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We as a species love fascinating and interesting things. Sometimes we even need to suspend our disbelief upon seeing an unbelievable picture. Surely, that bonsai can't be just growing randomly in the middle of a lake!
There is a community for enthusiasts of those kinds of pictures. It's called r/CantBelieveThatsReal and has amassed over 47k members since its inception in 2020. It features real pictures from nature, history, and many different parts of the world. Some are spooky, some mind-blowing, others might make you say, "How is this even possible???" Let us know which entries you find the most fascinating and unbelievable by upvoting them!
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#1
Frozen Bamboo Path In Kyoto
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#2
The Glasswing Butterfly. One Of The Most Delicately Beautiful Creatures To Exist
#3
DMX Wearing Anti-Paparazzi Scarf That Ruins Photos By Affecting Flash Photography
PeeledPotato 2 years ago
that would be amazing for celebrities to wear to ward of unwanted paparazzi
Clown fish 2 years ago
Daniel Radcliffe wore the same clothes for 6months so paparazzi couldn't use the pictures
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Pyla 2 years ago
I wonder if it would be safe out walking the dog or biking. Do headlights activate it?
Vanessa Richardson 2 years ago
That’s exactly what it is, actually. I make shirts and I absolutely love using reflective vinyl—it comes in all colors, including rainbow! It slightly reflects in normal lighting but glows like crazy with a flash of light.
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Roan The Demon Kitty 2 years ago
regardless of the lyrics to his song, X is not gon give it to ya. ("it" being paparazzi photos)
Jerry Kramer 2 years ago
It’s called the ishu scarf, saw a video of Beyonce with the same scarf
Julia Ford 2 years ago
Most “celebrities” call the paparazzi themselves, so that’s why this isn’t more popular.
Urbangirlatl 2 years ago
If I was besieged by paparazzi, I would have an entire wardrobe in this fabric.
Shelli Aderman 2 years ago
If only they could make retro-reflective materials more appealing! 😉
Lucy Reeves 1 year ago
Paris Hilton did this too, I think it was a jacket? You can buy handbags that do the same.
NoNicknamePanda 2 years ago
I wish all celebrities had these (if they wanted them). We're so intrusive into their private lives.
Linda Vetri Carman Tesoroni 2 years ago
Celebrities become celebrities to be noticed...then they hide from their fans. If you don't want your picture taken....DON'T become a frickin' celebrity!
Some things we can't believe are real due to their aesthetic value. "The beauty found in art and nature is so intense that sometimes you just have to pause and take it in," psychologist Gema Sánchez Cuevas writes for Exploring Your Mind.
A beautiful landscape, a fascinating work of art or a moving poem have the power to trigger a positive emotion in us. Professor at the University of Barcelona Rafael Bisquerra refers to them as "aesthetic emotions." According to him, "art – or any object creating beauty – can spark numerous responses in people, both positive and negative – which have their roots in emotional response."
#4
This Bonsai Tree Naturally Growing In The Middle Of A Lake
#5
The Moon Looks Like Saturn
#6
This Polish Statue Looks Like Darth Vader After A Snowy Day
In reality, we're not only moved or interested in things that are pleasing to the eye. "The brain is also fascinated by mysterious things that arouse an intense interest in us," psychologist Valeria Sabater writes.
When there's a stimulus that combines the known with the unknown, it inspires, interests and arouses our brains. Our minds love a mystery and strive to solve it. Let's take that picture of the frozen bamboo in Kyoto. It automatically makes us ask: "How does this happen?"
#7
A Single Drop Of Sea Water Under A Microscope
Blue Bunny of Happiness 2 years ago (edited)
Thinks of all the seawater she’s accidentally swallowed over the years….
#8
A House In Iceland
#9
Srirangam Temple,india!!
How else can we describe this feeling of fascination? It's definitely positive: it makes us feel happy, joyful, inspired, interested and amazed. Sabater calls this "a psycho-physiological state of great transcendence."
#10
Freeze, Thaw And Refreeze Caused This Icicle To Look Like A Hummingbird
#11
Butterfly Eggs Of The Species Nymphalis Antiopa
#12
A Frozen Windshield After A Windy Night
Why is fascination so powerful? As Sabater puts it, "every stimulus that generates fascination in us almost instantly activates our limbic system." That's the part of our brain that regulates our behavioral and emotional responses. "Once this area is stimulated, endorphins (pleasure hormones) are released, which can even help people focus and flow with new ideas," Sabater writes.
