Santa Claus with the children during the Croatian War of Independence. Vukovar, 1992. The picture was taken in Vukovar in 1992 and the people in the photo are most likely ethnic Serbs. The reason is that Vukovar came under the control of the Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA) back in November of 1991. At that point, most ethnic Croats fled the city. The tank in the background also points to this fact since the JNA was far better armed than the budding Croatian army....

In 1953, the biggest vessel to travel the Mississippi River and Illinois Waterway (at the time) managed to wind its way downtown on the Chicago River. This steel hull behemoth was nearly 634 feet long (193m) and 70 feet wide (21.3m) and according to a Chicago Tribune account, the freighter had only seven inches of clearance on each side at Van Buren Street. Even now, one has to gasp and wonder how the hell that happened....

On September 1, 1939, the world was shocked as Nazi troops invaded Poland. Tensions soared in Europe, and world leaders recognized that this invasion could be the final straw that would lead to war. German military leaders had begun planning for war with Poland as early as the mid 1920s. Recovering the ethnically Polish territory of Pomerania, Poznan, and Silesia, as well as the largely German Free City of Danzig were the major objectives....

In early 20th-century France, knife grinding was a vital yet grueling trade, requiring long hours and careful precision. In the town of Thiers—famed as the heart of French cutlery production—knife grinders developed a peculiar and practical technique to endure the physical toll of their work: they lay on their stomachs, chests down, as they worked the grindstone. This unusual posture allowed them to preserve their backs, sparing themselves from the hunched, painful stance that often plagued other trades....

A trapper boy, one mile inside Turkey Knob Mine in Macdonald, West Virginia. 1908. In the early 1900s child labor was still extremely common in the United States. All across the nation children would spend their days slaving away in mines and cotton mills, far away from the school rooms that the National Child Labor Committee wanted them to be in. Nearly all coal breaking facilities in the United States were labor-intensive....

Following the advent of the automobile in the 1890s, motoring grew fashionable among wealthy people. As early cars had no roofs or doors and were driven mostly on dirt roads, motorists needed clothes that could protect them from wind, cold, and dust. Consequently, motoring not only demanded new kinds of protective outerwear but also created another social occasion for sartorial display. Novel lines of purpose-designed clothing and accessories rapidly evolved, from car rugs and overcoats to boots and gauntlets....

On the evening of October 8, 1871, more than 300,000 weary residents of the great city of Chicago went to bed expecting nothing more than a quiet night’s sleep followed by an ordinary Monday of going to work or tending family. Instead, these unprepared citizens found themselves pursued by an inferno, driven into the waters of Lake Michigan or running far onto the open prairie north and west of the city....

With her brother on her back, a war-weary Korean girl trudges by a stalled M-26 tank, at Haengju, Korea. on June 9, 1951. The Korean War was one of several military conflicts that occurred during the Cold War, as the United States and its allies attempted to stop the spread of communism. This conflict began on June 25, 1950, when North Korea, a communist nation, invaded South Korea. Prior to World War II’s conclusion, North and South Korea had been a single country known as Korea....

The 1960s was a remarkable and dynamic era marked by various styles and influences that left a profound impact on architecture and design. Within this period of great change, we find ourselves drawn to the kitchens of the time. These kitchens, captured in color snapshots, show how they looked like during those transformative years. It wasn’t solely about functionality anymore; kitchens began to embody a new sense of purpose and significance....

The AX-3 was designed at NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) in the middle 1970s. A prototype, it was created to prove that a highly mobile suit requiring little effort to operate could use an internal operating pressure of 8 pounds per square inch. ARC, which was the designer and system integrator, also fabricated the double-walled fiberglass upper torso and brief structures, all the mobility joints and sizing hardware, and all the master plaster patterns used for fabric laminate lay-up....

