Started as a Mistake, Retired Gym Teacher Wore the Same Disco-Era Outfit for 40 Years of Yearbook Portraits

Retired gym teacher Dale Irby posed for his first yearbook photo back in 1973 at Prestonwood Elementary school in Dallas, Texas. The next year, completely by accident, Irby wore the exact same outfit. “I was so embarrassed when I got the school pictures back that second year and realized I had worn the very sameContinue reading “Started as a Mistake, Retired Gym Teacher Wore the Same Disco-Era Outfit for 40 Years of Yearbook Portraits”

13 Amazing Photographs of Revolutionary Veterans Who Lived Long Enough to Have Their Pictures Taken

Images of Americans who fought in the Revolution are exceptionally rare because few of the Patriots of 1775-’83 lived until the dawn of practical photography in the early 1840s; far fewer were daguerreotyped; many, probably most, of such daguerreotypes never carried identification; and finally, the ravages of time have claimed the vast majority of portraitsContinue reading “13 Amazing Photographs of Revolutionary Veterans Who Lived Long Enough to Have Their Pictures Taken”

Amazing Vintage Photographs Show Life of Circus Performers in the Ringling Bros. Circus During the 1910s

Harry A. Atwell (1879-1957) was an American photographer. He was hired for his first circus assignment in 1910 to travel with the Ringling Bros. Circus. Over the next forty years he documented the roustabouts, big top crowds, sideshow performers and center-ring stars of the circus during a time when shops, schools, and even factories closedContinue reading “Amazing Vintage Photographs Show Life of Circus Performers in the Ringling Bros. Circus During the 1910s”

From Jimi Hendrix to Ozzy Osbourne, Here Are 11 Worst Mugshots of Rock Stars in the Past

Rock stardom is practically synonymous with a lifestyle of reckless partying and debauchery. Therefore, it’s no surprise that life in the limelight comes with a few stints in jail — along with accompanying mug shots. Everyone from David Bowie to Kurt Cobain has a mug shot in their history. Some even have multiple arrests onContinue reading “From Jimi Hendrix to Ozzy Osbourne, Here Are 11 Worst Mugshots of Rock Stars in the Past”

Long Before Inline Skates Were a Thing, There Were Ritter’s Aptly Named Road Skates, ca. 1898

Like inline skates, they were meant to free skating enthusiasts of those pesky iceless roads. As an advertisement reads, “Ritter Road Skates allow anyone to practice the graceful and healthful pastimes of speed and figure skating on any road or other suitable surface.” The skates were sold by the Road Skate Co of Oxford Street,Continue reading “Long Before Inline Skates Were a Thing, There Were Ritter’s Aptly Named Road Skates, ca. 1898”

Hammam Essalhine: A Roman Bathhouse Still in Use After 2,000 Years in Khenchela, Algeria

A two thousand year old public bathhouse from the Roman period is still used by locals in the town of Khenchela, Algeria. Most of the bathhouse has been preserved, but the ancientness of the place is still apparent in the architecture. Algeria has hundreds of hot springs or fountains that back to thousands of years.Continue reading “Hammam Essalhine: A Roman Bathhouse Still in Use After 2,000 Years in Khenchela, Algeria”

28 Stunning Photos of Romy Schneider Taken in the Early 1970s

Born 1938 as Rosemarie Magdalena Albach in Vienna, German-French film actress and voice actress Romy Schneider started her career in the German Heimatfilm genre in the early 1950s when she was 15. From 1955 to 1957, she played the central character of Empress Elisabeth of Austria in the Austrian Sissi trilogy, and later reprised theContinue reading “28 Stunning Photos of Romy Schneider Taken in the Early 1970s”

Sears Catalog ‘Kit Homes’ From the Early 20th Century

Sears Catalog Homes (sold under the Sears Modern Homes name) were catalog and kit houses sold primarily through mail order by Sears, Roebuck and Company, an American retailer. Sears reported that more than 70,000 of these homes were sold in North America between 1908 and 1940. More than 370 different home designs in a wideContinue reading “Sears Catalog ‘Kit Homes’ From the Early 20th Century”

48 Vintage Photos of Life in Depression-era Coal Mining Town Scott’s Run, West Virginia, 1937

The coaling industry, in comparison to the boom of the 1920s, had basically collapsed by 1932. Already suffering, the industry could not sustain the economic downturn brought about by the Stock Market Crash of 1929. Residents of Scotts Run not only suffered from unemployment, but also from ethnic and racial prejudice and limited educational opportunities.Continue reading “48 Vintage Photos of Life in Depression-era Coal Mining Town Scott’s Run, West Virginia, 1937”

A Street Vendor Selling Mummies in Egypt, 1875

Egyptian street vendors have been catering to the whims of tourists since forever, apparently: Selling ancient mummies to wealthy European and American tourists as “tourist souvenirs” was apparently commonplace in Egypt around the nineteenth century. Mummies were readily available from street vendors — such as the one pictured below from 1865 — for tourists toContinue reading “A Street Vendor Selling Mummies in Egypt, 1875”