Last Will And Testament
What seems like a fun day at an amusement park is a lot darker than that. This man is a U.S. death-row prisoner checking the safety of a roller coaster in 1958. Whether it passed safety regulations or not, we know what happened.
Last Will And Testament
Flying Babies
‘Operation Babylift’ took place on April 12th, 1975 from Vietnam. Following the Vietnam War, many Vietnamese babies became orphans and that’s where the U.S. government stepped in and took action. They flew the babies back to America, and then citizens of U.S.A., Australia, Canada and France adopted them.
Flying Babies
Apestronaut
Apestronaut or astrochimp? Well, it doesn’t really matter. What matters is that Ham The Chimp was the first humanoid ever to be sent successfully into space. It’s because of him that man has been able to advance in space.
Apestronaut
Addressing Issues
Many people recognize flight attendants by their iconic dress code. But did you know that a while back their uniform wasn’t what it is today? In this photograph you can see Brigitta Lindman, a Swedish airline flight attendant inspecting a showgirl’s get-up after rumors about airlines adopting similar uniforms raced around Sweden in 1959.
Addressing Issues
Home At Last
‘Operation Homecoming’ was not a prom thing, no, it was the returning of U.S. soldiers in exchange for Viet Cong in the 1970’s. This photo of fighter pilot Lt. Col Robert Stirm reuniting with his family after 6 years won an award and was later called “Burst of Joy”.
Home At Last
Tattoo Chin
A young girl by the name of Olive Ann Oatman was kidnapped along with her sister, by a native American tribe when she was just 14 years old. She was adopted by a Mohave chief and grew up with the tribe. Part of her upbringing included getting a tattoo on her chin. Years later after word about a white girl living with the tribe spread, she was redeemed through an exchange of blankets and horses.
Tattoo Chin
Playstation Predecessor
Does anyone remember these giant boxes we once called computers? Today you could play a game on your cellphone with someone halfway across the world. Pictured here is the 1980 National Space Invaders Championship which hauled in over 10,000 participants.
Playstation Predecessor
James Dean
The life of a man loved too much ended too soon. This historic stock image shows James Dean at a gas station in 1955. It would only be a couple of hours later that he would die in a tragic car accident.
James Dean
Giant Ray
There are many opinions about whether this giant manta ray is real or not. But according to most, A.L. Khan’s stock image from 1935 of the 5000-pound monster is enough to scare anyone out of swimming again.
Giant Ray
Beer Waterfall
During Prohibition getting a drink might have been as easy as standing next to a brewery with a bucket. Not really though. This photograph shows what happened when police found and bust a bootlegging brewery in Detroit.
Beer Waterfall
Aging Lincoln
It’s no surprise that presidents gain a few extra grey hairs during their term. This side-by-side of President Abraham Lincoln shows a little more than just a couple of silver threads. Compare the images of him before and after the Civil War.
Aging Lincoln
The Mushroom Cloud
If you happened to be at this Nevada nuclear test site on this day, you wouldn’t have had much time to escape from this blast. From the explosion point to the camera, the shock-wave took exactly 16 milliseconds to travel.
The Mushroom Cloud
Being Different
Sometimes even the law isn’t enough to change the reality. When the American constitution eventually allowed African-Americans to attend white schools, not much changed. Dorothy Counts was the first to attend an all-white school but quickly had to leave. Too much bullying and intimidation had her leaving after only four days.
Being Different
Plastic Surgery
Plastic surgery? Michael Jackson? Nah, you can think even further back than that. Think Walter Yeo – this guy. Around 1917 was when the procedure called the ‘skin flap’ was created to treat hideous battle wounds. It’s quite difficult to tell which image came first.
Plastic Surgery
Punch-Up
It has taken a long time for women to be recognized in the world of sports. But who said that women weren’t already practicing on their own, let’s say on rooftops? In the 1930’s a group of women’s rights activists took to Sweden’s roofs to take boxing classes for sport… or for something else.
Punch-Up
“Babe Ruth”
How many home-runs have you ever hit? How does the number ‘700’ sound to you? Well, George Herman “Babe” Ruth managed to hit that many in his ever-impressive baseball career. This stock image shows him hitting his 700th back in 1934. Oh, did we mention that it was on Friday the 13th? Who said it was bad luck?
“Babe Ruth”
Daddy Long Legs
He may not be a spider, but he has legs long enough to make you wonder. Robert Wadlow was the tallest man in the world and therefore received the nicknames of “The Alton Giant” and “Giant of Illinois”.
Daddy Long Legs
Undeterred
During the high days of racial conflict, it wasn’t uncommon to witness racist behavior. In April of 1960 Martin Luther King Jr. made his way out of his house only to find crosses burned by the KKK on his front lawn.
