Back In The Good Old Days

A woman smiles for the camera as she casually dumps water out from her home during the massive flooding in Thailand in 1983. 42 counties were affected as water slowly came in from heavy rains. A few deaths and a lot of damage was reported, but I don't have exact figures.

Disney characters Spaceman and Spacewoman at the Tomorrowland park in Disneyland in California, US, in 1960. The park banked on what at the time was the common belief that within 25 years man would colonize the moon and Mars. It also focused on many other future ideas like flying cars, rocket ships to travel anywhere, and many other things that still do not exist today.

Argentinian soldiers in a makeshift POW camp somewhere on the Falkland Islands during the Falkland War in 1982. Disputes over the island triggered Argentina to occupy them. The UK would not stand for that, and launched an invasion to reclaim the islands. The 2 month war was won by the UK, who lost 225 killed with another 1000 casualties. Argentina lost 649 killed and another 13,000 casualties. The British also accidentally killed 3 civilians with inaccurate shelling. The way the British forced the issue for islands that were believed to have no real value surprised the world. In the end though, no other nation stepped in outside of debates on the UN floor.

A woman feeds an African child in Belgium in 1958. This was at the last known public human zoo. That's right, an African family resides within the fence and Belgians watch them and feed them as if they are animals. This was a common practice in Europe for 100 years up until it finally ended. They disappeared mostly after WWII, ironically because Hitler outlawed them in the Reich (not for good reasons, as he preferred to expel or kill the people than have them in zoos mind you). The zoos when they ran were very popular, and even had large exhibits at most of the Worlds Fairs that took place in Europe.

A young woman poses for a picture in Bombay, India in 1865.

A young woman poses for a picture in Bombay, India in 1865.

Members of the South African Apartheid military chase and beat a young boy as they crack down on protests in a town sometime in the early 1970s. The ruling party was incredibly racist and brutal. During their 46 year rule of South Africa, they had numerous massacres, imprisoned many leaders of movements and opposition including future president Nelson Mandela for 27 years, would crack down on demonstrations with terrible brutality using attack dogs and batons, and fed a culture to their soldiers and supporters of how acceptable such behavior was. As you can see in this picture, the one soldier is actually smiling as he finds this activity fun. Thankfully, they were forced from power with overwhelming opposition starting in 1991 culminating in Nelson Mandela being elected president in 1994.

Pictured here are some of the original living quarters for the soldiers in Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba in 1916. The US originally leased the area in 1903 from Cuba following them relinquishing control of the island back to the Cubans after the US defeated Spain in the Spanish-American War in 1898. The lease was for 100 years. When Fidel Castro took power, the US claims he stopped cashing the lease checks, while Castro claimed the US stopped sending them. Since Cuba has become communist and their relationship with the US had strained, the US turned the area, which was built to mine coal and protect shipping, into a major base. Cuba has long since demanded the closure of the base and the return of the land back to Cuba, but with the threat of a communist Cuba and even now the wild Cuban Sonic Attacks on American personnel, the US refuses to even consider returning the base as an option. The interesting part of all this is that it appears the US hasn't paid for this base in almost 60 years.

Emil Gallo shows his bare chest daring a Soviet tank to kill him during a protest against Soviet intervention during the Prague Spring in Czechoslovakia in 1968. Alexander Dubček, First Secretary of the regional Communist Party of Slovakia, was rising to power and wanted to reform Czechoslovakia for more citizen rights, despite the country being part of the Warsaw Pact and communist. He was gaining tons of support and could have succeeded if not for Soviet military intervention, which the supporting citizens did not even really challenge as they had no chance of defeating them. Control was reestablished and such notions were squashed for decades to come.

Emil Gallo shows his bare chest daring a Soviet tank to kill him during a protest against Soviet intervention during the Prague Spring in Czechoslovakia in 1968. Alexander Dubček, First Secretary of the regional Communist Party of Slovakia, was rising to power and wanted to reform Czechoslovakia for more citizen rights, despite the country being part of the Warsaw Pact and communist. He was gaining tons of support and could have succeeded if not for Soviet military intervention, which the supporting citizens did not even really challenge as they had no chance of defeating them. Control was reestablished and such notions were squashed for decades to come.

This is Giselda Blanco, posing for a picture sometime in NYC, US in 1974. This woman would become a major figure in the Colombian drug trade. In fact, she led the Medellin Cartel for years. She helped oversee the drug trade into the US, and is believed to be directly responsible for up to 200 murders. She was ruthless, and her return to Miami, US in the late 1970s started the infamous Miami drug wars. She even was credited with killing another kid after failing to ransom them at the ridiculously young age of 11. She started her drug empire after immigrating to the US with her husband in the mid 1970s and never looked back. In 1985 she would be arrested, and serve 10 years in jail. A wild sex scandal with a key witness prevented murder charges from sticking, and no additional charges could be brought against her. She effectively managed the business from prison, and upon her release, was deported to Colombia. After a life of debauchery, her health declined rapidly, and she retired sometime around 2002 leaving her 3 sons in charge. She snuck back into the US and lived in California, unknowingly to officials until she was murdered in 2012 at the age of 69.

