I love looking at old pics. But sometimes I find myself cursing the long-dead person who snapped the pic because, well, the pic is weird AF and missing context. We can’t contextualize the entirety of human history, but we can at least help you out with these pics.
‘Cast Away’ cosplay has gotten really good.
Chinese sailor Poon Lim was well acquainted with this raft. After all, he spent 133 days on it, adrift in the ocean, before he was finally rescued in 1943 off of the Brazilian coast.
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Those are some very large men.
The (massive) dude on the right is instantly identifiable as Andre the Giant. But the guy on the left is less recognizable, even though he’s also wrestling royalty. His name was Peter Maivia, and his grandson is Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
How quaint.
I don’t know what blows my mind more about this tiny gas station in Knott County, Kentucky: that gas stations were ever this small, or that this pic was taken in 1977. You could’ve told me it was 1927.
Modern times.
Nowadays we’ll barely blink an eye at the 8K, curved-screen monstrosities at Best Buy. But the tiny televisions of 1948 were enough to stop kids dead in their tracks.
We have liftoff.
The Apollo 11 moon landing is a seminal moment in human history. Less celebrated is the launch that put the crew into orbit. This father and son are seen watching Apollo 11 lift off on July 16, 1969.
Happy little…swirls.
This photograph of French painter Claude Monet in his studio in the 1920s is truly a treasure. One of the most influential artists of the 20th century, Monet passed away just a few years later.
Seriously, have you tried their fries?
By 1996, Russia was a different place than it had been in prior decades. The Soviet Union had fallen and western money was starting to make inroads. But that doesn’t mean people were happy with it, as evidenced by these protesters outside the country’s first McDonald’s.
They look like they’re having fun.
If it wasn’t for the military uniforms and guns, you could almost believe this pic was taken at summer camp. But no, the women in this photo are deadly Soviet snipers.
Finally.
This photograph captures the moment the Mona Lisa was removed from storage following the end of World War II. For those at the scene, seeing Mona Lisa’s smile again served as proof that the fighting was done.
The Stilt.
Wilt Chamberlain was one of the greatest basketball players to ever live. While he was no doubt a fan favorite, his enormous seven-foot wingspan (or maybe just that shirt) clearly unnerved at least one young fan.
Long before reality TV.
The 1952 World Series was played between two New York-based teams, the Dodgers and the Yankees. This photo shows just how much it mattered to bar patrons in far-off Chicago.
A shocking turn of events.
There isn’t much gun violence, or much political violence, in Sweden. That’s what made the assassination of prime minister Olof Palme in 1986 such a shocking event. The next day, mourners left flowers at the cordoned-off scene.
Good deterrent.
In the 80s and 90s, schoolkids had Scared Straight and D.A.R.E. But you know what they didn’t have? Bullet-riddled vehicles. This sends a very clear message that, if you’re a criminal, police will totally shoot you again and again.
Down but not out.
This 1940 photo of London’s East End shows the toll of German air raids early in World War II. Many of Europe’s great cities were similarly decimated during the war.
#tbt.
This 1886 photo of two tortoises hanging out on the island of St. Helena isn’t remarkable in and of itself. But considering the tortoise on the left, Jonathan , is still alive in 2019 , this old-timey photo gets way more interesting.
Ghost ship?
Beachgoers at Asbury Park, New Jersey seem remarkably unperturbed by the fact that a burned-out ship has casually drifted up on the beach. The SS Morro Castle had caught fire days before, killing numerous passengers.
The more things change…
This pastoral scene in 1860s California clearly shows a different time. But when you look closely, you can see that it clearly depicts a baseball game, one played under similar rules as today’s game.
Modern problems require modern solutions.
If you looked at this photo and thought, “That’s a rotating house designed in the 1930s to utilize ultraviolet light to treat patients for all sorts of stuff”, you’d be correct. You’d also be a genius.
Frozen in time.
After he was shot by John Wilkes Booth, a dying Abraham Lincoln was taken across the street to Petersen House. This photo was taken shortly after his body was removed. You can still see his blood on the pillow.
Smooth criminals.
Hollywood stars Robert Mitchum and Lila Leeds can be seen receiving 60 days in jail. That’s a harsh sentence for celebrity first-time offenders, so they must have done something bad, right? They, uh, were guilty of conspiracy to possess marijuana cigarettes.
