James Lucas

Megalophobia: the fear of large things 🧵

1. This is a single image 

2. An iceberg passing near a house in Greenland 

3. The Vegas Sphere feels like you've stepped onto another planet... or, in this case, as if another planet has landed on ours.

It’s probably a megalophobe's worst nightmare. 

4. Eros, the second largest near-Earth asteroid.

Named after the Greek god of love, Eros has an elongated shape and a volume-equivalent diameter of approximately 16.8 kilometers (10.4 miles).



6. This is what a giant banana would look like in Earth's orbit



7. Seeing the scale of the pyramids alongside people passing by gives you an entirely new perspective. 

9. K2 is the second-highest mountain on Earth at 8,611 meters (28,251 feet), after Mount Everest at 8,849 meters (29,032 feet).



10. A giant hangar in Halbe, Germany. 

People indicate scale. 

11. What happens if the Moon crashes into Earth?



12. A full-sized school bus next to haul trucks 

13. Norwegian cruise ship hits an iceberg 

14. The Kelpies during a thunderstorm

Located between Falkirk and Grangemouth, Scotland, this pair of 30-meter-high steel horse heads represents kelpies, shape-shifting spirits from Scottish and Irish folklore believed to inhabit lochs. 

15. Underwater waterfall, Mauritius  

This optical illusion, visible only from above, makes it appear as if the island is being pulled into a massive drain due to sand and silt runoff on the ocean floor. 

16. A person sitting on the clock tower in Mecca 

17. On February 7, 1984, astronaut Bruce McCandless ventured out into space and away from shuttle Challenger using only a nitrogen propelled backpack — the first person in history to do so. 

19. A woman next to an enormous Sequoia tree in the 1950s 

21. Open spillway gate at the Funil Hydroelectric Power Plant in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil



22. The size of Al-Khazneh, Petra 

This surreal structure was masterfully carved out of the sandstone rock face.

Human for scale. 

23. The size of this marble quarry makes the excavator look like a toy



24. Botanical Park of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 

Founded in 1808 by King John VI of Portugal, it is considered one of the richest and most important in the world. 

25. The size of this breathtaking church in Iceland

At 74.5 meters (244 ft), Hallgrímskirkja is the largest church in Iceland and one of the tallest structures in the country. 

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One more: the enormous 18th-century flags of the French ship Généreux and the Spanish ship San Ildefonso, pictured with people for scale.

These ships were truly massive: Le Généreux was 55.87 meters (183.3 ft) long, slightly longer than San Ildefonso at 53 meters (174 ft). 

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The mesmerizing perfection of nature 🧵

1. Sunflowers are made up of hundreds of tiny flowers aligned in near perfect symmetry. 

2. Snowflake resting on a crow's wing.
Photo by Shawn Bergman. 

5. Aloe polyphylla, commonly referred to as spiral aloe, is well known for its stunningly symmetrical growth pattern, which forms a distinctive five-pointed spiral. 

6. The fractal symmetry of Romanesco broccoli 

7. Chemistree!

Trees are natural fractals. The branching pattern of trees was first described in the Italian Renaissance by Leonardo da Vinci: "All the branches of a tree at every stage of its height when put together are equal in thickness to the trunk below them." 

8. The symmetry of this kudu, a large woodland antelope found throughout eastern and southern Africa. 

12. The graceful symmetry of this American yellow warbler in flight 

13. Guttation is the process by which liquid is forced out of leaves through specialized glands, forming droplets that sit on the edges like jewels. 

15. Mathematicians believe that honeycombs are arranged in tessellating hexagonal patterns because this shape allows bees to store the largest possible amount of honey while using the least amount of wax. 

17. The spiral arrangement of pinecones

Most pinecones display spirals that follow Fibonacci Sequence, where each scale is arranged in a mathematical spiral that ensures efficient growth and space usage. 

18. The web created by the spiny orb-weaver spider is a remarkable example of engineering, built from various types of silk, each serving a unique purpose.



19. The atlas moth has wings that mimic two cobras watching its back.



21. The breathtaking colors of the Anna's hummingbird result from iridescence created by light scattering through nanoscale structures in its feathers.



22. The logarithmic spiral shape of many seashells, such as nautilus shells, demonstrates both beauty and mathematical symmetry. 

23. This is a melanistic fox, one of the rarest animals on Earth. 

25. Humans and most animals have bilateral symmetry, meaning they can be split into two matching halves.

Scientists believe symmetry is crucial for physical attractiveness, with the peacock being a prime example of how it is used to attract a mate.



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