Undeterred
Burned Bodies
Before you get the wrong idea, let’s clear something up here. These aren’t real people, but they are burn victims. What you see here are the recovered mannequins of the Madame Tussaud’s London Wax Museum after a fire in 1930.
Burned Bodies
Fishing Revolution
What they’re talking about there is a revolution! Okay, they might be talking about which worms to use as bait. Regardless of their chit-chat, this stock photo of Che Guevara and Fidel Castro was never widely shared.
Fishing Revolution
Young Love
Who can forget Elizabeth Taylor? Well for one her famous football legend boyfriend, Glenn Davis couldn’t forget her. Pictured here at 17 years old in 1948, is Taylor reading love letters she received from her boyfriend. Although the couple didn’t stay together, this stock image is as rare as it is beautiful.
Young Love
Watching Mushrooms Grow
This seems like a simple picture of mother and son staring out into the garden. But the fact is that it is not, not at all. Only 75 kms from their home in Las Vegas is a nuclear missile test and they’re watching for the mushroom cloud.
Watching Mushrooms Grow
The A-Team
A long time ago pictures couldn’t be snapped on a whim. They were planned and considered, and only if they were important would someone grab the camera. This must have been a really important team, because this is the first team photograph ever taken in history. The Knickerbocker Base Ball Club of new Jersey posed proudly for this photograph in 1858.
The A Team
Bison Skulls
What do we use today for fertilizer? We can tell you what we don’t use, and that’s bison skulls. This somewhat disturbing photograph of what must be thousands of bison skulls was taken in the 1870’s.
Bison Skulls
Hitch A Hippo
It truly is incredible to see which animals humans have domesticated over the years. Oxen, horses, dogs and cats all seem to make sense, but hippopotamuses seem a little unnecessary, don’t you think?
Hitch A Hippo
Saving With Size
Put microchips and memory cards at the back of your mind just for a moment. Do you remember these? This is Bill Gates showing off the vast space a CD could hold showing the exact equivalent in actual files.
Saving With Size
The Hindenburg
The year is 1936, and the Olympic Games are in full swing in Nazi Germany. The massive airship, the Hindenburg Zeppelin, soars above a roaring and crowded Berlin stadium.
The Hindenburg
Disaster In The Sky
It seemed to be a flying marvel until it came crashing down in massive flames in 1937. The German passenger airship traveled from Germany all the way to America, only to explode minutes before landing and killing 36 people.
Disaster In The Sky
Wave Rider
He was the king of the waves, and this stock image proves it. Buzzy Trent posed for this 1955 photo as he waited to chase down the massive waves of Hawaii. He is holding his “Gun” surfboard which was designed specifically for large waves.
Wave Rider
Mardi Gras
The Great Depression took its toll on the American population, but there was still hope. During the 1938 Mardi Gras festival, a photographer managed to capture this beautiful moment of unhindered joy.
Mardi Gras
Tower Of Barrel
When Prohibition had its tight grip around the necks of bottles and barrels, there was little room for drinking freely. Here is one collection site of confiscated alcohol barrels.
Tower Of Barrel
Missiles On The Beach
During the Cuban Missile Crisis in the early 1960’s, America was moments away from going to war with Cuba and the Soviet Union. Here you can see Hawk anti-aircraft missiles on the beach in Florida.
Missiles On The Beach
Run As Fast As You Can
A first glance this can totally look like a scene out of “Tropic Thunder” with Ben Stiller and Jack Black. But in reality, this is a photograph of Mt. Pinatubo in the Philippines erupting in 1991.
Run As Fast As You Can
Walking On A Sphinx
Doing this today could actually result in being arrested, my how the times have changed. This group of tourists, back in the 1850’s enjoyed a very hands-on tour of the massive sphinx of Giza.
Walking On A Sphinx
Dressing Up
The first thing we can say is that this photograph is beautiful, even if the fashionistas here are completely out of date. This iconic photo of German women all dressed up has made its rounds on many occasions. Who thought a picture from the 1910’s could go viral?
Dressing Up
The Beer March
I’m not all into demonstrating, but every now and again there comes a march that I can totally get behind. During the “Prohibition” era in the 1920’s and 1930’s in America, citizens were not happy with the ban on beer. When they took to the streets en masse, their great protest was eventually heard and the law revoked.
The Beer March
Fight, Fight For Your Right
When you believe in something, no matter how controversial or contested, you rally for it no matter what. Joan Trumpauer Mulholland dropped everything she had going for her and she fought for civil rights and integration, and it came at a cost. Police arrested her a number of times and a court even sentenced her to death row before they acquitted her.
