Oddities, Curiosities, Life & History

Body of Lee Harvey Oswald

Evelyn Mchale by Robert Wiles, The most beautiful suicide. On May 1, 1947, Evelyn McHale leapt to her death from the observation deck of the Empire State Building. Photographer Robert Wiles took a photo of McHale a few minutes after her death. Just after leaving her fiancé, 23-year-old Evelyn McHale wrote a note. 'He is much better off without me ... I wouldn't make a good wife for anybody,' ... The serenity of McHale's body amidst the crumpled wreckage it caused is astounding.

Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment (1933) When asked why they had to receive several "back shots"(spinal taps), researchers repeatedly lied to the men, claiming theshots were "therapeutic" when in fact the spinal taps gaveinsight to infection from the spinal canal into the brain.

2. Congenital syphilis, pre penicillin.

Bonnie and Clyde - 1934

Mary Bell - child serial killer When she was 10, Mary Bell strangled a 4 year old boy named Martin Brown. When she was 11, she, along with a 13 year old friend killed another boy, this time a 3 year old named Brian Howe. They strangled him, and Mary carved an “M” into his stomach, cut off his hair, and mutilated his genitals. She was convicted shortly afterwards and served 12 years in prison, eventually she was released and granted permission to start life under a new name.

X-Ray Image of a Corset (1908)

This is believed to be the earliest photograph of NYC.Taken at Broadway between Franklin and Leonard Streets, May 1850

SMALLPOX NY CITY EPIDEMIC, 1881 Victims of the smallpox epidemic in 1881. More people died from smallpox than any other disease in history.

Alfred Palmer American, Women aircraft workers finishing transparent bomber noses for fighter and reconnaissance planes at Douglas Aircraft Co. Plant in Long Beach, California, 1942

"All my son wanted was to see the world". Keith Sapsford, 14, Australian, hid in the wheel housing of a Japan Air Lines Tokyo-bound jet in Sydney. John Gilspin, an amateur photographer, was testing his new camera lens as the plane took off and unwittingly caught Keith Sapsford’s 200-foot plunge to death. 1970.

Roza Georgiyevna Shanina, 3 April 1924 – 28 January 1945) was a Soviet sniper during World War II, credited with 54 confirmed deaths. Roza was above average in height, with light brown hair and blue eyes, and spoke in a Northern Russian dialect.

Corset damage to a ribcage.  19th century London.  Hunterian Collection, Royal College of Surgeons, London via The Chirurgeon’s Apprentice.

“Mad as a hatter” In 18th and 19th century England mercury was used in the production of felt, which was used in the manufacturing of hats common of the time. People who worked in these hat factories were exposed daily to trace amounts of the metal, which accumulated within their bodies over time, causing some workers to develop dementia caused by mercury poisoning. Thus the phrase “Mad as a Hatter” became popular as a way to refer to someone who was perceived as insane.

Norma Jeane Baker (later known as Marilyn Monroe) in a photobooth at age 12 in 1938

John Meintz, punished during World War I (Circa 1917 - 1918). Meintz was tarred and feathered for not supporting war bond drives. Front view, showing feathers stuck on his body.

Teddy Roosevelt’s diary entry from the day his wife died. He never spoke of her death again.