“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to get through this thing called soundcheck.”
Watch Prince and the New Power Generation performing a soundcheck at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, on July 19, 1991 ahead of their show at the opening ceremony of the 1991 Special Olympics.
These days, the typical American Thanksgiving menu is pretty standardized: turkey, stuffing, potatoes, pie. Back in the late 19th century, when the holiday’s status as a national observance was still relatively new, those dishes were already being consumed but holiday menus of the time could show a little variety. For example, on Nov. 30, 1899, at the Plaza Hotel, you could get turkey stuffed with chestnuts for $0.75—or sweetbreads, cooked “Parisienne” style, for a dollar.
That Plaza menu is just one of many historical bills of fare that have been digitized by the New York Public Library’s “What’s on the Menu?” project. The Library has 45,000 menus dating as far back as the 1840s. Below is a selection of 30 amazing vintage Thanksgiving menus from the late 19th century (click on each image to view it larger):
A policeman transporting a prisoner in a cage on the sidecar of his motorcycle, ca. 1920s. The traffic police of Los Angeles used these vehicles in order to capture and later transport drivers, who have violated the speed and parking rules, to the police station.
This “portable prison,” a singular jail cell measuring four-square-feet, attached to a police motorcycle as a sidecar to keep its occupant close enough to the officer to be able to grab the keys to let yourself out, plus you could probably reach the brakes.
Popeet is a product of Amazing Containers of America, which was based in Verona, New Jersey. The product comes from 1987/1988, and advertises a revolutionary food and drink storage system that collapses to the size you need, has an airtight lid, creates more storage space for more containers, is dishwasher safe, and comes in several sizes.
This video titled “Me at the zoo” is the first ever video to be uploaded on YouTube. It was uploaded on April 23, 2005 by YouTube’s co-founder Jawed Karim on his channel called ‘jawed’.
The 19-second video features Jawed Karim, who was 25 years old at the time, in front of two elephants at the San Diego Zoo in California, noting their long trunks. Using Karim’s camera, it was recorded by his high school friend, Yakov Lapitsky, a University of Delaware Ph.D. student at the time, who was in San Diego to deliver his research to the American Chemical Society.
Even thought the video has millions of views and the channel has nearly 2 million subscribers, it remains to be the only video uploaded on the channel so far. An year after “Me at the zoo” was uploaded, YouTube was sold to Google for a whopping $1.65 billion.
The process of making contact lenses in 1948 was quite different from today’s methods. The eye was anesthetized, then the optician used an “impression cup” to make a cast of the eyeball. After two minutes, the cup was removed from the eyeball. The mold was used to shape a piece of flexible plastic, which experts then ground and polished so the lens fits an exact prescription.
The idea behind contact lenses dates all the way back to Leonardo da Vinci. In a 1509 manual, da Vinci noted that he could alter his vision by sticking his face in a bowl of water. During the next few centuries, inventors sketched ideas such as “tubes held snug to the eyelids” and “capsules filled with animal jelly,” but the contact lens wasn’t actually manufactured until 1887.
In 1948, optical technician Kevin Tuohy developed a smaller lens that only covered the cornea, which allowed people to wear lenses for longer periods of time. Further innovation came from Czech chemists Otto Wichterle and Drashoslav LÃm, who invented the breathable plastic material that led to soft lenses in the 1960s.
In the 1937 movie Sh! The Octopus, the actress was made up in exaggerated highlights and shadows (including her teeth) using a single color shade of makeup. When filmed through a filter the same shade as the makeup, it’s invisible to the camera. Take the filter away and the makeup suddenly becomes visible. Besides a filter, the makeup can also be hidden by similar-colored light. This technique was created by cinematographer Karl Struss.
The comedy mystery film produced by Warner Bros., directed by William McGann and starring Hugh Herbert, Allen Jenkins and Marcia Ralston. While contract players Herbert and Jenkins frequently appeared in the same picture, this is the only movie to present them as an actual team.
The film’s oddball qualities have made it something of a cult favorite, while the film’s reveal and transformation of the villain using pre-CGI filmmaking techniques has gained notice on social media.
