Sammy", the mascot of the Northumberland Fusiliers in WWI, ca. 1915.
French soldiers passing by a dog wearing googles and smoking a pipe, 1915.
Sgt. Stubby, a highly decorated war dog who fought with the US Army during World War I. c. 1919.
An Allied soldier bandages the paw of a Red Cross working dog in Belgium during WWI, May 1917.
Messenger dog leaping over a German trench, May 1917.
1917, WW1 - British soldier feeding a cat.
19th July 1918 - Kittens and shells: an officer of 444 Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA), smokes a pipe as he supervises a kitten balancing on a 12 inch gun shell near Arras.
Tallulah Bankhead drinking champange from her shoe at the Ritz Hotel in London, 1951. Such an act dates back from the early 20th century as a sign of defiance, "debauchery" they say.
Going through some pretty old files, found this, can't recall where it was originally. 9/11, presumably before either tower fell, and very likely some of the remains of victims all over the ground.
Going through some pretty old files, found this, can't recall where it was originally. 9/11, presumably before either tower fell, and very likely some of the remains of victims all over the ground.
Mamonas Assassinas (Portuguese for "Killer Castor Beans") was a Brazilian rock band from the city of Guarujá, São Paulo state, formed in the late 80's. From left to right: Keyboardist Julio Cesar "Rasec" Barbosa, lead singer Alecsander "Dinho" Leite, drummer Sérgio Reoli, bassist Samuel Reoli (Sérgio's brother), and guitarist Alberto "Bento" Hinoto.
Originally named Utopia and playing a serious but unremarkable style, they decided to shift their image to pure irreverence after a suggestion from famed producer Rick Bonadio, who saw potential in the band but also suggested they add something original to it. So the members changed the band's name, started wearing funny costumes onstage, "aped" the style of other alt-icons of the time like Mike Patton, and released their self-titled album in 1994.
The band enjoyed an astronomical success throughout the entire year of 1995 upon the release of their debut album, selling out venues for live gigs and performing in highly-rated TV shows almost every week. Their unique blend of comedy, solid musical chops, and even a pinch of social commentary helped them become instant media darlings. A legit pop culture phenomenon that took over Brazil by storm, rarely seen before or after.
It all came to a tragic end on the night of Saturday, March 2nd, 1996. Exactly 30 years ago. This was their final photo as they beckoned their loving fans after finishing their last show in the capital city of Brasília.
The band returned from the gig - the final stop of their nationwide tour - to their home in São Paulo in a rented Learjet when it crashed in the middle of the night in the Cantareira hills, just outside the city of Guarulhos. All five members, plus the flying crew, died instantly.
The searching party took the entire Sunday to localize, bring back, and identify the bodies of the dead, scattered all around the wooded foothills. Here we can see a member of the searching crew picking up a schoolbag and one of the prisoner costumes used just one day before by one of the members, visibly bloodied.
Yes, there are pictures of the corpses. Yes, they are all horribly mangled. No, I'm not including them here. Search them yourself if you're curious; they're relatively easy to find.
Meanwhile, the entire nation spent the day in utter shock and mourning as they listened to the newsflashes and read the newspapers in that dark Sunday.
The header of Notícias Populares, the infamous tabloid that always had fun at the expense of world happenings, could not bring itself to mock the death of Mamonas and simply printed "Plane crash kills the most famous band in Brazil." It was perhaps the most iconic front page that detailed the tragedy.
On the night of Monday following the event, the band members, as well as the pilot and copilot who perished on that fateful night with them, had an open visitation funeral in their hometown of Guarujá. The caskets were draped in the flags of Brazil and of the city of Guarujá, evoking the still-fresh and painful memories of the funerals of other beloved national figures like Tancredo Neves and Ayrton Senna. There was not a single soul that passed by and left unmoved as the city's most illustrious sons lay dead, unable to be seen one last time due to the horrible state they were found in.
Around a hundred thousand people passed by the Paschoal Coelho gymnasium, and later accompanied the cortege towards the Parque das Primaveras graveyard on the afternoon of Tuesday, March 4th. The fans waved flags, posters, messages, and even castor seed branches. They all sang Mamonas' hits while crying and screaming for their fallen idols.
The burial ceremony was reserved for family members and friends, and the police had to intervene to avoid an all-out riot so as to keep the family's wishes in their last goodbyes.
On that day, vocalist Dinho would have completed 25 years. As his casket was laid down in the bare earth of the city that saw them grow, the present sang Happy Birthday to Dinho.
One week ago, their remains were exhumed for the first time. This Mamonas jacket, placed upon Dinho's casket, was found intact as it was unburied. Perhaps an iconic manner of the world to affirm that the Mamonas Assassinas are gone in body, but never in soul.
Three legends of Hollywood who took up skateboarding in their later life. Katherine Hepburn, Gene Kelly. And of course, the GOAT, Fred Astaire--who was such an avid skateboarder he broke his wrist
Bette Davis with her mother, Ruth, for the All About Eve premiere.
Davis retreated from the Hollywood limelight despite the success from Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? to care for her cancer-ridden mother 24/7 until Ruth's untimely death from 1964.
