Random interesting things from the past.
Looking out the window of Apollo 11, July 1969.
Atari National Space Invaders Championship, 1980
The Punt Gun
The ‘punt gun,’ used to be somewhat common among commercial waterfowl hunters.
What’s so special about this gun? It is capable of killing upwards of 50-100 birds in a single shot. They were too heavy and the recoil too strong for a hunter to fire them by hand. Instead, they were (usually) mounted to small, often flat bottomed, boats known as ‘punts.’
The Brighton Dandies
Formed in 1861, the fanciful lads featured above comprise the Brighton Swimming Club, the United Kingdom’s oldest club of its kind. Swimming enthusiasts though they were, they were also gentlemen…hence the top hats.
The First Pig to Fly
A Movie for Halloween Night
Directed by William Castle (1959)
The Beauty Micrometer
“Max Factor demonstrates his “scientific device” the Beauty Micrometer which detects defects in feminine beauty that are imperceptible to the naked eye.” 1934
Marilyn Monroe’s original costume for “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend”
They had to change it due to a leaked nude photograph of her appeared before filming (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes). All her most famous costumes were by the genius William Travilla, a legend in his own right.
The French Army’s Wine Stock before the Battle of Gallipoli, 1915
French Expeditionary’s wine stocks for the Gallipoli campaign, an unsuccessful attempt by the Allied Powers to control the sea route from Europe to Russia during World War I. The French however, were prepared for hardship.
Studying the Moon in Idaho
Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho is an 83-square mile scenic and scientific area of basaltic lava flows, volcanic cones, craters, and other features of recent volcanic origin. Al Shepard and Ed Mitchell, and backup crewmembers Joe Engle and Gene Cernan of Apollo 14, pictured on a geology field trip at Craters of the Moon, Idaho, 22-23 August 1969.
Gustave Eiffel’s Swiss Villa Getaway
Villa Claire, named after his daughter, was Gustave Eiffel’s preferred place of rest when he wasn’t building giant iron towers or attempting to engineer the Panama Canal. In Vevey, Switzerland.
From a collection at Musée D’Orsay, prints for sale on Muzeo.