We’re all tired of seeing pictures of the Statue of Liberty, the Egyptian pyramids, and the Moon Landing. Even if we haven’t seen these things in person, we definitely know what they look like. Or at least that’s what we thought… It turns out there’s an unseen side to every well-known place and event in history and we are here to show them to you.
Neil Armstrong’s family watching him launch to the Moon (1969).
On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first person to ever walk on the Moon. As part of the Apollo 11 mission, commander Neil Armstrong, lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin, and command module pilot safely landed the Apollo Lunar Module Eagle on the lunar surface. The mission lasted 8 days, 3 hours, 18 minutes, 35 seconds.
Eruption of Mount St. Helens seen from Yale Lake (1980).
On March 20, 1980, Mount St. Helens experienced a magnitude 4.2 earthquake, and a week later, steam venting started. On May 18, there was a second earthquake (this time of magnitude 5.1), which triggered a collapse of the northern flank of the mountain. The eruption caused the largest known debris avalanche in recorded history, flattening vegetation and buildings over 230 square miles and releasing more than 1.5 million metric tons of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere.
The longest-running game show in history, The Price Is Right was initially hosted by Bill Cullen and broadcast on NBC. Since the beginning of the franchise in 1956, the show has remained extremely successful and has even been ranked by TV Guide as one of the greatest game shows ever. The show format has even been adapted for several international TV channels in countries such as United Kingdom, Australia, and Mexico.
Statue of David by Michelangelo encased in bricks to prevent damage from bombs during World War II (1943).
In January 1943, Michelangelo’s David was entombed in brick to protect it from bombs. The 17-ft marble statue of the Biblical figure David was kept encased for two and a half years until it was decided it was safe to reveal it again. When the time came to remove its protection, preservationist Deane Keller wrote to his wife, “The bright spot yesterday was seeing Michelangelo’s David at length divested of its air-raid protection. It was dusty and dirty but it was a great thrill.”
The back of Cinderella’s castle.
To many people’s surprise, the back of Cinderella’s castle at Disney World is not flat or unpainted. In fact, it looks just as beautiful as its front. Completed in July 1971, it took 18 months for the 189-ft tall castle to be built. Cinderella’s Castle is the flagship attraction for Magic Kingdom and the main symbol of The Walt Disney Company.
The alleged silhouette in the NBA logo: Jerry West playing for the Lakers (1969).
One of the most identifiable images in sports, the NBA logo was created in 1969 by brand consultant Alan Siegel. Looking for inspiration, he found a photo of Jerry West playing and made it a prototype for the logo. While the artist never tried to hide his inspiration, the league never officially confirmed that the image was modeled after the athlete.
The Gate of Heaven in Bali, often seen online with a reflecting pool digitally added to the foreground.
Located on Mount Lempuyang, Gate of Heaven is a famous Hindu temple that most of us have seen in pictures. It turns out that the mesmerizing pictures of tourists posing by a beautiful mirror-like lake do not reflect reality. In fact, the reflection we see in photos is a photography trick and this is what the area surrounding the structure looks like in real life.
Charles Ebbets shooting his famous photograph, Lunch atop a Skyscraper, while perching on the 69th floor of the GE building (1932).
One of the most famous photographs of the last century, Lunch atop a Skyscraper depicted eleven Rockefeller Center construction workers casually eating lunch while sitting on a beam hanging 840 feet in the air. Pictured here is the photographer responsible for capturing the iconic picture, Charles Ebbets.
The Pyramids of Giza are located only 11 miles away from Cairo.
Whenever we see pictures of the pyramids in Egypt, it always looks like they are located in the middle of the desert and hundreds of miles away from civilization. In reality, the Giza Pyramid Complex actually sits about 11 miles southwest of downtown Cairo and can be easily reached by a 15-minute drive.
While filming the wreck of the Titanic, the movie set was inverted to ease lighting and camera angles (1997).
