What’s Inside a Lens, a Cactus, a Bomb, and an Egg: 22 Revealing Cross Sections (23 Photos)

From the outside, everything looks familiar: a dog toy, an egg, a cactus, a coin, a camera lens. We handle everyday objects without ever thinking about what lies beneath the surface. Yet hidden inside is an entirely different world. Here are 22 times people cut, sawed, broke, or simply peeked inside everyday items to reveal what is normally hidden from view.







A dog finally ripped open its favorite squeaky toy, only to reveal an even smaller—and louder—squeaker hidden inside.





When this tree was cut down, workers found a pinecone that had been swallowed up by the trunk decades ago.



Six months of an artist's work, revealed in a cross section of accumulated paint along the edge of their palette.



Beneath a cactus’s fleshy exterior lies a rigid wooden ribcage that gives the plant its shape and structure.



Inside a standard HDMI cable: dozens of individual insulated wires packed tightly together.



A cracked bocce ball turned out to be far from solid—hidden right at its core was a full-sized billiard ball.



Inside a poppy seed pod: hundreds of tiny seeds neatly arranged within individual chambers.



Cracking open an egg revealed an extraordinarily rare surprise: another fully formed egg inside, complete with its own shell.



A breast implant sliced in half: a protective silicone outer shell filled with cohesive silicone gel.



A cutaway of a bomb on display at a museum, showing a casing packed with steel shrapnel.



Looking down the barrel of a kaleidoscope: three mirrors angled at 60° turn any light source into an intricate, symmetrical pattern.



Looking up from inside an inflating hot air balloon as the vibrant fabric sweeps upward into a massive dome.



A Sony camera lens cut in half, showing how multiple glass elements work in harmony to focus light.



A freshly cut tree trunk reveals a striking star-shaped pattern of natural growth cracks.



Husqvarna training chainsaws cut in half to demonstrate the inner workings of the engine and drive assembly.



A manufactured fireplace log burning from the inside out, its dense compressed layers glowing red-hot.



A U.S. quarter looks like solid silver, but since 1965 it has been made with a pure copper core clad in nickel—as clearly visible in this cross section.



Over-fermented pizza dough sliced open, revealing an intricate labyrinth of air pockets created by the yeast.



A tank sliced in half at a museum highlights just how claustrophobically tight the crew's workspace truly was.



Looking straight up from the base of a historic brick smokestack at an old industrial plant.



A view down the center of a tall stack of paper cups creates an endless tunnel of concentric rings.



A cutaway display of a 1965 MG MGB GT exposes the engine, drivetrain, and cabin all at once.

Which of these caught you most off guard—the egg within an egg, the pool ball inside the bocce ball, or something else entirely?