Bliss, THE Desktop Background | Esoteric Internet

[@Specter227]

Still can't believe that it's a real photo. It has this "Uncanny Valley-like" feel to it (though in this case, it's actually rather pleasant to look at), like it's too pretty and colorful to actually exist.

[@kit-ekat8139]

more of an uncanny hill

[@LRM12o8]

True. I think it's because of two things: 1: the stunningly vibrant and seemingly surreal colors 2: the low resolution (640 x 480 aka VGA, if I recall correctly) of the desktop wallpaper we all know, reducing details to a comically looking blur. Shurely, the og picture looks a lot more realistic.

[@dmdizzy]

Super-canny valley?

[@Mentally_Will]

I can't be the only one who saw this picture as a little kid and imagined running over the hill and finding some magical place on the other side.

[@Pseudiom]

No. I always wondered too. Turns out its just more hills lol

[@dbdjdkdsn]

Mentally Will ur not

[@dbdjdkdsn]

I still do

[@suneelpandita3499]

Meeeeeeeeee

[@Bass_fishing_boygames]

Me to

[@ExValeFor]

and even after watching this video it still looks surreal to me

[@DaroLinguiniJohnson]

*_wait this photo was an actual photo taken and not some computer generated photo to show off the XPs capabilities?_*

[@Pseudiom]

World's greatest twist.

[@Mentally_Will]

They really should have lied and said it was.

[@buranflakes]

I never knew there were mountains in the background. Why? I only had a 4:3 monitor back then.

[@Pseudiom]

Me too. I only noticed the mountains working on this video.

[@Masterge77]

When I was a kid and we got our first computer, a Windows XP, I always mis-remembered the Bliss image as having snow-capped alpine mountains in the background rather than simply being a field in California. Perfect case of the Mandela effect if you ask me.

[@kirianismaelsanchez9606]

@@Masterge77 i remember a big tree on the distance

[@supershaggydoo9894]

Why is this so true

[@mdatkinson92]

That doesn't make sense. Bliss is 4:3.

[@Bondubras]

I fully understand why Pseudiom only looked at 1996 to try to figure out when the picture was taken. It is, after all, the most commonly cited year for the photo. But I still think that he should also look at the Fridays in Jan. 1998, if only for the sake of completeness. Who knows? There might be Fridays in 1998 that would fit the conditions better.

[@LucaW.]

I once had a dream that there was a guy showing off a bunch of pictures on his laptop, claiming he took them. The pictures were all stock photos with big stock photo company watermarks all over, except one, which was this iconic desktop wallpaper. The people he was showing off to were of course not at all convinced by his claim that he took these pictures.

[@channingcheese2]

Lol

[@AB-br2nu]

Your videos capture that feeling I got from watching the 'This Exists' videos before they stopped uploading. Great content.

[@KremBotop]

Barhuma god I miss that channel. I was obsessed with it back in 2014

[@N1rvanaGod]

Damn, i loved This Exists. I've been trying to fill in the gap of internet weirdness ever since their channel died

[@georgewilson7432]

Bliss is so popular because It reminds us beautiful things exist.

[@Masterge77]

My family's first computer was a Windows XP, ordered around 2005 or 2006 (not sure which year), we didn't have internet at our home at the time, and I don't remember what background we used, but I'm pretty sure it was Bliss. I always knew the image was called Bliss, and I knew it was taken in California (well, years later, I originally thought it was taken in Germany or Austria due to it having a "The Sound of Music" like vibe to it), but I never knew there was a story to the image, I just always assumed it was a random "pleasant" photograph like the others to give off a soothing feeling to the customers. Admittedly, it does have a bit of a synthetic feel to it, and does look like something you'd see on a PlayStation 2 (which was still in circulation at the time), but I was about 11 or 12 back then and didn't notice such things at the time. That and I always mis-remembered the image as having snow-capped alpine mountains in the background, but I was rather young and hadn't seen the image in years. We switched to a Windows 7 around 2011-2012, and I didn't see the image again for several years, and ended up believing there were mountains in the background for the longest time.

[@j0anbug]

i gotta wonder, what's the word count for this script? because this picture truly is worth a thousand words

[@joshuagiordano593]

ok thats a pretty good one

[@armitx9]

damn that's a crazy level of research, you need more subs fam

[@laurencebetteridge8633]

13:30 video was worth it just to find out there was a bird in it the entire time Not that the video wasn't good anyway, it was. Great vid as always Psuediom, loved it

[@Pseudiom]

He's a mysterious little fellow. Thanks for watching.

