Most of the time, we take many things for granted as we go about our daily routines. As a result, we never stop to consider how things are made and built. Yet much of what we see every day looks very strange before it becomes the final product we recognize. Here are some photos that reveal the hidden side of how everyday things are done.
This is what the inside of a lighter looks like.
Ever wondered how those long lighters work? Well, it turns out they are the exact same thing as the smaller ones. Instead of spending time and money coming up with a brand new way of storing gas, BIC figured out it was easier to just adapt their existing model into a different shell.
This is how Amazon products get delivered in Venice.
If you know anything about Venice, you know this Italian city has no roads, only canals. Considering this fact, it makes sense that Amazon packages have to be delivered by boat. Still, the more we look at this picture, we less our brains want to believe it’s real.
Astronauts’ food needs to be stuck to their trays with velcro.
Due to the lack of gravity, every portion of food astronauts want to eat has to be stuck to their trays with velcro. It might look funny or impractical to individually stick all your food pouches to your plate, but the alternative is grabbing them while they float around the International Space Station.
This is how locks work.
How is it possible that locks won’t open with all kinds of keys? This picture explains why the key has to match the exact pattern of the lock in order to open it. Only when the right key is inserted into the keyhole, the pins on the lock will align with the track and the key will be able to turn and open the lock.
Wait, is this the “metal” ball inside spray paints?!
If you have ever used a can of spray paint before, you know you have to shake it before using it. And when you do that, you hear a small metal ball bouncing inside the can… Or so we thought! It turns out the ball inside this type of can is just a regular marble.
Traffic lights before they are installed.
If you are anything like us, you spend a lot of time trying to understand how things got to where they are. For example, how did those traffic lights end up on the street and how is it possible that they don’t bend or fly away when the wind is too strong? Well, it turns out traffic lights are safely attached to concrete blocks to weigh them down.
This is how Hollywood saves money on background crowds.
Instead of hiring hundreds of actors to just sit on bleachers all day, many movie production companies will just use these unrealistic-looking dolls. They might look pretty funny up close but they are pretty convincing people from far away.
This is how car manufacturers hide their prototypes during road tests.
When car manufacturers need to test their unreleased cars on the street but don’t want people to see them yet, they wrap the cars up in different types of fabric. This not only conceals the brand logo but also the design features of their unreleased cars.
This is how they “stack up” all those towels at Bed, Bath & Beyond.
If you thought those walls covered with hundreds of towels stacked up on top of each other actually filled with hundreds of towels, you were wrong. To make things easier for their employees, Bed, Bath & Beyond uses foam displays to make each towel look like five.
This is how water looks after being filtered by oysters.
The water in both tanks pictured here comes from the same place and was taken at the same time. The only difference between these two tanks is that while the one on the left doesn’t have any oysters, the one on the right does. Impressive.
If you have ever wondered how graffiti got there…
Graffiti on high bridges and buildings is so common that we never stop to think about how it is done. Do these people actually climb all the way up just to vandalize some properties? It turns out that yes, they do.
Ever wondered how chase scenes are shot in Hollywood?
This is a behind-the-scenes picture from the movie Baby Driver. As we can see here, while the actor is pretending to drive, there is a real driver sitting on top of the vehicle. This allows the actor to focus on acting, while someone else focuses on driving. Another common way of shooting these scenes is using towed cars.
This is how they move isles at the grocery store.
Have you ever walked into your regular grocery store and thought you were in a completely different place? It turns out moving aisles around is a lot easier than we would have expected – the only tool required for the job is a lifting jack (or several of them)!
If you ever wondered how they install those huge power line towers, here you go.
Um. What? This image looks like something out of a surreal dream. But yes, this is actually how power line towers are put into the ground. This actually makes way more sense than a bunch of people pushing it into place, but that doesn’t make this sight any less weird to behold.
What’s more dangerous than rock climbing? Taking the climber’s picture.
