Picture Of The Day

Picture of the Day

March 21, 2023

One of the only two known authentic Jolly Roger pirate flags in the world.

Prior to the advent and popularization of the "Jolly Roger" we know today, western pirates flew a simple black flag, initially devoid of design.

The black flag was part of a flag signal combo, together with a plain red flag. After closing in on a target ship, the black flag would be raised, signaling that "quarter" will be given if the target crew surrendered their cargo/valuables without a fight. Followed by warning shots, if the enemy did not strike their own flag to signal surrender, the red flag (or bloody flag as it is known) was raised, signaling that the target’s cargo/valuables will be taken by force and that "no quarter" will be given if the enemy ship continued to refuse surrender.

The pirate captain Jean Thomas Dulaien would wait for the enemy to fire three or more cannon shots after raising the red flag before giving the order to attack with no quarter given.

Picture of the Day

March 20, 2023 Leave a Comment

A weeping George Gillette in 1940, witnessing the forced sale of 155,000 acres of land for the Garrison Dam and Reservoir, dislocating more than 900 Native American families

These lands were owned by the Three Affiliated Tribes, which “had been their home for perhaps more than a millennium”. Threatened by confiscation under eminent domain, the tribes protested…

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Picture of the Day

March 17, 2023 Leave a Comment

This is Emma Gatewood, the first known woman to hike the 2,168 mile (3,489 km) Appalachian Trail solo in just one season. She did it in 1955 at the age of 67, wearing only Keds shoes and carrying an army blanket, a raincoat and a plastic shower curtain. She was also a mother of 11, a grandmother and a great-grandmother.⁣

In the early 1950s, while reading a discarded copy of the August 1949 edition of National Geographic magazine, Gatewood found an article about the Appalachian Trail (A.T.) The description and photographs captivated her and made it sound like something she could do. All that was needed was “normal good health” and “no special skill or training.” She set out in July 1954 at the age of 66 to hike south from Mount Katahdin in Maine. After a few days, she got lost, broke her glasses, and ran out of food. The rangers who found her convinced her to return home, but she decided not to tell anyone about her failure.

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Picture of the Day

March 16, 2023 Leave a Comment

Charles the II of Spain

This is the result of 200 years of inbreeding, Charles the II of Spain, at age 4 he could barely walk and was still breastfeeding. At age 9 he couldn’t read or write, he died at age 38 and his death led to the War of the Spanish Succession killing between 400k and 700k people.

“The king is rather short, skinny, but not badly formed, only ugly in the face; he has a long neck, a long face, a long chin and as if it bent upwards; the lower lip typical of the Habsburgs; not very large eyes, turquoise blue and a fine and delicate complexion.

He has a look with melancholy on his face and a little astonished. His hair is blond and long, and it is combed back so that the ears are exposed.

He cannot straighten, unless he leans against a wall, a table or something else.

His body is as weak as his mind. From time to time he shows signs of intelligence, memory and a certain liveliness, but not now; he usually looks slow and indifferent, appearing dumbfounded.

You can do whatever you want with him, since he lacks of own will”

Picture of the Day

March 15, 2023 Leave a Comment

Dina Sanichar

Dina Sanichar, the feral boy found after being raised by wolves and was the inspiration for The Jungle Book’s character of Mowgli

Deep in the northern Indian jungle of Uttar Pradesh in 1872, a group of hunters stopped in their tracks, bewildered by what they were seeing. A pack of wolves loped through the forest, followed by a ghostly form: a small child, ambling on all fours. The unlikely pack disappeared into a nearby den. The hunters planted a fire at the opening of the cave and smoked the pack out. As the group reappeared, the hunters killed the wolves and captured the boy.

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Picture of the Day

March 14, 2023 Leave a Comment

Dr Felix Rey

In 1888, Vincent Van Gogh cut his left ear with a razor. He was taken to the hospital, where he was treated by Dr Felix Rey. Van Gogh painted a portrait of Rey and gave it to him. Rey was not fond of it used it to repair a chicken coop, then gave it away. In 2016, it was valued at over $50 million.

Early the morning of the Christmas Eve 1888, a severely wounded man was brought to the Hôtel-Dieu of Arles for treatment.

On duty that night was Félix Rey, a young intern completing his thesis from the University of Montpellier.

The patient was Vincent van Gogh, who the night before feeling betrayed by Paul Gauguin had sliced part of his left ear with a razor and taken it to a prostitute, and who now suffered from not only blood loss but hallucinations.

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Picture of the Day

March 13, 2023

Ke Huy Quan Fights Through Tears While Winning Best Supporting Actor Oscar: ‘This Is the American Dream!’

Actor Ke Huy Quan was 12 years old when he made his screen debut in Steven Spielberg’s 1984 blockbuster Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. He followed up with another megahit, the 1985 adventure film The Goonies.

That early, one-two punch of improbable success made Quan think “that I was going to have this amazing career,” he says, but aside from a few minor TV and film roles that followed, the acting opportunities quickly fizzled. Not to mention the fact that there were few parts for Asian actors, which were usually small and stereotypical.

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Picture of the Day

March 10, 2023

Members of Mexico’s “Gulf Cartel” who kidnapped and killed Americans have been tied up, dumped in the street and handed over to authorities with an apology letter

A letter purportedly from the Mexican cartel allegedly behind the kidnapping and subsequent kidnapping and killing of 2 Americans last week claimed it has dealt with the members "involved and responsible" for the incident, handing them over for authorities to detain.

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Picture of the Day

March 9, 2023 Leave a Comment

debeers 2 months salary

The “tradition” of spending several months salary on an engagement ring was a marketing campaign created by De Beers in the 1930’s. Before WWII, only 10% of engagement rings contained diamonds. By the end of the 20th Century, 80% did.

The idea was embedded in popular culture in the West by an advertising drive from the De Beers diamond cartel that started in the lean years of the 1930s. The Depression was a disaster for De Beers, which controlled 60% of rough diamond output. De Beers embarked on what it now describes as a “substantial” campaign, linking diamonds with engagement.

Prior to the 1930s, presenting a woman with a diamond engagement ring was not the norm. Even on the eve of World War Two, a mere 10% of engagement rings contained diamonds. By the end of the 20th Century, 80% did.