18 Fascinating Photos From Our History's Vault

Eighteen proofs that the past is a fascinating but sometimes scary "place".

Published 8 years ago in Wow

Eighteen proofs that the past is a fascinating but sometimes scary "place".

1
Pro-communist rioters attack police with stones during the May Day Riots in Tokyo, Japan in 1952. Near the close of the US occupation of Japan, many of the people preferred the idea of Communism and held protests which turned to riots all over Tokyo. Eventually they were put down, but not before many were killed and wounded in the fighting.

2
Real women boxers show off their fighting stance for a picture in Chicago, US in 1928.

3
The dance floor at the famous Studio 54 in NYC, US in 1978. The fake fog was part of the effects. Many famous celebrities would party here, and the club had unique and sexy shows creating a culture that was a staple of NYC in the later 1970s through the 80s.

4
An older man playfully poses for the camera prior to some organized public races in Athens, Greece in 1982. The young man on the right seems caught quite off guard.

5
The 5 person crew of the mission STS-51-L doing training at a high altitude to simulate weightlessness in 1985. The following year they would take off along with 2 specialist and unfortunately would all die in the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster in 1986.

6
US soldiers walk past a disabled man during the Invasion of Grenada in 1983. In 3 weeks, the US took complete control of the tiny island. The invasion was a result of the execution of the pro west leader Maurice Bishop and the support from the Soviet Union and Cuba to turn Grenada communist, as well as to protect numerous American citizens there.

7
Palestinian Muslim leader Amin al-Husayni greeting Muslim Bosnian SS volunteers in November 1943. An open supporter of Nazi Germany, he even met with Hitler, did propaganda broadcasts, and helped recruit as many Muslim soldiers for the SS as he could.

8
A circus elephant practices balancing on its front legs somewhere in the US in 1920. Notice the whips the trainers have to use on the elephant to ensure it performs the trick.

9
A women demonstrates a futuristic typewriter chair complete with headphones and a light in Paris, France in 1972. With the personal home computer 10 years away, these kinds of inventions became obsolete.

10
Anne Lee Patterson posing for a risqué photo shoot in 1931. This shoot was done after the beauty became Miss America that very same year.

11
This picture is of the famous naked Napalm Girl who was caught in a napalm attack in Vietnam in 1972. Most have seen the one of her running naked towards a camera screaming alongside other children, and this picture is after that, showing the burns. The attack was on a village suspected of housing Viet Cong, but instead killed and wounded many civilians including lots of children as soldiers and reporters watched in the distance. The survivors, still burning like this girl, ran down the street for help where the reporters were. The little girl (her name is Phan Thi Kim Phuc) survived.

12
British SAS soldiers (a highly trained group of special forces) move into position for the siege on the Iranian Embassy in London, England in 1980. 6 armed men who were part of an Iranian Arab Group demanded the release of Arab nationals and their safe passage back to Arab lands. They held 26 people hostage, mostly personnel from the Iranian Embassy. After 6 days of talks, the gunman killed a hostage. Fearful of more executions, Margaret Thatcher ordered the SAS to storm the Embassy by force. In the 17 minute gun battle, all but 1 of the remaining hostages were saved and 5 of the 6 gunman were killed, the 6th being captured and prosecuted.

13
The famous Sydney Opera House under construction in Sydney, Australia in 1966. The project started in 1959, and wasn't fully completed for 14 years until 1973. The project ran so far over its budget and had such complications during all that time, that it overall ended up costing around $102 million, or after being adjusted for inflation, almost $1 billion today.

14
Former prostitutes pose for a picture at Ebenezer's Rescue Home in Oslo, Norway in 1920.

15
Two children prepare dinner for a small nomadic group (possibly all family) near the settlement of Ad Dibbin in Yemen in 1947.

16
A drive-in movie theater preparing to start its feature in Georgia, US in 1950. Each pole near the cars has a speaker people can use to hear the film, and in this theater there is a band on top of the reel building doing live music.

17
Girls from the Iraqi National school of Music and Ballet practicing outside in Baghdad, Iraq in 1975

18
Young girls play roller hockey on the street somewhere near Toronto, Canada in 1922. Notice how some children don't have roller skates (probably couldn't afford them) but are allowed to play regardless.