The Isolator: This Insane Anti-Distraction Helmet From 1925 Would Fit Into Any Modern Open Office

Maybe you blame your smartphone or your open office for the fact that you can’t concentrate at work. But distraction isn’t exactly a new problem: In the 1920s, Hugo Gernsback published a design for a creepy-looking helmet that blocks out sound and vision so someone can focus on their work. As a writer, editor andContinue reading “The Isolator: This Insane Anti-Distraction Helmet From 1925 Would Fit Into Any Modern Open Office”

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”

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”

40 Amazing Photos of the 1918 Spanish Flu

Spanish flu, also known as the Great Influenza epidemic or the 1918 influenza pandemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was March 1918 in Kansas, United States, with further cases recorded in France, Germany and the United Kingdom in April. Two years later,Continue reading “40 Amazing Photos of the 1918 Spanish Flu”

30 Amazing Photographs Showing Life in Mexico During the Early 20th Century

Agustín Víctor Casasola (1874-1928), others cite: (1874-1938) was a Mexican photographer and partial founder of the Mexican Association of Press Photographers. Casasola began his career as a typographer for the newspaper El Imparcial, eventually moving to reporter then on to photographer in the early 1900s. He became a photographer in 1894. By 1911 Casasola wasContinue reading “30 Amazing Photographs Showing Life in Mexico During the Early 20th Century”

These Amazing Self-Portraits by Joseph Byron May Be the First Selfies Ever Made

Selfies are a 21st-century thing, right? Well, they certainly got popular in the 2000s, but the first selfies were taken way back. Before it was cool. Photographer Joseph Byron may be responsible for the first selfies ever taken, both individual and group. One picture, conveniently titled “self portrait,” was taken in 1909, reportedly on theContinue reading “These Amazing Self-Portraits by Joseph Byron May Be the First Selfies Ever Made”

A Rare Look Inside the Harley-Davidson Factory From Their Early Days

In 1901, 20-year-old William S. Harley drew up plans for a small engine with a displacement of 7.07 cubic inches (116 cc) and four-inch (102 mm) flywheels. The engine was designed for use in a regular pedal-bicycle frame. Over the next two years, Harley and his childhood friend Arthur Davidson worked on their motor-bicycle usingContinue reading “A Rare Look Inside the Harley-Davidson Factory From Their Early Days”

Vintage Photos of the Lost French Village of Hollywood in the 1920s

Once, long before the Hollywood Freeway obliterated everything in its concrete wake, there sat at the mouth of the Cahuenga Pass an enchanting little group of bungalows and artist’s studios known as the French Village. The French Village was the work of the extremely talented Walter S. and F. Pierpont Davis, sibling architects who, duringContinue reading “Vintage Photos of the Lost French Village of Hollywood in the 1920s”

Vintage Photos of Ford Coca-Cola Delivery Trucks From Between the 1920s and 1950s

In an early-1920s speech, a Coca-Cola bottler declared, “Coca-Cola was as instrumental in building up the soft drink industry as Henry Ford was in building up the automotive industry.” Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by The Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, itContinue reading “Vintage Photos of Ford Coca-Cola Delivery Trucks From Between the 1920s and 1950s”

Amazing Historical Photos of Amelia Earhart

Amelia Mary Earhart (born July 24, 1897 – disappeared July 2, 1937, declared dead January 5, 1939) was an American aviation pioneer and author. Earhart was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She set many other records, was one of the first aviators to promote commercial air travel, wrote best-sellingContinue reading “Amazing Historical Photos of Amelia Earhart”