A picture is worth a thousand words, but not all pictures are created equal. The pictures usually feature cute, beautiful, funny, or enchanting, but these pictures are powerful.
They are gripping and unforgettable because of the volumes they speak about the human condition – about some of the best and worst moments of contemporary human existence.
When Meghan Vogel carried Arden McMath, a competitor, across the finish line when she collapsed during a race.
This Picture was taken during the south Vietnamese attack in 1972. The girl running towards the camera is safe and still alive.
The tiny hand of an Ugandan Boy held by a missionary. This image reminds us about the disparity in this world.
This Picture tells of the genocide which took place in Rwanda. This Hutu man was in one of those concentration camps where he was brutally tortured. He then managed to survive once freed.
It was in Biafra, almost more than 3 years of war have ruined the lives of more than a million people . This photo shows some of the more than 900 children living in a camp almost close to the point of death.
This Picture shows the reunion of mother and child. The times of war and how cruel a departure can be to a family.
This Picture is of a Monk named Thich Quang Duc, who allegedly set himself on fire. It was due to the rising rivalry between Catholics and Buddhists in vietnam. The Monk didn't move, he remained absolutely still even while he was burning.
This photo shows the condition of child labor and the hard lives of people working in coal mines in 1900.
When 8 year-old Christian Golczynski accepts the flag for his father, Marine Staff Sgt. Marc Golczynski, who died in Iraq.
An unborn baby who reached out his hand right out of the incision and takes hold of the surgeon's finger.
A monk prays for an elderly man who had died suddenly while waiting for a train in Shanxi Taiyuan, China.
During massive floods in Cuttack City, India, in 2011, a heroic villager saved numerous stray cats by carrying them in a basket balanced on his head.
A dog named “Leao” sits for a second consecutive day at the grave of her owner, who died in the disastrous landslides near Rio de Janeiro in 2011.
Zanjeer the dog who saved thousands of lives during Mumbai serial blasts in March 1993 by detecting more than 3,329 kgs of the explosive RDX, 600 detonators, 249 hand grenades and 6406 rounds of live ammunition. He was buried with full honors.
A firefighter gives water to a koala during the devastating Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria, Australia, in 2009.
Heart surgeon after 23-hour-long (successful) heart transplant. His assistant is sleeping in the corner.