“I was able to ignore the drop and just focus on the gap itself. If you could do certain tricks if the gap was the same size as a grass gap or set of stairs, then with the right mindset you should be able to do the same tricks on a roof gap. Most of the danger would be from not going fast enough to clear the gap, but I would always try to go faster and clear everything by enough to be confident that I wasn’t going to hang up.” – Jeremy Wray
In 1997, Jeremy Wray pulled off one of skateboarding’s most unfathomable stunts when he ollied between two water towers outside of Los Angeles. This moment has gone down in skateboarding history, and the 16-foot gap between the towers is enough to scare away the most experienced skater. Although the Ollie does give the skater as many run-ups as needed, but judging by the speed that Jeremy was going by any other less talented skater would fall from the top of the tower to flat.
In 1926, Gladys Ingle was filmed changing planes in mid-air to replace a lost wheel on Art Goebel’s aircraft (Jan 1926). The aircraft are Curtiss JN-4 biplanes. Ingle is seen with a tire strapped to her back going up on Bon McDougall’s airplane to switch to Art Goebel’s airplane to install a tire.
Gladys Ingle (March 28, 1899 – October 27, 1981) was an American pilot, a wing walker and a member of the aerial stunt team the 13 Black Cats. She was the fourth woman to earn a pilot license. In 1921, she and her sister Ann both performed as members of the C.P.O. Aerial Circus, parachuting out of balloons. In 1922, she performed her first stunt involving an airplane when she and her sister performed an airplane parachute race jumping from separate planes.
Gladys Ingle became the only female member of the 13 Black Cats. She performed in aerial stunts during the 1920s and 1930s. She was renowned for her stunts and wing walking. Some of her stunts included moving from plane to plane in mid-air, and flying on the wing of a plane while it passed under a bridge. One of Ingle’s stunts involved replacing a wheel in mid-air. A wheel would conveniently fall off an airplane. Ingle would strap a spare wheel on her back and rendezvous with the “stricken” plane. In mid-air, she would climb to the top of the upper wing of the second plane and transfer to the bottom wing of the plane in distress. She would then climb down to the landing gear and install the wheel. This was filmed on at least one occasion.
Gladys Ingle is preparing to move from Bon MacDougall’s Jenny to Art Goebel’s aircraft mid-air, January 1926.
In another stunt, she would shoot arrows at targets while wing walking. When asked if she ever got scared, she said, “Nothing to it at all, nothing to it.” She claimed to have been involved in several forced landings and plane crashes. One of her most daring stunts was to stand on the wing of an aircraft while it looped the loop.
In 1928, The San Bernardino County Sun reported that Ingle doubled for movie stars and appeared in films. In her career, she successfully transferred from the wing of one aircraft to the wing of another in mid-air more than 300 times.
A proper throwback to John Vincent’s high profile BASE jump off the World Trade Center in 1991, which aired on The Phil Donahue Show in 1995. John only had 160 skydives at the time and the World Trade Center stunt was his sixth BASE jump.
John’s initial plan to sneak his skydiving rig passed security was thwarted when he saw them searching through bags as they entered the building. So he ordered a BASE rig to wear under his clothing. The rig arrived already packed, and because he’d didn’t know anything about BASE rigs or how to pack them, he jumped it straight out of the box.
In the late 1980s, John began honing his skills as a skydiver and BASE jumper, relentlessly perfecting his techniques while forming connections within the tight-knit community of fellow thrill-seekers. The World Trade Center, iconic in its stature and symbolism, became the ultimate challenge in John’s eyes. He spent months meticulously planning every detail of the jump, studying wind patterns, assessing the best exit point, and calculating the precise timing needed to execute the jump without detection.
The night of the jump was a mix of nerves and exhilaration. As he stood on the edge of the World Trade Center, John’s heart raced with a blend of fear and determination. With the city’s skyline as his backdrop, he took the leap into the abyss, soaring through the air with unparalleled freedom. The seconds felt like an eternity, and the rush of wind against his body was both terrifying and electrifying.
