25+ Photos Of Times People Discovered Something Crazy And Shared It With The World
If you see something interesting, weird, or out of the ordinary, what's your first move? In the old days, you'd commit it to memory so you could tell people about it later - and they probably wouldn't believe you anyway.
Nowadays, though, we're all carrying a camera in our pocket, so "pics or it didn't happen" definitely applies. Heck, you can even go one step further and document your findings on the internet. Here are some of the best unusual pics we've found on Reddit.
"Perfectly circular, connecting burnout in my neighborhood"
Burnouts are among the most annoying things a driver can do. They're loud, pointless, potentially dangerous, and leave the unpleasant smell of burnt rubber lingering in the air. If you're going to do a burnout, at least do it well.
That's why this image is featured here: It's effectively a perfect burnout. The circle is so perfect that it looks like it was drawn by a compass. You can't even really tell where the car entered or exited the burnout.
"These electrical outlet plates my mom painted for her kitchen to match the granite"
When you're doing home renovations, it's always a good idea to match the power outlets to the surrounding areas — white outlets on white walls, dark outlets on dark walls, and so on. But this is the most impressive job of outlet camouflage I've ever seen.
You have to squint even to see the outlet, and because you can't make a power outlet cover out of granite, the granite texture was painted impeccably by hand to match the surroundings.
"The Gap sent me a cheque for $0.01 with no explanation"
It's hard even to understand the circumstances that could lead to this cheque being mailed out — maybe a refund that was off by a penny? Either way, The Gap spent more sending this than it's even worth.
It's almost like residual cheques, where actors who had a role in some long-ago production receive cheques for the rest of their lives. For lesser-known movies and TV shows, these cheques often pay out meager totals of less than a dollar.
"A rabies vaccines that is airdropped in the woods for raccoons to eat"
It would be more than a little bit alarming to go for a nature walk only to be confronted with a mystery bundle that states "RABIES" right on its packaging. On one hand, it's good to control rabies. On the other hand, its very presence means that rabies is a problem.
Still, it's fascinating to know that this is one of the ways that ecologists can control rabies in areas where there are outbreaks. I wonder what treat is used to make raccoons want to eat this.
"A sunflower I grew in 2021"
Sunflowers are best known for basically one thing: Being really, really big. From their giant heads to their impressive stalks, these bright and cheery flowers have a way of growing like weeds.
Here's an example of a particularly impressive sunflower. Sometimes, they grow too long for their own good, and the only real way to keep them alive (and keep them growing and growing) is to secure them to a post, or in this case, a two-story building.
"Two random, yet almost identical, passengers"
These sights can be almost alarming at first glance because they represent a total glitch in the matrix situation. For just a moment, they confuse the brain into thinking that it's seeing double or that doppelgangers are, in fact, real.
Don't worry, though — there's no rip in the fabric of spacetime here. This is just two aging, bearded, balding men on a train. Both of them enjoy wearing red and white checked shirts and spending time on their phones.
"This car is full of bumper stickers that say bumper sticker"
I've always believed that bumper stickers are a bad idea because if someone disagrees with your message or sports team of choice, they might rear-end you or key your car. I don't know; maybe I'm just paranoid.
If you want bumper stickers but don't want to spread a message, this is a great option. No one could possibly disagree with the statements on display here because all these bumper stickers say is that they are, in fact, bumper stickers.
"My rubber watch strap disintegrated after seven years in storage"
Even cheap watches can be incredibly resilient, often keeping accurate time for decades on end (so long as you replace the battery every so often). Watch straps, on the other hand, aren't likely to last as long, particularly when they're made of rubber.
The very characteristics that make rubber so flexible and pliable are also its undoing. After several years, the rubber can grow hard, lose its elasticity, and eventually dissolve into a crumbly mess.
"Found bill of sale on 1919 Model T"
Apart from the old-timey fonts on this letterhead, this doesn't look too different from a bill of sale you'd get in modern times. The big difference, of course, is the price — imagine getting a brand-new car for $650, all in.
Of course, $650 in 1919 dollars was worth significantly more. To give a modern-day comparison, $650 would be worth somewhere in the $11,000-$12,000 range today. It isn't chump change, but it would still be a fantastic price to pay for a new car.
