77 Unbelievable Things And Facts That Seem Like They’re Fake, But Are Actually Real (New Pics)
This is your reminder that the world is unbelievably stunning, bizarre, and even scary. You need to slow down to really take it all in. Many of the strangest and most surreal facts about the world, as well as images by amateur and veteran photographers, end up being featured on the r/CantBelieveThatsReal online community, a place for awe-inspiring content.
We have curated some of the most striking stories and photos to share with you. They might appear surreal and unreal, but are, in fact, completely real. Keep scrolling to learn something new.
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In 1959, Police Were Called When 9-Year-Old Ron Mcnair, A Black Boy, Refused To Leave A Segregated Library In S. Carolina
He later earned a PhD in physics from MIT, became an astronaut, and tragically died in the Challenger disaster. Today, the library that once denied him books bears his name.
After A Woman Told Shaq His Shoes Were Too Expensive For Kids, He Walked Away From A $40M Reebok Deal And Signed With Walmart
He brought in Reebok designers to make $20 sneakers look premium. More than 400 million pairs have been sold.
Syndrome K Was A Fake Disease Invented By Italian Doctors Giovanni Borromeo And Vittorio Sacerdoti During WWII To Protect Jews Hiding In Their Hospital
They said it was fatal, disfiguring, and highly contagious, so they stayed away. The ruse worked and at least 20 lives were saved.
Many of the photos and stories shared by members of the r/CantBelieveThatsReal are stellar. And yet, in this day and age, you’d be forgiven for being skeptical about everything and anything that you see online. Not only are many of the images you see on social media photoshopped and filtered, but now, with generative AI being so widely available, lots of content (read: slop) is outright fake but presented as human-made and monetized. For artists of all kinds, this is frustrating.
Being skeptical of the information and content you stumble across online is a core part of media literacy. And yet, ironically, malicious actors can turn that skepticism against you by employing the so-called liar’s dividend.
A Finnish Photographer Documented An Unlikely Bond Between A Female Grey Wolf And A Male Brown Bear
For ten nights straight, from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m., the pair met and spent hours together. They even shared food, a rare glimpse of interspecies trust deep in the Finnish wilderness.
In 2009, A Quaker Parrot Named Willie Saved A Toddler’s Life
When the child began choking and turned blue, Willie screamed “Mama! Baby!” and flapped his wings until babysitter Megan Howard rushed in and performed the Heimlich. Willie was later honored at a Red Cross breakfast.
Christina Santhouse Had Half Her Brain Removed At Age 8 To Stop Constant Seizures
Doctors said she would never drive or live normally. She got her license at 17, earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in five years, and became a speech pathologist.
My neighbor boy was born with only half a brain (large area filled with just fluid) and with the exception of slightly evident weakness on the opposite side of his body, was pretty darned normal in every way. I last saw him as a teenager (I moved away soon after) and he was in every way, behaving like the average young person his age.
The liar’s dividend is a way for people to protect themselves by claiming that real and legitimate information is supposedly misinformation or disinformation, simply because fake information exists at all. They might claim that the evidence that proves their guilt is allegedly false or deep faked, for instance, with AI.
“This approach has the benefit of muddying the waters so that people, especially those who traffic in misinformation, are able to evade or blunt scrutiny embedded in accurate words or actions that are then not believed by others,” Encyclopædia Britannica states.
“In a world in which information can easily be falsified, a politician might claim that they did not do or say what they in fact did or said. The mistrust in the mainstream news media, for instance, allows political actors around the world to evade or blunt legitimate scrutiny of their words, decisions, or actions. The liar’s dividend pays off for those who sow mistrust and then use that same mistrust to their own advantage.”
Laurence Tureaud Named Himself Professionally As Mr. T Because He Hated How His Father, Uncle, And Brother Who Returned From Vietnam Were Disrespectfully Called "Boy" By Whites
He wanted the first word from everybody's mouth when speaking to him to be "Mister."
Ken Allen, The San Diego Zoo Orangutan Nicknamed “The Hairy Houdini,” Became A Legend For His Daring Escapes
Each time he broke free, he’d calmly stroll around the zoo to visit other animals. He never hurt anyone, but he loved throwing rocks at Otis, a fellow orangutan he despised.
