Whether it’s because we find ourselves feeling nostalgic or because Facebook randomly decided to show us a photo from a decade ago that we regret sharing with the world, we can end up in quite the emotionally impactful rabbit hole as we go through them.
While part of this exercise can involve memories of those in our families who are no longer with us, it can also help us see our family members in a new and interesting light.
And whether the things they were photographed doing in decades past were considered cool at the time or not, they give us a lot to talk about nowadays.
On the right, we can see the uploader’s great-grandfather cutting an imposing figure alongside his brother.
And while we obviously can’t glean this context from the photo itself, the uploader said this man actually made history by being the first Jewish pilot in the Austro-Hungarian Air Force.
Here we see the uploader’s uncle in Guyana during the 1960s, who they describe as “annoyingly good looking.”
Indeed, it must be rough to feel jealous of your uncle based a photo from over half a century ago.
Back in the ’90s, these six siblings lived on a farm in a remote area of Colombia.
One commenter noticed that the brother’s blond hair made him seem out of place with the others but the uploader (at far right) said that it reflected what her dad looked like at a young age.
I can personally attest that it’s a thing for brown-haired adults to have been blond-haired toddlers.
While this would be a pretty anxiety-inducing sight now, we know it worked out because the baby at the front of this bike is the uploader’s mom.
And considering that she grew up to be one of the first female desert racers in Southern California, it’s clear that she got used to the speed and noise of traveling like this.
When a family member passes away, old photos like this can give us a snapshot of all the things we loved about them.
For instance, that’s what happened to the uploader’s grandfather at the age of 90 this year but he’ll always have this moment where he’s being what they described as “an absolute lad.”
In case you haven’t figured it out, he’s the one holding the sledge hammer.
Thanks to this helpful arrow the uploader included, we can differentiate their maternal grandfather from the other men hanging out in front of this pub in 1927.
Hans was 21 at the time but would go on to be a medic who was captured during World War II despite retreating all the way to Germany’s Harz mountains from Normandy.
Here we see the uploader’s father during some down time while he was stationed in Haiti.
As far as some commenters with experience in the military could tell, the main difference different between their lifestyles and his was they had newer game consoles to play with.
It’s not too hard to see why the uploader’s uncle didn’t seem that excited to meet Santa in the early 1980s.
Frankly, I’m impressed because he had to be a pretty tough kid to react to this oddly-masked Santa with incredulity rather than outright fear as I would’ve.
Apparently, even the uploader doesn’t know why his grandfather has his pants off during this party in the ’70s.
And other than for the obvious reason that it got pretty wild, I’m not sure we’ll ever know either. I think I’m OK with that.
This photo of the uploader’s dad comes from long ago but there’s something timeless about his quiet cool.
While this was likely a fairly relaxing time he was having with his guitar, there’s a much more turbulent wider context for this picture because he was living in the German-occupied Netherlands during the 1940s.
However, he was able to get away from Europe by the ’50s and settled down in New Zealand where he would eventually meet the uploader’s mother.
Unfortunately, the woman in this photo is no longer with us but this photo does a lot to capture her free spirit while she was.
Who we’re seeing double-fisting two ice cream cones back in the New York City of 1973 is the uploader’s mother.
Based on the fact that they figured she’d love one character’s suggestion that she suffered from “acute brain freeze,” it seems she had an enviable sense of humor.
Although we may not see it that way now, this is what the uploader insists it looked like to dress cool in 1989.
After all, if you went to a Stone Roses concert at the time, you’d more than likely realize that her and her friend Katja on the right wouldn’t look out of place at all.
Here we can see the uploader’s grandfather at the age of 17 during World War II.
It’s hard to tell whether this is because of the circumstances or just the way he carries himself here but I know I’m not alone in thinking he seems older here.
And in case you’re wondering whether he lied about his age to enlist, that doesn’t necessarily have to be the case. According to the Smithsonian Magazine , it was possible for those who were 16 or 17 to enlist as long as they had their parents’ consent.
At around the same time, this strapping young man was pursuing his career as a heavyweight boxer.
According to his grandchild , he ended up winning a championship in Mexico and fought in the United States but was also a dedicated civil rights activist.
Francisco “Pancho” Medrano made such an impact in this way that he would eventually have a middle school named after him in Dallas, Texas.
This family photo from 1967 captures the uploader’s grandparents with their mom and aunt.
We can see some lovely smiles here but it seems the smallest one here is either too young to understand what’s going on or is simply not interested.
As we go through old family photos, we can sometimes notice an uncanny resemblance between us and the ones who came before us.
Since the uploader had apparently never met his grandfather, he was stunned to discover how much he looks like him.
Both photos are of the grandpa, by the way. I guess they don’t look that much alike.
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I suppose telling you that this was taken in 1971 only narrows down the ballpark guess you’d likely have just by looking at it.
The uploader describes their mom as “at a cool, funky 21 years old” in this picture and that was probably the best description for this style at the time.
Sadly, the uploader lost their dad only a few days ago but wanted to show us what truly made him special.
Although they apparently thought his bookish tendencies made him uncool at the time, the fact that he was always studying something and building his impressive intellect is a point of admiration for them now.
As the uploader put it, “Jackie & Kelso from *That 70’s Show* remind me of my parents.”
The fact that the dad looks a lot like Ashton Kutcher obviously helps with that comparison but it also makes it clear that show’s costume department knew what they were doing.
After all, their honeymoon took place in 1972.
On their mom’s birthday, the uploader wanted to post a special picture from their history together.
As they said, “I don’t think it gets more 1994 than this.” The Barney chair alone definitely makes that clear.
