These peeled pomegranates make us feel weird

If you’ve ever wondered what a perfectly peeled pomegranate looks like, wonder no more: The Internet is here to deliver.

As it turns out, a pomegranate looks like a giant cluster of bloody alien eggs when you take away the skin — and we have a lot of weird feelings about it. Who knew something so delicious could be so creepy? Why are so many of the seeds turning white on the sides? Why do clusters make us feel so uncomfortable? If we didn’t have trypophobia before, we’ve definitely developed it as a result of this photo.

Of course, it isn’t the first time this image has made the rounds on the Internet. (If you do a quick search for “peeled pomegranate” on Twitter, the same image comes up as early as May 2015.) But nonetheless, the naked fruit has captured our attention yet again. Like the peeled watermelon that went viral last year, it’s just not something we’re used to seeing every day — and we can’t stop staring.

However, as a few Imgur users have pointed out, the image is likely a fake: Pomegranates have white, fleshy parts between the seeds — so even if you were to peel the outer skin, there would be gaps in between. To get something as perfect as the Imgur photograph, you’d have to glue a bunch of pomegranate seeds together in the appropriate shape. In comparison, here are a few examples of what a real peeled pomegranate looks like.

To be fair, these images still make us feel weird. They may not be as “perfect” as the original, but they still have the same, creepy vibes. For now, we’ll stick to buying the pre-packaged seeds in order to avoid the fuss.

(Images via Imgur, Twitter.)