76 Times People Said “Cheese” While Something Way Better Was Happening Behind Them (New Pics)

But if an elephant can take a few seconds to spot, a gorilla might not get noticed at all. In psychologists Daniel Simons and Christopher Chabris’s famous 1999 “invisible gorilla” experiment, viewers asked to count basketball passes were shown a video in which a person in a gorilla suit wandered through the game. About half of them missed it completely. As Simons later wrote, some people “looked right at the gorilla and did not see it.” This is known as inattentional blindness, and it might explain why the person taking a photo, focused on their subject, can miss the chaos unfolding right behind them.

Of course, not every surprise in the background is technically a photobomb. In an essay for Jeu de Paume, an art and photography museum in Paris, Federica Chiocchetti questions whether intention is what defines a photobomb, noting that “it is difficult to talk about intentionality when the photobomber is an animal.” She also points out that photobombs often happen without the photographer realizing it, and the people posing don’t always notice either, especially when it’s happening behind them.

Background surprises are also nothing new. Chiocchetti points to an 1853 photograph by Welsh photographer Mary Dillwyn as the presumed first photobomb, its handwritten caption ending with the word “peeping,” likely referring to a figure in the background.

What’s changed in the 170-odd years since is how often we take pictures. As Ibrahim argues, constantly photographing ourselves and our everyday surroundings has given rise to “new aesthetic modes,” where “the ludic, the unexpected or the surprise element” are often what make an image appealing.

And with more photos being taken than ever, there are more chances for something unexpected to sneak into the frame. Whether it’s a coincidence, a prank, or just impeccable timing, these pictures prove how much a single shot can contain, even when the person behind the camera has only one subject in mind. 

Keep scrolling for more backgrounds that refused to stay there.