[@ForwardSynthesis]

I always found it disturbing. It looks too perfect, which makes it look like a dream where bad things are about to happen. I can imagine something horrible appearing distantly at the top of that hill.

[@Sinful0men]

YES!!!!! IM NOT THE ONLY FUCKING ONE I HATE IT ITS LIKE A DREAM AND THEN IT TURNS BAD THIS PICTURE SCARES ME I DONT KNOW WHY IM LOOKING AT IT

[@Sinful0men]

YESSSS!!!! IM NOT THE ONLY ONE

[@Sinful0men]

IM SORRY FOR MY PROFANITY BUT IT SCARES ME

[@Rosalina102798]

Ah, the uncanny valley effect strikes again.

[@christopherdonjuan7690]

It reminds me of the ghost car jump scare video

[@Mirokuofnite]

I use to live near that spot back in 96. Funny to think that around 'or on' my 9th birthday a iconic photo was taken near where I lived.

[@yoloswag4847]

Wow, I’m discovering this exactly 28 years after the picture was taken. Crazy how much time has passed

[@zach123101]

this is still my background

[@Pseudiom]

Never give it up. Bliss will live forever.

[@zach123101]

@@Pseudiom Amen

[@captainclipy6236]

I always got scared seeing my dad’s computer with this wallpaper when I went into his office to say goodnight before bed. Something ominous about it.

[@poopydoggs]

I get what you mean. I think its something about how perfect it is?

[@shrimpscampin]

Liminal space

[@exkdvs]

This is my new favourite channel

[@thevoidcritter]

when you showed the autumn wallpaper it unlocked a deep repressed memory since that was the wallpaper my parents' computer had, but bliss was on all the computers at school

[@kevsomeone]

They were right when they say that a picture is worth a thousand words. Very interesting video. This photograph has been planted in my mind ever since I first saw it.

[@chain12bb]

I dreamt that i was there on that hill last night. First time i’ve even thought about this picture in years. Great video

[@Raul_Gajadhar]

I always knew it was a real photo because of the peaks in the middle right, and I did guess the 19th. I am still using it as a back ground on my modern pc's just for the kicks of it. I really enjoyed this video and your narration.

[@christopherdonjuan7690]

Y’all remember the ghost car video this shit reminds me of that idk whyyyy

[@e.m.p.3394]

I'm 15 currently. I grew up with this picture

[@Sinful0men]

You grew up with fortnite

[@whiskeysour1179]

I love the windows xp default wallpapers...

[@noelanderson969]

Thanks for the information on a screensaver I ALWAYS seen a lot!

[@D_77652]

The wallpaper was even bliss i like this wallpaper is my favorite computer wallpaper ever

[@gavinthecrafter]

Oh my gosh if this isn't the perfect time for me to visit this place, then I don't know what is. Not only is it the 25th anniversary of the photo being taken, but the photo was taken after a winter storm. Guess what's happening in Sonoma right now?

[@thebreakfastmenu]

I'm gonna make this my desktop background on Windows 10 now...

[@sleeplibrary2845]

it is a liminal space and carries a mystical impact level for this reason and even more when ppl feel the feelings from earlier time in their growth

[@Matt-vh2ci]

Why some of your KZbin videos title has Italian names like lingua or influenza?

[@Pseudiom]

There not exactly Italian (at least I did purposefully not take them from Italian). Lingua is a reference to the term "Lingua Franca" as it talks about the history behind words. And Influence Influenza is a joke/alteration about how culture is contagious since Influenza means flue/sickness (so contagious cultural things).

[@Matt-vh2ci]

@@Pseudiom I asked because I am Italian and this are actual Italian words, for example lingua franca translate to frank/French language and influenza to (as you said) flu or sickness.

[@Pseudiom]

Didn't know that! Thanks for telling me. I just picked them from my English understanding of them.

[@Matt-vh2ci]

@@Pseudiom of course because of your video on Caesar and Italian names in your title I assumed that you were Italian or atleast knew Italian, but it seems they are just a coincidence.

[@musiclove6237]

Did you know there's a few alternate shots? Found it out on that wallpaper wiki.

[@Darcco900]

I had a Ratatouille moment seeing 'Red Moon Desert'. Great vid 👍

[@MilitristRB]

as a child seeing the windows xp advert on the tv i actually thought you could fly if you bought windows xp

[@LtGrandMaster]

I love 3 miles from the Logsdon of the photograph. I though it was common knowledge that it was real

[@screensaves]

Bliss is my favorite photo.