John’s successful landing and subsequent escape captured the attention of the world, sparking intense debates about the boundaries of personal freedom and the risks people were willing to take in pursuit of their passions. Some admired his audacity, viewing him as a modern-day pioneer who embodied the spirit of adventure. Others condemned his actions, citing the potential dangers he posed to himself and those around him.
In the aftermath of the jump, John Vincent remained an enigmatic figure, shying away from the spotlight while continuing to explore new challenges in the realm of extreme sports. His daring feat left an indelible mark on the history of BASE jumping and extreme adventure, reminding us all of the unyielding human spirit that drives us to conquer the impossible, regardless of the consequences.
During World War II, aerial combat in the Pacific saw intense clashes between Japanese planes and Allied forces. Amid battles like the Battle of Midway, footage captured the spectacle of Japanese planes being shot down, illustrating the fierce air warfare.
These moments highlighted the strategic significance of air superiority in the Pacific theater, where naval battles and island campaigns unfolded. The aerial engagements played a pivotal role in shaping the course of the war, as the Allies sought to repel Japanese advances and regain control over the region's key territories and waters.
In the 1980s, a middle-aged Canadian man decided to spend his entire life savings on building an indestructible suit that he could wear into battle against a wild grizzly bear. For about seven years, Troy Hurtubise designed various prototypes for the bearproof armor and constructed them using materials and appliances found in the scrap metal yard he owned in Ontario.
Early versions of the suit made Hurtubise look like a mashup of a street hockey goalie and a baseball catcher, but over time, the prototypes became more and more sophisticated until Hurtubise started to resemble his lifelong hero, Robocop. Once the final prototype was complete, Hurtubise undertook a series of extremely dangerous trials in order to test and improve the suit’s durability. For example, he was thrown from a cliff, beaten with two-by-fours, and struck by a truck traveling at about 30 mph — 18 times. He even stood in a pit of fire. Hurtubise dubbed his masterpiece “Ursa Mark VI.”
Word of Hurtubise’s crazy endeavor spread, and in time he became a local celebrity. He often appeared on Canadian radio shows to discuss his “grizzly bear research” and also explain why he was so hellbent on squaring off with a grizzly bear — or, rather, one particular grizzly bear, whom Hurtubise referred to as ”The Old Man.” According to Hurtubise, he first encountered his four-legged archnemesis in 1984 while camping in the Canadian wilderness. Apparently Hurtubise and The Old Man got into a physical altercation and the latter walked away from the skirmish victorious. In his radio interviews, Hurtubise vowed that once his suit was fully bearproof he would track down The Old Man and confront the brute face-to-face.
In 1996, a documentary crew from the National Film Board of Canada produced Project Grizzly, a 72-minute documentary about Hurtubise and his quest to build a suit that could withstand The Old Man’s monstrous wrath. The filmmakers followed Hurtubise as he pursued his foe through the Canadian hinterlands wearing his signature red beret and buckskin jacket, wielding a Bowie knife. The release of the documentary catapulted Hurtubise to international fame. His on-camera antics were immortalized in an episode of The Simpsons and even received praise from legendary director Quentin Tarantino, who called the film “Fantastic!” Tragically, Hurtubise was killed in a car accident in 2018.
Shortly after the Olympic gold medallist’s stunning performance in the 1972 Munich Olympics, the ‘Dead Loop’ was banned from gymnastics and never performed in high-level international sporting competitions again.
The dead loop or Korbut flip is a gymnastics skill performed on either of two different apparatus. Both were first performed internationally by the Soviet gymnast Olga Korbut.
The more spectacular version of the skill used to be performed on the uneven bars, where the gymnast, from a stand on the high bar, performs a back flip and regrasps the bar. Korbut performed the move at the 1972 Summer Olympics, where it was the first backward release move performed on the uneven bars in international competition. In 1977, Soviet gymnast Elena Mukhina modified the flip by adding a full twist. The movement was later modified in the 1980s when it was performed towards the low bar; that is, the gymnast's flip takes place above the low bar. The Code of Points was later modified to ban standing on the high bar during routines.