Rock climbing can be quite a scary sport. It takes strength, practice, and lots of courage. But even scarier than that is climbing on a ladder attached to a rock to take pictures of someone climbing right under you. That is a brave professional.
This is how kids get x-rays.
We don’t know whether we would laugh or just be speechless, but apparently, X-raying little kids looks like this. It’s basically like when you put too much fruit in the blender for your smoothie, except this is way more adorable. This kid looks a little freaked out and we don’t blame him, because this is totally weird.
Just casually unloading potatoes at the potato chip factory.
We never really imagined how potatoes are unloaded at a potato chip factory, but we definitely would NOT have guessed it looks like this. Honestly, this actually makes a lot of sense, since it would take way longer to carry in all those heavy potatoes by hand. Still, it’s pretty crazy that one day someone just decided to lift the truck in the air instead.
Ever wondered how brick streets always look so neat?
We had no idea how brick streets were laid, but we really didn’t expect it to look like this. We just kind of assumed that it was done manually, brick by brick. But this is actually way more practical Clearly, our society is more advanced than we give it credit for.
This is how ATMs never run out of cash.
This picture solves one of life’s greatest mysteries. Anyone who has used an ATM has wondered how they always have money and where our cash goes when we make a deposit. It turns out the process is not as automatic as it may appear: a bank employee refills these machines manually.
Just building a bridge, no big deal.
Building a bridge over water is more work than any of us had imagined. In order to connect one point to another, cofferdams are built to allow construction below the waterline. These are temporary watertight enclosures that allow workers to stay dry while building bridges or even repairing ships.
Sorry to ruin the magic, but this is how M&M’s dispensers are refilled at M&M’s world.
Anyone who has ever visited an M&M’s World store in London, New York or Shanghai has wondered how these walls get filled with chocolate candies. This store has wall-to-wall chocolate dispensers that always seem to be completely full, and here’s how they do it.
Spacesuits look even cooler on the inside.
Astronauts have the coolest job. They get to see parts of our universe that most of us will never be able to see. They also get to wear super cool spacesuits. If you had ever wondered what these suits looked like inside, this is it.
So potatoes do not simply appear at the supermarket?
We all knew our vegetables didn’t grow at the supermarket, but we did not imagine this. There are hundreds of thousands of potatoes being stored in this unit. They are dug up from the fields and then brought to this area with the help of conveyors.
What? There are tables made of cardboard?
If you have an Ikea lack table, you have probably noticed it is very lightweight. Way too light to be made out of wood. And that’s because it isn’t. Our favorite coffee table is actually filled with cardboard inside. It turns out this honeycomb structure can be sturdier than regular particle boards. Amazing.
Fire hydrants are not installed on the sidewalk.
Who would have known? Fire hydrants are actually way bigger than the red connection points we see on the sidewalk. The red above-ground fire hydrants we know are connected to underground tubes that connect them to a water supply.
Just a truck extracting salt from a mine, no big deal.
Salt is such a staple when it comes to spices nowadays, but did you know that in the past salt was so expensive it was considered a sign of wealth? We cannot imagine living without salty french fries and
New soda fountains are refilled with big cartridges like a printer.
How cool is this? New soda machine models are refilled with ink cartridges! I mean… They are not actually filled with ink, it’s just syrup, but they look just like good old printer ink cartridges. Does this mean we are living in the future?
Now we understand how snap bands work.
Slap bracelets were the coolest thing when we were children. A simple movement would make these fashionable accessories wrap up around our wrists. But have you ever wondered how they were made? Apparently, they used tape measures as a curling-up mechanism.
Ever wondered how Redbox machines always give you the right DVD?
Just like ATMs, Redbox kiosks are so full of mystery. How do they always give us the right DVD? How are they refilled? It turns out there’s a rotating system inside them. This makes it easy for the machine to organize every film so it never misplaces items.
Don’t try this at home.
If you have ever wondered what happens when you pull down the fire alarm switch, there you go. The switch triggers this metal switch behind it. This way, once the fire alarm is turned on, it can’t be turned off without opening the box with the key.
