Alex Carson
Pictures
They say that a picture is worth a thousand words. When you read history books in school, there are often photos included. There are some photos that are so strange, beautiful, or disturbing that you won’t see them in history books. Here are some photos from history books that are actually chilling to see.
Flight Attendants
Flight attendants in the ’60s looked a lot different than they look today. They were beautiful, young, bubbly, smart, and single. They wore stylish outfits and were able to travel the world, which is why many people considered their job glamorous. Back then, air travel wasn’t as popular as it is today, and only wealthy people flew. Because of this, the flight attendants had to look glamorous. Back then, the age of retirement for flight attendants was 35-years-old.
Man Down
This British soldier was in the Color Parade in 1970. When Queen Elizabeth and her guards passed by, he passed out. Maybe he was nervous when he saw the Queen, or perhaps he was just too hot in his red coat uniform. The Queen wasn’t in this photo, but it became one of the most memorable images from the Color Parade.
The Hindenburg Disaster
The Hindenburg was a German passenger airship filled with nitrogen. On May 6, 1937, it was attempting to dock at Naval Air Station Lakehurst, and it caught fire. There were 97 people on board and killed 36 people instantly. It is known as one of the most well-known aerial disasters of the 20th century. Incredibly, the whole thing was caught on film, and the photos are absolutely devastating.
The “Mona Lisa of the Pacific Islands”
Photographer Francisco Van Camp took this photo in the late 19th century. It is a photo of a beautiful, mysterious woman wearing traditional garments. Very little is known about her, other than the fact that she was a Mestiza de Sangley woman, which originates from the Spanish Philippines. The photographer took the photo in his studio in 1875, but he never got her name. Today, she is known as the Mona Lisa of the Pacific Islands.
Uniform Check
In this photo, Brigitta Lindman, a Swedish airline stewardess with the SAS Airline, is taking a closer look at the length of a showgirl’s outfit. There were rumors that the airlines were going to have their stewardesses wear shorter skirts in 1959. Considering how cold it gets on planes, especially in Sweden, the stewardesses weren’t looking forward to the change. This isn’t something that you would see in an airport today.
Olive Ann Oatman
Olive Ann Oatman was born in Illinois in 1837. When she was 14-years-old, she and her sister were kidnapped by either the olkepayas or the Western Yavapais Native American tribes, and the rest of her family was killed. The Mohave chief and his family adopted the two girls, and they were both given traditional chin tattoos. Five years after he abduction, there were rumors of a white girl living with the Mohave tribe. When word reached her village, they traded her for several blankets and horses. Sadly, her sister, Mary Ann, died of hunger before she was released. Several books, plays, and films were written about her life, and she died of a heart attack in 1903.
Perfect In History Books
Actress Jamie Lee Curtis isn’t just Hollywood’s Scream Queen. Long after she starred in the film, Halloween, she starred with John Travolta in a movie called Perfect. The 1985 film had Jamie Lee playing an aerobics instructor who falls in love with a reporter who is writing an unflattering article about health clubs. The premise sounds strange, but it was a hit. It also turned Jamie Lee into a fitness icon.
Joan Trumpauer Mulholland
Joan was a young freedom fighter who gave up her education, family, and her life to contribute to the causes that she believed in. She was born in Mullholand in 1941 and participated in sit-ins and demonstrations for civil rights and integration. She was known as a young freedom fighter. Her participation in these events landed her in prison more than once. She even spent two months on death row before finally being released.
National Space Invaders Championship
In 1980, the first-ever electronic gaming competition was held. Over 10,000 people participated, and they played the Space Invaders video game. The game was created in 1978, and by 1980, the game went viral. This is a photo of many of the competitors trying to win the title of the best Space Invaders players in the world. This was the first video competition, and many more followed over the years. These competitions are still popular today.
James Dean
This photo of James Dan was taken at a gas station in 1955. It was taken just hours before his fatal accident in his car, Little Bastard, that was said to be cursed. This was the last photo ever to be taken of him. He was a heartthrob, a great actor, and he loved racing cars. Sadly, his love for fast cars is what resulted in his demise.
Abraham Lincoln’s Before and After
The photo on the left is of the former President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. It was taken before the Civil War. The picture on the right is the former President after the Civil War. He was 52-years-old when he was elected, and the photo on the right was taken at the end of his term. The war must have taken an enormous toll on him because he looks much older in the photo on the right than he did in the picture on the left.
Nuclear Test Site
This photo was taken in 1953, just 16 milliseconds after the first nuclear detonation in history books. It was taken at a nuclear test site in Nevada, and the mushroom cloud in the photo is very eerie.