Based on the sinking of the RMS Titanic, the 1997 movie Titanic was nominated for 14 Academy Awards and won 11. To film the scene of the shipwreck, director James Cameron chose to invert the set. This way, his crew would have better lighting and camera angles.
Mount Fuji seen from the International Space Station.
The highest mountain in Japan, Mount Fuji is a 100,000-year-old UNESCO World Heritage Site. Although we have all seen pictures of what it looks like from Earth, not many people have been able to see what it looks like from the International Space Station.
Dental prosthetics used by Marlon Brando in the Godfather series, which gave the Vito Corleone character his iconic ‘bulldog’ look.
To achieve his iconic ‘bulldog” look in the Godfather series, Marlon Brando had to wear a custom-made mouthpiece. The dental plumper was created by a dentist under the supervision of legendary makeup artist Dick Smith to age Brando’s jawline.
The Great Sphinx has a tail.
The Great Sphinx of Giza is the oldest known monumental sculpture in Egypt and one of the most recognizable statues in the whole world. It is a statue of a resting sphinx, a mythical creature with the head of a man, and the body of a lion. For this reason, it has a tail.
The film crew of Elf used forced perspective to make Will Ferrell seem larger than the other elves.
To make Will Ferrel’s character look larger than the other elves in Elf, the crew used a technique forced perspective. This technique manipulates our visual perception through the use of scaled objects and the correlation between them and the vantage point of the camera.
The Nevermind album cover baby getting out of the pool (1991).
Released on September 24, 1991, Nirvana’s Nevermind is one of the best-selling albums of all time – and was even added to the National Recording Registry in 2004 as “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant”. Just like the music in the album, its cover, featuring a baby swimming toward a dollar bill, is one of the most famous album covers in popular music.
Mount Rushmore before the Presidents were carved in. It was called Six Grandfathers at this point (c. 1905).
Before it became known as Mount Rushmore, this granite formation in the Black Hills was called “The Six Grandfathers” by the Lakota people. Completed on October 31, 1941, the mountain now pays tribute to four United States presidents – George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln.
Jerry Seinfeld waiting for his cue to enter a scene while taping the last episode of the show (1998).
We all know that Seinfeld was filmed in a set, not a real apartment, but it’s still a little bit weird to see it from this angle. The pilot episode and first three seasons of the show were filmed in smaller studios, but as Seinfeld grew, the crew was forced to relocate to the largest stage on the lot, Stage 9.
Inside view of the glass pyramid at Musèe du Louvre, Paris.
A landmark of the city of Paris, the Louvre Pyramid serves as the main entrance to the Louvre Museum. Designed by Chinese-American architect I. M. Pei, the glass and metal structure was built as part of the Grand Louvre project and completed in 1988. This is what it looks like from the inside.
Behind the scenes of Sesame Street.
On air since November 10, 1969, Sesame Street is an American educational TV show that combines puppetry, live-action, sketch comedy and animation. The show is so popular that in 2018, it was estimated that 86 million Americans had watched the series as children.
Mechanical shark used on Spielberg’s Jaws.
To create the illusion of a real-life shark, Spielberg combined animatronic sharks and real-life footage. Mixing footage of real sharks shot off the coast of Australia and 25-foot long animatronic sharks filmed in the open sea, Spielberg created a cinematic masterpiece called Jaws.
The Great Pyramids of Giza can be seen from a nearby Pizza Hut.
As it turns out, most images of the Giza Pyramids are shot from a specific angle that makes them look remote. However, less than a mile away from the pyramids and the Great Sphinx, there’s a Pizza Hut with incredible views of the historic sites.
View of the Niagara Falls from behind the falls.
Ever wondered what the Niagara Falls look like from the other side? There is an observation platform and tunnels near the bottom of the Horseshoe Falls that allow you to see the Canadian landmark from behind the falls.
A more realistic view of the Taj Mahal.
Designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 for being “the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world’s heritage”, the Taj Mahal is an Indian landmark. However, whenever we see pictures of the ivory-white marble mausoleum they are usually shot from a very different angle.
Sunset from space.
Sure, the sunset looks beautiful from Earth. The pink, yellow, orange hues we get to see every day are truly stunning. But it’s also pretty cool to see what it looks like from space.
The models for American Gothic (1942).
One of the most familiar images of 20th-century American art, American Gothic is a 1930 painting by Grant Wood that depicts a farmer standing beside his daughter. The artist was inspired to paint a specific house located in Eldon, Iowa, along with the people he imagined would live there. The figures were modeled by the painter’s sister Nan Wood Graham and their dentist Dr. Byron McKeeby.
Crowds at the Woodstock Music Festival (1969).
Widely regarded as a pivotal moment in popular music history, Woodstock Music and Art Fair was a music festival that took place in August 1969. Even though the festival organizers predicted no more than 50,000 people would attend the event, over 400,000 music lovers showed up at the venue.
Wilbur Wright flies around the Statue of Liberty (1909).
As part of the 300th New York Hudson-Fulton Celebrations, The Wright Brothers were invited by the US Navy to perform a flyby alongside their naval vessels. In front of over a million New Yorkers, on October 4, 1909, Wilbur Wright made a 20-mile flight up the Hudson River in 33 minutes.
The inside of King Tut’s tomb.
Discovered in 1922 underneath the remains of workmen’s huts built during the Ramesside Period, the tomb of young pharaoh Tutankhamun is located in the Valley of the Kings, in Egypt. While many of us have seen pictures of his mask found inside the burial chamber, this is what the wall decorations in his tomb look like.
The iconic Muhammad Ali photo and how that moment looked on television (1965).
Captured on May 25, 1965, the picture above is the most iconic photo in boxing history. Although Muhammad Ali and Sonny Liston had fought each other in 1964, this rematch happened a year later. The picture below it shows how it was seen on live TV.
Aurora Borealis seen from the International Space Station (2011).
If you have been lucky enough to see the Aurora Borealis and thought that nothing could ever be more beautiful than that, you were wrong. It turns out these colorful lights can also be seen from space – making them seem even more fascinating. This picture was captured by the crew of expeditions 28 and 29 onboard the International Space Station in 2011.
Aerial view of Central Park, New York.
Located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan, Central Park is the fifth-largest park in New York City, covering 843 acres. It is also the most visited urban park in the entire country, with approximately 42 million visitors every year.
The Statue of Liberty being displayed at the Paris World’s Fair (1878).
Not everyone knows, but the Statue of Liberty was a gift from France to the United States. The statue was designed by French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and its metal framework was built by Gustave Eiffel. Before it was dedicated in 1886, Lady Liberty’s head was displayed at the Paris World Fair in 1878.
The Shenzhen (China) – Hong Kong border (2017).
Separating Hong Kong from China, this is a 25-mile-long boundary that runs in the middle of the Shenzhen River. On the left is the city of Shenzhen in China, on the right is the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
A man standing on the first cables during the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge (1935).
Opened on May 27, 1937, the Golden Gate Bridge connects San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean. Construction for the suspension bridge started on January 5, 1933, and ended on April 19, 1937.
Marilyn Monroe filming the iconic subway grate scene in The Seven Year Itch (1955).
Even if you have never watched The Seven Year Itch, you have definitely seen a picture of this iconic movie scene. The moment is so important in cinematic history that to this day the white dress worn by Marilyn Monroe is considered one of the most iconic images of the 20th century.
The backside of the Hoover Dam before Lake Mead filled (1935).
Looking downstream from the Arizona rim, this photo shows the upstream face of the Hoover Dam slowly disappear as Lake Mead filled back in May 1935. If you were wondering what the four structures in front of it are, they’re water intake towers.
Another picture of the Afghan Girl (1984).
