If you hold out your arm in the air, chances are you'll see a shadow.
Unless you've found yourself sitting in the dark - or you're dead.
But what if told you there is a place on Earth where objects occasionally cast no shadow? Sounds made up, but it turns out this is actually a very real occurrence.
The concept of day-to-day objects without a shadow became a topic of fascination over on Reddit recently, when a user posted photos of items such as bollards, traffic cones and a spirit level ruler outside in broad daylight without casting even the tiniest shadow.
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Turns out this phenomena occurs twice every year in a handful of places situated the tropics, often referred to as Lāhainā Noon.
Take a look at the examples below.
Lāhainā Noon explained
A Lāhainā Noon - or a subsolar point if you're feeling scientific - is when the sun appears to be directly above ground. An event which typically happens twice every year, before and after the summer solstice. Typically in late May and July.
So why does it cause our shadows to vanish?
Cast your minds back to school science lessons and you'll likely recall learning that our shadows are created by the sun (if you're outdoors) or artificial lights (if you're inside), due to the fact that light cannot travel through our bodies.
Our shadows will grow and shrink as the Earth spins round on its axis throughout the day, but they're always there.
Unless, of course, you stand directly under the sun during a Lāhainā Noon.
The phenomena is exclusive to countries which sit between the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn, which includes: Hawaii, Indonesia, Mexico and parts of northern Australia.
As for the name Lāhainā Noon, this originates from a 1990 naming contest arranged by Honolulu's Bishop Museum.
The name comes from the Hawaiian words, with the words lā hainā, translating to 'cruel sun'. Meanwhile, the traditional Hawaiian name for the event was 'kau ka la i ka lolo', a phrase which roughly translates to 'the sun rests on the brains' (via Honolulu Star-Bulletin).
Which is a pretty cool way of putting it if you ask me.
The images, of course, left people feeling pretty weirded out when they were posted to Reddit, as people couldn't believe how strange everyday items looked without their trusty shadow.
"Makes it look like a video game," joked one person, while a second agreed: "It makes reality look like a rendering error in a video game."
"Even seeing it in person it kind of messes with your brain," wrote a third.
Several people even compared it to the weather in their own countries, with one rather grump Scotsman adding: "Pffft. We get 'zero shadow day' on the way coast of Scotland every day, at all hours..
... because we never see the f**king sun for all the clouds."
Topics: Environment, Reddit, Travel, Weird, World News
Brenna Cooper