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‘Lost In History’: 30 Illuminating Pictures That “Throw Light On Our Past”
It’s virtually impossible to feel how fast time flies until it passes right behind us, leaving the sense it was only yesterday we had our first day at school or said ‘I Do’. Present moments sneakily turn into memories, and it’s a never-ending cycle.
But thanks to the invention of photography and people who stood behind the lens, not everything gets lost in history. People, places, events that happened years, decades and hundreds of years ago are all made immortal by the camera.
One such mesmerizing gallery is curated by the Lost In History Twitter account dedicated to sharing photos that they say “throw light on our past.” Below, we selected some of the most incredible and interesting photos shared there, so pull your seat closer!
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#3
Icy_Question_4977 3 years ago
I read a lot of mystery books about the Orient Express, and it is described as very luxurious and beautiful. I can see now why
Some time ago, 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. We found out about the cultural and societal significance of old photos, as well as the meanings behind them. It turned out that old photographs can tell us more about life in the past than you will ever learn from history books.
#6
Laura Henderson 3 years ago
Amazing, rising literally from the ashes. I do hope she didn't die horribly of radiation poisoning...
First and foremost, it’s important to understand that old photos affect our perception of time in unique ways. According to Lisa, they do that “by making abstract historical events visually concrete, giving us an emotional connection to eras we might not otherwise know very much about, exactly, through books or family stories.”
She gave an interesting example: “I was really taken by images of Japanese-Americans in WWII U.S. internment camps, young people protesting low wages for teachers in the Great Depression, female engineers working for the Space Race, and little kids protesting Daylight Savings Time—my own son especially appreciated that one…"
#8
Mr. Cinder 3 years ago
What are the cannibals going to eat? They're nothing but bones. What a horrific picture.
Another way old photos alter our perception of time is by showing that people in the past had just as rich and complex lives as we have today. Lisa explained that “we tend to assume that in the past, women were limited to work as wives and mothers, and we certainly see a number of images here celebrating women’s work in the home.”
But the reality couldn’t be further from the truth. “We also see women doing all sorts of work in the public sphere as well—everything from attending school graduations and working on supercomputers to taking back the streets of postwar London and bouncing drunks out of bars,” the professor explained.
#10
LisaMarie 3 years ago (edited)
The part in Schindlers List which upsets me the most is when they are told to carefully write their names on their suitcases as they will get them back when they get off the train. You then see the suitcases being brought to the sorting areas and the contents being put into various piles like this. The fact that they gave these prisoners a glimer of hope (that their possessions would be returned to them) while knowing what was in store for them is just heartbreaking 😥
Moreover, old photographs remind us of something we tend to forget: “that people in the past have had many of the same challenges and triumphs as we have, and that we can look to them for inspiration regarding how to make sense of the present and build new futures,” Lisa concluded in this in-depth interview we had.
#14
Firstname Lastname 3 years ago
TIL goats like bananas. Looked into it, and in addition to hay and grains, I learned they also eat "foods like fruits, dried fruits, veggies, graham crackers, cheerios, Cheetos, and even corn chips."
#21
#24
Kermit the Bee 3 years ago
To the right of the chair in the centre, is allegedly a human spine
#25
Laura Henderson 3 years ago
... And it wasn't just Germans who were brainwashed by Nazism. Let's not forget that.
#27
Lisa H 3 years ago
"Hey, Ronny, you got some child on your cheek" "Oh, thanks, I just go crazy when I eat children."
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KellyO 3 years ago
The late Willard Scott....formerly of NBC's The TODAY Show. WillardMcd...122e59.jpg 
Kookamunga 3 years ago
"Where's my red nose? Where the hell is my red nose? Ah, screw it, just give me a paper cup."
Buzz Anderson 3 years ago
Dear god I am surprised they stayed in business with that monster waiting to scare the holy hell out of kids.
Barry Patterson 3 years ago
"Willard Scott" went on to be a weatherman, radio and TV personality.
Trish Greene 3 years ago
The first Ronald McDonald was Willard Scott - who later became America's most favorite weatherman.
HarriMissesScotland 3 years ago
That is Willard Scott, lovable Today Show weatherman, now deceased.
Bonnie Hutchinson Liwinsky 3 years ago
It's the guy from the TODAY show Willard Scott, the original Ronald MacDonald.
Alexander Superlex 3 years ago
it is absolutely priceless the double eyebrow though I mean hell yeah that's how you do it I mean they should have kept with that that should have stuck genius I'm telling you genius
Alexander Superlex 3 years ago
no f****** way that was the first Ronald McDonald man they should f****** stepped up to the plate because the new one is like well it's actually Big Bird you know 7 ft tall 8 ft tall and you know he's kind of like you know I hooked him up and gave him ah nose job
J. Emery Anderson 3 years ago
Holy Jesus! What moron ad executive thought this up? No wonder kids (and adults) are terrified of clowns. 🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Randy Volz 3 years ago
It's Willard Scott who later was a regular contributor to the Today Show.
Ken Van Egdon 3 years ago
That's Wolford Brimley. Known in my yith as the weatherman for the today show
Nimues Child 3 years ago
I do believe that is Willard Scott, later a famous weatherman for the Today Show in the US. I love that his nose is a cup.
IAmSomeone 3 years ago
I'll not sleep tonight... He looks like he wants to eat people near him...ರ_ರ
Kent Altemeier 3 years ago
His name was Bob Keshan, or later known as Captain Kangaroo. He also worked on Howdy Doody.
#28
Laura Henderson 3 years ago
Terrible working conditions. It's literally what Zorro rescues "the disappeared ones" from in the movies.
#34
HarriMissesScotland 3 years ago
Looks like a house I grew up in, in Florida. Mortgage was $63 a month. Mom worked a full time and a part-time job, my dad was a lineman for the county. 950 square feet, linoleum floors, 1 very pink and black bathroom for the 5 of us, and murderous jalousie windows. No a/c. That house is now listed for $220, 000. Not worth it.
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#39
Adam Zad 3 years ago (edited)
Did you know that the Golden Gate Bridge must be repainted every five years to prevent rust? But it takes five years to paint the entire bridge from end to end, so the painters, when they finish, have to cycle back to the beginning and start all over again. It's a neverending job. Talk about your job security!
#40
Mark Erwin 3 years ago
James Cameron's inspiration for the "Draw me like one of your French girls" sofa scene in Titanic
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Hypoxia Smurf 3 years ago
"The past was a different world." I forget which SciFi author said that.
Sahar Manzoor 3 years ago
Not one “Illuminating” photo of an African American. I guess we were not apart of history.
Dawnice Robinson 3 years ago
Native Americans were not represented either, but it's because there is still no change that can be described with the word "illuminating ". Maybe a pic of an indigenous school, but they were still killing kids up into the 1970's. Hardly the past
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Lauri Yli-Viikari 3 years ago
Chool pics. Comments make me a bit angry thou. Mostly comments against forestry, nazies and old traditions. People seem to have only one and same mainstream braincell
Hypoxia Smurf 3 years ago
"The past was a different world." I forget which SciFi author said that.
Sahar Manzoor 3 years ago
Not one “Illuminating” photo of an African American. I guess we were not apart of history.
Dawnice Robinson 3 years ago
Native Americans were not represented either, but it's because there is still no change that can be described with the word "illuminating ". Maybe a pic of an indigenous school, but they were still killing kids up into the 1970's. Hardly the past
Load More Replies... Lauri Yli-Viikari 3 years ago
Chool pics. Comments make me a bit angry thou. Mostly comments against forestry, nazies and old traditions. People seem to have only one and same mainstream braincell
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