This is where your pool balls go when they fall into the pockets.
This makes so much sense. How come we never figured it out before? When a billiards ball falls into a pocket, it rolls down until reaching a central tube that leads to the opening on the side of the table. Wow.
This maze is hidden underneath floor heating systems.
If you live in a cold place, you probably have or know someone who has a floor heating system. This amazing solution keeps our feet warm even when it’s freezing outside. But if you have ever wondered how that system worked, here you go. This is what the ground looks like before the flooring is installed.
Ever wondered what happens underneath a gas station?
Filling up your gas is such an ordinary activity that we never stop to think about it. But it turns out that the pump we use to refuel our cars is actually connected to an underground gas tank. This tank can be accessed through manholes for repairs and filling with gas or diesel.
This is Lego before it becomes Lego.
Lego has been around for so long that we never think about the fact that the little bricks have to be manufactured in a factory. But if you ever wondered what Lego pieces look like before they get molded into their final form, this is it.
This is how movies use lighting equipment to portray time
Getty Images / AP / YASIN AKGUL
Whether you need to shoot a daytime scene after the sun has set or you’re filming a midnight mystery but still need to see the actors’ faces, movies require very precise lighting equipment. Teams of people use high-powered lights, colored gels, and reflective shades to make sure the mood of the lighting matches the director’s vision.
This is what a 2-liter bottle looks like before expansion.
Water bottles are such ordinary objects that we never stop to think about how they are made. But it turns out this process is very interesting. They are first molded into small plastic tubes and then blown with pressurized air to expand.
Pizza “makelines” help speed up the fast food process
Getty Images / The Washington Post / The Washington Post
Pizzas, unlike many other fast food options, require a considerable amount of time to cook. To expedite the process, pizza chains like Dominos Pizza have implemented specialized kitchens with efficient pizza-making systems. These systems often feature makelines, which consist of carefully arranged topping dishes resembling an assembly line. Additionally, the makeline setups incorporate grates to catch any spills, ensuring a clean and organized workspace.
This is how toothpaste patterns always come out perfect.
We all have wondered how our toothpaste always comes out with the right pattern. No matter which angle it’s held from, the tube always dispenses the same colors in the same order. Looking at this picture, it’s easy to understand how the patterns are always the same. So clever!
These are cacao beans used to make chocolate.
Have you ever wondered where chocolate comes from? It comes from these huge seeds from cacao trees. These beans are the reason why we can enjoy our favorite chocolate bars and chocolate ice creams. Yum!
Your inner child deserves to know how Cookie Monster’s googly eyes move.
Even if Cookie Monster was not your favorite Sesame Street character, this is a good one. His pupils are black discs attached by a pin to white balls, allowing them to move around freely. So clever.
This kind soul is removing sneakers from power lines.
Whether you live in a big city or a small town, you have definitely seen shoes hanging from power lines. While we don’t know how they are placed or tossed all the way up there, this is how they are taken down: a blowtorch on a fiberglass pole…
Ever wondered how owls sit down?
This picture is not Photoshopped, this owl really does appear to be sitting cross-legged. But unfortunately, owls do not cross their legs when they sit down. What you are seeing is an owl actually sitting normally on its hocks.
Imagine making a typo…
Before computers existed, musicians already needed to type music. So music typewriters were invented to help fix this problem. The machine above is a Keaton Music Typewriter from 1953.
How to write a note in braille.
We have all encountered Braille signs by elevator buttons and restaurant menus. But have you ever wondered how you can write braille yourself? This is how this tool works: you place the slate on top of a piece of paper and use the stylus to punch braille dots.
Not only cars get towed.
If you have ever wondered if motorcycles get the same treatment as cars when being towed, this is your answer. Motorcycles are tied with a chain and hung from a towing truck all the way to the parking lot where its owner can get it back.
Giraffes curl up to sleep. How cute!