Fight, Fight For Your Right
Many Hands
Some might argue that too many cooks spoil the broth, but according to this 1942 picture, it seems many hands make light work. This rare picture shows women organizing heaps of “Sears Roebuck” catalogs. It’s crazy to think that today almost all of these workers would be replaced by machines.
Many Hands
Fearless In The Sky
We’ve all seen the breathtaking photo that photographer Charles Ebbets took from this exact position. The photo of the workers eating their lunch on the scaffolding of the 69th floor of the Chrysler Building during construction is famous, but this picture isn’t. Here is the daredevil photographer positioning himself for an award-winning historical shot.
Fearless In The Sky
Sax Me Up
No matter what racist rivalry was going on at the time, when blues artist and saxophonist Big Jay McNeely started playing, everyone’s hearts started racing. Robert Willoughby managed to get this electric moment in LA in 1953 at the Olympic Auditorium.
Sax Me Up
Mr. Hitchcock
Not too many people ride bicycles while wearing suits these days, but that’s not important. The brilliant English director posed for a picture while he was in France for the Cannes Film Festival in 1972. This photograph didn’t circulate much, but it is a classic.
Mr. Hitchcock
Erm… We’ve Got A Problem
This photograph is nothing like a quick snap on Instagram. When a pilot lost control of his airplane over a farmer’s land, a quick-handed photographer snapped the moment the pilot managed to eject and a young boy looked on. The pilot made it out with only minor injuries.
Erm… We’ve Got A Problem
The Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was more than just an edging war between the U.S. and Cuba. Rather it threatened the whole world with nuclear war which could have led to total global destruction. This rare photo shows John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson getting a briefing on the issues at hand.
The Cuban Missile Crisis
The Many Faces Of Hitler
At the end of the Second World War, there were many rumors that Hitler had managed to escape from Berlin and wound up in Argentina. Guessing that if he had indeed made it out alive, the dictator would probably change his appearance. A team of U.S. experts put together a collage of different images of how Hitler could have looked.
The Many Faces Of Hitler
Playing Safe
This was by no means a fashion statement, that’s for sure. WWII was not a pleasant time for the British, and as part of their fears of German attacks was the inclusion of gas attacks. This stroller was created to keep babies safe, and the mother simply had a gas mask.
Playing Safe
The First Selfie
Yes yes, we all tend to think that the selfie was the brainchild of someone like Kim Kardashian, but it wasn’t. A young chemist, lamp manufacturer and amateur photographer took his selfie back in 1839. #nofilter
The First Selfie
Their Last Picture
This picture is possibly one of the most emotional pictures in musical history. It was taken on August 22nd, 1969 and it serves as the last picture of all four Beatles together. They may have split up, but their music lives on each and every day.
Their Last Picture
Losing Everything
The Second World War claimed millions of lives, but it also completely destroyed the lives of millions who survived its terror. This German soldier eventually returned home after the war ended only to find that his wife and children were gone forever.
Losing Everything
The Last Of Einstein
Would you believe that this untidy desk belonged to one of the greatest minds of all time? A photographer managed to get a picture of Albert Einstein’s desk just hours after he died in April 1955, and what an eerie photograph it is.
The Last Of Einstein
The Queen Meets The Queen
Both of these influential young women were 30 years old at the time and it was the first time that they were meeting. The glorious meeting between Queen Elizabeth of Britain and Marilyn Monroe, the queen of Hollywood in October 1956 had everyone questioning who was more awestruck.
The Queen Meets The Queen
You Can Never Be Too Safe
Gas masks protect soldiers from inhaling toxic gasses… they also help when it comes to peeling onions, apparently. Sometimes the smallest inventions and adaptions are the best, well done guys!
You Can Never Be Too Safe
The King’s Mugshot
Usually a mugshot makes the person in question look a whole lot worse than he is, but when it comes to Elvis Presley he just looks better. The King of Rock n’ Roll rocked his 1970 mugshot, it could have practically been an album cover.
The King’s Mugshot
President Meets Future President
This could look like a time machine, really! A young Bill Clinton meets President John F. Kennedy and young Bill is thrilled. Do you think Kennedy had an inkling that the boy he was meeting would one day become the president of the United States too?
President Meets Future President
Better Days
What could seem like two people employed at the White House for very different roles, was actually the predecessor to one of the greatest American political scandals ever. Monica Lewinsky and President Bill Clinton look as innocent as ever here.
Better Days
He Came Back
Perhaps this was the first time that Arnold Schwarzenegger said, “I’ll be back!” The young Mr. Universe to-be can be seen here when he was just 14 years old. He was competing at a competition in Austria that we have no doubt he won.
