50 Interesting Snapshots Of History Shared By This Instagram Page That Aims To Surprise And Educate
You can learn about history from books, but that’s a long path, and quite likely not the one you took back in your school years. Or you did, and in that case, hats off to you!
Luckily, the internet is not only meant for endless scrolling, weakening our attention span and eating up these precious free hours we don’t even have. With educational social media channels getting more and more popular, we can expand our knowledge horizons with little effort.
And this awesome Instagram page titled “History in Pictures” promises exactly that. Followed by 89.8K followers and counting, it offers a collection of the most brilliant, rare, and forgotten moments in the past captured on camera.
“Learn a little about a lot — one fact a day,” the description says and how can you not be down for it! Scroll down through our selection of the best posts below.
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Even Rockstars Were Young Once
In 1955, Playboy Ran A Story That Depicted A Future Where Homosexuality Was The Norm, Heterosexuality Was Outlawed And Anti-Straight Mobs Marched The Streets
Outraged Letters Poured In. Hefner Responded “If It Was Wrong To Persecute Heterosexuals In A Homosexual Society, Then The Reverse Was Wrong, Too.”
After The Breakup Of The Ussr, The Lithuanian Basketball Team Couldn't Afford To Participate In The 1992 Olympics
That’s when the not-at-all random but completely natural savior stepped in: the iconic rock band @gratefuldead. They funded the boys trip – and provided them a license to sell special Grateful Dead-Olympics merchandise, which proved massively popular with fans at the Olympics
Photography has come a long way since its beginnings in the early 19th century. In 1826, a French inventor named Joseph Niepce used a camera obscura to capture the first known photograph. Niepce's photograph was made on a pewter plate and required a long exposure time of eight hours.
By the 1830s, a number of other inventors had improved on Niepce’s invention. In 1838, William Henry Fox Talbot patented the calotype, a process which allowed for multiple positive prints to be made from a single negative. This technique revolutionized photography and made it possible for photographers to create prints for sale.
In 1960, David Latimer Planted A Garden Inside Of A Giant Glass Bottle And Sealed It Shut. Latimer Only Opened The Bottle Once In 1972 To Add A Bit Of Water. The Self Contained Ecosystem Has Flourished For 60 Years
I don't mind that this is repeated a lot. I love it every time I see it.
Iran In The Good Ole’ Days
An amazing country with strong western ideals taken down by crazy religious fundamentalists
iranian here. these were not the perfect good ol days. Yes, they were better, but people were getting killed by the pahlavis left and right, and only the rich (seen here) made it out.
Yeah, thanks for pointing that up. Some people here seem to believe Pahlavi's Iran was like 1960s London all over the country.
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It needs to be said; these pictures are mostly made in Tehran, the city was reasonable open and progressive, life under the Shah was not the paradise images show. Outside the cities there was no such freedom. But it is true that nowadays it is inifinitely worse.
The reason the clerics were able to take over is because of how terrible the US backed Shah.
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The 1953 Iranian coup d'état, known in Iran as the 28 Mordad coup d'état, was the U.S.- and UK-instigated overthrow of the democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh in favor of strengthening the monarchical rule of the Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, on 19 August 1953. It was aided by the United States (under the name TPAJAX Project)
Until someone staged a coup d'etat because the government intended to nationalize their oil, going against the interests of the US and the UK. Oops! I think it was the US and the UK! How strange and unusual!
I have a cousin who married a Iranian who was lucky to get out alive. He is the kindest and nicest guy around. So incredibly sad that Iranians are living a nightmare.
The good old days when people got tortured under the dictatorship of the Shah. https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/legal-and-political-magazines/human-rights-abuses-shahist-iran
If the US respected the ideals it claims as its core, Mohammad Mosaddegh would be more than one of history’s tragic what-ifs
Unfortunately, the government at the time did the same thing to people who criticized it, as the government existent now does. The Shah killed an estimated 200,000 people as political enemies during the close to 20 years he was in power.
Actually I am going to correct myself on that number of persons killed. While it is not absolutely known exactly how many persons were actually killed due to imprisonment/torture etc., it is probably closer to 10,000. I was originally meaning to state imprisoned and not necessarily killed, which would be more accurate to the number listed above.