Giraffes are such tall, imponent animals. But when they sleep they actually look very different from that. These huge animals like to curl up in a ball shape to sleep. In fact, they like to rest their heads on their hips. So adorable.
Three-sided stairs do not look so safe inside.
Looking at the finished project above, we would never guess that this is what the steps look like inside. How crazy is it to think that these thin wooden planks are all the support needed to hold these stairs and people up? So impressive.
This is not a cool genetic trait. These are stitches from a cornea transplant surgery.
Not many of us have wondered what stitched-up eyes look like, but we should have. This cool pattern is made of stitches on someone’s eye after having a cornea transplant surgery. These stitches are temporary, but hopefully, this person’s good vision is forever.
These are the onesies Geckos wear to warm up in the winter.
Just kidding! This is what geckos look like when they shed skin. As we learned in school, reptiles shed skin to replace it with a new one. This makes it easier for them to repair wounds or skin damage, and also allows them to grow.
We’re never complaining about our jobs again.
If you have ever been to a medieval town, you have seen these tubes built on the exterior of castles. This is where the bathrooms are located. Back in the day, toilets were connected to a pit under the castles, where all residue would be deposited.
Not so magic after all.
Magic 8-Balls were all the rage when we were younger. We would ask them questions and make life decisions based on the wisdom of these spheres. But apparently, these magic balls were only a cute exterior for a talkative die.
Pearls before being harvested.
We all know that pearls grow inside oysters. But the reality looks nothing like the cartoons we used to watch as kids. Oysters do not open in half to reveal an empty interior except for a single huge pearl.
Close, but not good enough.
Counterfeit money is something we all hope to avoid. One way of making sure the bills we have are real is holding them against a source of light. 50-dollar bills have a faint watermark which is a picture of President Ulysses S. Grant, while the fake ones have… Whoever this is…
Pinball machines count how many times they’ve been played.
Pinball machines were definitely one of the best parts of the arcade. And this particular one can prove it. These machines have a counter for the number of times they have been played, and as we can see in this picture, its owner definitely used it enough to get their money’s worth.
This is what the back of a McDonald’s soda fountain looks like.
Soda fountains are machines filled with boxes of flavored soda syrups. Whenever you get a drink, the syrup is mixed with carbon dioxide and water and turns into regular soda. This means that these huge boxes of syrup last way longer than a container of regular liquid soda.
this is what commercial mushroom farming looks like.
Imgur
We know that mushrooms grow naturally in the wild, but did you know that they are commercially produced and grown as well? In fact, most of the world’s supply comes from commercial mushroom growers. Whether mushrooms are grown indoors or outdoors, mushroom production is very labor intensive.
What do artists see before going onstage?
This is what the outside of a theater looks like. Less fancy than the inside of the room, from behind the stage you can see all seats and lighting equipment. This is where all the unseen theater magic happens during a play or concert.
This is where your bowling pins get stuck.
If you have ever wondered what the behind-the-scenes of a bowling alley looks like, here you go. When your pin gets stuck and stops the game, this is where the employee has to go fix the problem. How different does it look from the rest of the alley?!
Pineapples don’t grow on trees?
This might come as a shock to some of you, so we recommend you sit down. Apparently, pineapples don’t grow on pineapple trees, but on plants. Each plant bears a single fruit, which is why pineapple fields are so large.
Just a regular day at the traffic control room in Beijing.
Beijing is known for its tough traffic, so it makes sense that its traffic control room is one of the most impressive in the world. In fact, traffic there is so intense that in August 2010 a 62-mile long traffic jam lasted 12 days before people managed to traverse the Beijing-Tibet expressways.
Tumbleweeds are green before they dry up.
If you have ever seen a single movie about the Old West, you know that tumbleweeds are dry objects that roam around the land being carried by the wind. But it turns out that before they reach that stage, tumbleweeds are very green and lively.
Now we understand how Chinese soldiers keep their perfect posture.