Sometimes referred to as “the First World’s Third World Mona Lisa”, Afghan Girl is a photographic portrait of Sharbat Gula taken by photojournalist Steve McCurry in 1984. At the time the photograph was taken, Gula was a child living in a refugee camp in Pakistan during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.
Barcelona as seen from above.
Unlike most cities in the world, Barcelona was an intentional city constructed by central planners. For this reason, it looks perfectly tidy and symmetrical. Now, if you were wondering what is the large structure toward the center of the picture, it’s the beautiful La Sagrada Familia cathedral.
Inside the Hindenburg’s control room and dining room.
The LZ 129 Hindenburg was a German commercial airship that flew from March 1936 until May 1937 – when it was destroyed by fire in a tragic accident. The upper deck of the airship contained small passengers quarters, a dining room and a lounge, the lower deck contained washrooms, a mess hall for the crew and a smoking room.
The Chicago skyline seen from Indiana.
If you are from Chicago or have visited the largest city in Illinois, you have seen the buildings that compose this beautiful skyline. But if you’re from Indiana, maybe you’ve had the chance to see it from a completely different angle. We wonder what Porter, Indiana, looks like when seen from Chicago…
Batman & Robin scaling the side of a building (1966).
Have you ever wondered how they filmed superhero movies and TV shows before CGI and green screens? Directors and their crews really had to be creative back then. For this Batclimb scene, the actors filmed everything at a 90-degree angle to pretend they were really scaling the side of a building.
The basement beneath the Lincoln Memorial.
The Undercroft, as the Lincoln Memorial basement is known, was originally created just as part of the supporting structure of the building. For a while, the National Park Service offered flashlight tours of the area, but since 1989 it has been closed to the public.
Construction of the world’s tallest building, Burj Khalifa (2008).
Reaching an impressive 2,717-ft height, Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world. The skyscraper is located in Dubai and cost US$1.5 billion to complete. The construction of the building commenced in January 2004 and was concluded in October 2009.
Uncropped version of the Tank Man photo from the day of the Tiananmen Square Massacre (1989).
Giving the original Tank Man photo even more weight, here’s its uncropped version. While the famous picture shows a brave anonymous man stopping the advance of four tanks in Beijing, the reality is a lot more terrifying than that. There was an endless column of tanks on the road that day.
Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa Is Returned To The Louvre After WWII.
In February 1943, Da Vinci’s most famous painting, the Mona Lisa, was moved to Château de Montal where it was hidden during the war. When Germany surrendered in May 1945, the Louvre’s artwork slowly began to return to the museum. The Mona Lisa returned on June 16, 1945, but was only rehung on October 6, 1947.
Traffic Jam near the Brandenburg Gate as East Germans move into West Berlin after the fall of the Berlin Wall (1989).
Travel had always been free between East and West Berlin until the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961. After the wall fell on November 11, 1989, thousands of East Germans decided to drive to the other side of the city – which caused a heavy traffic jam by the Brandenburg Gate.
The recording of the MGM Lion (1928).
Hollywood film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s feline mascot was called Leo the Lion. However, from all the lions used to film their logo throughout the years, only one was actually called Leo. The one pictured above, for example, is called Jackie.
Color photo of the Addams Family set showing the living room was actually pink (1964).
The set of the 1964 sitcom Adams Family was a lot different than we could have imagined. To make sure the background would light up well and not blend with the foreground elements when shooting in black and white, all elements were bright and colorful.
Aerial view of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France.
One of the most famous monuments in Paris, the Arc de Triomphe honors those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. With an overall height of 164 ft, it was the tallest triumphal arch in the world until the completion of the Monumento a la Revolución in Mexico City in 1938.
U.S. East Coast seen from space.
Captured by the International Space Station, this nighttime photograph shows a pretty different view of the U.S. East Coast. If you needed a reminder of how massive the universe is, just take a closer look at this mesmerizing picture.
The filming of Star Wars: Episode V‘s “I Am Your Father” scene (1979).