There Are Only 66 Years Between These Two Photos
My grandmother remembered the first car she saw and the first airplane she saw, and she lived into the 1990s!
The r/CantBelieveThatsReal online community has been entertaining and inspiring photography-loving internet users for more than 6 years.
Created in early 2020, the group was meant to be a place for everyone to share real images, videos, or moments that “look too crazy, surreal, or impossible to be true… but are.” The community remains vibrant and active to this day.
Authenticity, high-quality content, and communal participation lie at the core of everything that the r/CantBelieveThatsReal group does. Everyone is encouraged to post the unbelievable but real things they find. However, there is a fundamental emphasis on sharing real, verifiable content.
“Your content must depict real, unaltered events, objects, or phenomena,” the moderators stress.
Hyundai’s Founder Grew Up In A Poor Farming Family In What’s Now North Korea. In The 1930s, He Stole A Cow To Buy A Train Ticket To Seoul And Start A New Life
Decades later, after building a global empire, he returned to his hometown with 1,001 cows to repay the debt a thousandfold.
In 1825, Painter Samuel Morse Got A Letter Saying His Wife Was Ill. The Next Day, Another Said She Was Gone. By The Time He Rushed Home, She Was Already Buried
Shaken by how slow news traveled, he set out to create a faster way to communicate: Morse code.
He is my ancestor. My family name is Packard and my grandma's maiden name is Morse. I believe Samuel was her uncle.
Researchers Taught African Grey Parrots To Buy Food With Tokens
They were then paired up, one given ten tokens and the other none. Without any incentive to share, parrots with tokens began giving some to their partners so both could eat.
According to the mods who keep the community running smoothly, the things that you’re allowed to share in the group include real photos or videos, CCTV or broadcast footage, firsthand captures, and verified historical footage.
Furthermore, as a poster, you have to help the moderator team verify the authenticity of your content.
So, you are encouraged to include a link to a credible source to prove that your content is, well, real. For example, you might share a news article, a reverse image link, etc.
However, if you saw something firsthand and took a photo or video, you should describe where and when it happened. Meanwhile, if you are reposting someone else’s awesome content, don’t claim ownership. And don’t repost content that has already appeared in the group within the last half-year.
A Himalayan Griffon Vulture (Gyps Himalayensis) Warding Off Intruders By Showing Its ‘Fake Eyes’
Image: Credit to Husein Latif Photography.
In 2004, Police Uncovered A Secret Cinema, Bar, And Restaurant Hidden Deep Beneath Paris’s Catacombs, Complete With Electricity, Phone Lines, And A Barking-Dog Alarm
When they returned three days later, everything was gone and a note was left behind: “Do not try to find us."
I'm concerned about what kind of movies have to be played at a secret underground cinema that leaves cryptic, pun not intended, notes when found.
After A Stroke At 43 Left Him Completely Paralyzed Except For One Eyelid, French Editor Jean-Dominique Bauby Wrote His Memoir The Diving Bell And The Butterfly By Blinking Each Letter As An Assistant Recited The Alphabet. It Took Him About 200,000 Blinks To Finish
Another way that the r/CantBelieveThatsReal maintains standards is that it forbids low-effort or off-topic content. In a nutshell, everything you post ought to match the theme of the subreddit, namely, “That looks fake, but it’s real.”
Things like coincidences, pareidolia, or optical illusions that look generic and believable are better suited for other photography-related online communities.
Furthermore, the moderators take a very strict approach toward the use of artificial intelligence. “This isn’t a place for AI-enhanced selfies or images altered to ‘look fake.’ If you used AI in any part of the creation process, do not post it here,” they stress.
Moreover, you must avoid clickbait, misleading titles, and sensationalism. Shock value, excessive punctuation, and all-caps in your titles won’t get you much love in this community.
Scientists Discovered A Real-Life Kermit The Frog In Costa Rica, First Spotted In 2015 By Dr. Brian Kubicki. The Species, Hyalinobatrachium Dianae, Has A Bright Green Color And Cartoon-Like Face That Makes It Look Just Like The Famous Muppet
In The Forearm There’s A Very Small Muscle That Contracts Only When Lifting The Pinky, Otherwise It Stays Invisible
Michelangelo carved his version of Moses with a raised pinky and depicted that tiny muscle as contracted. One of many precise details in this stunning masterpiece.
