A couple adhere to a sign's suggestion somewhere in California, US in 1950.

A child soldier poses with his unit for American journalists somewhere in the mountains of Nicaragua in 1984. This group was part of the Contras, which established themselves in 1981, which helped bring an end to the 28 year Nicaraguan Revolution in 1990. The US backed them, while the USSR backed the controlling FSLN. They fought to a stalemate, in which new elections were held that removed the FSLN from power in 1990. The USSR was struggling in the midst of its collapse which made supporting the FSLN risky during the elections, causing their downfall. From 1978 until the fighting stopped in 1989, up to 50,000 people died in this conflict.

A woman poses with her boudoir doll collection in Paris, France in 1922. The dolls were all over France, England, Italy, Germany and the US. Notice how some of her dolls are of different ethnic complexions, those were extremely rare even back then, and only really came from France and parts of the US.

Two young girls assemble weapons from a supply drop during the Siege of Leningrad in the USSR in 1943. This was part of a group of pictures used for propaganda to show the rest of the Soviet people the strength and courage of the residents in Leningrad fending off the foreign invaders.

However, this is what the Siege of Leningrad was really like. This picture shows 2 civilians carving whatever they can from a horse carcass to eat in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), USSR (now Russia) in 1943. This dead horse had already been stripped of most of its meat before these 2 civilians had a chance at it. Notice how 2 dead soldiers lie near them? And this was before it got worse by the way. The civilians in the city actually resorted to cannibalism, eating those who died in raids and the fighting. Many civilians starved, as whatever food got into the city, which wasn't much, mostly went to fighting soldiers. The siege lasted over 2 years. The Nazi's wanted the entire cities population dead it seems, and blocked all possible ways to supply the city with food and clean water. The Finnish, who for a time guarded part of the Northern outskirts of the city, did let in food trucks when a pass was cleared by the Soviets. By then though, most of the damage was done. Over 1 million Russian soldiers and civilians died, with another 3.5 million captured, wounded, or missing. For their part, the Axis forces had over half a million casualties. The city was never captured, and held out until the siege was lifted.

Seabiscuit leads War Admiral in the first turn of their famous match race at Pimlico Race Track in Maryland, US in 1938. Ridden by jockey George Woolf as the normal jockey Red Pollard was hurt, the underdog and far small Seabiscuit beat jockey Charles Kurtsinger and War Admiral handily in a much publicized race. The news painted it as the little guy taking on ridiculous odds, and was gobbled up by the public who had just started to get out of the Great Depression. The terrific film Seabiscuit depicts these events.

Iranian women learn to shoot at a range outside Tehran, Iran in 1986. Many of the men were away as the Iran-Iraq War was raging on. This picture was used as propaganda possibly to show other Iranian people that if Iraq started winning that the Iranian women were ready to fight. What I find interesting is only half the women in this picture are even holding their gun correctly.

One of the 56 police vehicles to be burned during the riots in Brixton, England in 1981. During a British recession, social unrest stirred until all out rioting occurred in the city. Some 5000 people overwhelmed the police. A lot of the unrest came from racial tensions as virtually all the rioters were African Caribbean decent. No deaths were reported thankfully, but some 299 police officers were injured, with only 65 members of the public reported injured. Also, some 28 premises were burned and another 117 damaged and looted during the riots. Surprisingly, the police made only 82 arrests. Shortly after, smaller riots occurred in Leeds, Leicester, Southampton, Halifax, Bedford, Gloucester, Wolverhampton, Coventry, Bristol, and Edinburgh. Again, virtually all rioters were black and a lot of the unrest was racially driven.

A tribal dancer in a traditional outfit poses for a picture before his routine in Ivory Coast in 1947.

The first official masquerade costume content at the annual San Diego Comic Con in San Diego, California, US in 1974. The convention had already been around for a bit, but no one would wear costumes. Then after this contest, costumes became the norm and in my opinion is one of the coolest part of any convention.

The Prussian Army prepare to parade through Paris, France after defeating France in the Franco-Prussian War in 1871. The war lasted just 6 months, with a decisive Prussian victory.

Otto von Bismarck on his death bed in 1898. He would die shortly after this picture was taken at age 83.

Injured people are helped after being removed from the World Trade Center in NYC, US after it was bombed in 1993. 6 People would die with another 1,042 injured when a car bomb exploded in the parking garage. It caused extensive damage and was a shock when it happened. The WTC housed major companies from around the world that also had multicultural employees.

A billboard advertising the film The Little Hut in Damascus, Syria in 1958.

Employees working at the Social Security Office in Baltimore, MD, US in 1950. There are only 3 men in this picture, can you spot all 3?

People separate Buffalo bones somewhere in Alberta, Canada in the 1880s. The North American Bison almost went extinct solely based on excess hunting of the beast. People all across the US and Canada slaughtered them at a ridiculous rate just for their fur coats, while others and the Native Americans used every part of the animal especially eating their meat but also their bones for tools. Around 1800, it was believed some 60 million bison roamed North America. By 1900, there were maybe 300.

An armored soviet vehicle sits burning during the Hungarian Uprising in 1956. Soviet tanks and troops had left a week before it started, leaving a communist government in control with Soviet backing. However, the people rose up quickly, and overthrew and executed communist party members. The Soviets responded by sending back in their tanks, heavy weapons and troops and soon crushed the uprising. Like many European countries liberated by the Soviets, the Hungarian people wanted democracy, but the Soviets were firm on keeping their influence on Eastern Europe. Up to 3000 Hungarian fighters died, another 3000 civilians died, and up to 13,000 people were wounded during the uprising. The Soviets lost 722 soldiers, with around 1500 wounded.

The Ku Klux Klan marches down Constitution Avenue in Washington D.C., US in 1925. Anywhere from 35,000 to 60,000 members participated in the march. At the time, the Klan had around 3 million active members. They organized in large rallies and were open about their affiliation in the 1920s. Notice no one in the parade has their hoods down. The crowd was mostly white, and as you can see there is little activity from the crowd. The people were more curious than supportive. Despite this immense show of members and power, this is actually the height of the Klan, as its numbers continuously dwindled after the 1920s.

Survivors of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 sit in front of the fuselage of the crashed plane after being rescued in the Andes Mountains in 1972. The fuselage was mostly intact after the crash, which allowed them to close off the back and survive the cold. However, they were out there for 72 days before being rescued, and were forced into cannibalism to survive. Of the 45 people who were on the plane, only 16 survived the ordeal. 2 of the survivors actually climbed out of the mountains to get help and rescue the others. The book and film of the same name Alive documents their story. And yes, that is a human vertebrae on the right.