The Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev congratulates East German leader Erich Honecker with a fraternal hug and kiss after Honecker’s re-election as General Secretary of the Communist Party Congress in East Berlin, on April 21, 1986. Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev embraces Erich Honecker, hardline communist and general secretary of the Communist Party (SED) as members of SED applaud during the 11th SED party’s congress, on April 17, 1986, in East Berlin....

A knocker-up rouses a client in Lancashire. c. 1900. The knocker-upper profession started during and lasted well into the Industrial Revolution when alarm clocks were neither cheap nor reliable. A knocker-up’s job was to rouse sleeping people so they could get to work on time. They would be paid a few pence a week to make the rounds and rouse workers, banging on their doors with a short stick or rapping on upper windows with a long pole....

A lady with two slaves, in Bahia, Brazil, 1860. These two men are manumitted slaves. Manumission is the act of a slave owner freeing his or her slaves. They borrowed the clothes and the hats just for the picture. It’s a posed photograph and a statement about being manumitted rather than a picture of a woman posing with her slaves. To answer the question of why they are dressed up but shoeless – it’s part of the old custom of using shoes to denote class, position, or wealth....

Lina Medina is the world’s youngest documented mother in medical history. At the time of delivery, she was 5 years, 7 months, and 17 days old. In 1933, Lina Medina was born in Ticrapo, Peru. At the age of five years, Lina was brought to the hospital by her parents who complained of abdominal extreme growth. The girl’s parents initially thought their daughter was suffering from a massive abdominal tumor, but after being examined by doctors in Pisco, Peru, they discovered she was seven months pregnant....

Well before smart homes and digital assistants entered everyday life, Disneyland offered visitors a striking preview of domestic living shaped by science and new materials. Rising from Tomorrowland in 1957, Monsanto’s House of the Future presented an optimistic vision of how plastics and industrial innovation could redefine the American home. Sleek, elevated, and unmistakably modern, it functioned as both a technological showcase and a statement about postwar confidence in progress....

What began as a humble line of plush toys crafted with care and creativity eventually morphed into a global craze that gripped the hearts and wallets of collectors around the world. Beanie Babies, adorned with their iconic heart-shaped tags, became more than mere playthings. They became coveted symbols of an era, representing both the innocent joy of childhood and the dizzying allure of financial gain. Beanie Babies were first introduced in 1993 by Ty Warner at the World Toy Fair in New York City, New York....

The image of Las Vegas that emerged in the 1970s was one that would take decades to shed: a tacky tourist trap with aging casinos, cheap restaurants, and showrooms filled with performers whose careers were on their last legs. With a few exceptions, investment had slowed to a crawl and Vegas didn’t seem as exciting anymore, especially when it was forced to compete with the sparkling newness of Atlantic City, where gambling was legalized in 1976....

Jamie Lee Curtis was not only celebrated for her acting talent but also for her influence in the world of fitness fashion. In these photographs, she shows a pioneering spirit, embracing the distinctive style of the 1980s with flair and grace. The 1985 movie “Perfect” introduced an intriguing narrative centered on romantic relationships within the high-energy and revealing ambiance of Los Angeles fitness studios. This storyline catapulted Jamie Lee Curtis into the spotlight, positioning her as an enticing figure within the athletic community....

In 1972, a plane crashed into the Andes and the survivors resorted to cannibalism to stay alive. This is the story of the 16 survivors of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, which was chartered to take an amateur rugby team from Montevideo to Santiago, Chile, and ended up in tragedy (and miracle). The accident and subsequent survival became known as the Andes flight disaster ( Tragedia de los Andes ) and the Miracle of the Andes ( Milagro de los Andes )....

In the 1920s, there existed a Parisian cabaret with a hellish theme known as Cabaret de L’Enfer. Established in 1892 near Montmartre in Paris, this unique venue featured an entrance resembling the gaping jaws of a Leviathan, symbolizing damnation. This iconic cabaret was more than a mere entertainment venue; it was a portal into the underbelly of the city, where the fantastical and the forbidden converged in a mesmerizing spectacle....

