• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • Lad Files
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Extinct
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
People devastated after seeing what location of 'most viewed photo of all time' looks like now

Home> Community> Weird

Published 17:52 6 May 2025 GMT+1

People devastated after seeing what location of 'most viewed photo of all time' looks like now

You'll remember seeing this whenever you fired up your parents' old living room computer

Brenna Cooper

Brenna Cooper

It's the image which all of us - unless you were born within the last 10 years - will have grown up looking at every time we logged on to the family computer.

But have you ever stopped and wondered about the story behind the famous rolling, green hills sat in-front of a crisp blue sky?

We are, of course, talking about the image 'Bliss' snapped by Chuck O'Rear by 1996, which has since gone on become arguably the most viewed image of all time.

Advert

After Microsoft obtained the rights to the image at the turn of the millennium, Bliss - then titled 'Bucolic Green Hills' - would become the default screensaver of every computer which used Windows XP after it was introduced in 2001.

Take a look at the very image below and reminisce about simpler times when you riddled the your parents' PC with viruses playing Flash Games and downloading music from dodgy sites.

Ah, the good old days... (Charles O'Rear/Microsoft)
Ah, the good old days... (Charles O'Rear/Microsoft)

If you'd ever spent your afternoons wondering if this hill was a real place you could run up and down while waiting for the computer to finish booting up, then you'll be relieved to know it is in-fact a real place.

The hill can be found near the Napa–Sonoma county line in California, but expect to be a little disappointed if you ever visit.

Advert

Images taken at the location over the years have revealed the bright green hill exists only in our imaginations (and computer screens) with more recent photographs showing a very different environment.

One image, taken in 2006, showed the landscape looking significantly dryer and less inviting, while more recent reports state the location is now a vineyard.

The comparison images have been shared numerous times over the years and every time receiving the same disappointed reaction from viewers discovering a key part of their childhood is no more.

The location is now a vineyard (By Simon Goldin - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1633984)
The location is now a vineyard (By Simon Goldin - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1633984)

"So it’s ruined. Nice," commented one person underneath a post made by insidehistory on Instagram.

Advert

"I used to stare at this for minutes and would wish I was there… it’s sad now," a second person added.

Others had a more measured reaction, with a third commenter saying the location still looked 'breathtaking' if you visited in person, while another noted the image was taken in November, so the landscape would understandably appear duller.

"Everybody’s reacting like it’s a grey brick apartment building there now," a fifth user joked.

The image was officially retied in April 2014, when Microsoft ended support for the operating system.

Advert

O'Rear has since reflected on taking the iconic image explaining how his chosen camera and decision to use 'a film that had more brilliant colours' allowed the image to be created.

"The size of the camera and film together made the difference and I think helped the Bliss photograph stand out even more. I think if I had shot it with 35 millimetre, it would not have nearly the same effect." he said.

Featured Image Credit: Charles O'Rear/Microsoft

Topics: Microsoft, Community, Viral, Environment, Technology

Brenna Cooper
Brenna Cooper

Brenna Cooper is a journalist at LADbible. She graduated from the University of Sheffield with a degree in History, followed by an NCTJ accredited masters in Journalism. She began her career as a freelance writer for Digital Spy, where she wrote about all things TV, film and showbiz. Her favourite topics to cover are music, travel and any bizarre pop culture.

X

@_brencoco

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

13 hours ago
14 hours ago
17 hours ago
  • 13 hours ago

    People gobsmacked after learning what faint dark line that appears on their belly actually is

    What does that dark line really do, anyway?

    Community
  • 14 hours ago

    Doctor finally settles debate whether you should shower everyday or not

    It follows the long-running Jake Gyllenhaal joke

    Community
  • 14 hours ago

    Horrifying simulation shows what happened to inventor of ‘most painful torture device’ as he fell victim to own creation

    It would be pretty unfortunate to fall victim to a torture device you created

    Community
  • 17 hours ago

    Shocking simulation shows what would happen if Russia carried out nuclear attack on Britain as planned targets for UK ‘leaked’

    Putin reportedly has a list of targets drawn up

    Community
  • Man who took 'most viewed photo of all time' regrets price he sold it for
  • Man who took 'most viewed picture of all time' explained how much he was paid for it
  • Photographer of 'most viewed picture ever' says he 'just happened to be there in the right moment'
  • Man who posted the most liked Instagram photo of all time admitted it was a complete ‘fluke’