Photos Showing The Side Of Things You Don’t Normally See
Things aren't always what they appear to be, and a lot of the time, we only see things from one angle. The world truly is a wondrous and mystifying place, even though we don't always see it. Getting caught up in our daily tasks and dramas, it's easy to forget how life and nature are deeply intricate and contain some of the most beautiful parts of our universe.
Sit down and get ready to see some of the coolest pictures of things that go on around us (and even exist inside of us) and hopefully you'll learn a thing or two along the way.
This Is What Baby Flamingos Look Like
These tiny fluffy birds are baby flamingos. Though they're already sporting their species' infamous long legs, some are shocked by their grey color. Mature flamingos get their color from feeding on foods rich in beta carotene, a chemical with a reddish-orange pigment, such red and blue-green algae. Flamingos extract the pigment during digestion, and end up storing them as fats. Those fats make their way to the feathers, giving flamingos their characteristic pink hue.
For now, these little flamingos drink bright red milk made in their parent's upper respiratory tracts, but they'll have to wait about three years before they look Barbie-pink chic.
The Easter Island Statues Have Full Bodies
A group of UCLA archeologists who dug around the "Easter Island Heads", or "Moai" as they are known by the Rapa Nui people who inhabited the southern Pacific, discovered that the large statues actually have full bodies that are buried into the ground. Over time, rock and sediment slowly buried the torsos of the statues to different extents and preserved them.
The statues were carved from rock sometime between 1100 and 1500 AD by the ancient Polynesians. While there are almost a thousand statues on Chile's Easter Island, the 150 that reside on the side of a volcano are photographed and seen the most, leaving people to believe that the statues are only heads.
This Is What A Cleaned Heart Looks Like
A "ghost heart" is made by cleaning out all of the donor's cells and leaving only the protein structure. By cleaning out the donor cells, doctors can add stem cells from the transplant recipient and grow a new, fully functioning heart. Using ghost hearts and stem-cell technology allows doctors to perform transplants without the risk of organ rejection.
By using the recipient's stem cells, the doctors remove the chance that the donors' cells will reactive negatively in a new body. While this method is still in the research process and not quite ready for trials, it offers a bright glimpse into the future of organ transplants.
Auroras Occur On Multiple Planets, And Each Looks Different
You've probably seen a photo of Aurora Borealis or Aurora Australis (more commonly known as the Northern Lights and Southern Lights) before, but these magnetic light displays don't just occur on Earth.
The sun releases a consistent stream of charged particles called a solar wind into the solar system. When these winds get close to a planet, they compress the planet's magnetic field into a teardrop shape. The change in the magnetic field causes the solar wind particles to accelerate into the upper atmosphere where they interact with elements such as nitrogen and oxygen and give off energy in the form of light, creating the colorful light ribbon visible in these photos.
Tiger Stripes Go Deeper Than Their Fur
Tigers are known for their characteristic stripes, but what most people don't know is that a tiger's stripe pattern is also printed on their skin. The darkness of the pigmentation of their skin is directly related to the darkness of their fur. Just like how we all have unique fingerprints, each tiger has a unique pattern of stripes.
In scientific studies, researchers tend to differentiate subjects by their stripes. A tiger's fur depends on its habitat, with tigers living in cooler, damper climates developing thicker, longer coats. Additionally, color variations in tiger species evolved to help these majestic cats hide within their respective environments, such as White Tigers who live in snowy climates.
Transparent Skin Of The Glass Frog Makes Their Organs Visible
The skin on the underside of Reticulated Glass Frogs is transparent, allowing us to get a full view of their internal organs. From underneath, you can even see the frog's beating heart in action. This frog species is found in the rainforests of Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, and Costa Rica. These frogs are active during the night and live in vegetation beside streams.
While scientists haven't been able to pinpoint the evolutionary reason for their transparent skin, there has been speculation that Glass Frog's spotted back patterns are meant to resemble a clump of frog eggs, allowing for males to protect their unhatched offspring.
