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For those wealthy enough to afford the expensive round-trip ticket, a journey aboard Concorde was the closest they might get to flying on a rocket. Concorde was jointly developed and manufactured by Aérospatiale and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) under an Anglo-French treaty. Concorde’s name, meaning harmony or union, reflects the co-operation on the project between the United Kingdom and France. Twenty aircraft were built including six prototypes and development aircraft....

Sugar was Cuba’s economic lifeline, but its tropical beauty—and tropical beauties—made American tourism a natural and flowing source of revenue. A 1956 issue of Cabaret Quarterly, a now-defunct tourism magazine, describes Havana as “a mistress of pleasure, the lush and opulent goddess of delights”. What the tourists didn’t see, or didn’t want to, was the underclass, people of poverty like the macheteros — sugarcane cutters — who worked only during the four month season, and the rest of the year were unemployed and angry....

It was the beginning of the Blitz – a period of intense bombing of London and other cities in Great Britain that continued until the following May. For the next consecutive 57 days, London was bombed either during the day or night. Fires consumed many portions of the city. The purpose was to demoralize the population and force the British to come to terms. The Blitz ended on May 11, 1941, when Hitler called off the raids in order to move his bombers east in preparation for Germany’s invasion of Russia....

For one thing, they dominated political offices in both the North and the South. Most U. S. presidents during this period had fought for the Union, and scores of veterans from both sides served as governors, senators, and congressmen, while countless thousands served in state and local offices. But veterans’ importance to American society and to the legacies of the Civil War transcended their political influence. By the 1880s, many Americans would have walked past monuments to Civil War soldiers in town squares, cemeteries, or other public places in the North and South....

Available in a variety of styles and at a range of price points, these DIY kit houses would arrive via railroad boxcar as precut and then the buyer would have them assembled. From 1908 to 1942, Sears sold more than 70,000 of these houses in North America, by the company’s count. Sears Modern Homes were purchased primarily by customers in East Coast and Midwest states, but have been located as far south as Florida, as far west as California, and as far north as Alaska and Canada....

The company has survived numerous ownership arrangements, subsidiary arrangements, periods of poor economic health and product quality, and intense global competition to become one of the world’s largest motorcycle manufacturers and an iconic brand widely known for its loyal following. In 1901, 20-year-old William S. Harley drew up plans for a small engine with a displacement of 116 CC and four-inch (102 mm) flywheels designed for use in a regular pedal-bicycle frame....

On September 27, 1986, the day of the stunt arrived, though the organizers ultimately released the balloons earlier than previously planned due to a rainstorm that was fast approaching that day. At 1:50 p.m., nearly 1.5 million balloons were let go, and rose up from Cleveland’s Public Square, surrounding Terminal Tower. With the balloons free, the thinking was that they would all stay in the air until fully deflating and returning to earth....

In the early 1900s, when traditions held tight, a different kind of adventure was roaring to life: women on motorcycles. These vintage photos aren’t just snapshots; they’re windows into a time when women embraced the thrill of the open road despite societal norms. Back then, motorcycles weren’t just transportation; they were symbols of freedom. These images aren’t about bikes; they’re about women claiming their space in a world that often told them where they belonged....

The event this famous photo was taken on is part of what’s known as “Die Heimkehr der Zehntausend” (The Return of the 10,000), as they were the last German prisoners of war in the Soviet Union to be released. The return of the German prisoners of the war was part of a Soviet campaign to establish diplomatic relations with Western Germany, which was widely unpopular in the Eastern Block and the Soviet Union itself....

Over the next few years, Carroll would become a close friend of the Liddell family. Alice and her sisters were frequent models for Carroll’s photography, and he often took the children on outings. On July 4th, 1862, Carroll and the Rev. Robinson Duckworth took the girls boating up the Isis. Alice later recalled that as the company took tea on a shaded bank, she implored Carroll to “tell us a story....

Coupled with ambitious infrastructure plans and investment-friendly policies, Hong Kong laid the foundations that, over the coming decades, were to create one of the world’s greatest trading hubs. The 1950s began with a large number of impoverished people without jobs and natural resources. The problem was further compounded with a flood of refugees from mainland China who were able to cross due to the lack of border controls until June 1951....

However, there are also a number of bizarre beauty pageants held across the United States that may leave some people scratching their heads. One of these unusual pageants is the Miss Idaho Potato pageant. Held annually in the city of Burley, Idaho, this pageant has been running since 1935 and has become a beloved tradition in the state. Contestants are judged on their poise, personality, and potato knowledge, and the winner is crowned with a tiara made from potatoes....

The helmets are American ones, emblazoned with the anchor emblem of the French Colonial forces. The Free French used a wide array of Allied equipment. France at the time of World War II had many colonies in Africa. Before the War, France recruited Africans both to serve in African colonia connstabularies and the French Army. Unlike the situation in France itself, the colonial soldiers were all volunteers. During World War II these African troops played an important role....

Eating meat became popular across all sections of society during the Victorian era. Increased urbanization meant that people as a whole became more dependent on butchers and butcher shops, and the cost of meat was relatively far lower than it had been in previous generations. A lot of the cuts and roasting joints still used today began to appear, and there were products that could be sold for all budgets....

The commission was granted to Eiffel et Compagnie, a consulting and construction firm owned by the acclaimed bridge builder, architect, and metals expert Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel. While Eiffel himself often receives full credit for the monument that bears his name, it was one of his employees—a structural engineer named Maurice Koechlin—who came up with and fine-tuned the concept. The assembly of the supports began on July 1, 1887, and was completed twenty-two months later....

Bokassa attempted to justify his actions by claiming that creating a monarchy would help Central Africa “stand out” from the rest of the continent, and earn the world’s respect. The enthronement was scheduled on December 4, 1977, the 173rd anniversary of Napoleon’s coronation, which is why Bokassa chose this date. Meanwhile, the empire was mustering every resource to ensure the success of the coronation. Special committees were established to supervise various aspects of the work....

The islands lacked proper infrastructure to collect and reuse empty beer bottles, a significant portion of which were his own Heineken brand. The sheer volume of discarded bottles – he could barely walk 15 feet on the beach without stepping on one – alarmed him for two reasons. First, the environmental impact of his product was concerning. Back then, bottles were typically refilled and reused numerous times, but the lack of a proper recycling system led to excessive waste....

Although if viewed from the ground or from directly above, these masses of men would appear meaningless, when seen from the top of an 80-foot viewing tower, they clearly appeared to be various patriotic shapes. Almost a century ago and without the aid of any pixel-generating computer software, the itinerant photographer Arthur Mole and his colleague John D. Thomas used an interesting technique to stage a series of extraordinary mass photographic spectacles that choreographed living bodies into symbolic formations of religious and nationalistic images....

From its roots in Europe, equine skijoring found its way to North America. In 1915, it appeared as a recreational activity in Lake Placid, New York and beginning in 1916 was a regular pastime at the Dartmouth Winter Carnival in Hanover, New Hampshire. In 1924, equine skijoring made an appearance at the Chamonix International Winter Sports Week, which set the stage for its inclusion as an exhibition sport at the 1928 Winter Olympic Games two years later in St....

It was published in newspapers all around the world at the time and many people thought it was fake until the Ministry of Defence tried to put a “D Notice” on the photograph banning its publication, which confirmed that it was indeed real and not a fake. The aircraft in the photograph was XG332. It was built in 1959, one of 20 pre-production Lightnings. The Lightning was the only British designed and built fighter capable of speeds in excess of Mach 2 to serve with the Royal Air Force....