From never-before-seen photos of celebrities to creepy mysteries, you are truly in for a treat with this all-in-one gallery. We have decided to gather the best moments throughout history with extremely rare imagery that will leave you amazed. These photos are going to show you things that you would never learn in the history books during grade school. Some of these pictures are the only visual proof that these milestones occurred. Get ready to be mind-blown..
Sergeant Presley
Did you know that the King of Rock and Roll served approximately two years in the US Army?
At the time of Elvis Presley’s draft in March 1958, he was the most well-known name in the world of entertainment. Elvis was already considered a star, so upon his draft, he was offered the chance to enlist in Special Services to entertain the troops and live in priority housing. Presley decided to reject this offer and serve as a regular soldier.
Marilyn Monroe and JFK
Rumor has it that John F Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe slept together at least once in 1962 at Bing Crosby’s Palm Springs house. As we can see in this photo, that rumor was totally true. According to Marilyn’s close friend, “Marilyn gave me the impression that it was not a major event for either of them: it happened once, that weekend, and that was that.”
The two stars crossed paths once again at Kennedy’s 45th birthday party at Madison Square Garden.
Queenie the Waterskiing Elephant
Before videos of water skiing squirrels went viral on YouTube, Queenie the elephant was the original water surfing animal.
Marj and Jim Rusing, who owned a tourist attraction in Florida, taught the adorable elephant how to waterski at a very young age. According to her trainers, Queenie was a natural performer and loved being out on the water. Sadly, Queenie died in 2011 due to a number of health problems. “I doubt very seriously that you'll ever see another elephant water ski,” said one of Queenie’s trainers when the elephant died.
The Titanic Lifeboats
The lifeboats of the Titanic were designed to hold a maximum of 65 people. However, there were only 20 lifeboats available for the more than 2,200 people on board the ship. As a result, many people were left behind when the Titanic sank.
This image shows an emergency cutter lifeboat carrying a few survivors from the Titanic, seen floating near the rescue ship Carpathia on the morning of April 15, hours after the disaster.
A 17-Year-Old Baseball Master
You may recognize the name Babe Ruth as one of the best baseball players of all time. He broke some of the most impressive records in sports, including most years leading a league in home runs and most total bases in a season. He was considered to be pretty much unbeatable - but that didn’t stop Jackie Mitchell from winning against him in 1931.
During an exhibition in Tennessee, left-handed Mitchell threw five balls and struck out Babe Ruth himself!
Operation Babylift
You may be wondering what these babies are doing on a plane by themselves. The truth behind this rare photo is truly heartbreaking.
In the midst of the Vietnam War, the US government decided to airlift all the babies who lost their parents back to the United States for adoption. Two thousand South Vietnamese orphans were flown to the United States in what was known as Operation Babylift. The first plane to leave as part of that mission had a tragic ending: a malfunction caused the plane to crash land into a nearby rice paddy.
Andre the Giant Eating
Andre Rene Roussimoff, who was best known for his very fitting nickname Andre the Giant, stood at 7 feet and 15 inches tall and weighed a whopping 520 pounds. This photo of Andre with his afro hair style preparing to eat a subtle dinner of four main courses at a restaurant seems funny these days.
Thanks to an excess growth hormone, Andre earned another unique nickname: “The Eighth Wonder of the World.” He was a major fan favorite throughout the ’70s and ’80s.
The Grotto in the Iceberg
This incredible photograph of a grotto in an iceberg was taken on January 5th, 1911. It was taken by photographer Herbert George Ponting during the British expedition of Antarctica. Before this expedition, Antarctica was almost completely unexplored, and very little was known about this part of the world.
If you look closely, you will spot two people at the entrance of the grotto. Those two people are T Griffith Taylor and Charles S Wright, who were scientists on the expedition.
Three Days of Peace and Music
Music festivals are usually a prime location for drunk violence. But Woodstock was something very special and different compared to other festivals - it was all about peace, love, and music. After all, Woodstock earned the nickname of “Three Days of Peace and Music.” During those three days, there were no reported incidents of violence among the 500,000 people who gathered in the 600-acre dairy farm.
However, two deaths did occur. One of them was a drug overdose. The other death occurred when a tractor accidentally ran him over.