Who Would Have Known Owls Have Long Legs?
Owls are known for a few of their distinct characteristics: they are nocturnal birds of prey, their heads can spin all the way around, and they have exceptional hearing capabilities. The legs of an owl, however, are regularly hidden by a thick layer of feathers, leading many to be surprised by just how long they are.
Owls' long legs and powerful talons give them an advantage while hunting by enabling them to quickly reach down and snatch their prey. Don't let their big, hypnotic eyes and model-length legs fool you: these birds are deadly.
The Entire Human Nervous System
In 1925, two medical students at A. T. Still University (ATSU) in Kirksville, Missouri were tasked with dissecting the entire intact human nervous system from a cadaver, starting at the brain and moving downward through the body. Nerves are cylindrical bundles of fibers resembling electrical wires that start at the brain and spinal cord and branch out to the rest of the body.
The dissection took M. A. Schlack and L.P. Ramsdell over 1,500 hours; for reference that is the equivalent of 62.5 straight days. There are only a total of four diagrams like this in existence. This version is currently on display at the Museum of Osteopathic Medicine at ATSU.
This Is What Salt Looks Like Under An Electron Microscope
Salt, chemically referred to as Sodium Chloride (NaCl), forms into cubic crystals. However, when observed under a high-powered electron microscope, it appears to be composed of overlapping cubes. Salt is an ionic compound, meaning that the sodium and chlorine molecules are bonded to each other due to their respective positive and negative charges. The result is a very specific atomic arrangement that forms a cubic shape.
Salt forms naturally, generally not needing a chemical catalyst due to the polar attraction between sodium and chlorine. Feel free to flex your new knowledge the next time someone asks you to pass the salt while at the dinner table!
A Globe Designed For Blind People
Stephen Preston Ruggles, an engineer and craftsman, created a map of Boston with the streets, roads, and bridges marked with wooden divets in 1830 for the print shop at Perkins School For The Blind in Watertown, Massachusetts. For most of history, blind people didn't have a formal way to learn geography, and Ruggles's work was one of the earliest archived tools.
Seven years later, Ruggles and the school's founding director, Samuel Gridley Howe, created a method of embossing maps, releasing the Atlas of the United States Printed for Use of the Blind. Since then, many more tactile maps have been developed to help the visually impaired learn geography.
An Albino Raccoon
This furry little guy looks a little different from his other species members who are known for the black markings around their eyes and striped black and grey tails. You've probably cursed one for going through your garbage at least once.
Albinism is a congenital disease in animals that causes either partial or complete loss of pigmentation. Many albino animals are also known to have red-pigmented eyes. Many albino animals in the wild have short life spans due to their diminished ability to camouflage within their respective habitats. While albinism is genetic, it's a recessive gene and is most times repressed by the dominant gene that promotes regular pigmentation. However, most species, including humans, have albinos.
Large Ice Crystal Precipitation
Ice crystal precipitation, often referred to as "freezing rain" and "snow", vary in size, shape, and intensity, but are found in many of the colder regions of the world. In order to make these ice crystals, water vapor freezes at an extremely rapid rate, forming geometric ice forms rather than rain. The ultimate size and density of the crystal is determined by the intensity of the updraft within the cloud
These ice crystals each have unique patterns and structures due to their rather spontaneous creation in the atmosphere. As these ice crystals fall, they clump together with other ice crystals, forming what we see as snowflakes — meaning snowflakes really are all different.
A Photograph Of The Dark Side Of The Moon
Using a NASA camera, the crew on the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) were able to capture this photograph of the dark side of the moon. They've released a series of illuminated photos that display the dark side of the moon which is not visible from Earth.
The "dark side" of the moon doesn't necessarily refer to an absolute absence of light on the side of the moon, so much as it suggests the unknown property of the side of the moon that faces away from the Earth. Prior to the space missions during which spacecrafts travelled around the moon, the far side of the moon had never been seen by humans.
