Posts

The early 19th century was marked by the aftermath of the French Revolution and the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte. This period saw a departure from the elaborate styles of the late 18th century, with men opting for simpler, more natural looks. Shorter, neatly trimmed hair became fashionable, often accompanied by sideburns and clean-shaven faces. This clean-cut style was influenced by military trends and remained popular throughout Europe and North America....

Beauty pageants (a mainstay in Western culture, particularly America) were banned in the Soviet Union since 1959 – no scantily clad ladies, no cheeky fashion, no celebration of beauty and poise. However, the landscape changed in 1985 with the appointment of Mikhail Gorbachev who became the youngest General Secretary of the Communist Party. His appointment ushered in a new era of social freedom for the citizens of the USSR – including the removal of the ban on beauty pageants....

The result of 15 minute’s rat-hunting in a French trench. Note the Jack Russell Terrier in the gentleman’s arms at left. The trench soldier of World War I had to cope with millions of rats. The omnipresent rats were attracted by the human waste of war – not simply sewage waste but also the bodies of men long forgotten who had been buried in the trenches and often reappeared after heavy rain or shelling....

The story of the tank began in World War I when armored all-terrain fighting vehicles were first deployed as a response to the problems of trench warfare. In Britain, tanks were first referred to as landships. The Landships Committee was set up in 1915 by Winston Churchill to develop designs. To conceal their true purpose from possible spies, they were called tanks, to give the impression of simple water tanks....

The World’s Columbian Exposition, commonly known as the Chicago World’s Fair, was a significant international event held in Chicago from May 5 to October 31, 1893. It commemorated the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s arrival in the Americas in 1492. Located in Jackson Park, the fair’s focal point was a grand water basin symbolizing Columbus’s historic voyage. The exposition was an influential social and cultural event and had a profound effect on American architecture, the arts, American industrial optimism, and Chicago’s image....

Reindeer Yasha at War. Murmansk area, 1941. World War II planes bomb a hillside while a shellshocked reindeer looks on. The stark interface between the killing machines of man and the natural grandeur and beauty of the reindeer was not “natural”. Yevgeny Khaldei, the famous Soviet photographer who took this photo, frequently staged or manipulated his photos to (as he defended the practice) enhance and strengthen the “truth” of the visual moment....

Safety Last! (1923) is a legendary silent romantic comedy starring Harold Lloyd, and it’s best remembered for one of the most thrilling scenes in film history—Lloyd hanging from a clock face high above the city streets, with traffic rushing below. This daring stunt not only captivated audiences but also turned the film into a massive hit, securing Lloyd’s place as one of the biggest stars of early Hollywood. Decades later, Safety Last!...

Ivan Unger and Gladys Roy play tennis on top of a biplane. 1925. Arising as a daredevil stunt in the aerial shows of the 1920s, wing walking was the act of moving along the wings of a biplane during flight. It started around 1920 at aerial barnstorming shows and originally began as a demonstration of planes’ balance and stability, moved to in-the-air mechanical adjustments and fixes, and then to stunts....

Terry Fox was a Canadian athlete, humanitarian, and cancer research activist whose remarkable determination turned personal tragedy into a national movement. In 1980, after losing his right leg to cancer, Fox set out on an ambitious cross-country run to raise money and awareness for cancer research. Though his journey was cut short, his legacy continues through the annual Terry Fox Run, an event that began in 1981 and now involves millions of participants across more than 60 countries....

In June of 1963, Vietnamese Mahayana Buddhist monk Thích Quang Duc burned himself to death at a busy intersection in Saigon. In June of 1963, Vietnamese Mahayana Buddhist monk Thích Quang Duc burned himself to death at a busy intersection in Saigon. He was attempting to show that to fight all forms of oppression on equal terms, Buddhism too, needed to have its martyrs. John F. Kennedy said in reference to a photograph of Duc on fire: “No news picture in history has generated so much emotion around the world as that one”....