There are many details that some historians have said are secret messages about the Medici and religion. Also, he made very extraordinary changes to the statue which took a once-in-a-lifetime artistic eye to accomplish.
When Alexander The Great’s Body Showed No Signs Of Decay Six Days After His Funeral, Ancient Greeks Believed He Was A God
But historians believe he was likely paralyzed by a rare brain disorder, alive but unable to move or speak, suffering for days before being mistakenly buried alive.
Tell us what you think, Pandas!
Which of these striking photos and stories impressed you the most, and why? Which ones did you upvote?
What is your relationship with photography and history like? You can share your thoughts—along with the most impressive facts you recently learned and cool photos from your personal album—in the comments at the very bottom of this list.
Mario Puzo, The Author Of The Godfather Books Who’d Also Adapted Them To Film, Had No Idea What He Was Doing As He’d Never Written A Screenplay Before
After winning two Oscars, he decided to buy a book on screenwriting to learn how. In the first chapter, it said “Study Godfather I.”
Watch The Offer. The making of The Godfather is almost as wild as the story of the movie itself.
“Radium Girls” Painted Glowing Watch Dials With Self Luminous Paint, Licking Their Brushes To Keep A Sharp Tip
No one told them the paint was radioactive. The radium settled into their bones, rotting their jaws from the inside. The condition became known as radium jaw.
My dad was part of the RaLa experiments, and he ended up dying from radiation exposure. He was part of a class action victory based on the fact that the government had a pretty good idea that it was more dangerous than they were saying.
In 2010, A Black Nigerian Couple In London Had A White Baby Girl With Blonde Hair And Blue Eyes
Doctors ruled out albinism, suggesting dormant white genes, a mutation, or both, sparking surprise and curiosity since neither parent had known white ancestry.
Geneticist here: Albinism is just the lack of production of melanine in skin, hair and eyes, due to a recessive mutation. That means that both parents can be carriers of the mutation, and have a normal phenotype. And also, there are not such things as "white genes". Being white and being an albino, are completely different things
Cornealious Anderson III Was Convicted Of Robbing A Burger King In 2000 And Sentenced To 13 Years, But A Clerical Error Meant He Was Never Told To Report
He married, raised three kids, worked, paid taxes, and lived openly until his scheduled release, when he was arrested then freed by a judge.
It was probably too much work figuring out the spelling of his name over and over on the documents - if only they'd had the assistent who helped transcribe The Diving Bell and the Butterfly working for them 😅 Seriously, though - 13 years for robbing a Burger King? I've seen murderers and serial rapists get lighter sentences. Justice really is blind.
Tigers Look Orange To Humans Because We Are Trichromats, But To Deer And Boars The Same Coat Appears Green Since Ungulates Are Dichromats
This visual difference allows the tiger’s orange and black stripes to blend into the jungle, giving it effective camouflage while stalking prey.
Extremely Rare Light Pillars In Russia Create A Dazzling Optical Phenomenon, Formed When Light Is Refracted By Ice Crystals In The Atmosphere. The Pillars Often Mirror The Color Of Nearby Light Sources
These aren't limited to Russia. Any really cold place can have them if there is enough ice in the atmosphere.
Once-In-A-Lifetime Shot. A Bright Meteor Burns Across The Night Sky Right In Front Of The Andromeda Galaxy
A Woman Named Patricia Stallings Was Jailed For Life For Poisoning Her Child With Antifreeze
While in prison, she gave birth again. That child showed the same symptoms, revealing a rare genetic disorder, not poisoning. Her conviction was overturned and she was released.
In 2010, 35 Year Old Steven Carter Found His Own Face In An Age Progressed Photo On A Missing Children’s Site
He knew he was adopted, but the image led him to learn that his mother had kidnapped him from his father when he was an infant 34 years earlier.