This Is What A News Reporter Looks Like From The Back
The on-scene reporters we see on the news always seem to look perfectly put together, but they look totally different from behind. Neatly hidden off camera and tucked into the back of clothing are all of the technological necessities of the job, including the earpiece to hear information from her team as well as a transmittable microphone.
Even further behind the scenes are the team fact-checking and delivering the story for the reporter to say on screen, makeup team, lighting, camera, and sound crew, as well as the team coordinating the timing for the live report. I bet you'll never take the six o'clock news for granted again!
This Is What A Boeing-787 Looks Like Without Seats
I'm so used to seeing airplanes crammed full with seats, passengers, and flight attendants with drink carts that this photo truly shocked me. The Boeing-787 is a passenger plane with variants designed to fit 242 to 355 passengers. Also known as the "Dreamliner", this plane has been a widespread success with the model being used across dozens of airlines, though American Airlines boasts the largest fleet of 787's.
While the 787 was grounded in 2013 by the Federal Aviation Association due to problems with ion-lithium batteries used in the plane, it only took a few weeks before the battery issue was resolved and the model hit the skies again.
The Shadow Of An Eclipse On The Earth's Surface
While you shouldn't look directly into a solar eclipse, this photograph deserves many stares. Pictured is a photo of a total solar eclipse that took place on August 11, 1999. The moon is directly between the sun and the Earth, creating the circular shadow on the Earth's surface. People on Earth in the area not obstructed by the shadow would see a partial solar eclipse.
This photo was taken by the crew of the Mir Space Station, which operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001. The crew estimated that the shadow was moving across the surface of the Earth at approximately 2000 kilometers per hour.
Some Starfish Are Square-Shaped
The Square Biscuit Starfish can grow up to six centimeters and is mainly found in Australia. Its upper surface is covered with interlocking places, creating a pattern resembling a large biscuit. The coloring of this starfish species allows it to camouflage with the seabed.
Starfish are marine invertebrates. Most tend to have a central disc and five arms, though some other species have more (or less, in the case of the Square Biscuit Starfish). Starfish across different species have different textures, ranging from smooth to spiny. There are over 1,500 documented species of starfish, and they tend to inhabit the ocean floors. Some live as deep as 20,000 ft. below the surface!
A Giant Amethyst Geode
Geodes are hollow rock formations that house inward-facing crystals. These crystals are formed by many different processes that occur as mineral material slowly moves into the pockets of air in the rock. Amethyst is a purple variety of quartz, and owes its violet color to irradiation, impurities of iron, and the presence of other trace elements.
The Artigas region of Uruguay is renowned for amethyst mineralization and geode mining. Uruguay Amethyst is coveted for its magnificent beauty, and its rich color and durability make it a highly-valued crystal. The largest amethyst geode weighs 28,660 lbs. and is 9' 10" long, 5' 10" wide, and 7' 2" tall.
This Is What An Elephant Tail Looks Like Up Close
You know how dogs wag their tails when they are excited? Well, elephants do, too. Elephants use their tail movements to communicate with each other, with rapid movement suggesting happiness. Like cows, elephants use their tails to swat pesky bugs away. Baby elephants sometimes use their trunks to hold onto the tail of older animals when walking in a herd for guidance and security on long journeys.
An elephant's tail can also indicate diet and eating behaviors. Between 2000 and 2006, scientists in Kenya collected data on where elephants migrated and what they ate, discovering that the carbon isotopes in their tails showed which plants they ate during certain times of the year.
This Is What Is Really Happening When Car Chases Are Filmed
This photo, taken behind the scenes of blockbuster film Baby Driver, shows what's really going on when car chases are filmed. The driver on top of the car controls the vehicle's movements so the actor can focus on delivering their lines and staying in character.
Edgar Wright, the writer and director of the movie, wanted to film the car chases in reality and minimize the use of CGI technology to only minor touch-ups and quick shots. He brought together a team of experts to coordinate the car chases on location in Atlanta, creating the fast-paced driving scenes that define the movie. Wright shot 95% of the film in-camera — an impressive feat for such an action-packed film.
