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You might think it’s easy to tell whether something is natural or artificial, but in reality, it’s often much harder to distinguish the two. Our understanding of what’s man-made and what’s not can be more complicated than we imagine.
Upon further investigation, you may find that many things we naturally assume to be part of nature are, in fact, the outcomes of human ingenuity throughout history.
10. The Amazon
When we think of the Amazon, we often picture it as a pristine tropical paradise, a place we are all guilty of destroying. While the latter might be true, it’s the idea of it being ‘untouched’ that is far from accurate. The Amazon’s current state is a result of countless ancient civilizations shaping it with their way of life over time.
The belief that the Amazon remained untouched by human civilization until the ‘discovery’ of the Americas is being increasingly challenged. In recent decades, research has uncovered evidence that numerous indigenous groups lived there long before it was known to the outside world, significantly altering the environment in their own ways.
This is most evident in the unique plant life native to the Amazon. Many of the species found there have been altered from their original forms. Take the peach palm, for example—while the original fruit was just 1 gram (0.4 oz), today’s version can weigh up to 200 grams (7.1 oz), even though we consider it a naturally occurring type of the fruit.
Crops such as cocoa beans and Brazil nuts were essentially created by the various tribes that once thrived in the Amazon. These groups spent centuries domesticating native plants and crossbreeding them with others. In fact, ongoing research continues to reveal how humans have shaped the forest, prompting us to reconsider whether any part of it remains in its natural, untouched state.
9. Pearls
Once upon a time, pearls were considered incredibly rare and costly, with only a privileged few able to own them. Their hefty price tag stemmed not only from their beauty but also from the dangerous process of diving deep into the ocean to harvest them.
Today, while jewelry and decorative items made of pearls can still be pricey, they’re now within reach for many people, despite their rarity. What changed? In short, we learned to recreate the natural process of pearl formation in the lab.
Of course, a small number of pearls are still gathered from the ocean the old-fashioned way. However, most pearls on the market today are cultured pearls. These aren’t imitations. They’re produced by injecting gold and silver into mollusks and recreating the natural environment in a laboratory, a method perfected by Japanese scientists in the early 19th century.
8. Morning Glory Pool
If you’ve ever been to Yellowstone National Park, you might have encountered the vibrant Morning Glory Pool. While the park boasts numerous hot springs and pools, this one is especially remarkable. Its stunning pattern of blue, red, and yellow concentric circles is unlike any other in the park—and possibly even the world.
It’s a mesmerizing view, though the explanation behind it has little to do with nature itself.
The pool was originally named Convolutus, derived from the Latin term for “morning glory,” referring to a family of blue flowers. The center’s blue hue comes from a type of bacteria that flourishes in the pool’s heat.
However, the yellow at the edges has entirely human origins. Over the years, visitors have tossed various objects into the pool, which eventually clogged many of its thermal vents. This blockage allowed other bacteria to settle in, creating the red and yellow rings at the edges that make the pool so visually striking.
Eventually, those bacteria will spread across the entire pool. This is unfortunate for anyone who loves the blue color, as well as for those who wish to preserve the pool in its original state.
7. Lemons
If you're not much of a cook, you might not fully appreciate how crucial lemons are to everyday life. Whether it's marinating meat or adding a fresh zing to summer beverages, lemons are a remarkably adaptable fruit packed with vitamin C.
While their most famous association is with the saying “when life gives you lemons . . .” — which sounds pretty positive since lemons are awesome and who wouldn’t want more of them in life — the truth is, if we trace their history, we’ll realize that life never actually gave us lemons to begin with. They’re not a naturally occurring crop.
Lemons were created by humans through the crossbreeding of naturally occurring citrus varieties like sour oranges and citron, resulting in the yellow fruit we know today. It is one of the most enigmatic crops when it comes to tracing its origins, but it is widely agreed that lemons first appeared around 2,000 years ago in the lower foothills of the Himalayas, in regions like Burma and Assam.
6. Lake Mead
If you’ve ever driven to Las Vegas, you’ve likely passed by Lake Mead, a massive body of water surrounded by stunning peaks, covering a vast area in Nevada. One of the largest lakes in the U.S., Lake Mead stretches about 180 kilometers (112 miles) in length and reaches a depth of up to 162 meters (532 feet).
Lake Mead is a primary source of water for many surrounding states, as well as a significant portion of Mexico. It also happens to be one of the world’s largest man-made reservoirs.
Originally created as a way to manage excess water from the Colorado River—since the river used to flood regularly—the lake was formed with the construction of the Hoover Dam. Soon after, Lake Mead became one of the most picturesque picnic spots for residents of nearby states. Recently, however, due to climate change and a severe water crisis in the region, the lake has shrunk significantly, causing it to lose its title as the largest man-made lake in the U.S.