Dorothy Counts
For many years, segregation was the law in the United States. When it was deemed unconstitutional, people were free to go wherever they pleased. When she heard the news, Dorothy Counts became the first black person to attend Harding High School in Charlotte, North Carolina, which was previously an all-white school. She had to drop out after just four days after being insulted and intimated constantly by her classmates. This photo shows her being followed and bullied by a crowd of students.
Babe Ruth Breaks a Record
Babe Ruth has gone down in history books as one of the greatest baseball players of all time. In this photo, he is seen hitting his 700th home run on Friday the 13th, in 1934. This photo was taken when he set the record. His record was broken by Hank Aaron, who hit 755 on August 7, 2007. Today, Barry Bonds holds the record, with 762 home runs.
The Tallest Man In History
This is a photo of the tallest man in history books, Robert Wadlow. His height of 8-feet, 11-inches earned him the nicknames The Alton Giant and the Giant of Illinois, because he was born in Alton, Illinois. This is a photo of Robert sitting beside an average size man, who looks like a child compared to Robert. He lived from 1918 to 1940 and is still the tallest man on record.
Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Burned Cross
Martin Luther King, Jr. was heavy into the civil rights movement. He wanted equality for all people of all races. This rubbed hate groups the wrong way, and the KKK put a burning cross in front of his house. This photo was taken in April of 1960, and King is seen removing the cross, in a calm and relaxed manner. This just shows you what a wonderful man he was.
Bridgette Bardot
French actress Bridgette Bardot was one of the most famous women in the ’50s and ’60s. She starred in many popular films, including And God Created Woman, Contempt, and A Very Private Affair. This is a photo of the actress lounging on a beach in Cannes. She started as a ballerina and model, which eventually led her to the big screen at the age of 18. It wasn’t long after that she became one of the most recognizable faces in film.
Testing Safety Nets
This was a very popular photo in the ’50s. The man in the picture is a prisoner. He was being used to test safety nets to make sure that they worked properly before they were mass-produced. Since this could have had deadly results, this is something that you wouldn’t see in prisons today. Since the ’50s, prisoners’ rights have been taken seriously, and something dangerous like this would be illegal.
Bison Skull Mountain
This photo was taken in the 1870s, and it is a massive pile of bison skulls. The men in the picture were preparing to ground them down into fertilizer. There are hundreds of thousands of skulls in this pile, and fortunately, we have found new and less gruesome ways to make fertilizer.
The Hippo Carriage
This is a bizarre photo. We have heard of horse-drawn carriages, but not hippo-drawn carriages. It makes you wonder how this man got the hippo to cooperate because hippos are known to be one of the deadliest animals on Earth.
Bill Gates and the Data Tower
This photo was taken in 1994, and Bill Gates is trying to prove a pretty incredible point. In the photo, he is showing how much data can be stored on a single CD-ROM. This picture is worth 1,000 words, and it is a fantastic advertising campaign.
Pennhurst Asylum
Pennhurst Asylum was a mental institution in Pennsylvania. Mentally ill and criminally insane patients were brought here in the 20th century, and it has since been abandoned. There are plenty of abandoned places, just like this all across the United States. Many are said to be haunted. There are no ghosts in this photo, just an old, abandoned room.
The Gettysburg Reunion
This photo was taken in 1913, after the American Civil War, during the Gettysburg Reunion. This reunion took place after the Gettysburg Address and the battle. In this photo, the war is over, and veterans from the Union and the Confederate armies are seen shaking hands. Over 50,000 veterans took part in the event, making it the largest American convention for veterans in U.S. history.
Alcohol Abuse
This photo was taken during the Prohibition era in 1927. This enormous tower was created with confiscated liquor barrels that were set to be burned by the government. This is such a waste of good alcohol!
Prohibition Protests
In the areas where barrels of alcohol weren’t being burned, people were protesting Prohibition. Alcohol was banned in the U.S. from 1920 to 1933, as part of the 28th amendment. Americans were against the ban, and protests were taking place all over the country. The photo of this protest was taken in 1932. A year later, the ban was lifted, and the constitution was changed for good.
Ham the Chimp
Ham the Chimp was the first humanoid to be launched into space. If it weren’t for him, we wouldn’t have a modern space program. This is a photo of Ham after returning to Earth.
World War II
During World War II, British officials were worried that Nazi Germany would poison the population with toxic gas. This mother in London was doing what everyone was told to do. She put a gas mask on herself and her baby before going out for a walk. This is a sad photo of a terrifying time.
The Oldest Selfie In History
Despite popular belief, it wasn’t Kim Kardashian or Paris Hilton who invented the selfie. This photo was taken in 1839, and it is the oldest selfie in history books. This photo is proof that Robert Cornelius, an amateur photographer, chemist, and lamp manufacturer, invented the selfie.
The Last Photo
This photo was taken on August 22, 1969, and it is the last photo ever taken of the Beatles when they were still a group. They broke up in April 1970, when Paul McCartney announced that he was leaving the group.