#13
Hyperion, The World's Tallest Living Tree (379.7 Feet)
#14
This Is A Crack In Steel Through An Electron Microscope
#15
The Pathways At Ohio State University Were Paved Based On The Routes Students Took Before There Were Paved Paths
The psychologist also pulls out an interesting fact related to the origin of the word "fascinate". It has its roots in the Latin word "to bewitch." It had a negative connotation in the past and people associated it with controlling a person against their will. However, nowadays the word "fascinate" has a light-hearted connotation, referring to feelings of well-being.
#16
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. That's Right. What You're Looking At Here Is A Single Cell
#17
This Photo Of Cemetery Looks Like 2 Photo Put Together
#18
A Copy Of The Mona Lisa Painted Alongside Da Vinci By His Apprentice. Unlike The Original, The Paint Was Preserved, Showing What The Iconic Painting Would Have Looked Like In 1517
Fascination's not-so-distant cousin awe also has its own impressive amount of research. "People can experience awe when confronted with a vast natural landscape, like Zion or the Grand Canyon, or when listening to extraordinary, complex music. People might also feel awe when witnessing an extraordinary act by another person or while viewing art that changes how they see the world," according to the Arizona State University.
#19
The World's Biggest Horse, Brooklyn "Brookie" Supreme
#20
Mount St. Helens Before And After Its 1980 Eruption
#21
This Building Has Cartoon Windows
Researcher Michelle Shiota says that awe is exclusively a human experience. "The capacity for awe relies on something that humans are certainly best at," she explains. "That is taking a mental map of things and people in the world and forming an internal mental representation of those things."
#22
Ancient Rome Aqueduct
#23
The Best Preserved Dinosaur Fossil Ever Discovered- A 110 Million Year Old Nodosaur
#24
In Germany You Can Play Pong With The Person On The Other Side Of Traffic Lights
"When we're in an awe state, part of what our minds are telling us is that prior experience doesn’t necessarily apply here," she continues. "What we think it's doing is promoting a cognitive and behavioral state – and perhaps even a physiological state – that makes it easier to take in information."
#25
A Bison Still Alive After Being Struck By Lightning
#26
A US Coin That's Been Cut Out
#27
Children Living In Siberia Getting UV Light Exposure During The Long Dark Winter Months
#28
Motorcycle Built From An Old Tractor
Barry Meyer 2 years ago
My brother had a pickup with a tractor engine. Had to sit and idle for like 10 minutes on really cold days before it even moved. I asked him "man why the hell did you buy this" he says "a 200 dollar truck's a good deal"
#29
Spectators At The Fagradalsfjall Eruption, Getting As Close As They Can To Lava Without Getting Singed
#30
Basketball Court In A Cave
PeeledPotato 2 years ago
imagine the (maybe ) echoing of the ball THUMP (THump) (Thump) (thump)
So let yourself focus on these pictures from nature and elsewhere that we found on the r/CantBelieveThatReal subreddit. Don't be afraid to "stop moving", as Liota said, and bask in the awe that these images elicit. Apparently, it's really good for your well-being.
#31
Old Meets New In China
#32
Comparison Of The Tip Of A Hypodermic Needle, Viper's Fang, Spider's Fang And The Stinger Of A Scorpion
#33
Port Jackson Shark
#34
This Is What Two-Time Olympic Gold Medalist, Alex Gregory's Hands Looked Like After Rowing 600 Miles In The Arctic In 2017
#35
A House Built Under A Large Boulder (Portugal)
#36
Ever Wondered How They Install Those Huge Power Line Towers ?
#37
Tree Bent As A Sapling Has Grown With A Twist
#38
500 Circulated $1 Bills Next To 500 Un-Circulated $1 Bills
#39
This Is What Happens To Aluminum When A 1/2 Oz Piece Of Plastic Hits It At 15,000 Mph In Space
David 2 years ago
Googled - In case you were wondering about the thickness - this was not in space. It is a land based test NASA did to show the damage. And another source said the projectile was 1.2 ounce, not 1/2 ounce. But that's still a big hole from a little thing moving really fast. -- Bonus info, to thig is " the act of begging". I typoed thing as thig and wondered why it didn't flag as a spelling error. I didn't know thig was a word.
#40
Salt Ponds In San Francisco Bay; Red From Algae That Thrive In Salty Water (Aerial By Nearmap)
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What do you think ?
Meep-Meep 2 years ago
Tell me why Bored Panda now has pop-up ads, ads between posts, and content trying to sell everyone things? This is annoying
trollingergirl 2 years ago
Nature is unbelievable. So, my favorites are the Dragonsaur, the big Horse and the sapling with the twist.
Meep-Meep 2 years ago
Tell me why Bored Panda now has pop-up ads, ads between posts, and content trying to sell everyone things? This is annoying
trollingergirl 2 years ago
Nature is unbelievable. So, my favorites are the Dragonsaur, the big Horse and the sapling with the twist.
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