The Only Known Photo of a Living Quagga
Have you ever heard of a quagga before? Your answer to this question is probably “no,” and that makes sense. Quaggas have been extinct for over 100 years, but a quagga was basically a combination of a zebra, a horse, and a donkey. Just like their cousin the zebra, quaggas have stripes on them - but only on half of their body.
Quaggas were native to sub-Saharan Africa, but this special photograph was taken at the London Zoo in 1870. Sadly, quaggas became extinct shortly after this was taken.
Police Dogs in Birmingham
As part of the civil rights movement, Martin Luther King Jr. held a number of non-violent protests. One of the largest protests occurred in Birmingham, Alabama in 1964 and it lasted for eight days.
During that week, Birmingham police sued cruel brutality against thousands of peaceful African American protesters. The police brought in their attack dogs. The officers also applied force with high-pressure water jets, tasers, tear gas, and stun guns.
Native American, African American Cowboys
In 1865 being a Native American cowboy was rare as to non-existent. That's why this image is so amazing. Having a Native American and an African American cowboy in one image...
Modern photography was a relatively new invention back then, so many proud cowboys couldn’t wait to get their photographs taken. And not everybody got to be photographed, so that means these two were pretty important where they lived.
The Two-Headed Man
This historical man, Pinon, was born in 1889 with a rare tumor on his head, thus introducing his name as the Two-Headed Man. He used his uniqueness and the public's intrigue in his head to make money; he performed in the Sells-Floto Circus show.
Usually, when people are born with this kind of defect, it's the result of an issue with conjoined twins. Almost always, the second head is upside-down, which is what made Pinon extra unique - his second face was right-side up. The detailed face is fake and immobile, but Pinon's tumor was very real.
The Montparnasse Derailment
One of the worst train disasters in history occurred at the Gare Montparnasse in Paris, France on October 22, 1895. The train overran a buffer stop and crashed through a thick wall, shot across an outside terrace, and plummeted over 30 feet onto the street.
Miraculously, only one person died in this disaster. It was a woman who was walking down the street during the time of the accident and was eventually hit by the train. Additionally, two of the 131 passengers and two conductors sustained injuries.
Aerial View of Ground Zero
After the World Trade Center terrorist attack we got to see images of everything inside and out, but we haven't had a chance to see it all from above.
An aerial view shows ground zero of the World Trade Center disaster area, on September 22, 2001, in New York City. The image shows us the enormous gaping hole in the city after 3 buildings collapsed.
Celebrating the End of the Prohibition
During the historic Prohibition Era, the manufacture and sale of alcohol were strictly prohibited. It was the result of the 18th Amendment and was enacted by the Volstead Act. It was considered the solution to the nation’s severe poverty, crime, abuse of women, and other serious issues.
However, untaxed alcohol, political corruption, and organized crime only caused the Prohibition to lead to more violence. Much to the people in this photo’s satisfaction, it was eventually repealed by the 21st Amendment in 1933.
WWI Elephant
As the American corporal in this photo sits above a Colt M1895 while sitting atop an elephant, we can only imagine how the elephant would respond to the sound of a machine gun just a few inches away from his ears.
We’re not quite sure why the corporal was recruiting soldiers to the Marine Corps using an elephant. Elephants were never considered standard military weapons adopted by the US army. We can assume that this was probably a publicity picture and not something the army would actually try to employ.
Standing Above the Hoover Dam
Named in honor of President Hoover, the Hoover dam’s construction began in April 1931 and lasted for five years. In this photo, a group of men stands in a 45,000-ton steel pipe over the Hoover Dam upon its completion in March 1936.
The average total payroll for the project was $500,000 per month, and a total of 21,000 men were labored on the dam. Their work resulted in a 726-foot tall dam that is as thick as two football fields measured end-to-end at its base.
Queen Elizabeth Carrying American Troops to New York City Harbor After V-Day
This 1945 photo captures a crowded ship bringing American troops back to New York harbor after V-Day. V-Day, also known as Victory Day, celebrated the day that the Nazi Regime officially surrendered to US forces.
As we all know now, World War II was not over yet as the troops still had to face the brutal Imperial Army of Japan. However, that didn’t stop V-Day from being considered “the celebration heard around the world.”