The skill is also performed on the balance beam. The move is performed from a standing position and is landed in a straddled position on the beam. This movement has been modified to include twists and piked or tucked legs and is frequently performed in sequence with other movements. Unlike its counterpart on the uneven bars, the Korbut flip on beam is today considered a relatively simple skill, valued at only a “B” level in the 2017 Code of Points.
Olga is currently living in Scottsdale, Arizona. She is currently retired and enjoying a healthy life. In 2017, Olga sold off the medals she had won at an auction.
There were rumors that the Olympian was broke. However, auctioneer Elon Werner dismissed these claims. He said: “She’s fine financially. She just wants to pass on the medals to people that will enjoy them, celebrate her accomplishments, things like that.”
Meanwhile, speaking to Associated Press, Olga said: “This is Olympic history and I would like to share with the whole world. They helped to make it history and make it live forever. This is how I wanted to share with the people.”
The Calhoun Shot, also known as the Immaculate Connection, was a basketball shot made by spectator Don Calhoun during a timeout in the third quarter of a Chicago Bulls–Miami Heat game on April 14, 1993. The shot was part of a promotion that offered 1 million dollars to any fan who could make a 75-foot shot through the basket from the free-throw line at the opposite end of the court. At the time, Calhoun’s shot was reported as the first time anyone ever made a three-quarters promotional shot. In actuality, a spectator had succeeded in this shot in 1989, winning a car.
Michael Jordan on Don Calhoun’s Million Dollar Shot: “One shot and he makes more than a lot of people in this league, man.”
The insurance company that was required to make the payoff, American Hole ’N One Inc, voided the payment on a technicality—due to Calhoun having played college basketball, a violation of the rules. However, the sponsors of the event (Coca-Cola, the Lettuce Entertain You restaurant, and the Bulls) pledged to cover the prize if the insurance company would not. As a result, Calhoun got $50,000 a year over the next 20 years. The insurance company still benefited from the publicity. The shot, and the news coverage it gained, are credited with the rise of similar promotions during sport events.
Don Calhoun was at the time an office supplies salesman. He had played basketball for Bloomington High School and later for Triton College during the 1988–1989 season. Following the shot, he signed a one-year contract with the Harlem Globetrotters.
He later continued to work with office supplies, getting approximately $38,000 (after taxes) every year until 2013. He characterized the money as nice, but not something that made him feel rich. Thirty years after making the shot, Calhoun lives in the Midwest and has four children, one of whom managed to get a college degree as the first in the family, partly thanks to his father’s prize money.
As of 2023, the ball that was used to make the shot is in the possession of Calhoun’s son. It is autographed by Calhoun.
James Burke, a British science historian, had only one chance to nail this scene. A clip from the 1978 BBC television show Connections, season 1, episode 8, “Eat, Drink, and Be Merry” which could be considered the best timed shot in television history.
In the video, Burke passes a motionless spaceship with the American flag flying in the backdrop as he walks. He eventually pauses to explain that if hydrogen and oxygen are both released in a small space, mixed together, and set on fire to them, “you get that.” As soon as he finishes speaking, he turns around and gestures toward a spaceship that is about to launch in the distance. In particular, in 1978, it was what many would consider a once-in-a-lifetime filming opportunity. “Destination: the moon, or Moscow,” the historian says as the video fades out.
In a Blue Dot interview, Burke reveals how he timed and shot the moment perfectly. “I wrote 10 seconds of words, it takes 1 second to walk in, 1 second to point, and 1 second to pull focus on the rocket... you can hear the countdown so at 13 seconds I stepped in and did my bit. We took it home and said to the BBC look what we did! And they said ... Looks like back projection.”
The Rover, MG Rover, Austin and whatever other brand the Metro was sold under, was a forgettable mini that wasn’t taken very seriously, even by the company that made it. This may explain this 1987 advertisement spoofing the 1966 Adam West-era Batman and Robin TV series.
The one-minute long commercial shows the dynamic duo swapping their funky 1960s Batmobile for the British mini because “it’s rush hour in Gotham city and the Batmobile is big...”
The ad ends with the message, “When you got to... pick up a penguin, Metro gets you going.” Holy priceless collection of Etruscan snoods... Enjoy the video after the break.