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A culturally relevant, egalitarian, metropolitan society. Now, much like where the US is headed, all persecution by religious people and nationalism and fear mongering. Sad to lose such beauty
So sad. I wonder how many folks in these photos are still alive today.
Holy smokes, I am wondering if decades from now where I love living isn't going to be a dumpster fire
You mean "the good ole' days" when Iran was ruled by an U.S. installed autocrat and dictator, and the U.S. oil companies' personal hand-puppet, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi? The "good ole' days" when the democratically elected government with prime minister Mohammad Mosaddegh at the helm was over-thrown by the intelligence agencies of the United Kingdom (MI6) and the United States (CIA), led by Kermit Roosevelt, Jr. because Mosaddegh had the gall to claim Iran's national oil industries and oil reserves as Iran's rightful property?
I sincerely hope that we don't see something like this in the future of the U.S.
Should serve as a warning for those who want religious doctrine to be the law of the land
Ah Yes. the Good Ol´ days when the west invaded the country twice for supplies and kept a hold of their oil fields. Yeah maybe Imperial Iran was better in some ways but it was kind of similar to how it is today in some ways
For a little deja vu, read "Lolita in Tehran" by Azar Nafisi.
I understand that some people saw this as "necessary" I'm not among them, but I feel so profoundly sorry for the people (read women) that got caught in the gears of this. It's like the clock was turned back 700 years, and the only people who came out on top were a bunch of guys whose brains were frozen into the mindset that the women in their "theocracy" are worth less than farm animals. It's heart breaking.
Been to iran, Iraq and Afghanistan. Stitched up a 13 yo girls vagina with 13 stitches after she was raped by her "husband" We should've used the nukes
What am I missing regarding that title? And please don't hate me for being an American who doesn't know all of Ireland's history. I realize there have been some really shi...y times. But this looks like 70s from the styles and I thought Ireland was (mostly) better now than then. Conflicts aside, I've only heard good things from folks I know who have visited there.
This is so sad. Religion (not that there is anything religious about Iran's rulers) should be a choice not a death sentence if you disagree.
This scares me so much. That the entire culture can be overhauled so extremely and rather quickly by religious extremist leaders. Don’t get too complacent!
Its almost incomprehensible how things can regress. I never thought in my lifetime somewhere like America would take away womens rights either. I guess just like these women could never have foretold how differently they and their childrens futures would be. It is a slippery slope. I think some Iranians are the bravest people in the world recently. So many young men standing up for women when in developed nations it is going the opposite way.
Couple of my friends visited Iran few years ago. They had very positive experience - of course in Teheran you have to watch out for certain things. But outside of it, especially on North people are friendly, welcoming visitors and not so religiously strict. They even procure bottle of Jameson in shop.
An Iconic Chicago Image Of Some Southside Boys, Taken In 1941. They’d Be In Their Late 80’s Or Early 90’s Today
It would be really cool if their (great) grandkids would be found to recreate the photo or if they are still alive, then the men themselves!
In the late 19th century, advances in technology allowed for the development of the dry plate process. This process significantly reduced exposure time and made it possible for photographers to take pictures of moving objects.
The first color photograph was taken in 1861 by Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell, using the three-color-separation technique. By the 1900s, the first commercially successful color photographic process had been developed.
Meanwhile, The development of digital photography in the late 20th century revolutionized the field. But the first digital cameras were bulky, expensive and had limited resolution. Over the years, advances in technology have made digital photography more accessible and easy to use.
This Is How Marlene Dietrich Showed Up In Paris In 1933 After Being Told Not To Wear Pants Upon Arrival. Can't Have A Woman Dressing Like A Man. What’s Next? Equal Rights? Lol
She wasn't told not to, nthing happened to her, her daughter was dressed the same way. This was a photo taken as part of her well publicised arrival. All comment in the French papers about her "looking masculine" was all about taking the p**s out of the dudes who huffed about a woman wearing trousers.