5. Vanilla
Vanilla’s flavor might not be as popular today due to the rise of superior synthetic alternatives we can now produce in labs. But when it was first discovered in Mexico, it was one of the rarest and most expensive flavors. Introduced to Europe and the rest of the world by Spanish explorers, vanilla was initially mixed with chocolate and quickly became a favorite among the European elite.
The problem, however, was that the vanilla plant was native only to Mexico. Vanilla beans couldn’t grow anywhere else because bees, which are essential for pollinating vanilla orchids, would only pollinate them in their natural environment. When pollinated, these flowers produce the vanilla beans that give us the iconic vanilla flavor.
The solution to this problem came from Edmond Albius, a 12-year-old slave from Reunion, an island in the Indian Ocean. Under the guidance of a plantation owner, Albius discovered a method to hand-pollinate the vanilla plant, something that had eluded everyone else.
Albius and the plantation owner soon spread this technique to other plantations. Within just a few years, the island’s residents began exporting large quantities of vanilla globally, as demand for the highly sought-after crop surged. Today, all the vanilla on the market is produced using this technique (since bees still refuse to do the job themselves). This innovation has helped keep vanilla affordable and accessible to everyone, not just the elite.
4. Killer Bees
If you live in the Americas and spend any time outdoors, you’ve probably heard of killer bees. While they look similar to other bee species, which are generally harmless unless provoked, killer bees are far more aggressive. Even though normal bees occasionally sting when their hives are disturbed, attacks rarely make headlines.
Killer bees, on the other hand, have earned their notorious reputation, having caused around 1,000 fatalities since their discovery. Initially, one might assume that these deaths were just a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. However, after learning about the origins of these deadly stinging insects, it becomes clear that nature isn’t to blame for the creation of these lethal creatures. Instead, human error played a key role.
Killer bees were never part of the wild. Their existence is the outcome of a biology experiment that went terribly wrong. When European honeybees were first introduced to Brazil to boost honey production, they weren’t thriving due to the temperature differences. To fix this, biologists introduced African honeybees and attempted to have them breed with the local population in controlled conditions.
This plan didn’t work as intended. In 1957, 26 queens from the African bee species, along with other European honeybees, managed to escape. Since then, they’ve interbred and formed the aggressive, dangerous species we now call killer bees.
These killer bees spread across South and Central America, as well as to most U.S. states bordering Mexico, and basically anywhere that’s warm enough for them to survive—since they can’t tolerate the cold.
3. Fly Geyser
When you first encounter the Fly Geyser, a one-of-a-kind formation in Nevada, it feels like something straight out of an alien landscape. Unlike anything else on Earth, the Fly Geyser is a small, colorful mound that erupts with scalding water year-round, surrounded by pools of water-filled terraces.
It would be remarkable if the Fly Geyser were a natural formation, but in reality, it owes its existence entirely to human error.
The story began when a geothermal energy company drilled into the earth in search of hot water to convert into energy. They abandoned the project when they found the water temperature too low. In their attempt to seal the well, they didn’t quite manage to do so, leading to the accidental creation of one of the most extraordinary features nature never intended.
The geyser's vibrant colors are a result of algae thriving on the calcium carbonate deposits, which have also formed its unique conical shape over time. Interestingly, this formation is now owned by Burning Man, a connection that feels oddly fitting if you think about it.
2. Dogs
Few animals share a bond with humans as close as the loyal dog. Often referred to as “man’s best friend,” dogs have been crucial companions in many aspects of human life worldwide—from herding livestock to detecting drugs at border security checkpoints.
If we asked you where dogs came from, you’d probably answer “wild dogs.” However, the only species of wild dog, the African wild dog, isn’t actually part of the canine family. So, could dogs be magic?
Not exactly. All modern dogs—from the tiniest Chihuahuas to the majestic Tibetan mastiffs—can trace their ancestry back to a single group of wolves that were domesticated long ago by humans.
While the exact moment dogs first appear in our fossil records is unclear, scientists estimate it happened anywhere between 20,000 and 40,000 years ago. Regardless of when it happened, we know for certain that dogs as we know them didn’t exist before we decided we needed a companion in the animal kingdom.
1. Corn
If you didn’t pay much attention during high school history, you may have missed the fact that corn has been a foundational element in the development of American civilization since the early days of organized tribes. In fact, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the history of the Americas is intrinsically tied to the cultivation of corn. This crop has been pivotal to the economies of nearly every major empire (including the United States) that has ever flourished in the region.
What’s even more remarkable is that the corn we know today never existed in nature in its current form. Instead, it was derived from a wild grass known as teosinte. Unlike the maize we see today, teosinte was barely recognizable as corn.
Studies show that native tribes in Mexico began experimenting with teosinte around 6,300 years ago, attempting to enlarge the cobs and kernels. Through centuries of trial and error with various farming and breeding techniques, they eventually created the corn we recognize today. About 1,000 years ago, other tribes introduced this crop to regions like North America. Remarkably, even now, corn’s existence is largely dependent on human care and cultivation.
