Lucky People Share Rarely-Seen Photos Of International Borders Taken From Space
Borders between countries are often considered merely lines on a map. But humankind has carved their footprint on the planet. Now some of those lines can be seen from space. These images from the NASA Earth Observatory image database show the few instances where an international boundary is visible from the heavens.
All of the images were taken either by astronauts on the International Space Station or by satellites orbiting the Earth.
China-North Korea-South Korea
This image from the Expedition 38 crew on the International Space Station in February 2014, shows North Korea almost indistinguishable from the Yellow Sea and Sea of Japan on either side of the country. Only the capital of Pyongyang in the center is visible at night, a marked contrast to its neighbors, China and South Korea.
United States-Mexico
This International Space Station photo from October 2014 shows the Rio Grande and a wall separating the United States and Mexico. El Paso, Texas, on the U.S. side lays across the river from Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, on the Mexico side. Four international points of entry connecting Ciudad Juárez and El Paso: the Bridge of the Americas, Ysleta International Bridge, Paso del Norte Bridge and Stanton Street Bridge.
United States-Mexico (infrared)
The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER), a high resolution imaging instrument that is flying on the Terra satellite, took this infrared photo on May 19, 2000. The right side of the image shows farmlands of California in the United States. The left side is Mexican arid expanses with a few farms dotting the landscape. The border town of Mexicali-Calexico lies in the middle of the image, with El Centro, California to the right. Imperial Valley of California is a major fruit and vegetable producer for the US, watered by canals fed from the Colorado River.
China-Kazakhstan
The farmlands of China, sustained through irrigation that pulls about 65% of the country's fresh water, is a stark contrast to its neighbor, Kazakhstan of the former Soviet Union. 10% of land in China is used for farming compared to 0.03% used by Kazakhstan which relies on only a few industrial sized farms. According to NASA, as of 2006, about 629,000 square kilometers (242,858 square miles) of land in China is irrigated, an area only slightly smaller than Texas.
Iran-Iraq
The Expedition 41 crew aboard the International Space Station in November 2014 first thought they were looking at oil pads on this stretch of border between Iran and Iraq. However this almost 20 kilometer (12 mile) line near the Persian Gulf is visible from space for a more deadly reason. The landscape has been altered by circular gun emplacements, connecting roads, and land fortifications running parallel to the boundary. The area was highly contested by the neighboring countries in the 1980s. That conflict has left its mark on the planet.
Brazil-Bolivia
Another ASTER satellite image, taken July 2, 2008, shows the differences in deforestation between Brazil and Bolivia. Brazil, on the bottom left side, opened their Acre Province in the rainforest to farming and settlement. Bolivia, on the other hand, preserved its native rainforest in the Pando Department, leaving the area in the upper right untouched by development.
Israel-Egypt
Different choices for agriculture industries, not military fortifications, make the countries' border between Israel and Egypt just barely visible from space. This November 2011 image from the Expedition 29 crew aboard the International Space Station shows a visible line between Egypt and Israel. A road separates the two countries and Israel's commercial agriculture results in angular fields while the lighter color of the Egyptian soil is a result of trampling by livestock disrupting the dark soil crusts seen in Israel.
(former) East Germany-West Germany
This 2012 picture, taken by astronaut Chris Hadfield and documented by André Kuipers from the International Space Station,.shows some of the remaining differences between the former east and west Berlin. The lights in the eastern part appear yellow, while the lights in the western part are whiter. Why? The western region has more modern, environmentally friendly streetlights.
Haiti-Dominican Republic
This 2002 satellite image shows the effects of deforestation in Haiti versus the greener land of the Dominican Republic on the right.
India-Pakistan
Known as the Radcliffe Line, 2,000 kilometers (1,243 miles) of the India-Pakistan border is floodlit with thousands of troops permanently posted along it.The border is one of the most heavily militarized on Earth with a fence running the entire distance to discourage smuggling and arms trafficking. An expedition 45 crew member aboard the International Space Station took this nighttime panorama in September 2015 while looking across Pakistan's Indus River valley.