This amazing vintage footage from 1923 shows how early 20th century technology could make a battleship blind to an oncoming aerial attack. The video shows a biplane soaring over warships of the U.S. Navy and creating an instantaneous wall of smoke large enough to hide a fleet behind.
One of the most popular tactics for early steam navy forces was the newfound ability to make instant smokescreens, either by ordering the stokers to burn cheap coal in designated boilers; constricting the airflow to the boilers and thus creating billows due to the choking flame; or by adding oil to the coal or funnel. This common tactic was a hit by the turn of the century, with Edwardian/Great White Fleet era ships– destroyers in particular– practicing it regularly.
By the end of the Great War, aircraft delivered smoke screens had been added to the lexicon as had purpose-made smoke generating devices.
This opaque white chemical smoke (titanium tetrachloride) was generally more effective than the sooty black boiler smoke of the Great War age, which tended to dissipate rather quickly. By the 1930s, the U.S. Navy used three different recipes for smoke: HC or hexachloroethane type smoke mixture, FS, or sulfur trioxide in chlorosulfonic acid, FM, or titanium tetrachloride, and WP or white phosphorus.
Today’s technology has rendered smoke obsolete, however. Most forms of radar and infrared sensors can see straight through conventional smoke, though how imaging infrared cameras would perceive a titanium tetrachloride smokescreen is unknown.
In addition, the ability of aircraft to launch radar-guided anti-ship cruise missiles fifty or more miles away from their targets makes smokescreens irrelevant. Instead, warplanes of today use speed, low altitude flying, electronic warfare jamming and stealth technology to sneak up on enemy warships. It’s definitely more environmentally friendly than curtains of titanium acid.
American destroyers lay down a smokescreen during maneuvers on the West Coast, 1926.
A Curtis H-16 flying boat lays a smoke screen near units of the U.S. Fleet at anchor near Panama, circa 1924.
Aircraft lay a smokescreen over USS Langley (CV-1) during fleet maneuvers in 1930.
USS Lexington (CV-2) Steams through an aircraft-deployed smoke screen, February 26, 1929, shortly after that year’s Fleet Problem exercises.
Smoke Screen is laid by three T4M-type torpedo bombers, circa early 1930s.
People are amazed by throwback footage of a group of high school students from the late 1980s, not just due to their stunning haircuts. The identities and whereabouts of these kids are unknown, but it is known that the clip was filmed in 1989.
It was the year we saw violence in Tiananmen Square and the dismantling of the Berlin Wall. The year we got Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally and Michael Keaton in Tim Burton’s Batman. The year Seinfeld and The Simpsons debuted on TV, with no clue as to how successful they would become. The year that gave us New Kids on the Block and Paula Abdul while Madonna and Janet Jackson were enjoying their heyday.
The jeans were pegged, the shoulders were padded and the hair was feathered and huge. It was 1989—the peak of Gen X youth coming of age. For those of us who were in high school at the time, it’s like hopping into a time machine.
This film was shot by French filmmaker Gabriel Veyre sometime between 1899 and 1900 at the French colony of Annam, French Indochina (now Vietnam). The film was screened on January 20, 1901, in Lyon, France, under the title “Indo-Chine: Annamese children picking up cash in front of the ladies’ pagoda.”
The women in the video were Madame Paul Doumer, the wife of Joseph Athanase Paul Doumer, the Governor-General of French Indochina from 1897 to 1902, and her daughter.
Between 1899 and1900, Gabriel Veyre traveled across the French colonies in Vietnam. He shot around 39 motion pictures and photographs for the French government to exhibit at the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle.
What’s a foolproof way for a golfer to fix a slice? Let Tiger Woods explain.
This clip is a TV commercial for Nike golf shoes featuring Tiger. It was released in 1997 to promote the Air Zoom TW golf shoes by Nike. It was part of a series of similar commercials called “Golf’s Not Hard with Tiger Woods.”
And no, this is not serious. These commercials were funny, and the joke was always that Woods was explaining things that were easy for him without realizing they were very, very hard for the rest of us.
In this commercial, the “golf tip” that Tiger gives for fixing your slice might actually get someone hurt!
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