He Came Back
Head To Head
You can almost feel the glee on this young Russian’s face as he parades the head of Hitler around the German capital of Berlin. True, this wasn’t Hitler’s real head but it was as symbolic when Berlin fell to the Red Army.
Head To Head
Margot And Anne Frank
Anne Frank and her sister Margot Frank are seen enjoying sunshine on the beach in August 1940. This picture came from Anne’s photo album, Zandvoort.
Margot And Anne Frank
Challenger Reaction
The disaster of space shuttle Challenger will live in the memories of many for decades. On January 28th, 1986, the space shuttle exploded in mid-air killing all 7 crew members. It was only airborne for 73 seconds. These are some of the witnesses of that exact moment.
Challenger Reaction
Freeing Art
Some claim that part of war is looting the spoils of your enemy. Here is Allied Commander General Dwight D. Eisenhower with General Omar N. Bradley and General George S. Patton, Jr. They have just found art pieces that the Nazis had stolen during the war and hidden in a salt mine.
Freeing Art
Blue Suede Boots
Who is that in the picture? That is the king – Elvis Presley. Elvis drafted on March 24th, 1958 and stayed there until 1960. What color do you think his boots were?
Blue Suede Boots
We Salute You
The Olympic Games of 1936, was the height of Germany’s propaganda campaign to the world. The Aryan Germans were supposed to be superior at the event, but then there was Jesse Owens. The black long-jumper took gold medal as German Luz Long followed behind. Owens refused to do the Nazi salute at the podium.
We Salute You
Sharing A Smoke
Without knowing who is who in the picture, we could easily mistake them for lovers. Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev lights Indonesian president Sukarno’s cigarette with his own. Sukarno was Indonesia’s first president and served in office from 1945 until 1967.
Sharing A Smoke
Tesla’s Lab
This is what the lab of a madman, or a genius, looks like in 1899. Inventor Nikola Tesla is quite often under-appreciated.
Tesla’s Lab
A Big Dam Pipe
Believe it or not, that is a section of pipe that would be used in the construction of the Hoover Dam in Black Canyon of the Colorado River. Construction of the dam ran from 1931 until 1936.
A Big Dam Pipe
Cracking Up
What a beautiful photo of Martin Luther King Jr. Here he bursts out laughing after singer, songwriter, actor and social activist Harry Belafonte serves him up an amusing joke.
Cracking Up
Down We Go
The Wright brothers were not fearful of the skies. In 1911 they launched their Wright Glider from the ground at Kitty Hawk, only to see it crash after take-off.
Down We Go
First Flying President
How interesting is it to think that the first time an American president or any president ever flew on an airplane was when this stock image was taken? President Theodore Roosevelt got into the air for the first time in 1907.
First Flying President
The French And The English
When England’s Prime Minister Winston Churchill drove into Cherbourg, France on June 10th, 1944, he was greeted by the ecstatic French. The Allies had just liberated the city. A few days later, the beaches of Normandy would be breached by the Allies.
The French And The English
A Brave Runner
A group of race organizers try desperately to stop Kathrine Switzer from running at the Boston Marathon in 1967. She pushed on and became the first woman ever to finish the marathon.
A Brave Runner
Traffic Chaos
Sweden made a brave and risky move in 1967. They decided that they would no longer drive on the left side of the road, and moved to the right. This image shows the first morning after the law was implemented. What a stock image this is!
Traffic Chaos
Hats And Hats And Hats
When the trend hits, everyone is infected with the fashion bug. This aerial stock image of a New York City street in 1930 shows it all too well.
Hats And Hats And Hats
Going Bananas
Today we’ve forgotten about seasonal fruits since everything is pretty much always in stock. It wasn’t always like this, and this stock image proves that. Here are bananas coming to Norway for the first time ever, in 1905.
Going Bananas
Desert To Oasis
In 1909, around 100 people stand in the middle of the desert, ready to take part in a lottery for land. The 12-acre plot would later be transformed into today’s bustling city of Tel Aviv in Israel.
Desert To Oasis
The Tsar
This very rare photograph shows Tsar Nicholas II giving his daughter, the Grand Duchess Anastasia, a puff of his tobacco pipe.
The Tsar
Boxing Aboard
When men want to settle a fight, they’ll pretty much do it anywhere. Here are two men in 1899 aboard the USS New York, ready to battle it out in front of a curious crew.
Boxing Aboard
Shoot The Man
This is exactly what it looks like – one man shooting another man in the chest. However, it is important to note that these men are actually working on something together. They’re testing a bullet-proof vest. Talk about brave souls!
Shoot The Man
Disneyland Food
Is this happy hour? What looks like the set of a movie mash-up of every Disney character ever, is not too far from just that. This is the cafeteria at Disneyland in 1961.
Disneyland Food