Today I Learned: These Mildly-Interesting Photos Are Proof There Are New Things to Discover Every Day

The oldest surviving X-ray of the human body dates back to 1895. It’s hard to believe that something as commonplace as an X-ray was once cutting-edge technology, but back in the day, this was some serious stuff. The X-ray shows the hand of Wilhelm Röntgen’s wife, Bertha, and it’s pretty amazing to think that this one photo revolutionized the field of medicine forever.

Nowadays, we take X-rays for granted, but back then, it was like something out of science fiction. And let’s not forget how cool the X-ray itself looks – it’s like a negative image of a hand, but with all the bones and stuff visible. It’s like a spooky Halloween decoration, but with science instead of scares.