Barnorama All Fun In The Barn
History books give facts, but these 40 rare photos? They show what the past actually looked like—unfiltered, unexpected, and sometimes downright unbelievable.
The very first iteration of Ronald McDonald was created by Willard Scott in 1963:
The two people depicted in Grant Wood’s “American Gothic” actually exist. This is what they looked like:
This is Margaret Gorman, the woman who won the very first Miss America competition in 1921:
This is Conrad Veidt, the man whose performance in the 1928 film The Man Who Laughs inspired the look of the iconic villain the Joker:
This is Selma Burke, the woman who designed the portrait of Franklin Roosevelt that’s still on the dime to this day:
This is Franz Reichelt sporting a homemade parachute suit that he was confident would save him if he jumped off the Eiffel Tower:
On Feb. 4, 1912, he gave it a go. It did not deploy.
In 1964, Randy Gardner, pictured here, set the world record for the longest time without sleeping after staying awake 264 hours:
This is Maurice Tillet, a wrestler who some say the beloved character Shrek was based on:
This is Albert Woolson, the last surviving Civil War veteran:
Albert fought for the Union army and died in 1956 at the age of 106.
This is Ham the chimpanzee, the first ape launched into space:
He was sent up to test cognitive function in space as well as the safety of the rocket and capsule being sent up. Ham’s mission was successful, and he returned to Earth unharmed and a true American hero.
This is Ahmet Ali Çelikten, a man who is generally considered to be one of the first Black pilots — and perhaps the very first:
This is Emma Lilian Todd, the first woman to design an airplane:
This is Lonnie Johnson, inventor of the Super Soaker, enjoying his invention:
This is 455 pound Piet van der Zwaard AKA the “fattest man in Europe” in 1955:
This is Charles Ponzi, the infamous scammer ponzi schemes got their name from:
This picture, taken by Robert Cornelius in 1839, is generally accepted as the first “selfie”:
This is a picture of 107-year-old Civil War veteran Bill Lundy posing with a fighter jet in 1955:
This is astronaut Joseph P. Allen IV doing maintenance on a satellite in the middle of the cold, dark void of space:
This is beautician Max Factor with his invention, the beauty calibrator, a device designed to show which parts of a woman’s face needed more or less make-up:
“This Is Judith Love Cohen, She Helped Create The Abort-Guidance System Which Rescued The Apollo 13 Astronauts. Judith Went Into Labour And Took A Printout Of The Problem She Was Working On To The Hospital, Solved The Problem, Called Her Boss, And Then Gave Birth To Jack Black”
“Camberley Kate, And Her Stray Dogs In England. She Never Turned A Stray Dog Away, Taking Care Of More Than 600 Dogs In Her Lifetime. (1962)”
“May 1946, Albert Einstein Defied The Prevailing Racial Climate At The Time To Visit And Lecture At Lincoln University In Pennsylvania, The First Degree-Granting Black College In The Us”
“In 1963, Richard Avedon Took A Picture Of A Man Named William Casby. William Casby, Born In 1857, Was 106 Years Old At The Time. In His Hands, He Was Holding His Great-Great-Granddaughter, Cherri Stamps-Mccray”
“Eric Idle And George Harrison On The Set Of ‘The Life Of Brian’ – Tunisia, 1978. The Film Had It’s Funding Pulled Just Before Filming So The Ex-Beatle Paid For It, Calling It “The Most Expensive Cinema Ticket Ever Issued””
“After Astronomical Calculations And A 3-Year Wait For The Right Moment, Photographer Leonardo Sens Took This Photo”
“13-Year-Old Dolly Parton Just Hours Before She Made Her Grand Ole Opry Debut Singing George Jones’ “You Gotta Be My Baby.””
“Robin Williams Enjoying Video Games At Home In 1993”
“A Stunning Marilyn Monroe Free From Makeup, 1955”
“A Mother And Daughter Hamming It Up For The Camera, Ca 1900”
“George Harrison And Stevie Nicks, 1978”
“A Man Poses For A Photo In-Front Of Soyuz Rocket, (1980s), Baikonur, Kazakh Ssr. Photographer Unknown”
“Pure Sass.this Photograph Was Taken In The 40′s In Yakima, Washington”
“Paul Mccartney Buying A Newspaper From St John’s Wood Station, The Day After John Lennon Was Killed. Taken By Linda From Their Car”
“Elvis Presley And Cissy Houston (Whitney Houston’s Mother), 1969”
“Thathlo Harjo. Born In 1791. He Fought In Two Seminole Wars. Was Relocated To Indian Territory In 1842. Joined 1st Regiment In 1861. After The War He Settled In What Is Now Seminole County Oklahoma. He Saw Men Fight With Muskets And People Driving Automobiles. He Died In 1904 At 113 Years Old”
“July 16, 1918. “Alex, A 14 Year Old Working Boy In St. Etienne, France, Was Found Intently Studying The Playground Exhibit At The Children’s Welfare Exposition Of The American Red Cross. He Has Been Working Since 11 Years Of Age”
“Dan Aykroyd Leads The Funeral Procession Of His Friend, John Belushi. March 10th 1982”
“Aerial Photograph Taken Of Manhattan, New York City Ca. 1939”
Credits: www.buzzfeed.com