Of course, most of the time, it was “just a phase". And looking back, those phases are regrettable, to say the least. Here are some prime examples of that.
SirGergoyFriendman asked:
What was your biggest/most regrettable "It's not a phase, mom. It's my life." that, in fact, turned out to be just a phase and not your life?
The enthusiasm of a young person can lead to some unexpected changes that parents are just not ready for.
Hi, Wheeljack!
I was VERY into The Transformers when I was a wee lad in the 1980s. One day, I decided to change my name to the name of my favorite Autobot. My name was lame, and I wanted an awesome Transformer name. And I was VERY insistent that my parents only call me by my new name. Calling me by my 'old' name would cause a big fat tantrum on my part.
So for the better part of a week, my poor parents had to call me Wheeljack.
Very 2008.
Ariana Grande Shrug GIFGiphyMy cat-ear phase. I wore cat ears every single day. Everywhere. I had like 20 pairs of them. Now everyone thinks I'm a furry.
I find that very cute and wouldn't have thought you'd be furry. Even if you'd had cat mittens. I think my suspicions would have started if you moved a bit like a cat, displayed catlike grooming habits or got a cat mask.
Not gonna lie, that car sounds cool.
I went to a car show once as a teen, and the only newer car there was some chick's PT cruiser. It was hot glittery pink, and at the time I was obsessed. I insisted that one day I would have a hot pink car, with pink seats, pink dash, pink carpets, etc. I was pretty heavily goth at the time, so my parents just rolled their eyes.
These phases can often lead to some very strange fashion choices.
That’s commitment.
When I was a teenager (early 00s), I was waiting for my mother to pick me up and was wearing one of those sh!tty sports wristwatches. It was itching me so I took it off for a second, but then she arrived and because I was struggling to get it back on my wrist, I looped it around the equally sh!tty chain I had around my neck in a rush to get out the door.
My mom asked me about it in the car, and I told her this was my new style and I planned to wear it like that every day. She rolled her eyes.
I wore that watch on a chain around my neck every single day for 3 years or so. There are even professional family photos where I'm wearing it because I refused to take it off.
One day, the chain broke and I lost the watch. I was in high school at that point anyway and it was a major lady repellent, so... phase over.
Not everyone can be Eminem.
slim shady eminem GIFGiphyBaggy pants, being a rapper someday and being a professional skater.
When I was about 14 and Eminem was starting to blow up I bought myself a keyboard with a synthesizer. It cost like $200 which was all the money I had saved up. It finally came (this was way before amazon prime and such) and I tried rapping.
My sister told me "you're effing horrible" and I gave up right then and there.
This should be a sin.
I used to button the top buttons of polo shirts.
I must say, this is probably the worst one I've read.
Looking back at our regrettable choices, all we can do is cringe.
An optimistic look at bad tattoos.
check me out season 3 GIF by PortlandiaGiphyBeing a tattooer. Regrettable because of those poor people who have my awful doodles on their bodies.
Take heart! My favorite tattoo is the one I drunkenly got my buddy to do in his living room one year during March Madness! It's dumb and frankly mediocre? But such a good story and has such good associations I smile every time I see it.
RIP Fredro’s.
My friend and I decided we were going to open a bar in Jamaica with exotic snakes in glass cages in the walls at each booth. We convinced ourselves it would be amazing for at least two years in college. It was going to be called Fredro's.
My entire family made fun of me for it. Once we got out of college, we realized it was not feasible and joined the office grind. We're also two white guys with no ties to Jamaica.
Talk about cringey.
I wore a top hat with an anime pin on it for around a year. Met one of my current best friends while wearing it, idk how he could bear to speak to me after that.
My weirdest phase was probably when I insisted on wearing knee-high rainbow socks to school every day. But honestly, I don't regret it. I rocked those socks, and I wish I still have a pair.
To all the people out there cringing over their past selves, remember that you were just a kid, and to be easy on yourselves. After all, we've all been there
Yet, too often, manufacturers who oversell their products fail to deliver what is promised and are inevitably left with angry customers who want their money back.