Man Experiences Irony, 1966
The Door To The Dining Area Of The Alcobaca Monastery In Portugal Was Made Narrow So That Monks Who Got Too Fat Were Forced To Go Into Fasting
In 1975, Steven Sasson, an engineer at Eastman Kodak, created the first digital camera. It was a large, box-like device that used a charge-coupled device (CCD) and a digital cassette recorder to store images. It took 23 seconds to record a single black and white image and had a resolution of just 0.01 megapixels.
In the early 2000s, digital cameras began to become more popular as the technology became more affordable and user-friendly. Digital cameras used memory cards for storage and had higher resolution, allowing for sharper images. Now, digital cameras are used by both professional and amateur photographers, allowing them to take better quality pictures than ever before.
The Miami Zoo Put 30 Flamingos In The Bathroom To Protect Them From Hurricane Andrew In 1992
Look at the vain creatures checking themselves out. They know they’re beautiful.
Did You Know That Food Delivery In Japan Started Over 300 Years Ago, During The Edo Period?
Anyway: Having Seen This Young Man Gloriously Deliver Ramen In 1935, The Dude From Doordash Must At Least Make It To My Actual Door To Be Worthy A Tip From Now On
In 1983, Freddy Heineken Was Kidnapped, Held To Ransom (€16 M) And Later Said "They Tortured Me For 3 Days, They Made Me Drink Carlsberg."
Moreover, in recent years, scientists have began using cutting-edge technology to colorize historical black and white photographs, offering a new way to view the past.
The process of colorizing old photos begins with a digital scan of the original black and white image. Once the image is scanned, the scientists use a combination of software and manual techniques to create a full-color version of the photo. The software is used to identify objects and surfaces, while manual techniques are used to accurately color each surface or object.
His 1983 Letter Sold For $479,939 At An Auction Last Month
Some Nerds Caption: Crown Prince Wilhelm Of Germany Striking A Pose While Inspecting The Troops, Ca. 1915. My Caption: "..mein Milkshake Brings All Zhe Boys To Zhe Yard"
Life Advice: Be A Lot More Like Roger Moore On The Set Of The 1973 Bond Movie ’live & Let Die’ And Ignore All Your Emails Until Monday Morning
Previously, Bored Panda spoke with Lisa Yaszek, a Regents Professor of Science Fiction Studies at Georgia Tech, where she researches and teaches science fiction as a global language crossing centuries, continents, and cultures. She explained that colored historical photographs have a special appeal.
“We’re often attracted to historical photos that have been colorized because that process allows us to see details we might not notice otherwise—the subtle pattern of someone’s clothing, the scattering of freckles on another person’s face and arms. It quite literally gives us a new perspective on history, fostering a greater sense of connection between ourselves as modern viewers and the historical subjects we are looking at,” the professor explained.
Pov: It’s 1970 And You’re Outside Nathan’s, Eagerly Waiting For Your Buddy To Finish His Hot Dog So That You Can Get Back Up On Your Chopper Bike (Which Has A Banana Seat) And Go Smoke Bubblegum Cigars In A Dubiously Constructed Tree House
Behind Every Successful Woman Stands A Man Who... Well.. In Most Cases He Just Stands There For, You Know, Safety Reasons. Anyway, Here’s Brigitte Nielsen With Some Dude In 1986
Taking A Knee Before It Was Popular. West German Chancellor Willy Brandt In Front Of The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Memorial In 1970
“As a science, colorization is about finding the appropriate hues, tones, and tints to add to a grayscale photograph. This involves intensive research in archives, online, and in conference with other historical experts—all of which, of course, gives the colorist that many more connections to the historical era they are researching,” Yaszek said.
There’s also a combination of instinct and data that comes together in colorizing photographs. The scientists have the desire to make a color choice that feels both intellectually and emotionally authentic to the historical era in question.
The Most Fascinating Man In The World? Maybe. Peter Freuchen (Here With His Wife Dagmar Freuchen-Gale)
Standing six feet seven inches, Freuchen was an arctic explorer, journalist, author, and anthropologist. He participated in several arctic journeys (including a 1000-mile dogsled trip across Greenland), starred in an Oscar-winning film, wrote more than a dozen books (novels and nonfiction, including his Famous Book of the Eskimos), had a peg leg (he lost his leg to frostbite in 1926; he amputated his gangrenous toes himself), was involved in the Danish resistance against Germany… [and] once escaped from a blizzard shelter by cutting his way out of it with a knife fashioned from his own feces.
