Strange and Confronting Photos That You Won’t Be Able Get Off Your Mind

A cellar full of hanging hams should probably feel impressive, and this one definitely does. Rows and rows stretch into the distance with such perfect symmetry that it almost stops looking like food and starts looking like a very strange tunnel built entirely out of dinner.

The number makes it even harder to process: 40,000 hams drying for a year in Parma, Italy. That is tradition, patience, and a shocking amount of ceiling commitment. You start wondering who counts them, who checks them, and whether anyone ever gets lost in the meat maze.