The art of photography emerged in the 19th century, and since then newspapers, magazines, books and personal photo albums have been filled with countless photographs. Many of them were valuable only to their authors.
However, the strangest photographs in history have long outlived their photographers, and still delight, enrage, and amaze people around the world. What can I say, take a look for yourself.
30. Solway Firth Astronaut
The most unusual photographs are opened by the famous picture, which was taken in the Solway Firth (England). Behind Jim Templeton's daughter, who was supposed to be the only figure in the picture, there is another creature resembling an astronaut. But Templeton insisted that he did not see anyone else when the photo was taken. Modern analysis has shown that this figure could be the photographer's wife, standing with her back to the camera, but even this explanation is not convincing enough.
29. Fairytale Circles
Found in the arid grasslands of western South Africa, fairy circles are circular patches of barren land, 2 to 5 metres in diameter. Their origins and history are a mystery. One theory is that they were made by termites.
28. Pyramid on the Moon
This image was taken by Apollo 17 in December 1972 during its flight to the Moon in an area known as Geophone Rock. NASA has never given a credible version of the pyramid-shaped object.
27. Beauty in Chinese
Each country has its own ideas about beauty. For a long time in China, small "lotus" feet were considered the canon of female beauty. Their appearance was as shocking to Europeans as the methods by which this type of foot was achieved.
Foot binding began around the age of five. Mothers would wrap narrow strips of cloth around their children's feet. For the next five years, girls would wear the strips all day and night without taking them off. As the child grew, the shape of their feet slowly changed. This involved physical, excruciating pain.
This crippling tradition lasted for ten centuries and disappeared only in the 20th century.
26. Ghosts of Watertown
In December 1924, James Courtney and Michael Meehan, crew members of the tanker Watertown, were cleaning the hold and suffocated due to a gasoline leak. The crew buried them at sea, but to the surprise of the sailors, the ghostly faces of the dead appeared in the water the next day. The captain even ordered a photograph of them, and later experts checked the negative and recognized it as authentic.
25. Death of Evelyn McHale
The world's weirdest photographs often involve death and the afterlife. For example, this picture captures "the most beautiful suicide in the world."
In May 1947, 23-year-old Evelyn McHale jumped from the 86th floor of the Empire State Building in New York City and landed on a limousine parked at the curb.
Photography student Robert Wiles photographed McHale's corpse just minutes after her death. And to his shock, her body was unnaturally intact, given the enormous height from which she had fallen.
24. Mysterious satellite
In 1954, Western newspapers published articles attributed to retired naval aviation major and UFO researcher Donald Keyhoe. They claimed that the US Air Force had discovered two satellites orbiting the Earth. At the time, no country had the technology to launch a satellite, leading to much speculation about the origin of the object.
23. The Pied Piper and His Catch
Nowadays, the rat catcher is one of the professions that has disappeared. However, in 1904 (when this photo was taken), rat catchers searched the sewers of Europe and were paid for every rat they killed.
22. Head against the wall
No, this is not a weird way to commit suicide. This was how a football helmet was tested.
21. Batman on an elephant
Apparently the Batmobile was being repaired.
20. Clarifier
This monster of a firearm could kill up to 50 birds with one shot. It was banned for being too effective, which led to the extinction of a large number of waterfowl.
19. Tea with a Lion
During breaks between takes, Alfred Hitchcock served tea to the lion that roars in every Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer movie title sequence.
18. Salvador Dali and the anteater
Such an outrageous and original artist as Salvador Dali had an unusual pet. He also had an ocelot named Babou.
17. Feeding the polar bears
Russian soldiers are so tough that instead of cats they feed milk to polar bears. The photo was taken in 1950.
16. Portable TV concept
We don't know how clear the picture would be on such a device. But here's what we do know: walking around with such a TV on your head would be terribly uncomfortable.
15. UV protection
Looking at this strange photo, you might think that you are looking at a bad ghost cosplay or a frame from a low-budget horror film. But no, it is actually a cloak designed to protect delicate human skin from the effects of ultraviolet rays.
14. Sound seekers
During World War I, these devices were used to determine the direction of enemy aircraft.
13. Dog guns
Another invention of World War I. They were used by Belgian troops.
12. The first selfie in history
This photograph, dated 1839, was taken by Dutch chemist Robert Cornelius. It is the world's first photographic portrait.
11. Scuba diving equipment
The diving suit has undergone a long evolutionary process to become the aesthetically pleasing and comfortable equipment we have today. This is one of the stages of this evolution (1940).
