The past isn’t truly gone. It’s still alive in photos, books, films, and people’s memories. Some photos are so iconic that they become known in every corner of the world. And yet, they don’t paint the full picture of that particular time.
‘Mr Interesting’ is a new online community that is dedicated exclusively to sharing interesting, rare, vintage photos, facts, and other curiosities. We’ve collected some of the most powerful images, which make you stop and stare, to give you a fresh glimpse into the past. Scroll down to see history like you’ve never seen it before.
#1 A Million People Gathered To Protest In Central Seoul, South Korea And Cleaned Up Before They Left
Image credits: keisermax34
#2 A Mongolian Girl And Her Camel, United In Laughter, Photographed By Han Chengli In 2003
Image credits: keisermax34
#3 A Statue In Istanbul To Honor Tombili, A Well-Known Stray Cat. He Used To Sit In This Position And Watch Passers-By
Image credits: keisermax34
It’s probably the dream of most photographers to create work that is so powerful that it echoes around the globe.
Truly iconic photos that you can identify at a glance are the height of photography. They resonate with you on a deep level and offer you a glimpse into the very soul of humankind—or at least that’s the idea.
Building up to an iconic photo requires years of dedication, effort…and a big dollop of luck.
#4 Lonnie Johnson Invented The Super Soaker In The Late 1980s. In 2013, He Reached A Settlement With Hasbro That Awarded Him Nearly $73 Million In Unpaid Royalties
Image credits: keisermax34
#5 Drone Captures An Elephant Family Sleeping Together
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#6 South Korea Sent A Fully-Kitted Sharpshooter To The Olympics. Turkey Sent A 51-Year-Old Guy With No Lenses, No Eye Shield Or Ear Protection. He Took Home A Silver Medal
Image credits: keisermax34
CNN points out that iconic images are so dramatic that they embed themselves in your culture. “They have come to define a historical event, a famous person—or maybe even an entire generation.” These photos can be something that makes you feel proud or horrifies you because of the tragedy captured in the frame.
“I think the most important common denominator is that they [iconic photos] strike us on a very deep emotional level, and the emotions are usually some of the deepest emotions that a human being can feel: heroism, fear, grief, joy,” Peter Howe, former director of photography at Life magazine and picture editor at The New York Times Magazine, told CNN about the universality of the emotions depicted in iconic images.
#7 In The 1980s, A Japanese Train Station Was Kept Open For Years Just So One Schoolgirl Could Commute To Class. It Closed After Her Graduation
Image credits: keisermax34
#8 A Man With His Dog In The 1920s
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#9 Former Billionaire Chuck Feeney Secretly Gave Away His $8 Billion Fortune. His Philanthropy Was Exposed In 1997 When A Business Dispute Forced The Disclosure Of His Identity As The Anonymous Donor
Image credits: keisermax34
Meanwhile, former Life magazine picture editor and professional photographer for more than 50 years John Loengard shared with CNN that another important aspect of iconic photos is their uniqueness. That is, they capture an exact, significant moment. There is no way that they can be repeated.
#10 A Dad Who Underwent A Liver Transplant, Taken Just Six Weeks Apart
Image credits: keisermax34
#11 A Father Looking For His Two Missing Sons That Went Missing During The Kosovo War In 1999. (They Were Later Found Safe)
Image credits: keisermax34
#12 Mobster Al Capone Ran A Soup Kitchen During The Great Depression And Served Free Meals To Thousands Of Unemployed People Every Day. No Questions Asked
Image credits: keisermax34
Photography is much more accessible and democratized in this day and age. Nearly everyone has a smartphone with them at all times and has access to the internet and social media. There’s a vast gulf between the number of photos that were taken in the past and how many pics are being snapped today.
#13 A City In Germany Has Created Sleeping Pods For The Homeless
Image credits: keisermax34
#14 Native American Mother And Her Child, 1902
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#15 Magazine Ad From 1996 Predicts What Prices Will Be In 2026
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“I think there are probably more pictures being taken now than there have ever been taken in time. You just walk around and you see people always taking pictures on their iPhone. There’s a massive visual imagery that is being generated by the public,” Howe pointed out.
On the positive side of things, changes in tech mean that you can instantly see the photo you’ve taken, and there are more opportunities to capture exact moments. But not everything is a win.
#16 A Woman Cuts Her Birthday Cake In Iran 1973, 5 Years Before The Islamic Revolution
Image credits: keisermax34
#17 Sombra, A Colombian Police Dog, Was So Skilled That Cartels Put A Bounty On Her Life, Leading Authorities To Assign Her Bodyguards And Relocate Her For Safety
Image credits: keisermax34
#18 A Soviet Woman Who Lost 7 Sons In World War 2
Image credits: keisermax34
On the negative side of the scale, the volume of photographic content being produced now is almost deafening. To put it simply, there are so many photos being shared online that it makes it extremely difficult to find potentially iconic images of high quality.
“I think it’s much more difficult now for any particular image to rise to the surface, because we are so inundated with visual imagery nowadays. … You are getting the image so quickly, and it’s being followed up by so many more images afterward,” Howe told CNN.
#19 In 2006, Guy Goma Showed Up At The Bbc For A Job Interview But Instead Was Mistakenly Interviewed Live On TV As An IT Expert
Image credits: keisermax34
#20 World War I Trenches, Then And Now
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#21 A French Boy Greets Indian Soldiers Who Just Arrived In Marseilles To Fight Alongside French And British Forces, 30 September 1914
Image credits: keisermax34
International Center of Photography curator Carol Squiers adds: “Right now, it’s pretty hit or miss. It’s pretty haphazard and it’s very much focused on the personal. ‘Selfies,’ I’m sure, far outweigh any other pictures that anybody takes. But it’s a process. We’re all undergoing learning experiments with the digital, even though it’s been around for so long.”
