History

It’s always fascinating to look at really old photographs. So much of their world is still recognizable, but some things seem so strange that they might as well be from another planet. take a look at these oddities from a century ago! 1. Boom goes the dynamite The biggest non-nuclear blast in history was carried out in France by British soldiers fighting in the first world war. Apparently, the blast was so big that it could be heard in Dublin, Ireland! i.imgur.com 2. A world first These are photos of the first-ever plastic surgery operation which took place in Kent, England. It was carried out on a British soldier who was injured in the war. reddit.com 3. Pardon me? These ‘ear trumpets’ were used by officers to listen out for incoming air raids. With the way my hearing is going, I think I could use a pair of these! reddit.com 4. Crash landing This massive thing is a German blimp that was shot down over France in the war. Look at the size of that thing! reddit.com 5. The flying snooper This is a pigeon that was trained to carry cameras as it flew. Apparently, the cameras would take photos on a timer at regular intervals. I suppose that makes more sense than the pigeon clicking the shutter! reddit.com 6. Away with the fairies This young girl had the world fooled into thinking she’d taken a photo of herself with real fairies! Of course, it later turned out to be fake. Nice try, kiddo! en.wikipedia.org / Creative Commons 7. Long-haul Unbelievably, a child was shipped to her father, from Germany to the USA, as if she was a package! It’s a wonder she survived, and I can’t imagine she was too happy with Dad once she got there! reddit.com 8. Oh, heck no! This man was known as The Human Fly, and used to do balancing acts on the edge of public buildings to entertain the public. If you ask me, he was needed his head examined! i.imgur.com 9. Giddy-up! Yes, that is a woman riding an ostrich-drawn cart. Cawston Ostrich farm in California was a huge tourist attraction, where people could do this, or even ride around directly on their back! I couldn’t even ride a pony without getting nervous. en.wikipedia.org / Creative Commons 10. Radium suppositories Yeah, you read that right. Yeah, that’s where they go. What more is there to say about this other than NO THANKS. en.wikipedia.org / Creative Commons 11. Pillow fight! This picture is taken from a training exercise where sailors were taught to strap on bed mattresses instead of lifejackets. And guess what – they didn’t work, in fact they just weighed them down. I could’ve told them that! Facebook: pg 12. Where did he go? It might look like a Halloween costume, but this outfit was actually used as camouflage back in 1917. I suppose it would work if you were hiding in a herd of zebras… commons.wikimedia.org / Creative Commons 13. “Your honor, he stinks” This woman had finally had enough of her hubby’s bathing habits (or lack of) and took him to court! Why didn’t I think of that? reddit.com 14. What’s for dinner? Here’s another patronizing book from the time that was aimed at young women, and written by a man. It features all kinds of recipes and tips, such as coffee boiled with egg whites (bleurgh!) This one at least has nice illustrations though. youtube.com 15. Who’s hungry? Then again, with stuff like this happening, it’s not hard to see why those books were popular. Who has arsenic just laying around the house?! reddit.com Credits: buzz.auntyacid.com Share this story on Facebook with your friends.