[@MikinessAnalog]

Lifespan of 14 years, about 250 updates? I think that is fair. Fits on an 800mb CD-ROM. Installs in approx. 2.5 - 4 hours (ip speed)

[@cordovajose5693]

Was XP's user interface's green and blue color palette chosen because of this photo or was it the other way around?

[@keidypaixao]

“People over 15 in 2014 will likely remember this photo” Me: Well, I’m almost 13 and I remember seeing this photo when I was a baby.

[@OtesOtesOtes]

38.2492081, -122.410094 are the actual coordinates. Anon was very close but you can tell by the alignment of the mountains in the Google Street Photo that the photo was taken slightly further north. I would have been 7 months old, living 6 miles away when that photo was taken.

[@UkrainePatr1ot]

2:15 Minecraft painting

[@jorgepinto-velez603]

where was this picture taken place

[@thelongestname4848]

Grass so green holy heckers!!4

[@LRM12o8]

"This backgrounds name is "Bliss". Nobody knows it" NOBODY KNOWS IT? *NOBODY KNOWS IT?* Dude, it says so in the menu where you can change the background! How'd you come to think that nobody knows this?!

[@Mr3344555]

I wonder who owns that hill if Microsoft owns the picture.

[@billykidman2091]

The owner of that plot of land I'd assume

[@yeetleslaw8529]

I always thought it was photoshopped. I'm still in awe knowing it's real. wow. This comment is for the algorithm. All hail the algorithm. We like, comment, and subscribe to our lord, the great O mighty algorithm. Bless this video with increased traffic and user interaction.

[@YaBoiBrendo]

My wallpaper has Ainsley Harriet staring at me behind the hills.

[@bpiya8743]

This is going to be random, but the way you edit this video is reminiscent of "Dear Zachary."

[@DokuFREENET]

On the GermanVersion this Is "Grüne Idylle" witch translatest to "Green idyll"

[@lightningvini]

I rode past the bliss landscape when I visited Cali but it was midsummer so the grass wasn’t green ;(

[@em0_tion]

Well, that weather forecast/shoot day investigation felt creepy as fuck. 😁

[@TGPAdmin]

Uncanny is the today is be scary is bliss wallpaper

[@darwatiwati5314]

Nostalgia

[@sleeplibrary2845]

Basically herein contained- the meaning of life. Desktop Wallpaper.

[@rasenganuzumaki6340]

I Actually Feel Uncomfortable looking at That picture,The Name it self "Bliss" had already triggered Anemoia. Bliss had This Phenomenon to Unite Reality and a Dream. Its like no clipping out Of Reality and Entering A Child's Dream,Full Of Joy Untill.......UNTIL YOU REALIZE THAT YOU WILL NEVER GO BACK TO REALITY,Doomed In A Dream for all Eternity, stuck in a Childhood Memory Forever with Nobody to Help You. FOREVER ALONE IN A LIMINAL SPACE.

[@steadystackingsilversilver6483]

Look at it with the magnifier and invert it there's a story there all the screen savers have it.. Enigma

[@supershaggydoo9894]

I like how January 19th is a day after my birthday 12:08

[@halflifeger4179]

This photo is the original liminal space

[@MilitristRB]

then i started asking my mom to upgrade from windows 2000 professional and then she disappointed me by saying you can't actually fly

[@wordart_guian]

THERE'S A BIRD and no one ever notices it

[@marekstuff]

Bliss was finnaly found in 2020

[@AlexPerrine]

What about the Autumn background? Was it Real.

[@wordart_guian]

yeah, there was an article from vanity fair about the search for its true location, and a winter version windowswallpaper.miraheze.org/wiki/Autumn

[@CAVEDATA]

Yea

[@luciolucio3597]

best photo ever taken. prove me wrong

[@ashleybyrd2015]

I'm sorry, only _13%_ of the population actually saw this image?

[@georgewilson7432]

Forgive me, I don't want want to tell you how to do your job, but have you considered a video original vídeos on medieval travelling? From Sister Egeria, Who wrote the first tourist cuide, Benjamin of Tudela (Jewish Marco Polo); that wonderful liar John of Mandeville who wasn't even from Mandeville;

[@georgewilson7432]

And who could forget Jacopo da Ancona and his City of Light, Ruta Díaz de Clavijo the first Spanish who met the crimson Tamerlan, and of course the Harry Potter of the Middle Ages, Prester John and his fabulous domains.

[@Pseudiom]

Sounds interesting. I'll add the idea to my lists. Been wanting to do something like that and about the Silk Road. Thanks for the recommendation!

[@John-p9m2c]

69 comments