According to Squiers, “It’s very easy to take a picture; it is not very easy to take a good picture. And it is even harder to take a picture that lasts through time.”
#22 Robin Williams As A Denver Broncos Cheerleader In 1979
Image credits: keisermax34
#23 San Francisco Policeman Scolds A Man For Not Wearing A Mask During The 1918 Flu Pandemic
Image credits: keisermax34
#24 A Kiowa Girl Named O-O-Be Wears A Three Hide Dress Decorated With Elk Teeth, Oklahoma, 1894
Image credits: keisermax34
The ‘Mr Interesting’ online group is a relatively new addition to Reddit. It was created in late July 2025, but it’s already growing by leaps and bounds. At the time of writing, the community draws in 37,000 weekly visitors and garners over 200 contributions every week. We’ve reached out to the head moderator to learn more about the subreddit and the inspiration behind it, and we’ll update the post as soon as we hear back from them.
#25 In Japan, The Term “Madogiwa-Zoku” Refers To Older Employees Who Stay On The Payroll But Do Almost Nothing, Often As A Gesture Of Respect Or To Avoid Pushing Them Into Early Retirement
Image credits: keisermax34
#26 A Man Recreates A Photo His Grandfather Took In Tokyo, Standing In The Same Spot 73 Years Later
Image credits: keisermax34
#27 Many Japanese Toilets Have A Built-In Sink Above The Water Tank, Allowing Users To Wash Their Hands And Then Reuse That Water For The Next Flush. This Saves Millions Of Liters Annually
Image credits: keisermax34
We can’t wait to hear your take, dear Pandas. Which of these photos left a lasting impression on you? Which ones genuinely made you stop and really absorb all the details? Were there any photos that you’ve actually seen elsewhere before?
You can share your thoughts in the comments below. And if you haven’t already, upvote the pics that made you (re)think (things) the most.
#28 The Pyramids In Egypt, Captured From A Different View
Image credits: keisermax34
#29 “Prison Inside Me” Is A Unique Retreat In South Korea Where People Voluntarily Lock Themselves In Simple, Cell-Like Rooms To Unplug, Switch Off Their Phones, And Take A Break From Everyday Life
Image credits: keisermax34
#30 The West African Lungfish Can Survive Up To Three Years Without Food Or Water. When Rivers Dry Out, It Buries Itself In Mud And Forms A Protective Mucus Cocoon To Breathe, Making It One Of Nature’s Most Extreme Survivors
Image credits: keisermax34
#31 London, 1940. A Young Girl Sits In The Wreckage Of Her Bombed-Out Home, Holding Her Doll
Image credits: keisermax34
#32 A Us Soldier Smells The Perfume On A Letter From His Girlfriend In Jay, Oklahoma. Vietnam, 1966
Image credits: keisermax34
#33 Two Women Sleeping On The Fire Escape To Stay Cool On A Hot Summer Night, New York, 1948
Image credits: keisermax34
#34 In 2006, Australian Miners Todd Russell And Brant Webb Were Trapped Underground In A Mine For 14 Days
To cope, they asked for an iPod with Foo Fighters music. Dave Grohl sent a handwritten note promising tickets and beers once they were free.
Image credits: keisermax34
#35 North Korea Still Owes Sweden €300M For 1,000 Volvos Delivered In The 1970s. The Cars Were Shipped But Never Paid For - Making It The World’s Largest Ever Car Theft
Image credits: keisermax34
#36 A Street In Paris After Weeks Of Garbage Collector Strikes
Image credits: keisermax34
#37 A Worn-Out Mother Making Matchboxes, Her Child Sleeping Under The Table - London, Circa 1900
Image credits: keisermax34
#38 Babies Sleeping Outside To Boost Their Immune System, Moscow 1958
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#39 After 14 Months At Sea, A Sailor Meets His Baby For The First Time, 1940s
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#40 Last Known Photo Of John Allen Chau, An American Missionary Who In 2018 Bribed A Fisherman To Illegally Take Him To North Sentinel Island To Try To Convert The Tribe. He Was Last Seen Being Dragged Along The Shore After Being Sh*t With Arrows
Image credits: keisermax34
#41 A Korean News Program Broadcasting From An Actual Rooftop, Instead Of Using A Green Screen
Image credits: keisermax34
#42 In China, “White Monkey” Jobs Refer To Hiring Caucasian Foreigners To Pose As Employees Or Representatives, To Give The Appearance Of Being More International And Reputable
Image credits: keisermax34
#43 An Irish Family Settles Into A Hut After Being Evicted From Their Home (Circa 1880-1890)
Image credits: keisermax34
#44 Indian Scientists Gifting Coconuts To North Sentinelese, 1991
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#45 In 1989, Russian President Boris Yeltsin Visited A Grocery Store In Houston. He Was Amazed By The Abundance, Later Describing It As A Moment Of Despair For The Soviet People
Image credits: keisermax34
#46 Dustin Gorton, A Student At Columbine High School, Reacting To The News That The Sh**ters Were His Friends
Image credits: keisermax34
#47 A Young Boy Selling Lemonade From A Portable Dispenser In Berlin, 1931
Image credits: keisermax34
#48 Leicester, UK, 1950s. When Coal Was The Number One Energy Source
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#49 Kids Playing On A Street In London On Their Space Hoppers, 1960s
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#50 Before Rocky, Sylvester Stallone Was A Struggling Actor. He Was So Broke He Sold His Dog Butkus For $40
After selling the script, he bought him back for $15,000 - and gave him a role in the movie.
Image credits: keisermax34