I could have sworn I read somewhere that he killed whatever animal he's wearing himself too.
Some 40 Years Ago, In October Of 1981, Sweden Woke Up To Find A Soviet Whiskey Class Submarine Stuck On A Rock
No, Russians never knew how to navigate the democratic waters. Yes, the incident became known as "Whiskey on the rocks"
Hought Your Life Was Boring? Well, You Were Probably Right. Working As A Waitress In 1921, Lillian Boyer Was Invited By Customers To Go Flying
She climbed onto the wing her very first flight, and later performed in 352 shows until 1929 – when airplane safety regulations forced barnstormers into retirement and ruined all the fun
“Finally, the colorization of old photos can also remind us that history is always subjective and that historical documents—including photographs—are not just objective representations of reality, but artifacts that are sometimes carefully staged and otherwise manipulated to present viewers with very specific representations of historical people, moments, and events,” Yaszek concluded.
John Daly Sharing An Intimate Moment With His Wife After Winning The 1995 British Open
Actress Tippi Hedren Would Later Confess It Was "Stupid Beyond Belief" To Treat A 400lb Beast Like A Domestic Pet At Their La Home During The 70s
Czech It Out! Prague!
Jimmy Walker, Who Was The 97th Mayor Of NYC (Which You Obviously Knew Already), Seen Chilling With Members Of The Blackfeet Nation Tribe In ’27
Contrary to popular belief, this photograph did *not* get him cancelled
If he's posing with an entire group of Native Americans it would stand to reason they presented the head dress to him as a gift
Spice Girls In 1997
Ugh, between the lighting and body makeup they look like plastic dolls. Maybe that's what they were going for. There's always been a subversive streak to their music.
Pov: You’re A Ballsy Journalist In 1931 Taking Photos Of Mobsters At The Al Capone Trial
May I Present Citroën Karin, The Most Beautiful Ugly Piece Of Sh*t I've Ever Seen?
Having no new models to reveal at the Paris Motor Show in 1980, Citroën stylist Trevor Fiore was given the go ahead to build a model (not a driveable car) for display. Straddling a line between genius and imbecile I couldn't have conceived in my wildest pipe dream, it still looks futuristic 41 years later
Russia Just Dropped A Bomb On A Building Of A Drama Theatre, Where About A Thousand People (Children Included) Were Sheltering
The number of casualties is unknown, but one thing we know for sure: Russia is willing to do a lot of weird s**t in their mission to ”save” the ”freedom” of Ukrainian lives
Kharkiv Evacuation, 2022 (Uncolorized)
How many times do the world need to see such images? Haven't we learned anything?
Tsar Nicholas II. Looks Like A Selfie Stick But He Was Probably Just Checking The Camera When It Went Off
Salvador Dalí And His Anteater Having A Stroll Out Of The Paris Metro, 1969
Your Periodic Reminder That All Of This Started Because One Tiny Bureaucrat Felt He Wasn't Getting Enough Respect 30 Years Ago. Be Kind To Your Tiny Bureaucrats, Folks
Not Only Were The Tallest And Shortest Players In History Active In The Nba At The Same Time
During the 1987-88 season, Manute Bol and Muggsy Bogues even played on the same team: The Washington Bullets. And thus, this fantastic picture – which I’ve placed right next to my high school junior photo at mom’s place – was born
A Photographer Captures The Exact Moment An Ira Car Bomb Explodes Outside The Old Bailey, London On The 8th March 1973
Oh god, I remember "The Troubles". The politicians squaked on and on, but the real price was paid on the streets.
Millennials Childhood Summed In One Photo: Macaulay Culkin In An Rl Polo And Reebok Pump Twilight Zones While Leaning On The Delorean
Have You Ever Liked Your Car So Much You Stuck It On The Wall? Joakim Bonnier Did. He Drove This Brm V12 Powered Mclaren M5a To Sixth Place In The 1968 Italian Grand Prix
Nasa Trying Out A Spacesuit Intended For The Moon Landing, 1962. Unfortunately, Whatever Genius Invented This One Lost To Playtex Prototype (Yes, Armstrong’s Outfit Was Designed By A Bra Manufacturer)
This is what I expected the 20th century to look like. This and flares. I feel so cheated.