USS Shaw Exploding on Pearl Harbor
December 7, 1941, was the day that the Hawaiian military base at Pearl Harbor was bombed in a surprise military attack by Japan’s Imperial Army. About 2,500 Americans died in this disaster and 1,700 more were wounded. This photo captures the terrifying moment that destroyer USS Shaw exploded on the base near Honolulu, Hawaii.
The following day, President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared war on Japan. This officially cemented America’s involvement in World War II.
Building The American Railroad
In the late 1860s, the First Transcontinental Railroad in the United States was built. It linked the well-developed railway network of the East Coast with rapidly growing California. On May 10, 1869, the main line’s construction was officially completed.
The construction of the railroad set the USA on the path to economic abundance thanks to the vast number of passengers who traveled the line and the network the followed. It also marked the beginning of a new era of transportation that left a centuries-old way of life behind and greatly altered the environment.
Soldiers and a Dog Wearing a Gas Mask
During World War II, soldiers had to wear respirator gas masks to protect them from chlorine gas attacks. They were also ordered by their superiors to urinate on their masks, as they believed this would help the equipment combat the gas more effectively.
If the soldier did not have a mask on hand for some reason, they were told to urinate on a piece of cloth and tie it around their face. This may seem disgusting to us now, but at the time the soldiers thought it was the only way they could protect themselves from the harsh gases.
Melted Mannequins
Before you get too grossed out by this graphic image, it’s important to note that these aren’t real people - they are melted mannequins at Madame Tussauds London wax museum after a 1925 fire that are being "rescued" by firefighters.
As the Manchester Guardian described the incident: “The whole of the roof collapsed with the exception of a dome-like structure at the western end… It was stated that all the Napoleonic relics had been destroyed. The total amount of damage cannot yet be estimated. The whole of the roof and the top floor of the main building was destroyed.
Practicing Bridge Dismantling in 1937
A group of Royal Engineers wearing gas masks and protective clothing practice dismantling a bridge as part of wartime preparations. Why would they be practicing for war with gas masks in 1937?
Well, now we know the answer, don't we? Gas attacks were the strongest fear of soldiers on the battlefield because of what happened during WWI
The Last Titanic Photo
The movie Titanic gave us an idea of what happened on a tragic day that the Titanic sank, but only real-life pictures can capture the truth. This rare photo was the last picture of the Titanic afloat. It was taken just a few hours before the disastrous sinking.
If it wasn’t for a 30-second delay in the officer in charge giving the order to change the ship’s course after the iceberg had been spotted, the Titanic could have been saved.
The Original Christopher Robin
Winnie the Pooh is one of the most popular childhood stories. You probably didn’t know that it was actually inspired by real-life people. In fact, the little boy in this photograph is Christopher Robin Mine, the son of Winnie the Pooh author A.A. Milne and the inspiration for the “Christopher Robin” character.
This sensational story has touched the hearts of children everywhere and is still read as a bedtime story to children so many years later.
Steven Spielberg in Jaws
The famous shark attack movie Jaws took the country by storm when it was released in 1975. American audiences were paralyzed with fear by the giant shark in the film. In this picture, Steven Spielberg is shown directing one of the scenes in the movie. An image we never got to see.
Jaws made over 470 million dollars at the box office and changed the movie industry for good.
Henry Ford’s First-Ever Car
Before normal cars were a thing, it was typical to see someone driving a “Quadricycle around town. In this 1896 photo, Henry Ford poses next to the first Quadricycle ever invented. Ford used simple construction materials such as a leather belt and chain drive for the transmission, and a buggy seat and angle iron for the frame.
The Quadricycle in this photo was eventually sold for $200. Ford decided to use the profit to manufacture his second automobile.
Navigation Hotline
Before Google Maps and Waze were introduced into our lives, the world was a very different place, as you can see from this photo. Instead of just opening up our phones and inserting our destination address into an application, we were forced to give a ring to what was called a “navigation hotline.”
The person answering the phone would give you directions on where you needed to go so you could be on your way. That seems a lot more complicated than Waze!
Pile of Bison Skulls
If you take a good look at this picture of a giant pile of bison skulls, it makes a lot of sense why bison came so close to the point of extinction in the 19th century. They were highly hunted animals solely for their skins.
This 1882 photograph shows us a very minimal portion of the skulls gathered from the hunted bison. The remaining animal carcasses were left to decay on the ground. By the year 1900, there were less than a thousand bison left in North America.
