33 Fascinating Photos Collected from History

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The world we live in has no shortage of fascinating facts, amazing places, and a very storied history. So if you're up for learning something new or taking a few moments to do some virtual exploration, then we have just the thing for you. Take a trip back in time with this collection of interesting, strange, and even sad photos from mankind's storied past.

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Russia and the US signs a treaty where Ukraine is giving up their nuclear weapons in exchange for security assurances in 1994.

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The tayu or oiran Komurasaki (high ranking courtesan) of the Yoshiwara district, ca. 1880s

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A group of Samurai went on a tourist tour in Egypt and took a photo in front of Sphinx, 1864

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Veterans of four different wars from the same town of Geary, Oklahoma, 1940s

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General George S. Patton watches his troops advance across the El Guettar Valley, Tunisia – March 1943

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Woman cutting her birthday cake in Iran 1973, 5 years before the Islamic Revolution

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WW1 French trench raider, 1915

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Rows of artillery shells at the National Filling Factory in Chilwell. During WW1 1917

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The lottery used by the Selective Service to determine who would be drafted for Vietnam first. In each capsule is a day of the year, determining the order of draftees by their birthday. Washington D.C. 1969

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If anyone wants to know when they would have been picked in 1970 here’s a graph for that draft order

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A couple in Penn Station sharing farewell kiss before he ships off to war during WWII, New York, 1943

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A Geisha after washing her hair and before styling it, c. 1905.

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Frank Ballou and Samuel Peterson test out a new metal bulletproof shield. The shield’s inventor, Elliot Wisbrod, is the man holding it.

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The US $7.2 million check used to pay for Alaska (roughly $109 million in 2018)

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Lyudmila Mikhailovna Pavlichenko “Lady Death” a Soviet sniper that by the end of World War II, she had 309 confirmed kills making her the most successful female sniper in history, c. 1942

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Girls getting an autograph from Elvis, 1956

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Empire State Building Window Washer, 1930s

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American servicemen, former prisoners of war, are cheering as their aircraft takes off from an airfield near Hanoi as part of Operation Homecoming, 1973

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These are knife grinders in France, circa 1902. They worked lying down to save their backs and had dogs sit on their legs for warmth.

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The Scold’s Bridle, a torture device used towards the end of the medieval times. The device was used on women who talked to much, which was seen as a sign from the devil.

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Mata Hari, a professional exotic dancer and courtesan who spied for France in WW1

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Anne Frank and her sister Margot at the beach, Zandvoort – August 1940.The photo was taken in August 1940, the Germans had already invaded the Netherlands three months before and this is the last time Anne and Margot visited Zandvoort.Anne died of typhus in March 1945 in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp at the age of 15, two weeks before the camp was liberated. Her sister Margot died a few days earlier than Anne at the age of 19, also of typhus and also in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. They both had contracted the disease in the winter of 1944.

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The U.S. Pacific fleet getting ready for battle during the Marshall Islands Campaign, 1944.

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Inauguration of Abraham Lincoln at the U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C. March 4, 1861

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A janitor sweeps the floor of the New York Stock Exchange following the Wall Street Crash of 1929

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Convicts in an English prison taking their turn on the treadwheel, a rotating cylinder used to generate power (1895)

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When they realized women were using their sacks to make clothes for their children, flour mills of the 1930s started using flowered fabric for their sacks. (1939)

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The company names and trademarks were printed with ink that would wash away, but the dye used for the pattern would not.

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The infamous Cixi, Empress Dowager of China, surrounded by eunuchs, waving to the camera with her handkerchief, 1902.About eunuchs: Some people had it done willingly so they could serve the imperial palace. It was thought that if you had no genitals, you couldn’t have children and start a dynasty, and thus you wouldn’t be tempted to seize power.

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Wanrong, the last of Empress of China, wearing “chaofu” the ceremonial court dress of the Qing Dynasty – 1920′s

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A family at a drive-in restaurant has cool air piped into their car. 1957.

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Vance, a Trapper Boy, 15 years old. Has trapped for several years in a West Va. Coal mine. $.75 a day for 10 hours work. All he does is to open and shut this door: most of the time he sits here idle, waiting for the cars to come. On account of the intense darkness in the mine, the hieroglyphics on the door were not visible until plate was developed. 1908

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A Harlem couple wearing raccoon coats with a Cadillac 1932