"My clothes pegs explode when used"
Clothes pegs have one job: To grip onto clothes firmly. Actually, scratch that, they have two jobs: To grip onto clothes firmly, and also not explode when you try to use them for their intended purpose.
Maybe this person was just unlucky and got a bad batch or something, but it's actually pretty impressive to see how thoroughly this thing breaks. It doesn't just crack; it basically blows itself into a million pieces with just a slight squeeze.
"My finger after I finally got a ring off that's been on for more than two years"
Two years isn't an incredibly long time to wear a ring without taking it off, so it seems likely that this person started with a tight ring and then got bigger without taking the ring off.
You can always use oil or some other lubricant to remove a stuck-on ring, but you can avoid this problem altogether if you just go for a ring that isn't super snug from the outset. You don't want it to be permanently fused to your finger, after all.
"This restaurant named Thai Food Near Me"
This seems unremarkable, and maybe a bit silly. After all, if you're close enough to read this sign, it's just stating the obvious: That this restaurant offers Thai food, and it's currently close to your current location.
The name is actually genius, though, because "____ food near me" is a pretty standard search term on Google and within mapping apps. By naming their restaurant after a literal search term, they're guaranteed to be at the top of any search results.
"I found a tiny pocket knife at a music festival"
This looks completely handmade, with the blade probably coming from a craft knife. It's too bad that someone lost it, because a lot of care and precision probably went in to making it.
A tiny knife can be a handy tool to have, but this is taking things to another level. I wonder if it was made specifically for the music festival since those kinds of large-scale events typically confiscate anything that could be seen as a weapon.
"My library is displaying an archive from our local newspaper predicting a new high schooler in town, Taylor Swift, will rise to stardom"
Local newspapers have been putting out articles like this forever, showcasing a local artist who dreams of making it big. Not to be negative, but most of these would-be stars never do reach the big time.
Taylor Swift, of course, is another story. It's so cool to see this pic of a young T-Swift strumming her guitar as she sits on her living room couch, dreaming of superstardom. Also, big time bonus points for the cat in the photo.
"My friend's cat got shaved at the vet"
Cats and dogs might look big and fluffy, but when you remove their hair, it's a different story. This cat looks like absolute nightmare fuel without a layer of thick, lustrous fur covering up its midsection.
Of course, the effect is more pronounced because this cat is a longhair; its hair has been completely shaved down, and it's standing up. Still, it takes a second for the brain to process what kind of weird creature it's looking at here.
"My local hospital has examples of when you may need urgent care versus emergency"
I'm sure hospital staff gets sick of people coming into the emergency department for injuries and ailments that aren't nearly serious enough to be considered a real emergency. This sign humorously illustrates how to tell the difference.
I'm sure it's helpful to someone out there, but it might yield mixed messages. I mean, what if you're attacked by something bigger than a cat but smaller than a gator? What if you're attacked by a gator, but not that badly?
"Restaurant I ate at framed the hole someone punched in the men's room wall"
When there's a blemish on a wall, whether it's a stain or a full-blown hole, the cheap and easy way to put it out of your mind is to put a framed photo over top.
This restaurant has done this, but the frame doesn't cover the hole - instead, it brings attention to it. The whole effect transforms a simple hole in the wall into a piece of modernist art. The title is just chef's kiss, too.
"My job got new microwaves and only allows certain foods in them"
It's always nice to have a microwave in your office break room, and — depending on the size of your office — it can be helpful to have more than one microwave to avoid lineups.
This is all very organized and clearly labelled, and makes allowances for people of different faiths who have specific food requirements. That said, it's almost overwhelming. If I stepped into this break room to microwave a burrito, I wouldn't even know where to start.
"I flew over some lakes that looked like a man walking his llama"
Planet Earth is a big place, with innumerable lakes, ponds, and other landforms dotting its various continents. With this in mind, it makes perfect sense that these abstract shapes will sometimes look like something else, especially from the air.
This doesn't look like a photorealistic silhouette of a man and his llama. It looks a little more stylized, almost like cave art. I wonder if this is in Peru or another country with lots of llamas because the synergy would be perfect.