The Spinx circa 1880s, by Beniamino Facchinelli. At 240 feet (73 m) long by 62 feet wide (19 m) and reaching a height of 66 feet (20 m), the Great Sphinx is one of the largest statues in the world. Even the ancient Egyptians themselves were puzzled by the remote antiquity and purpose of the Great Sphinx at Giza. Gathered in this article are various vintage photographs of the Sphinx throughout the past 170 years....

Emerging from the shadows of World War II, an astonishing chapter of aviation history comes into focus through newly colorized photographs that capture the determination and courage of the Soviet Union’s first all-female combat aviation unit. The photographs, originally taken in black and white, have been carefully brought to life by Moscow-based colorist Olga Shirnina . They depict members of the 588th Night Bomber Regiment, later renamed the 46th “Taman” Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment, as they trained, planned, and flew combat sorties for the Soviet Air Forces....

Called the Rhino, this four-wheel, five-tone driving machine was designed to patrol and defend the vast open spaces of Alaska and Canada without succumbing to the region’s formidable, varied terrain. The bizarre amphibious four-wheeled vehicle called Rhino was designed by the Greek-American inventor Elie Aghnides. In the 1940s, Aghnides was watching a tractor laboring through New York City’s Central Park and figured he could combine the stability of a bulldozer with the speed of a car, and create an efficient, all-terrain vehicle....

The Edinburg Daily Courier newspaper clipping dated October 29, 1938, tells a fascinating story about a Greek monk who supposedly lived his entire life without ever seeing a woman. According to the article, the monk had spent his entire life on Mount Athos. While the story of the Greek monk who never saw a woman is intriguing, it’s important to note that there is no way to verify the accuracy of this account....

The Wuppertal Suspension Railway, perched above the river Wupper in the German town of Wuppertal, photographed on January 8, 1913. On January 8, 1913 — a photographer in Wuppertal, Barmen (Germany), captured this image of the unique suspension railway that runs through the town, with cars hanging above the Wupper River. The 13 km rail system known as the Wuppertaler Schwebebahn had just been completed 12 years before, and became well-used by locals—by 1925 the company claimed it had transported almost 20 million passengers....

The director of the Belgrade Zoo tries to convince Sami the chimpanzee to return home after he escaped, 1988. Sami, the chimpanzee of Belgrade Zoo, became a media sensation when he managed to escape twice in February 1988. He had a thoughtful walk around Central Belgrade before being captured after long “negotiations” with the zoo director, Vuk Bojović. Sami was born at the Osijek Zoo and Aquarium in 1979. He was a well-developed specimen with a strong structure and a thick coat....

US soldiers in full field equipment learning the “chinpull” method of saving men from drowning, 1942. The chin pull method is similar to a lifeguarding technique, basically, the soldier needs to get behind the victim and tow them along using one hand under their chin. This is pretty much guaranteed to keep their airway out of the water whilst leaving the rescuer an arm free to paddle and/or grab onto something else....

Four wars, four veterans, same town. We can only imagine the horrors seen and shared between the four of these men. They all have the stare and you can see it gradually getting worse in their eyes as they get older. Approximately 80 years of wars in one picture, all of them went to war but experienced completely different types of warfare. From top left to bottom left, clockwise:...

These vintage photos show one of the unique features of Detroit in winter: the famous ice fountain on Washington Boulevard. Several jets of water are allowed to play all winter, resulting in tons of crystal and massive berg of ice that at times reached heights of 30 feet or more. In particularly chilly years, the fountain was said to have grown as tall as 60 feet. Washington Boulevard is one of Detroit’s main boulevards and was part of Augustus Woodward’s design for the city of Detroit following the Great Fire of 1805....

Arnold Genthe’s photographs of Japan from his six-month visit in 1908 provide a remarkable glimpse into the daily life of the Japanese people during the Meiji period. Unlike many other Western photographers of the time who were interested in capturing exoticism and staged portraits, Genthe had a unique approach. He was drawn to capturing everyday scenes and candid moments, which offered an intimate insight into Japan’s culture and way of life....