An Aviary Covered In Snow Photographed From Below
Aviaries (also known as "flight cages") are large, often netted, enclosures that are used to confine birds while still giving them space to fly around. The first walk-through aviary was built for the World Fair in St. Louis in 1904 by the Smithsonian Institute. It was the largest of its kind at the time and was later bought by the St. Louis Zoo where it remains to this day.
The use of aviaries potentially dates back to before the 1500s, with one being recorded in the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan by Hernan Cortes when he and his men arrived in 1521.
A Cactus That Decomposed But Left Its Spines Behind
This was a wild, not a potted, cactus according to the owner, and the spines are 2-4" long. Cacti are plants designed for desert conditions; their ability to store large amounts of water helps them survive in hot, dry climates where water is scarce. The spines of the cacti serve two main purposes: helping to prevent water loss through transpiration (plant sweat!) and protecting the plant from animals who might want to eat it.
There are over 2,000 different species of cacti that vary in shape, size, color, and habitat. The largest species of cacti can reach 66 ft. in height and weight up to 4,800 lbs.
Sperm Whales Only Have Bottom Teeth
Sperm whales are one of the largest predators with teeth on earth. Their heads account for one-third of the animal's body length, and they have the largest brains on the planet. On their lower jaw, these whales have 20-26 pairs of cone-shaped teeth, but they don't have any on the top.
Their dental arrangement may seem weird, but it's even weirder that these mammals have teeth at all. They don't have a particularly strong bite and actually tend to swallow giant squid, their main prey, whole by slurping rather than chewing.
The Inside Of A Salt Mine
Prior to the Industrial Revolution, salt was extremely difficult to mine and was one of the most dangerous and expensive professions. The process has become much safer and efficient with the creation of earth-moving equipment and engines. Salt mining was often completed through slave or prison labor and salt miners had a low life expectancy.
During the Roman Empire era, having salt on your dining table was a sign of wealth. Salt was so valuable at the time that soldiers were originally paid in salt: that's where the term "salary" comes from.
A Fossilized Dinosaur Footprint In Comparison To A Human Foot
These prints can be found in The Bull Canyon Dinosaur Track Trail near Moab, Utah. This footprint was made by a Therapod, likely something similar to a velociraptor, in Entrada Sandstone. Velociraptors, though popularized by the Jurassic Park films, lived in the Cretaceous period, which was approximately 71-75 million years ago.
Dinosaur tracks are very abundant around Moab. Tracks of dinosaurs of Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous age occur all around the area. The tracks in the photo were made approximately 200 million years ago! On site, the tracks pictured appear as though the dinosaur ran off the edge of the existing cliff, which currently is 1,000 ft. above the valley floor.
The Inside Of An Astronaut's Suit
A spacesuit weighs about 280 lbs. on the ground without an astronaut even being in it. Luckily for astronauts, it weighs nothing in the microgravity of space. Putting on a spacesuit takes about 45 minutes, including the undergarments necessary to keep astronauts from overheating.
After putting on a spacesuit, the astronaut spends more than an hour breathing pure oxygen to adapt to the low pressure maintained in the suit before going outside of the pressurized module. The shuttle suit is designed to have many interchangeable parts, allowing for customization to each astronaut's body. Training suits are assembled nine months prior to flight, and the actual suits are assembled four months before takeoff.
This Stack Of Land That Was Severed From The Mainland During A Storm
Located 50 meters off of the north Mayo coast at Down Patrick head, the Dun Briste (the Broken Fort) sea stack stands 45 meters out of the water. This flat-topped sea stack is actually considered to be relatively new, as it was only separated from mainland Ireland in 1393 during an overnight storm.
The summit of the stack is about 50 meters long and 15 meters wide across the center, and still contains the remains of buildings where people were living up until the night of the storm. The cliffs of the area, including the stack, were formed approximately 350 million years ago, when the sea temperatures around Ireland were much higher than today.
