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Category / Obscure history

The Moon Ballet: One Giant (graceful) Leap for Mankind

It’s too bad Neil Armstrong didn’t break into dance and literally take a giant (graceful) leap for mankind rather than one small step for man. Luckily for us however, there is the Moon Ballet. I dug up this curious little gem from the LIFE archives, photographed in 1950 by Allan Grant on what any sci-fi film…

A Backstage Tour of the Channel Tunnel

In 1858, on the prospect of building a tunnel that would link up Britain and France under the channel, the British prime minister asked, “Why shorten a distance we already find too short?” The idea was allegedly first brought to the table by Napoleon Bonaparte himself, after a French engineer, Albert Mathieu, had approached him with…

Riding the Hate Bus, 1961

Before it was synonymous with hippies, peace and love, one infamous VW Combi van was riding across America to brazenly spread a message of hate. Pictured at a gas station in 1961 by LIFE photographer Joe Scherschel, the iconic vintage vehicle suddenly loses its charm … The “Hate” Bus was the disturbing idea of George Lincoln…

The Slenderizing Salon: Looking for Shortcuts since 1940

How’s your New Year’s health and fitness resolution doing so far? For our friend, little Miss Pat Ogden, it doesn’t appear to be going too well. The young LIFE Magazine model has been pressured into joining the Slenderising Salon, the newest fitness fad that is all anybody can’t talk about in 1940s New York. Shot…

Taking a Bath in Hitler’s Tub for Vogue

Just hours after Adolf Hitler committed suicide on April 30th, 1945, former fashion model and Vogue correspondent, Elizabeth (Lee) Miller was photographed taking a bath in his tub. Miller had been accredited into the U.S. Army as an official war correspondent for Condé Nast Publications and upon the American liberation of Munich, she entered the city with the 45th division and LIFE photographer…

Art at War: Lost Frescoes of the Maginot Line

The Maginot Line, considered by many to be one of the greatest and most expensive military mistakes of all time; a name rarely spoken of today except to recall something that people hope will prove effective but instead, fails miserably. But here, inside the forgotten underground bunkers that line a defensive wall built by the French between…

The Forgotten Souls of London’s Women of the Night

Guest article by A Passport Affair Down an unremarkable side street in Southwark, London, is a fenced lot filled with broken concrete slabs, patches of overgrown grass and the odd piece of abandoned construction equipment. Its dark history and iron gates separate this sad little patch from the outside world. Lengths of ribbon, handwritten messages…

Bring your Pet to School Day

From the California Tech university paper, Speaking Of, Oct/Nov issue, 1975: Phil Engelhauf came to Caltech as a freshman last year, but he left his roommate and constant companion, Duchess, back home in Riverside until the end of the school year. Then, as a special treat, Phil brought Duchess to campus for an overnight visit,…

Invasion of the Hippies

A pretty interesting insight here on how some people saw the blossoming counter-culture of hippies in the 1960s as a serious threat to the younger generation, or mankind even. The 1967 report by Harry Reasoner talks about hippies as if they were some kind of alien species attempting to take over the world and infect its…

The Neighborhood Leopard of 1960s Kensington, London

Meet Angela McWilliams and her pet leopard Michael, taking a walk on a leash in London, possibly Gloucester Road or Cromwell Road and in Hyde Park. This will no doubt spark a some fury with a few readers– but just try to remember (and be thankful) that this video is around 50 years old, when the public…

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