Wildlife Photographer Sha Lu Captured A Once-In-A-Lifetime Moment As A Tiny Vole, Held Mid-Air In The Talons Of A White-Tailed Kite, Locked Eyes With The Camera
The Canadian Naval Diving Class Of 2022 Marked Their Graduation By Taking Their Official Class Photo Underwater
Jim Sautner, The Buffalo Whisperer, Was A Canadian Rancher Who Raised A 2,000-Pound Bison Named Bailey D. Buffalo And Treated Him Like The Family Dog
These Brothers Were Identical Triplets Separated At Birth, Raised By Different Families, And Reunited As Teens
They shared the same quirks, hobbies, and even favorite foods, before discovering their lives had been manipulated for a secret nature vs nurture experiment.
American Engineer Lonnie Johnson Invented The Super Soaker While Working With The U.S. Air Force. In 2013, He Learned Hasbro Was Underpaying Him, Sued The Company, And Won Nearly $73 Million In Royalties
This guy is much more than the inventor of the SuperSoaker. He is the founder and president of Johnson Research and Development Co., Inc. They do a lot with "green energy," but the "Johnson thermoelectric energy converter" is the most promising. Remembering this guy for a squirt gun is like remembering Isaac Asimov as a prolific writer of postcards.
Chrome Beetle. Chrysina Limbata Is A Rare Scarab With A Highly Reflective Silver Shell, Found Only In The Mid-Elevation Forests Of Costa Rica And Western Panama
Jeanne Louise Calment, The Oldest Verified Human In History, Celebrated Her 122nd Birthday On February 21, 1997
She passed away that August at 122 years and 164 days. She was also the last living person to have met Vincent van Gogh, whom she described as rude, ugly, and reeking of alcohol.
The possibility exists that she died early and her younger sister took over her identity in order to avoid d*ath duties tax to the government. Nobody since has lived more than 119 years. She destroyed her collection of early photographs.
In 1783, A Boy Was Born With Two Heads. The Second Head Was Upside Down, With The Neck Pointed Straight Up
Shockingly, the second head was fully functional. The boy claimed he could hear the other brain telling him things.
He died at 4 years of age from a cobra bite. Interesting story, link below.
The Sky Looks Like Ocean Waves
Traditional Rawandan Hairstyle (1923)
Moon Dust Isn’t Harmless Gray Powder. It’s Toxic, Razor-Sharp, And Charged With Static Energy
Apollo astronauts came back sneezing, coughing, and rubbing their eyes after breathing it in. With no air or water to smooth it, each grain clings to everything and cuts deep into lungs and metal.
Third Man Syndrome Is A Phenomenon Reported By Climbers And Explorers In Life-Threatening Situations
They describe sensing an invisible companion who speaks to them, offers guidance, and gives them strength to survive when they’re on the edge of exhaustion or despair.
Most famously by Shackleton. TS Eliot heard about it, and put it in his poem The Waste Land.
In 2004, Ukrainian Presidential Candidate Viktor Yushchenko Was Poisoned With Dioxin, Leaving His Face Disfigured
He and his family believe Moscow ordered the attempt as he pushed for closer ties with Europe. Despite this, Yushchenko survived and won the presidency that year.
Japanese War Criminal Hitoshi Imamura, Believing His 10-Year Prison Sentence Was Too Lenient, Built A Replica Jail In His Garden And Confined Himself There Until The End Of His Life In 1968
In 2023, Archaeologists Unearthed A Perfectly Preserved 3,000-Year-Old Bronze Sword With An Octagonal Hilt In A Grave In Nördlingen, Bavaria
Still gleaming, the Middle Bronze Age weapon was buried with a man, woman, child, and other grave goods.
“Typhoid Mary” Was The First Known Asymptomatic Typhoid Case In The U.S.
She felt fine, kept cooking, and used aliases to find new jobs. Wherever she worked, outbreaks followed. Investigators tied dozens of clusters to her, with estimates above 100 infections.
This glosses over the fact she knew she had it...she knew she was a carrier...she knew people were dying.
The “Snow” In The 1939 Wizard Of Oz Was Made Entirely Of Pure Asbestos
Note. This is white asbestos, chrysotile, which is at least 100 times less dangerous than blue asbestos. White asbestos is sufficiently safe that no two authors can agree on how dangerous it is. White asbestos is not banned in some countries. Chrysotile comes from the rock serpentine, which has been used for carving statues for millennia.