"My all-black cat had five all-white kittens"
No one expects a litter of kittens to match their parent's coat perfectly, but it's striking just how different these kittens are from their mom. The difference is literally black and white.
The explanation here is even more fascinating than the image itself. A recessive gene means that these kittens' coats are heat-sensitive. In the womb, they were warm enough to be blank slates basically — but in the days and weeks after their birth, they'll likely take on new patterns and colors.
"Some bars in Tokyo let you know how many guys and girls are inside so you know what you're walking into"
This is kind of like how some busy parking garages tell you how many spaces are open and where they are, but this example is a lot more socially driven. The doorman must have to keep track and feed it into this system somehow.
Everyone's been at a bar where the balance seems off, so this sign offers a quick at-a-glance way to tell if it's going to be your kind of scene or not.
"Bubbles in my coffee this morning"
I'm not going to pretend to understand what's going on with these bubbles. Like, the principle of bubbles themselves is easy enough to understand, but the longer I look at this pic, the more questions I have.
The alignment of the small bubbles is almost grid-like, looking like the scales of a fish. The big gap in the middle is certainly eye-catching, as well - and the big bubbles at the top-left and top-right of the gap almost look like eyes over a gaping mouth.
"A broken quarter"
The whole point of coins is that they're difficult to counterfeit and impossible to break so that they can be in circulation for generations with no need for replacement or refurbishment. Clearly though, judging by this pic, some coins can't handle the pressure.
The most intriguing thing in this photo might not be the fact that the coin has somehow become broken but the exposed interior. It looks like the middle of the coin is a copper disk with concentric circles.
"Weird rock found in backyard"
This looks like organic material — maybe a misshapen head of cauliflower or lump of fungus — but it is, in fact, a rock. As for the kind of rock it is, that remains a bit of a mystery as it'll need to be cut into to definitively identify.
Commenters noted that it probably isn't a geode but might be a weird-looking chunk of quartzite. In any event, it can probably be taken to a rock and gem shop for proper identification.
"This group of colorful humans waiting for a train in Montreal"
Subway commutes are typically drab and dreary, with bland stations interspersed with dark tunnels. This crowd of people provides a welcome blast of color in an environment that's otherwise basically monochromatic.
The question, of course, is who these people are and where they're going. The Reddit thread didn't offer any definitive answers other than the possibility that the Blue Man Group has new rivals. Props to the guy in the back reading the book, who seems totally nonplussed.
"My dad found emergency drinking water from 1952 in my grandfather's basement"
It's always a good idea to have extra drinking water on hand in case of an emergency — that's why a lot of emergency preparedness plans advise people to fill up their bathtubs with water.
These vintage cans of drinking water probably stem from the obsession with fallout shelters in the 1950s. They look like exactly the kind of canned goods that a paranoid shelter builder might use to stock their bunker in the event of a nuclear war.
"The sun on my door is so bright you can see it through the door
If this were a video game, you'd know that this was an important door, likely one with a quest behind it. Because this is real life, there's probably no quest — but it's still a pretty interesting door.
The person who posted this attributes the effect to the sun being bright. But the sun is bright everywhere, and most doors are still able to block it out effectively. This is probably a case of the doors being ultra-thin in certain areas.
"My four-year-old and I share the same straight unbroken line across our left palm"
You can see the evidence of shared genetic traits between practically any people who are related — especially if they're closely related, like parents and children. In some cases, you'll even see the same unique, borderline inexplicable, traits shared between generations.
It's hard to know what to make of this straight palm line. I know the lines on my palm don't look this straight and cohesive. Either way, it's fascinating to see how strong the resemblance is.
"The sushi place next to my job was carving up this giant 700-pound bluefin tuna"
This atmospheric photo would probably be a little bit upsetting to see if you were eating at a patio next door. Something about the butchery of a giant fish would kind of ruin the ambiance, you know?
On the other hand, this is a great advertisement for this sushi place. If sushi chefs are straight-up butchering a giant tuna fresh out of the ocean, it's a pretty good sign that their various rolls are going to be fresh.
