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Helmets have been an important part of military history for thousands of years, with ancient civilizations around the world developing their own unique designs to protect their warriors in battle. From the earliest known examples in the Bronze Age to the intricate helmets of the Classical world, the history of ancient helmets is a fascinating and complex story. The earliest helmets were made of leather or cloth, but the development of metalworking allowed for the creation of more effective and durable helmets....

The gadget was an implosion-type plutonium device, similar in design to the Fat Man bomb used three weeks later in the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan. The term “Gadget” was a laboratory euphemism for the bomb, from which the laboratory’s weapon physics division, “G Division”, took its name in August 1944. At that time it did not refer specifically to the Trinity Test device as it had yet to be developed, but once it was, it became the laboratory code name....

Designed to ease road traffic while maintaining river access, it was constructed with giant moveable roadways that lift up for passing ships. Opened on 30 June 1894, the bridge quickly became known as the ‘Wonder Bridge’. A special committee was formed in 1876 to come up with ways to address the problem of traffic which was getting bogged down. One of the ideas was for a new bridge, and several architects submitted dozens of designs, but the project was delayed for eight long years....

The decision to invade Italy was made in January 1943 at the Casablanca Conference, the first war conference between the Allied powers, held in Casablanca, Morocco. The conference between Roosevelt and Churchill took steps toward planning the Allied strategy and the end of the war. It also established terms of unconditional surrender. Even as the Allies had been preparing to invade Sicily, the Italian people and their government had become increasingly disenchanted with the war....

She’s wielding an M-16, the standard-issue American soldier’s rifle. Usually, these types of photos were taken for propaganda purposes. North Vietnamese women were deeply involved at all levels of the military campaign throughout the war, especially at the business end, fighting against the American-led forces in the jungle. North Vietnamese women were enlisted and fought in the combat zone as well as provided manual labor to keep the Ho Chi Minh trail open, cook for the troops, and some served as “comfort women” for male communist fighters....

One of the most captivating ways to step back in time and experience Montreal’s past is through a collection of captivating photographs that offer a window into the city’s street scenes during the 1950s. These snapshots provide a unique glimpse into the daily lives, fashion, and architecture of an era long gone, yet still echoing in the fabric of the city. The 1950s saw Montreal embark on a path of urban renewal and modernization....

The photocrom’s inventor Hans Jakob Schmid came up with the technique in the 1880s and it involves coating a tablet of lithographic limestone with a light-sensitive emulsion, then exposing it to sunlight under a photo negative for up to several hours. While Photocrom prints may look an awful lot like color photographs, if you look at them through a magnifying glass and the small dots that comprise the ink-based photomechanical image are visible....

The archetypical Old West period is generally accepted by historians to have occurred between the end of the American Civil War in 1865 until the closing of the frontier by the Census Bureau in 1890. A frontier is a zone of contact at the edge of a line of settlement. Leading theorist Frederick Jackson Turner went deeper, arguing that the frontier was the scene of a defining process of American civilization: “The frontier,” he asserted, “promoted the formation of a composite nationality for the American people....

While these chairlifts were actually dangerous, there’s also a forced perspective component that makes the lift look much higher than it actually was. Snow King Mountain winter resort is located in Downtown Jackson, Wyoming and the original 1936 ski hill was on the southeast edge of the city. It was the first ski area in Wyoming. The first chairlift was installed in 1946, a converted ore tram from Colorado. It had four stations, with the first starting where 1 town hill apartments are located....

The favorite to win, Brando boycotted the ceremony as a protest against Hollywood’s portrayal of Native Americans and to draw attention to the standoff at Wounded Knee. During her speech, the audience’s response to Brando’s boycotting was divided between booing and applause. Marie Louise Cruz was born in 1946 to a white mother and a father of Apache, Yaqui, and Pueblo descent. After high school, she took the name Sacheen Littlefeather to reflect her Native American heritage....

