Sometimes you just have to thank your lucky stars that you're on this side of the screen, don't you? Because some of the most effective pics out there are taken with more than a little danger in store.
The good news with these is that we're not actually in any sort of peril. But they still get your heart pumping and your brain saying, "Nope!"
You can't tell me those don't mean business. And at over 20 feet in length, they can conduct their very serious business from well down the block and from the deep, dark depths of the ocean.
So, yeah.
Apparently, photographer Corey Arnold expected this bear to be hibernating in its den when, in fact, it was wide awake.
The important thing here is that he lived to tell the tale - and he managed to get a pic for the ages.
You do have to wonder sometimes about the remote places that get tagged with graffiti.
Apparently, even a bridge spanning a huge chasm isn't safe if the artists are willing to put life and limb on the line.
It's unclear if they're tied off or not, but you sure have to hope so. Standing atop the spire overlooking the project they've just completed is a cool, memorable way to celebrate, I suppose.
But it's not for me, thanks.
Things must have been mighty different back in 1980 when this steelworker posed atop a girder in Seattle, no harness in sight.
Not sure if I'd prefer that to the potential of being knocked off by others crowding on top like the previous construction workers, however.
Because living that close to a power transformer is a big nope from me. The incessant hum of electricity would be bad enough, let alone the potential for it to explode and start a giant fire.
Even if it's front-wheel drive - and it pretty much has to be - the lack of rear wheels is still concerning.
Personally, I would at least want more brakes if I'm hauling around a makeshift trailer like that, not less. Maybe that's just me.
And to be fair, Thomas the Tank Engine was never the most comforting show. I mean, they bricked up one of the locomotives when it didn't want to go out in the rain!
So messed up. This dad is right to be concerned about those eyes peering out of the darkness of his son's room.
Because yes, that's a Russian soccer player out in the middle of the pitch being struck by lightning. It's all good though, he survived with little more than a minor burn on his chest somehow.
It could taste just fine, but I would never know. Any ear of corn that grows with such an irregular pattern to its kernels is just too unsettling to eat.
Well, maybe turn it into popcorn. Maybe.
Because a plume of hot ash extending thousands and thousands of feet into the atmosphere isn't bad enough, Taal volcano in the Philippines added a nice lightning display, too.
It's cool to watch, but I wouldn't want to be anywhere near it.
"Did a double take when I saw this rock in my friend’s yard," the uploader of this pic explained. "She said it came from the tenants before her, but I think it is the tenant."
It sure is something!
In particular, the whole Titanic thing. I mean, it's one thing to know that icebergs exist largely below the water's surface, but it's another thing entirely to see that hulking mass lurking there.
Sometimes, dams have to release some water down a spillway. The surge and rush of the water thundering out of this dam is absolutely awesome, launching off the spillway's end in a glorious arc.
If you live in a plains state, or really anywhere in Tornado Alley, you're familiar with shelf clouds that precede nasty storms. They're particularly ominous, aren't they?
Especially when you can so clearly see the heavy blackness behind the storm's leading edge, as you can here.
And yes, that little golden dot in front of the guy's eye is a wasp. Thankfully, you did read that correctly - it's in front of his eye, not in it. Still puts a new nightmare in your brain though, doesn't it?
Just a plain-jane, ho-hum, boring old concrete production facility in Japan. Nothing sinister about it whatsoever. I would definitely speed up if I was passing by it in real life, of course.
Because holy smokes, that's nuts. It's kind of amazing that something can be so beautiful and terrifying at the same time, right?
Credit to those glacier explorers - it's not for me.
There's really no such thing as a bottomless pit, but some of them might as well be, like this hole in a glacier. Thankfully, there's a sheet of ice over top so this person is not in as much peril as it seems.
I mean, it's good to be able to trust your co-workers, but there are limits. It would almost be worse if they managed to pull this maneuver off without a hitch because they might be tempted to try it again.
And again. And again. Until there are horrible, horrible consequences.
