your first-degree murder court case is a filmmaker from HBO?
I would talk about this alibi until I died if this was me.
Before Bankers Roamed The Area
This old map depicts "New Amsterdam," a settlement of Dutch inhabitants. The settlers built a 12-foot wall to keep invaders out, but the settlement was taken by sea in 1644 by the British.
Today, the area is Manhattan, and where the wall stood is now called Wall Street.
That Doesn't Look Comfortable...
Don't worry, this bird is just fine.
In fact, many juvenile owls sleep just like this with their faces down because their heads are too heavy for them to comfortably hold up while asleep.