Left: Mars. Right: Earth
This Photo, Taken From Indiana Dunes, Shows The Chicago Skyline Glowing At Sunset, Nearly 50 Miles Away
There are places in Michigan, when temp inversion happens, you can see the Chicago skyline like it's on the horizon...from 60+ miles away.
Valonia Ventricosa Also Known As Bubble Algae Or Sailor's Eyeballs Is A Species Of Alga Found In Oceans Throughout The World In Tropical Regions. It Is The Largest Single Cell Organism
Photographer Robert Landsburg Sacrificed His Life To Document The Mount St. Helens Eruption. As The Volcano Exploded, He Kept Shooting Until The Ash Closed In, Then Lay Over His Camera To Protect The Film
Photographer Robert Landsburg didn't actually sacrifice himself. He knew he didn't have a snowball's chance in hell of making it out alive, so he chose to document what he could and protected his camera.
Ernie Hudson, Who Played Winston In Ghostbusters (1984), Auditioned To Voice The Same Character In The Animated Series. He Was Rejected Because Producers Said He Did Not Sound Enough Like Winston From The Movie
Black Sand Dunes On Mars. While Earth's Sand Is Mostly Made Of Bright, White Quartz, Mars Tells A Different Story. Its Dunes Are Rich In Dark Basalt, A Volcanic Rock That Gives The Martian Landscape Its Deep, Shadowy Tones. (Photo: NASA Curiosity, 2015)
Korean Broadcaster MBC Set Up Its News Desk On A Rooftop To Use The City Itself As A Backdrop Rather Than Relying On A Green Screen
Why would you want to be outside with all that smog? Have they not heard of windows?
The Only Surviving War Elephant Armor In The World, Made In India In The Late 17th Century
I'm surprised that elephant could move at all (the real one). That armor looks very heavy.
George Washington, The First U.S. President, Had Just One Tooth Left When He Took Office. He Wore Dentures Made From Brass, Lead, Gold, Animal Teeth, And Human Teeth
This is one of only four surviving sets.
Weird Al’s Phantom Menace Parody 'The Saga Begins' Was Recorded A Month Before The Film’s May 1999 Release
Lucasfilm refused Yankovic an early screening, so he pieced the plot together almost perfectly using rumors from Star Wars fan forums.
Can You Spot The Snow Leopard?
This Is The World’s Quietest Room. It Absorbs 99.99% Of Sound And Measures At −20.6 Db, So Silent You Can Hear Your Own Heartbeat, The Rush Of Blood In Your Veins, And Even The Movement Of Your Joints
I don't know about my heartbeat or the blood moving in my veins, but at my age I often hear the movement of my joints
Japanese Designer Yasuhiro Suzuki Created A Giant Zipper-Shaped Boat That Gives The Illusion Of Unzipping The Water As It Moves
An 82-Year-Old Colombian Woman Discovered She’s Carried A Baby Inside Her For 40 Years Without Knowing. She Thought Her Stomach Pain Was From A Tumor, But Doctors Found Something Unbelievable Instead: A Calcified Fetus
Samuel L. Jackson Was Backstage At A Michael Jackson Concert When He Turned To Find Marlon Brando Reciting His Ezekiel Speech From Pulp Fiction
Brando gave him a number. When Jackson called, it was a Chinese restaurant, yet Brando came to the phone. It was his trick for filtering calls.
In 1980 The FBI Formed A Fake Company And Attempted To Bribe Members Of Congress. Nearly 25% Of Those Tested Accepted The Bribe, And Were Convicted
In 1963, Teenager Randy Gardner Stayed Awake For 264 Hours, Setting The Only Verified Sleep Deprivation Record
By day 11, he couldn't do simple math, saw street signs as people, and spoke in slurred monotone. Decades later, he blamed the experiment for years of insomnia.
And the current President of the US is sleep deprived. Never know it would ya?
Windows Xp Wallpaper In ‘96 vs. 2025. It Looks So Different Because The Vineyard Was Cleared Due To An Infestation When The Photo Was Taken In 1996
It was only a grassy hill for two or three years.