Riding an Alligator
Could you ever imagine having your toddler riding an alligator? Believe it or not, it was a big attraction at the California Alligator Farm in the early 1900s. In the Lincoln Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles, families would line up to spend their Sundays having fun with “trained” gators.
The California Alligator Farm was home to 20 ponds where visitors were kindly asked not to "throw stones, spit on, punch or molest the alligators in any way."
1938 Cost of Living
This photograph of the cost of living in 1938, which was during the time of the Great Depression, gives us an idea of how different life used to be back in the day. The prices of living during this time are almost incomparable to what they are now.
Could you imagine spending only 25 cents on a movie ticket? Nowadays they are worth at least $6. Gasoline, car, tuition, and rent prices were also incredibly low back then compared to what we are forced to pay nowadays.
Beginning of Basketball
This historic image shows us what basketball used to look like. The sport was originally practiced with hoop baskets mounted onto a wall.
In early 1891, college professor Dr. James Naismith took basketball to the next level. He was responsible for reinventing the sport and further improving the game. He came up with the idea to cut the bottom of the basket, transforming it into a hoop so that the ball could go through. He also came up with the 13 golden rules of basketball.
Creating The Dali Atomicus
In 1948, surrealist artist Salvador Dali teamed up with world-renowned photographer Philippe Halsman to create the “Dali Atomicus.” The extremely unique piece was inspired by the theory of “suspension.”
To create this masterpiece, Halsman created an elaborate scene to surround the artist that included a floating chair, an easel, three cats, and a bucket of water tossed into the air. It took the artists 26 takes to find a version that they were both happy with.
Brigitte Bardot When She Was Young
Brigitte Bardot is a model and actress best known for her work with Jean Luc Godard and Louis Malle as part of the French New Wave of cinema in the 1950s and 1960s.
Throughout Bardot’s extremely successful career, she has appeared in 47 films, a number of musicals and recorded over 60 songs. In 1973, Bardot officially retired from show business. She then decided to change career paths and become a major animal rights activist.
Famous Female Bodybuilder
Katie Brumbach, born 1884, better known as "Sandwina", was an Austrian-born female bodybuilder who adopted a variation of Sandow's name to advance her own career.
Over 38 years, she exhibited her 6-foot, 210-pound frame in circuses and theaters around the world and performed stunts such as juggling cannonballs and supporting a spinning merry-go-round with riders on her chest. Unfortunately, contemporary popular opinion labeled female bodybuilders as circus freaks.
1893 Princeton Snowball Fight
Did you know that Princeton University used to hold an annual snowball fight? You read that correctly - one of the most prestigious universities in America had a snowball fight between the freshmen and sophomores every single year.
This photo shows us the aftermath of one of the most intense fights of them all: the Princeton Snowball Fight of 1893. It led to some serious damage to students Darwin R. James, John P. Poe, and Arthur L. Wheeler.
The Mystery of Belle Starr
If you’re into murder mysteries, the story behind Belle Starr will leave you with a million questions. She was born as Myra Maybelle Shirley Reed Starr, but her family called her May. Starr rose sidesaddle with two pistols on her at all times.
One day in 1889, Starr was unexpectedly and fatally shot. Her killer was never found and remains a mystery to this day. There are some rumors about who it might be, though. Some say that her son, who she reportedly abused, may have been responsible for her death.
Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe
This photograph of two professional tennis players is extremely rare, considering the fact that John McEnroe and Sweden’s Bjorn Borg were formerly known as enemies and polar opposites. We can’t help but wonder what they were doing enjoying lunch together and posing for a photo op, but we’re just happy to see them getting along!
Borg was known to be calm and composed, while McEnroe was hot-headed and short-tempered. The two reportedly played a total of 16 games against each other.
Clint Eastwood Skateboarding in Rome
When Clint Eastwood isn’t busy being a Hollywood superstar, he spends his time skateboarding around Rome. Or at least that’s what he’s doing here: strolling down Via Veneta, one of the fanciest streets in Rome, on a skateboard while wearing posh leather shoes.
This photograph was taken in 1965, which was during the time Eastwood was beginning his fame from the Spaghetti Western movies. He looks a lot like Hugh Jackman here, but we’re pretty sure it’s Mr. Eastwood!