Whether the merchandise was defective or ridiculously overpriced, strangers online shared some of their worst purchases when Redditor BooksMcGee asked:
"What is the worst product you ever paid money for?"
Short Life Span
"This NERF gun that's supposed to shoot tennis balls for your dog. I bought it cause I thought you could load 3 at a time and shoot them far, but it's just one and it's super loud and the gun broke after like 4 shots (reading reviews later, this was a common issue)."
Lame Pets
"There were these toys called squiggles when I was a kid and the commercials made it seem like the toy was alive. It looked like you would get this crazy little fuzzy worms as pets that would follow you around an so sick tricks and listen to your every command. It was really just a piece of fluffy string tied to another piece of string with googly eyes on it. People may say that it was supposed to be a magic trick but they should also explain that to a 5 year old who really wanted a pet."
Card Value
"Not their fault, but I paid $70 for a Yugioh card hours before it was limited to one copy. Probably dropped to $20 by the end of the day."
These purchases were bad for your bum.
"A bicycle that literally fell apart before I made it out of the parking lot."
Not Worth Sitting On
"Joybird brand couch. Was so terrible, we returned it. Still hard to believe, we returned a freaking couch."
Going Nowhere Fast
"A 2000 VW Beetle (used)."
"Biggest piece of sh*t that literally had to have just about everything replaced before 100k miles and would still break down every time you left the driveway to the point where the tow-truck driver knew us on a first-name basis."
Expensive Lemon
"An Oldsmobile Achieva from one of those buy here pay here places. I should have known better, but I was young and thought I was getting a good deal. I had the thing for about 5 months, I drove it for maybe 3 weeks. The rest of the time it was either in the shop, or in my driveway waiting until pay day so I could afford to fix whatever broke on it this week. Eventually told the dealer just take it, I'm not paying for it any more. He said nope, and I will make sure your credit is ruined. I said well you sold me a lemon, do you really want to go this route? He came and took it. Never reported anything to credit. I heard he got sued by several other people who sold sh**ty cars too and eventually went out of business."
"Always amazes me when I see them driving around still, I can only assume there's enthusiasts who just love repairing horribly designed cars."
– zerbey
These Redditors were not convinced what they ingested was edible.
Bad Cereal
"A box of plain Cheerios. Thought they were honey nut, poured a bowl, was very disappointed."
"If I wanted to taste cardboard, I'd just eat the box."
– gor8884
Space Pizza
"A burnt frozen pizza at the air and space museum cafe in DC. I Don't wish that experience on anyone. There are some amazing restaurants in DC, don't settle."
– Alseids
The following electronics just gave off a bad charge.
"Asus Transformer Pad TF700"
"This was one of those early 'high end' Android tablets that was grossly underpowered, and it showed. Thing was slow as sh!t in no time flat. Rookie mistake investing into shiny new tech while they were still working all the bugs out. Think I paid somewhere in the neighborhood of $350-400 for it..."
– Luke5119
Bad Apple
"macbook pro 2018 13" touchbar. 2 years old and dead (battery). they're asking $300-$400 to change the battery. malfunctioning keyboard with double presses and missing presses. that's a lot of money for bad design."
Chilly Reception
"Past winter my old room heater broke down and I had to buy a new one. Went to a store nearby and somehow got convinced to buy a very costly heating device.. It's also my fault, since there were some sligthly cheaper options around, but nope. I wanted the expensive one thinking it will make my small room a volcano with little to no effort/cost (that's also what the seller told me). Long story short the device wasn't doing ANYTHING. No significant temperature changes, too much space, a weird noise, and was doubling my previous device in utility cost. I still gloom over those 80 euros.."
Some of my disappointing purchases was clothing, but only because I purchased them online. Unless they are a brand I'm familiar with, I'm usually fine with buying new jeans off of their websites.
But when it comes to graphic tees only available on specialty shops, an M-size shirt is not necessarily the same size as those found in other reputable stores.
I bought a medium sized T-shirt from a boutique store online because I loved the look of the design. But when it arrived, the supposed medium fit me like an XL.
At least I gained a fierce cleaning rag from this impulsive purchase.