This is Giselda Blanco, posing for a picture sometime in NYC, US in 1974. This woman would become a major figure in the Colombian drug trade. In fact, she led the Medellin Cartel for years. She helped oversee the drug trade into the US, and is believed to be directly responsible for up to 200 murders. She was ruthless, and her return to Miami, US in the late 1970s started the infamous Miami drug wars. She even was credited with killing another kid after failing to ransom them at the ridiculously young age of 11. She started her drug empire after immigrating to the US with her husband in the mid 1970s and never looked back. In 1985 she would be arrested, and serve 10 years in jail. A wild sex scandal with a key witness prevented murder charges from sticking, and no additional charges could be brought against her. She effectively managed the business from prison, and upon her release, was deported to Colombia. After a life of debauchery, her health declined rapidly, and she retired sometime around 2002 leaving her 3 sons in charge. She snuck back into the US and lived in California, unknowingly to officials until she was murdered in 2012 at the age of 69.

A family shows the damage the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima did to them 2 years afterwards in Tokyo, Japan in 1947. This family was around 2 miles away from the blast. Although they survived, they would face a lifetime of health issues, difficulties, and possibly early death because of it. They were lucky though, as up to 30,000 soldiers and up to 200,000 civilians died in the 2 atomic blasts. Countless others like this family felt the effects for many years afterwards. It is unknown the fate of this family as many died from after effects of the bombs dropped, many related to radiation poisoning.

Around 50,000 people attend Easter service in the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, US in 1922. Such large public religious services were often held at large venues or stadiums during the time period, before individual places of worship became far more common and accessible in the US.

Members of the Public Scout and Girl Guide Movement of Libya (Libyan Girl Scouts) march in Tripoli in 1964. The troop founded in 1954 and exists to this day with nearly 20,000 members. It's history is similar to any other girl scout troop, but tend to start at older ages. Many Arab nations have their own version of girl scouts teaching survival and daily skills. However, they do not sell cookies.

American soldiers celebrate the news of the capture of the city of Santiago in Cuba in 1898. This was part of the Spanish American War which lasted barely over 3 months. It ended Spanish control of anything significant in the Americas and Asia. In fact, most people forget that Spain controlled Cuba for 400 years before the US seized it, supporting the Cuban War of Independence. This intervention was based of an explosion of the USS Maine in Havana Harbor earlier that year. At the time, it was said to be a mine that destroyed the ship and killed 258 American sailors. This convinced the public and the government to go to war with Spain, and end their control of Cuba and the Philippines. Modern reviews of the evidence would say it was actually an internal explosion, which means an accident. However, the USS Maine sinking was used as an excuse for the US to expand its reach further around the world and end Spanish control in key countries. The US would stay in the Philippines through WWII, even fighting a war putting down a Philippine rebellion for nearly 15 years (3+ years officially followed by 10+ years of guerilla warfare) soon after seizing control from Spain.

A model poses with her dog in Paris, France in 1920. Lingerie modeling was becoming quite common in France. So much so that sexy pictures were appearing on postcards and random magazines open to anyone in the public. Such things took a lot longer to become mainstream in the US.

A German dispatch dog carries messages to the front line during a German offensive in France in 1918. During WWI especially, dogs were key to pass along communication during battle. They also brought supplies, sniffed out mines, helped lay cable over dangerous areas, and even helped identify wounded to medics.

Continuing on from the previous picture, many countries relied on dogs in both WWI and WWII. The Germans even fit them with their own gas masks (so did other countries) and dog hospitals right by the front in WWI and near battles in WWII. Here we see a propaganda picture in 1940 showing how the dogs wear gas masks and support 2 infantrymen during an operation in Poland.

Continuing on from the previous picture, many countries relied on dogs in both WWI and WWII. The Germans even fit them with their own gas masks (so did other countries) and dog hospitals right by the front in WWI and near battles in WWII. Here we see a propaganda picture in 1940 showing how the dogs wear gas masks and support 2 infantrymen during an operation in Poland.

Local people and workers go about their day as some take a break and eat lunch in Hong Kong, China in 1954. This was part of a number of pictures by then teenager Ho Fan capturing everyday life in Hong Kong in the 1950s. During this time, Hong Kong was under British rule.

An American holds a sign in Washington DC, US in 1979 during the Iranian Hostage Crisis. After the Iranian Revolution, angry mobs and militia stormed the US Embassy in Tehran 3 times, occupying it and taking everyone hostage the 3rd time. 52 hostages were held for 444 days. Americans at home became aggressive towards all Iranians. What's interesting is many of the Iranians in the US were fleeing the same people who were holding the hostages in Iran.

The Polish Volunteer Cavalry pose for a picture in Poland in 1920. The flag is attributed to their common nickname, "The Death Squadron". They were a key reason Poland was able to defeat the Soviets in the Polish-Soviet War in 1921. After WWI, the newly created country of Poland aggressively defeated Ukraine in the Polish-Ukrainian war in 1919. Ukraine was its own country at the time. Poland was determined to expand their borders, and the Soviets wanted to expand themselves into Poland to support other communist movements in Europe. Poland attacked Soviet positions to solidify their advancements in Ukraine. They used cavalry to attack, encircle, and slaughter Soviet troops. Neither side had many tanks or big guns or large air force units, so the cavalry was the best weapon, and the Polish had experienced and aggressive cavalry units, such as this one. The Poles would defeat the Soviets, and keep their country until WWII.

Thousands of starving people wait for food at a distribution center in Somalia in 1992. The Somalian Civil War had raged for 5 long years up until 1991, but the fighting didn't stop. Food became the weapon of the warlords who controlled areas of the country. They would seize all shipments of food, control all that was left of the agriculture in the country, and starve the people. Up to 500,000 people died just from starvation. The UN and US intervened, and eventually we are able to protect their supplies and feed the people. They took down key warlords and rebuilt the Somalian government and infrastructure. The US conducted many of the military operations in 1992, but for stability the UN was in the country for 3 years up until 1995. The fragile government of Somalia took over after that.