Even if you have never seen a single Star Wars movie, you have probably heard the phrase “No, I am your father”. This is how the iconic scene was shot back in 1979. When The Empire Strikes Back was released in 1980, it became the highest-grossing film of the year, earning approximately $401.5 million worldwide.
The inside of Stonehenge looks pretty much like its exterior.
One of the most famous landmarks in the United Kingdom, Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument. It consists of an outer ring of 13-ft tall stones weighing around 25 tons topped by horizontal stones. However, what you might not know is that inside the monument there is a ring of smaller bluestones.
The underside of an NHL arena.
Just as we would expect, there isn’t a lot to see underneath an NHL arena. But it’s still pretty cool to see the structure where we sit to watch the games from the other side. It’s good to know the bleachers look pretty sturdy from all angles.
Filming the first-ever Superman movie (1978).
A box-office success, the first Superman movie was released in 1978. The film set a new record for business during a pre-Christmas week in the U.S. with a remarkable $12,044,352. Pictured above are Christopher Reeve as Clark Kent and Margot Kidder as Lois Lane.
Tulip Fields in the Netherlands.
Located southwest of Amsterdam, the town of Lisse is known for the Keukenhof garden and its millions of spring-flowering bulbs. Here you can see what Lisse’s beautiful flower fields look like from above.
Space Shuttle Atlantis’ last rollout for her final mission (2011).
Delivered to the Kennedy Space Center in April 1985, Space Shuttle Atlantis was the fourth operational and the second-to-last Space Shuttle built. Its maiden flight took place from October 3rd to 7th, 1985, and it embarked on its final mission on July 8th, 2011. By the end of Atlantis’ final mission, on July 21, 2011, it had orbited the Earth a total of 4,848 times, traveling almost 126,000,000 miles.
The Eiffel Tower seen from above.
At 1,063-ft tall, the Eiffel Tower is the tallest structure in Paris. Completed in 1889, the wrought-iron lattice tower has become one of the most recognizable structures in the entire world. To put its height in perspective, it is as tall as an 81-story building.
The original shot for Neil Young’s After the Gold Rush album cover (1970).
This is what the original picture that became Neil Young’s After the Gold Rush album cover looked like. Before the solarization process and cropping Graham Nash out of the photo, it almost looked like an unintentional shot. Photographer Joel Bernstein explained why there was an elderly woman in the frame: “The photo was not ‘a mistake.’ I saw the small, old woman coming towards us down the sidewalk, was intrigued, and wanted to catch her passing Neil.”
Some of the original Jawa cast without their hoods on the set of Star Wars (1976).
Whether you are a huge Star Wars fan or just someone who has seen the movies once, you have probably wondered what Jawas looked like under their hoods. Well, it turns out they were portrayed by children and adults of short stature.
Windows 10’s desktop wallpaper is made out of light, not CGI.
For the Windows 10 wallpaper, Microsoft decided to get creative. The software company used camera mapping techniques, lasers and projectors to create the dark and misty logo used on their computers.
Alternate view of St John’s Bridge in Portland Oregon.
The St. Johns Bridge is a steel suspension bridge that connects the Cathedral Park neighborhood in North Portland and the Linnton and Northwest Industrial neighborhoods in Northwest Portland. With two 400-foot-tall towers and a 205-foot-navigational clearance, it is the tallest bridge in Portland.
Looking down at L.A. from behind the Hollywood sign.
The Hollywood Sign is a cultural icon overlooking the city of Los Angeles. Located on Mount Lee, its 45-ft tall capital letters are one of the most well-known landmarks in the United States. Originally created in 1923 as a temporary advertisement for a local real estate development, the sign originally read “Hollywoodland”.
The other side of the “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign.
We have all seen the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign. But unless you have been to Nevada, you probably haven’t seen the other side of the Las Vegas landmark. Designed by Betty Willis in 1959, the sign has two sides that can be seen by people arriving and leaving the city. The less known side of the sign says, “Drive Carefully, Come Back Soon.”
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