These Are The Microbes From The Hand Of An Eight-Year-Old Boy After Playing Outside
Before you get out the bleach, remember that most germs don't threaten our health. Our immune systems help to protect us from harmful and infectious agents. In fact, it's important for children to be exposed to a variety of bacteria in order for their immune systems to protect them from more dangerous forms of those pathogens later in life.
When our bodies come in contact with a potentially harmful agent, our white blood cells sense it and develop antibodies designed to find and destroy the foreign substance. This process is the basis for vaccines, which present a mild version of a disease to the body so we have antibodies to fight it later in life.
A Strawberry Seed Really Close Up
This close shot of a strawberry shows the individual seeds that are embedded on the fruit's skin. There are about 200 seeds on the average strawberry. Despite their name, strawberries aren't technically berries, but instead, they are classified as accessory fruits. Other accessory fruits include pineapples, mulberries, and figs.
Strawberries are also categorized as part of the rose family, sharing similarities such as their sweet fragrance and the way they grow on bushes. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the average American consumes 3.4 lbs of fresh strawberries every year. Luckily, these sweet fruits are perennial plants and grow back every year. In fact, they are one of the first fruit to grow in the season!
A Bacteria Virus Underneath An Electron Microscope
No, this isn't a photo from the upside-down in Stranger Things. This is an extremely close-up image of a bacteriophage (also called "phage" for short). Originally discovered by Frederick Twort in 1915, phages were used to treat cholera by scientists who didn't quite understand how they worked.
This virus cannot survive without a host and works by attaching itself to bacteria. Once it has invaded the host, it uses all of the host's nutrients to help it reproduce, making the bacteria dangerous. For example, when E. Coli bacteria are infected by bacteriophages, they can become extremely dangerous to humans.
138.24MB On Floppy Disks Vs. 128GB On A USB
It can be hard to truly conceptualize how much data capacity our devices have at any given time, but this visual is a great demonstration. Pictured here are 96 floppy disks saved from 1995 as well as a USB data stick from 2018. All of these floppy disks combined have a storage of 138.24MB compared to the 128GB on the USB stick; basically, this set of disks hold less than 1% of the storage capacity of the one USB stick.
It's wild to think about how rapidly technology advanced in a span of time just under 25 years and how much we've even advanced since 2018.
A Modern Tomato Vs. One Grown With 150-Year-Old Seeds
The produce we regularly eat today, even the organic stuff, is vastly different from the ones that we ate in the past—even only 150 years ago. Genetic modification and specific breeding patterns have been used across agriculture to make plants more durable in different climates, as well as more aesthetically pleasing and transportable across the world.
If you wish to eat older, more traditional versions of produce, most fruits and vegetables have "heirloom" species that are grown with the same, unchanged seeds from years ago. Even just growing your own produce at home with modern seeds taste different from store-bought fruits and veggies since they'll have a more natural growth cycle from your garden to the table.
A Person Next To A Giant Sequoia Tree
Giant sequoia trees, commonly known as giant redwood trees or "big tree", is one of three species of redwood trees. Fully grown trees of this giant coniferous species have a diameter of 20-26 ft. and grow to a height of about 164-279 ft.
The distribution of these giant trees is limited to western USA, covering areas of western Sierra Nevada, California, making them one of the most alluring features of the infamous Yosemite National Park, Sequoia National Park, and Kings Canyon National Park. While the present distribution of this species is quite limited, it's believed by scientists to have covered large segments of North America and Eurasia during pre-historic times.
How Much Food Is Wasted At A Buffet
As it turns out, most people's eyes are bigger than their stomachs, leading to lots of food getting scraped off half-finished plates and tossed out at all-you-can-eat restaurants. However, food waste in general is a huge issue we face as a country.