In the 19th century, the accessibility of medicine was like opening Pandora’s box—it brought both blessings and bizarre, sometimes perilous, quackery. Some “cures” were harmless hoaxes, but many others were downright dangerous, often containing addictive and life-threatening ingredients. One of the most notorious examples of this era was the promotion of arsenic-laden soaps and cosmetics. Arsenic was believed to improve complexion and promote a pale, fashionable look. Radium, with its enchanting glow, found its way into toothpaste and cosmetics, promising a radiant smile and flawless complexion....

He’d wander Oslo’s streets with a cleverly hidden, bulky camera, snapping impromptu pictures of passersby. These snapshots mostly date back to the 1890s when Størmer was just a 19-year-old student at the Royal Frederick University. His tool of choice? A Stirn Concealed Vest Spy Camera, a crafty contraption with a slim lens peeking discreetly through a vest pocket’s buttonhole. Størmer’s photos stand out against the formal, serious portraits typical of that time....

The photograph was taken during a demonstration of the Nordic Reich Party supporters. The angle of the photo, her posture, facial expression, and what she’s wearing makes her look a lot older than she really is. The picture was published in the next day’s Dagens Nyheter and a day later in some British newspapers. It sparked a huge discussion in Sweden, and the woman – who suffered from anxiety and hated the sudden media spotlight – ended up committing suicide two years later....

Picatinny Arsenal was tasked to create a nuclear-capable artillery piece in 1949. Robert Schwartz, the engineer who created the preliminary designs, came up with a design that borrowed heavily from the German’s Krupp-made K5 11-inch railway guns, but modified to be moved on roads by a pair of huge tractors. This gun, labeled the M65, wound up being the largest road-mobile artillery the US ever put into production at some 84 feet long (26 m), and a total weight of 83-tons....

Spanning from 1888 to 1993, the Sears catalog featured an extensive array of products, ranging from sewing machines, apparel, and sporting equipment to automobiles, residences, and even livestock. Serving as an invaluable historical archive, the Sears catalog vividly captures the essence of our nation’s narrative by presenting the very commodities that were made available to the average individual. However, upon retrospection, it becomes evident that a considerable portion of its pages ventured far beyond the realm of the commonplace....

Its visual linkage of form and nature, purpose and design, does not mark a boundary but instead symbolizes Western opportunities and Pacific possibilities. Here the American values of hope, possibility, and success mix with the future, represented by the ocean extending beyond the bridge itself. The Pacific Ocean brings fierce storms, rough waters, and high winds into the Golden Gate. Additionally, the area is an earthquake zone. By the early 1900s, scientists had determined that rigid bridges could fracture and collapse in such conditions....

Burst of Joy is a Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph by Associated Press photographer Slava “Sal” Veder. The photograph came to symbolize the end of United States involvement in the Vietnam War and the prevailing sentiment that military personnel and their families could begin a process of healing after enduring the horrors of war. Prisoners of war freed from the prison camps in North Vietnam landed at Travis Air Force Base in California....

She was the oldest of three children of Armand C. Tejada, a Bolivian structural engineer of Castilian origins, and Josephine Sarah (Hall) Tejada, a statistical clerk at an aircraft factory who was of English and Scottish descent. Welch graduated with honors from high school in 1958. Seeking an acting career, Welch entered San Diego State College on a theater arts scholarship, and the following year she married her high school sweetheart, James Welch....

With the advent of mechanized warfare, soldiers occupying trenches to conduct long-term combat operations were largely obsolete. Relatively little use was made of trenches in the mobile warfare of World War II in Europe. Usually, they were used for defensive, supply storage, place to sleep and eat, and medical purposes. Velikiye Luki was crucial to both sides. To the Germans, it was a bulwark protecting the vital railway supplying Army Group North, which passed through Novosokolniki some 20 kilometers to the west....

His father died in 1938 but when his mother died in 1944 leaving the family destitute, Hans-Georg had to find work in order to support the family. At 15 years of age, he joined the Luftwaffe. According to the story that Henke maintained throughout his life, he was based in Stettin with a battery of 88mm guns. As the Soviets advanced so the German forces were pushed back towards Rostock....