To be a soldier, one has to take their job very seriously. But judging by this tradition, no one takes their military duties as seriously as Chinese soldiers do. Yup, these soldiers actually keep a sharp pin on their uniform collar, which is how they keep that perfect posture. Mystery solved.
Just moving a few blocks away.
Want to move to another city but love your current house? Problem solved! Yes, some houses can be transported just by rolling them down the street. We’re pretty sure anyone who saw this unusual sight couldn’t look away, because this just isn’t something you see every day.
How are koalas weighed? Glad you asked. This is how.
If you thought koalas could not get any cuter than they already are… You were wrong. They can look a lot cuter when they are not being their normal selves. Apparently, these marsupials are weighed using a small perch on top of a scale so they can feel safe during this process.
This is what a gas pump looks like inside.
Did you know the gas we use to fill up our cars is stored under the gas station? And did you know that the connection between the nozzle we use and these underground gas tanks is hidden inside the gas pumps? This is what they look like inside.
There is a secret suite inside Cinderella’s Castle at Disney World.
Disney World is definitely a magical place. It is home to some of the best amusement park rides out there and it even hides secret rooms for special guests. This suite inside the Cinderella Castle can’t simply be booked by anyone and is only used by high-level celebrities and contest winners.
“the clothes on your back come from somewhere. that somewhere is ultimately a farm”.
From the foods that we eat to the clothes on our backs, all of it comes from somewhere. Whether it’s a farm or factory, it’s how we get our essential needs. Cotton seeds are planted in the Spring time and harvested in the Fall, and take about 6 months to mature in order to be harvested.
Movie theaters are way less interesting without a screen…
You have probably been to numerous movie theaters in your life, but have you ever seen one without the screen? It turns out that the space behind the screen hides its sound system. Fun fact: most of the dialogue from movies is heard from the central speaker.
This is how your hand works.
Even though it looks like it was taken from a sci-fi movie scene, this picture actually shows the blood vessels of a human hand. It’s crazy to think that something we use every day can look so different from what we see.
This is how they grow goats in Morocco.
Just kidding! This is actually how argan oil is made. Argan trees in Morroco produce tasty fruits that attract local goats to climb up. Once the goats eat the fruits and the pulp has passed through their digestive systems, people take their droppings and collect the seeds to make argan oil.
So, you have your cousins, then you have your first cousins…
The Cousin Explainer is the best gift to bring to your next family reunion. If you want to know how you are related to Aunt Alice or Cousin Carol, all you need to do is take a quick look at the chart.
This is how tissue boxes work.
Tissue boxes seem to have a very simple, yet sophisticated system. Somehow, the tissues are folded in a way that allows us to always keep pulling them one by one. So if you want to recreate this origami at home, this is how you should do it.
This is what an abandoned doll factory looks like.
This picture might be a little creepy but it’s also very interesting. If you have ever wondered what an abandoned doll factory would look like, this is your answer. This specific factory is located in Segorbe, Castellón, Spain.
This girl’s eyes and nose were completely destroyed after she was accidentally shot in the face so surgeons created a prosthetic face to cover her injuries.
At 16 years of age, Chrissy Steltz was accidentally shot in the face with a shotgun. The blast destroyed her eyes and her nose. However years later a team of doctors in Oregon go together to create a prosthetic face that would cover her injuries. The making of the facial prosthesis took a total of four days including making a cast of Steltz’s face, creating the molds, baking the silicone prosthesis, and applying them on her face.
The giant crystals at the Cave of the Crystals in Naica, Mexico.
These selenite crystals are so huge they make the people in the cave look like tiny dolls. Found in a chamber below a working mine in Naica, Mexico, the Cave of the Crystals is home to some of the largest crystals ever discovered on Earth.
The interesting process of making Ronald McDonald statues.
Even though it doesn’t look like it, this is the process of making a very common object. This weird-looking thing is actually a molding cast for Ronald McDonald statues. If you are ever sitting on a McDonald’s bench near Ronald, remember this is how he was made.