In the USA, it's estimated that 30-40% of the food supply is wasted, adding up to approximately 80 billions pounds of food getting thrown out each year, equalling about $161 billion worth of food lost annually. That means the average American wastes about 219 lbs. of food per year. In fact, food is the most common waste found in landfills across the country.
Victor Yushchenko before and after being poisoned
Both of these photos of former Ukrainian President Victor Yushchenko were taken during 2004 during his presidential campaign. He was running on a platform of anti-corruption, European integration and the possibility of Ukraine joining NATO.
The poison he was subjected to was TCDD, a dioxin TCDD posion, which caused his face to be greatly disfigured. Many linked his poisoning to a dinner with top Ukrainian officials and suspect Russian involvement.
An trader exhausted on Black Monday
On Monday, October 19th, 1987, the stock market crashed. Worldwide the losses were estimated at US$1.71 trillion.
Here, a trader is exhausted and takes a moment to breathe amidst the devastation.
$5,000 Of Gold Vs. $5,000 Of Silver
Just like anything else in the world, the value of gold and silver is constantly fluctuating. The ratio right now is the highest it has ever been at 110:1, meaning it takes 110 oz. of silver to purchase 1 oz. of gold.
Currently, the most expensive metal in the world is Rhodium, which is also extremely rare. It currently costs $1982.43 USD to buy a single ounce of it. Rhodium is valuable due to its non-corrosive makeup and high melting point, and it's often used while making jewelry to make pieces scratch-resistant and have a reflective surfaces.
A Hairless Cat With No Eyes
While this cat looks like a skeletal animal character from a Tim Burton movie, she is actually a live hairless cat named Jazzypurrs. When she developed corneal ulcers, she had to get both of her eyes removed from her head, leaving her with empty eye sockets. Compared to furry cats who get their eyes removed due to disease, her hairlessness causes the shape of her skull to be very clearly seen.
An interesting fact about cats is that their collarbones are free-floating, meaning they're not directly connected to any other bone in their bodies. This allows them to climb through any space as long as their head can get through.
A Turtle Emerging From Brumation
Brumation is a term used to describe the hibernation-like state that cold-blooded animals, such as lizards and turtles, use during very cold weather. During brumation, the animal becomes extremely lethargic and won't move for the duration of the cold season. To help keep themselves warm, they tend to try and find insulated places to rest, such as burrows, rock crevices, caves, leaf litter, or even underwater.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, some reptiles will go into a state called aestivation during extremely hot weather when the temperatures are too high for their bodies to properly complete health-related functions.
Two Rivers Meeting In Geneva
This photo was taken at Pointe de la Jonction, a place in Geneva, Switzerland where two rivers, the Rhone and the Arve, meet. The river on the left is the Rhone, one of the five major rivers running through Europe, as it exits Lake Lehman. The river on the right is the Arve, which receives water from many glaciers in the Chamonix valley (mainly the Mer de Glace) before flowing north-west into the Rhone on the west side of Geneva.
The reason they look so different is due to the much higher level of silt in the Arve brings forth a striking contrast.
A News Broadcast With A Real Live Background
Since we see it on the television every day, it's easy to take the daily local news broadcast for granted. In this Korean city, the news is actually filmed on a rooftop with the anchors at the desk so that the cityscape seen in the background is real—not a projection on a green screen.
While this definitely looks cool, there are significant challenges that broadcasting from a location like this creates in comparison to using in indoor filming studio. For example, the altitude provides a significant amount of wind, meaning the sound tech crew needs to work extra hard to makes sure the anchors' voices are clear.
Those Are Trees
Okay, so they're actually trees completely encased in a mixture of snow and ice. This photo was taken in the middle of winter in northern Finland, which is considered part of the arctic, where temperatures can get as low as -40° F. For scale, the tallest of these trees is probably around 5 m tall.
Trees like this are found in Riisitunturi National Park which includes segments of the boreal forests that contain semi-coniferous trees. The unique shape of the frost encasing the trees is caused by flash freezing and the fact that, despite the cold, the air is quite humid there.