10. Diving Horse
Nowadays, you won't surprise anyone with human divers. However, the sight of a horse rushing head first into the sea abyss inspires fear for the animal's fate.
Horse diving first began on a pier in Atlantic City in the late 1890s. A horse, under the control of a rider, would jump off a steel pier into the ocean. The show was cancelled after World War II due to the efforts of the American Humane Society.
9. The Child Sent by Mail
It is hard to imagine that a parent can calmly send their son or daughter by mail, as a regular parcel. However, this is exactly what happened in the USA at the beginning of the 20th century. In 1913, the "Mail Act" was passed in the United States. However, it was not thought out to the end, which was taken advantage of by some savvy citizens.
The law stated that live cargo weighing up to 50 pounds (22.68 kg) could be delivered by mail. For comparison, a typical five-year-old boy weighs 20-22 kg, and a girl 19-21 kg.
Since it cost less than a dollar to mail a child, it was cheaper than sending it by train. For example, in 1913, Madame Louis Bodge received her grandson by mail, which cost the parents only 15 cents. And Mrs. and Mrs. Savis of Pennsylvania mailed their daughter, who cost them a whopping 45 cents.
Such "baby parcels" were sent and received in the USA until 1920. And the photograph you see illustrated the text of the USPS ban.
8. Computer delivery in 1957
Among the strangest photographs, this one at first glance looks like a "black sheep". So what? The workers deliver some huge object, so what? Now imagine that this is a delivery to your office, and the huge object is the first computer in your city.
7. Norma Jean
Who is this beauty, as if she came straight from the Soviet poster “We will fulfill and exceed the current five-year plan?” Yes, that is the future movie star Marilyn Monroe working in a factory in 1944.
6. The Vulture and the Boy
The world's most unusual photographs can be truly eerie. And so can the stories that accompany them. In 1933, photographer and journalist Kevin Carter, who was in the Sudanese city of Ayod, captured a small, emaciated boy named Kong Nyong crawling slowly after his parents. They were running to an airplane for humanitarian aid.
The vulture watched the boy carefully and patiently.
This photo brought Carter a Pulitzer Prize, worldwide fame, and accusations of inhumanity. Three months after receiving the award, the journalist committed suicide.
The boy was nursed back to health at a UN food aid centre and died in 2008, his family said.
5. 1st class cabin on the Titanic
This photo was taken in 1912 on the infamous Titanic, which is associated with many myths and strange stories. First class passengers not only had luxurious cabins, but also a Turkish bath, a swimming pool, a gym and many other entertainment options.
But the greatest treasure when the ship, considered unsinkable, met an iceberg, were the boats. And there was a catastrophic shortage of them on the Titanic. As a result, only 31,97% passengers and 24% of the crew survived.
4. Miss Atomic Bomb
The nuclear arms race inspired the creators of the most dangerous weapons in history. It also inspired the crowning of Miss Atomic Bomb. However, there has never been an official beauty contest with that name.
And the title of "Miss Atomic Bomb" has been given to Lee Merlin, a showgirl at the famous Sands Casino, ever since a photographer from the Las Vegas News Bureau snapped this photo during a photo shoot. The story goes that photographer Don English attached cotton in the shape of an atomic mushroom cloud to Merlin's bathing suit. The photo was published in 1957.
3. Striped crew
Such an unusual and extravagant carriage belonged to Lionel Walter Rothschild. But if you thought that the billionaire's offspring was simply "going crazy with fat", you are mistaken. Lionel was more interested in the animal world than in business, he became a famous zoologist and realized his long-time dream - he opened a zoological museum.
And with the help of a carriage with zebras and other antics that were shocking at the time, he attracted the attention of the British public to his collection of rare animals.
2. Joseph Stalin jokes
In the circle of close people, the strict "father of nations" could joke and fool around like an ordinary person. This photo of "Stalin with a nose" was taken by his head of security, Nikolai Vlasik.
1. Time Traveler
A photo taken at the reopening of the South Forks Bridge in Canada in 1941 shows a supposed time traveller.
At first glance, the picture looks like a typical picture of that period, but if you look at the details, you will find something surprising. In the crowd, there is a man in modern clothes, with weird glasses and a strange logo on his clothes. It looks like he is holding a modern camera in his hand.
The photo has recently become widely circulated on the internet and the man is now often referred to as a time-travelling hipster.
Оставить Комментарий