Naegleria Fowleri, Also Known As The "Brain-Eating Amoeba," End 97% Of Its Victims By Traveling Through The Nasal Passages To The Brain, Where It Feeds On Brain Tissue
Workers At Nuclear Power Plants Are Issued Special Iphones Without Cameras, Since Devices With Cameras Aren’t Allowed Inside The Facility
The Dynamite Tree In South America Produces Grenade-Like Fruit That Explode When Ripe, Bursting Apart And Shooting Seeds At Speeds Of Up To 160 Mph
At Expo 2025 In Osaka, A Japanese Company Unveiled A “Human Washing Machine” That Can Wash And Dry A Person In Just 15 Minutes
So Many Chinese Women Travel To South Korea For Plastic Surgery That Chinese Authorities Now Advise Them To Carry A Doctor’s Note, Since Their New Looks Often Don’t Match Their Passport Photos
Last Image Of Karen Wetterhahn, A Professor Of Chemistry At Dartmouth College, Who Passed Away In 1997, Ten Months After Spilling Only A Few Drops Of Dimethylmercury Onto Her Latex Gloves
From a comment on Reddit: "On August 14, 1996, Wetterhahn, a specialist in toxic metal exposure, was studying the way mercury ionsinteract with DNA repair proteins and investigating the toxic properties of another highly toxic heavy metal, cadmium. She was using dimethylmercury, at the time the standard internal reference for 199Hgnuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements. Wetterhahn would recall that she had spilled several drops of dimethylmercury from the tip of a pipette onto her latex-gloved hand. Not believing herself in any immediate danger, as she was taking all recommended precautions, she proceeded to clean up the area prior to removing her protective clothing. However, tests later revealed that dimethylmercury can, in fact, rapidly permeate several kinds of latex gloves and enter the skin within about 15 seconds." (continued below)
Blood Falls In Antarctica, A Glacier That Looks Like It's Bleeding Due To Iron Oxides In The Water
Except this is not what it actually looks like. In reality, it is a slow, rust coloured trickle
The Wreck Of The USS Arizona Continues To Leak Oil Ever Since Pearl Harbour. The Ship Contained 1.5 Million Gallons Of Oil, Enough To Leak Continuously For 500 Years
i've been there, actually. you know what else is in the boat? the bodies of the soldiers who couldn't get out in time when it was sinking, or some form of remains, who knows.
When The Challenger Broke Apart In 1986, The Crew Cabin Remained Intact As It Fell For Nearly Three Minutes
Evidence suggests several astronauts survived the blast and may have been conscious until the moment it hit the Atlantic Ocean at over 200 miles per hour.
I wonder how many people from my generation were traumatized by watching this event live at school? Not something you can ever forget!
The Liquid Breathing Technology Shown In The Abyss (1989) Was Real
The rats seen in the film were actually breathing oxygen-rich liquid, part of real experiments still being explored today for treating severe lung injuries and other extreme medical or scientific applications.
It's easier for rats than humans. The liquid perfluorocarbons have a lower viscosity than water but much higher viscosity than air. So it's a struggle to breathe for humans, and mechanically assisted breathing becomes necessary to stop the lung muscles becoming over-tired.
John Cena And Jason Earles (Jackson From “Hannah Montana”) Were Both 31 Years Old In This Photo
The Show ‘River Monsters’ Ended Because Host Jeremy Wade Had Caught Every Major Freshwater Fish Species On Earth. With No New Creatures Left To Find, The Show Simply Ran Out Of Material To Explore
Has he put his hand in the mouth of every freshwater fish? I didn't think so. More show!
Today, Investigators Are Searching For A Man Who Robbed A Popular Disney Springs Restaurant By Swimming Up In Scuba Gear And A Wetsuit
He stole over $10k and escaped the same way, by swimming off into the water.
The Bath Mouthpiece Is A Life-Saving Device Designed To Provide Breathable Air During A House Or Hotel Fire When You Cannot Evacuate The Room
Do NOT do this unless there's no alternative. In a deliberately lit prison fire, inmates who did this died by inhaling toxic fumes from the toilet.
In The 1980s, Arnold Schwarzenegger And Sylvester Stallone Were Intense Rivals
Schwarzenegger once fooled Stallone into starring in “Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot” by pretending he desperately wanted the part. Stallone rushed to take it, only to realize too late that the movie was a total disaster.