The commander of an M48 Patton tank looks through his lens, 1967. Private First Class Kerry Nelson, an American M48 tank gunner of the 3rd Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, in Vietnam’s ‘Iron Triangle’ during the Vietnam War. The squadron was tasked with securing Route 13, a strategic road north of Saigon, which connected the city with An Loc and the Cambodian border. The picture was honored as World Press Photo of the Year in 1967....

Before modern air travel and first-class suites, the grandest thing in luxury air travel was the German Zeppelin airship. The Hindenburg was designed to ferry passengers across the Atlantic in serenity, with the dirigible floating smoothly through the clouds. The airship was considered the longest class of flying machine and the largest airship by envelope volume. During the 1930s, airships like the Hindenburg class were widely considered the future of air travel, and the lead ship of the class, LZ 129 Hindenburg, established a regular transatlantic service....

The internment of Japanese-Americans into camps during World War II was one of the most flagrant violations of civil liberties in American history. According to the census of 1940, 127,000 persons of Japanese ancestry lived in the United States, the majority on the West Coast. One-third had been born in Japan, and in some states could not own land, be naturalized as citizens, or vote. After Japan bombed Pearl Harbor in December 1941, rumors spread, fueled by race prejudice, of a plot among Japanese-Americans to sabotage the war effort....

In the early 20th century, a captivating yet heart-wrenching story unfolded, centered around two albino African-American brothers, George and Willie Muse. Their lives took a dramatic turn when they were plucked from a Virginia farm and thrust into the bright lights of the circus world. Their story is one of uniqueness, exploitation, and, ultimately, liberation. George and Willie Muse, the eldest of five siblings, were born to Harriett Muse in the small community of Truevine on the outskirts of Roanoke, Virginia....

The Nissan 300ZX, a celebrated sports car of the 1980s, fascinated automotive enthusiasts with its innovative interior design and distinct cyberpunk influences. Boasting sleek lines, cutting-edge features, and an unmistakable rebellious aesthetic, the 300ZX redefined automotive innovation during this era. Stepping into the Nissan 300ZX was akin to entering a realm where futuristic elements seamlessly merged with driver-centric ergonomics. The interior design was a testament to the car’s visionary approach, with every detail meticulously crafted....

These striking photographs of psychedelic fashion in London were published in the Paris Match magazine (October 1967 issue) and are taken by photographer Philippe Le Tellier. The 1960s were a time of cultural change and tumult, an era that brought the peace movement, hippie communes, and sweeping trends in music, art, and fashion. Rejecting consumerism, rebellious youth embraced psychedelic clothing as a creative reflection of the changing culture. Considered unconventional and anti-establishment, psychedelic clothing style design can be seen in fur-trimmed vests, wide bell-bottom denim trousers, flowing caftans, and floral embellishments, used on both men’s and women’s garments....

Medical sciences in the early parts of the 20th century were far advanced from the medieval days of leeches, but still, most of the treatments and medical devices were misguided and often even barbaric by our modern standards. Seeming to mean well, bizarre contraptions were built, claiming to aid the ailing patients. A little pseudoscience and quackery were also thrown in the mix. Over years, scientists and doctors experimented with some really strange-looking devices, which had questionable effects on the patients, sometimes simply being a placebo....

Three German soldiers returning from training exercise, France, October 1941. Every time this image gets posted on the internet a caption from the book “The K98k Rifle” gets attached to it which claims that these soldiers are fresh out of a firefight. However, the original Bundesarchiv caption reads: “Frankreich.- Erschöpfte Soldaten mit Gewehr K98 bei einer Übung / Marsch, Leutnant mit Maschinenpistole in der Mitte gehend; PK 695” ....

Decades before the full-fledged public health campaign against smoking, tobacco companies tried to align their brands with doctors using bribery and ludicrous health claims. In the grand scope of the history of medicine, the relationship between doctors and patients has changed quite a bit in recent decades. For a long time, physicians were the authority on health. Patients trusted in their doctors’ education and expertise and, for the most part, followed their advice....

The idea of wearing a computer on the wrist did not arrive overnight, nor did it begin with glossy touchscreens and app stores. During the late 1970s through the 1990s, watchmakers and electronics companies quietly experimented with packing calculation, storage, communication, and even entertainment into devices small enough to strap onto an arm. These early wrist computers emerged in an era when personal computers were rare, expensive, and often intimidating, making the notion of portable digital power feel almost futuristic....