Reflecting on cars from past decades might bring to mind their appearances, but often overlooked are the myriad features that accompanied these vehicles. In hindsight, many of these concepts were undeniably innovative, yet within that realm of innovation, some ideas appeared outright eccentric or unusual. Looking back, it’s fascinating to see the range of forward-thinking innovations and, in contrast, some rather unconventional or offbeat features that were a part of automotive history....

Before traffic reports, navigation apps, and synchronized traffic lights, congestion was already an unavoidable part of modern life. As soon as automobiles left the factory floor and rolled onto public roads, they began competing for space that cities and towns were never designed to share. Early traffic jams may look almost quaint in old photographs, but they tell a deeper story about rapid technological change, urban growth, and the growing pains of a world adjusting to mass mobility....

The Second World War changed the United States for women , and women in turn transformed their nation. Over three hundred fifty thousand women volunteered for military service, while twenty times as many stepped into civilian jobs, including positions previously closed to them. More than seven million women who had not been wage earners before the war joined eleven million women already in the American work force. Between 1941 and 1945, an untold number moved away from their hometowns to take advantage of wartime opportunities, but many more remained in place, organizing home front initiatives to conserve resources, to build morale, to raise funds, and to fill jobs left by men who entered military service....

A lone African-American man attends a Klan rally in Jackson, Mississippi, 1950. A lone African-American boy, left foreground, stands in a sparse crowd that turned out to hear Dr. Lycurgus Spinks, imperial emperor of one of the several Ku Klux Klan groups active in the South, speak to 56 members of his Invisible Empire, Jackson, Miss. Spinks told his group, “There aren’t any N*gros within miles of here tonight.” This was the first public Klan rally at Jackson in 15 years....

The wedding portrait of Zeng Jifen and Nie ji Gui, who were only recently identified. The bride is the daughter of Marquis Zeng Guofan, a high-ranking Chinese official during the Qing dynasty. These photographs of Peking, now known as Beijing, taken by Thomas Child in the 1870s and 1880s are a window of the old China. In May of 1870, Thomas Child was hired by the Imperial Maritime Customs Service to be a gas engineer in Peking (Beijing)....

The Germans, as the only colonial power amongst the Central Powers, used plenty of African soldiers of their Schutztruppen in the African theatres of war, but they had never planned to deploy these troops in Europe and would not have been able to do so during World War I for logistical reasons anyway. However, there were a few black soldiers enlisted in the German Imperial Army (Continental Army). Most were involved in non-combat duties, like musicians....

Beauty pageants have been a part of American culture for over a century, with the Miss America pageant being one of the most well-known and prestigious. However, there are also a number of bizarre beauty pageants held across the United States that may leave some people scratching their heads. One of these unusual pageants is the Miss Idaho Potato pageant. Held annually in the city of Burley, Idaho, this pageant has been running since 1935 and has become a beloved tradition in the state....

Victorian postmortem photography was a somber yet intriguing practice that emerged during the 19th century. This unique form of portraiture involved capturing images of deceased individuals shortly after their passing. Intended to serve as lasting mementos for grieving families, these photographs often portrayed the departed in a serene and lifelike repose, creating a poignant connection between the living and the deceased. It is important to recognize that while postmortem photography did indeed find its place within the cultural landscape of the Victorian era, not every photograph featuring still or composed subjects from that time is a portrayal of the deceased....

In 1987, Berlin celebrated its 750th anniversary, and the city was abuzz with excitement. The Communist East German government, which ruled the eastern half of the city at the time, wanted to mark the occasion with a grand parade that showcased the country’s achievements. As the parade made its way through the city’s streets, it was clear that the East German government wanted to show off its technological prowess....

The Futuramic Oldsmobile, introduced for the 1948 model year, marked a significant departure from the company’s previous offerings. Defined by its sleek lines, fastback rear end, and prominent chrome accents, the model embodied a futuristic aesthetic that resonated deeply with consumers eager to embrace a brighter future. This innovative design, spearheaded by Oldsmobile’s design studio under Art Ross, stood in stark contrast to the boxy, utilitarian vehicles of the pre-war era....