Back In The Good Old Days

Official Imperial photo of Her Sultanic Highness Princess Fawzia bint Fuad of Egypt during her reign as Queen of Iran in 1942.

People walk in support of a Homosexual Law Reform in Wellington, New Zealand in 1986. Several thousand attended the peaceful marches. Eventually, New Zealand would become one of the first countries in the world to fully legalize gay marriage.

Anna Pavlovna posing in a traditional garment in 1910. Anna was a Russian Prima Ballerina big in Moscow in the early 1900s.

Anna Pavlovna posing in a traditional garment in 1910. Anna was a Russian Prima Ballerina big in Moscow in the early 1900s.

Life Magazine documents firefighters responding to a call at the docks in Valparaiso, Chile in 1950. Normal everyday citizens would pitch in and assist as the fire department was sometimes not equipped for the tasks.

Russian soldiers harass a German girl in Berlin, Germany in 1946. For almost 3 years after the war, it was estimated up to 2 million German women were raped by Russian soldiers. A number of women and children were also killed for no reason during the final stages of the war and even afterwards. The occupying Russian Army had almost a blank check to do what they wanted to the German people once they occupied East Germany. Finally, the Russian higher ups took control of the situation, and even severely punished rapist by 1950.

Children take cover in a makeshift bomb shelter during a German air raid over London, England in 1941. The Blitz as it was known lasted a year, and at times the Germans bombed London almost every day and night for months at a time. Around 43,000 civilians died during the bombings, with another 135,000 wounded.

A wrestling match in NYC, US in 1926. Modern choreographed wrestling is nothing new. The fights and matches that entertain as a big production show has been around 150 years. Even many of the moves and outfits never changed.

Australian troops move a fake tank during WWI in 1917. Fake weapons is an old trick. For example, there were some fake canons surrounding Washington DC in the civil war to deceive the Army of Virginia's scouts into thinking it was impenetrable when they invaded the North. As aerial photography began, fake weapons and vehicles were heavily used in WWI and WWII. In fact, troops trained to knock out certain bunkers and artillery pieces in the Invasion of Normandy would get there only to find it was fake. This also happened often in the Pacific with Japanese using fake artillery pieces to give off stronger defenses on certain islands.

The initial mushroom cloud after detonating a nuclear bomb underwater. This was a test known as Operation Crossroads Baker Test at the Marshall Islands in 1946.

Clowns pose for a picture in Paris, France in 1909.

An Armenian mother sits besides the bodies of her 6 children in 1915. They had been separated from their mom and starved to death during the Armenian Genocide. The fate of the mother is unknown. The father may have already been killed. The Ottoman Turks are believed to have killed 1.5 million Armenians in an ethnic cleansing of the area. They executed many, but preferred to starve the Armenians, often separating families and sometimes using the adults into forced labor while the old, sick, and children starved. Eventually they would kill everyone who were no longer useful. Many fled to Syria and would die on the harsh roads. Turkey to this day does not acknowledge the genocide.

An Armenian mother sits besides the bodies of her 6 children in 1915. They had been separated from their mom and starved to death during the Armenian Genocide. The fate of the mother is unknown. The father may have already been killed. The Ottoman Turks are believed to have killed 1.5 million Armenians in an ethnic cleansing of the area. They executed many, but preferred to starve the Armenians, often separating families and sometimes using the adults into forced labor while the old, sick, and children starved. Eventually they would kill everyone who were no longer useful. Many fled to Syria and would die on the harsh roads. Turkey to this day does not acknowledge the genocide.

A French model posing for sexy pictures that were part of a series of pictures added to postcards in Paris in the 1920s.

A young girl is getting swimming lessons on a French beach in 1908.

Gertrude "Ma Rainey" Pridgett sharing lyrics with a colleague in 1922. She was one of the first major female blues singers in Harlem, US, and also one of the first openly gay entertainers. She even boldly put hints at her sexuality into her lyrics. She broke ground and would not be denied success. She is a very interesting person to read up on.

Japanese school girls wearing gas masks during a drill in Tokyo, Japan in 1943.

This is Guillermo Cardoza. He was caught in the terrible aftermath of the eruption of the volcano Nevado del Ruiz in Tolima, Colombia in 1985. He was 8 years old. He was found naked, stuck in the lahar trying to seek safety. It had been 58 hours since the natural disaster hit, and finding him alive was surprising, especially in the thick lahar he was in. His entire family was killed. Almost every village near the volcano was wiped out. What's worse is scientists tracking the active volcano warned the Colombian government 2 months before it erupted that it was likely to erupt soon, and the government did absolutely nothing. The towns close to the volcano never saw it coming and had little to no chance to escape. What killed most people were lahars, which are volcanic induced mudslides that wiped out the towns. It was estimated 29,000 people lived in the towns directly hit by the mudslides. 22,000 of them died. The most famous being Omayra Sanchez. You may have seen the well known picture of her trapped under water with black eyes and wrinkled fingers, staring at the camera with a sad fearful look.

This is another picture of Omayra Sanchez from Armero. She was 13 when the Nevado del Ruiz volcano in Tolima, Colombia erupted in 1985. She was trapped from the waist down from the concrete of her house and the massive lahar caused from the eruption. Even worse, her aunt died holding her legs in a firm grip. The workers could not free her without severing her legs, and did not have the proper equipment to surgically save her if they did so. Sadly, they thought the humane thing to do was let her pass out and die from exposure. It took 3 nights and 60 hours, but she did finally succumb. A banner at a mass funeral in Ibagué for victims of the disaster read, "The volcano didn't kill 22,000 people. The government killed them." Omayra's grave has since become a place of worship and prayer to the locals since the disaster.

From left to right, Raul Castro, Fidel Castro, and Mengistu Haile Mariam celebrate their victory in the Ogaden War in Havana, Cuba in 1978. Somalia had invaded Ethiopia over disputed territory and was winning the war when the Soviets and Cuba intervened militarily in support of Mengistu and his Ethipian communist regime. Ethiopia and Somalia each lost over 6,000 dead, but Cuban troops were heavily engaged and lost 400 of their own soldiers. It is believed up to 18,000 Cuban soldiers helped repel the invading Somalian forces. This is one of the only times Cuba ever militarily involved itself in a conflict not in Central or South America.

American troops treat a wounded dog on Orote Pennisula while fighting in Guam in 1944.

German wrestler Johann Lemm posing in 1908.

Miss Russia, Miss Austria, and Miss Holland (The Netherlands) pose for a picture during the Miss Europe competition in Paris, France in 1930. The pageant had 19 countries send contestants, with Miss Greece winning.

Aborigine prisoners on their way to a work prison near Wyndham, Australia in 1930. Many of these men were tricked, kidnapped or forced into basically slaves at work prisons and camps to help spear cattle, farm, and other hard labor projects. Aborigines were not treated well, and it took many years before they were accepted as full equals to the rest of Australia.

German soldiers hang a Russian partisan near Minsk, Belarus in 1941. The Germans would quickly execute partisans when caught on the Eastern front. They execute men and women alike.