This Photo Taken By Dennis Hutchinson In The ’80s Reminds Me Of Our Relationship
The World's Last Stone Age Tribe Lives On North Sentinel Island In The Indian Ocean, And They Are Known For Defending Their Island Against All Visitors
Having enjoyed quarantine life for the past 60,000 years, there is genetically a direct line between them and their pre-Neolithic ancestors. In 1991, however, they did accept some coconuts in what is considered the only 'friendly' encounter between the Sentinelese and outsiders
Lufthansa Serving Pork And Draft Beer On Planes In The 1960s
One Small Step For Aviation History, But A Giant Leap For Mankind!
When United Airlines just announced their purchase of supersonic passenger jets, they made them sound like something new and fancy. And sure, yeah, they’re fancy – but not new! So while we’re waiting for them to roll out (2025), fly (2026) and carry passengers (2029), let’s take this moment to remember a true beauty from ahead of her time. First flown in 1969, Concorde entered service in 1976 and operated for 27 years. With a cruising speed twice the speed of sound, it could take you from NYC to London in 3 ½ hours. If you were a cult leader, international drug lord, startup nerd or just rich in general, that is: because a ticket for London cost $7574 in ’96
Sad that one of the safest commercial aeroplanes was brought down by a bit falling off one of the least safe.
Ince The 19th-Century Guy Who Was The Actual Inspiration For The Character Of Mowgli Looked Far Less Cute On Photo (Google ’dina Sanichar’ At Your Own Risk), Let’s Look At Tippi Degre’s Childhood Gallery From The ’90s Instead
Born In Namibia To French Wildlife Photography Parents, She Got To Call A Five-Ton Elephant Her ”brother,” Chill With Cheetahs And Hug Giant Bullfrogs As If They Were Her Teddy Bears
There is nothing risky about googling Dina Sanichar. He was a feral child raised by wolves in 19th century India. An important story to hear and I recommend that you do, short though it is.
Hate Your Life? It Could Be Worse, Spent In The Lower Dungeon Of Warwick Castle For Instance. An ‘Oubliette’, Where Prisoners Were Dropped And Forgotten About
Patient Zero. The One. Número Uno. The Dude Who Single-Handedly Started ’80s Fashion. Case Closed
It’s Mainly Thanks To My Solid Commitment, Hard Work, Dedication And Whatever Article In Which I Learned That Sleep Deprivation Is Really Cool (But Also Some Advances In Molecular Techniques And A Thermophysiological Scientist) He Was Tracked Down Once And For All.
Ideator Defined: Whoever Decided To Bring This Porsche 911 To A Tiny Island Between Australia And New Zealand Using That Delivery Method In 1982
Classic example of more money than brains. I looked this one up. It was being delivered to Norfolk Island. The name is truly ironic because it's in the southern hemisphere. The "tiny island" is only 14 square miles. What's that guy gonna do? Drive the 20 miles of paved road 5 times a day?
In The Early 1980s, Infamous Drug Lord Pablo Escobar Created A Family Zoo Full Of Exotic Animals In Colombia
When Escobar's empire crashed in the '90s, the animals were relocated to zoos -- except for the four hippos, now considered an invasive species whose waste is wreaking havoc on the Colombian aquatic ecosystem
If You Like To Travel The World, You Could Go Visit Ctesiphon, Which Was Once The Largest City In The World, Built By The Parthians (Known For Having Taken Over The World A Few Times Over The Course Of World History) And The The World’s Largest Single Span Unreinforced Brick Arch
And yes, the camera wouldn’t bless the world until thousands of years later, but that’s a reconstruction of what it MAY have looked like, much like how there are 3d functions in Google World, you otherwordly literate nerd
Sean Connery Between Takes On The Set Of The 1971 James Bond Film
A Party You Wish You Hadn’t Missed. Noel And Liam Gallagher With Diego Maradona In Buenos Aires, 1998
Note: this post originally had 90 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.
