30 Rare Photos That Are Simply Incredible

This picture may just look like two little women enjoying their day on a beach. But, there’s an interesting story here. The picture was taken in 1940, and it features Margot Frank standing next to her younger sister, Anne. This picture was found in Anne Frank’s photo album titled Zandvoort.

Two years after this picture was captured, Anne documented her life in hiding, which we all know now as Anne Frank’s Diary. You can say that this photo was an example of the calm before the storm.

This photo features Valerie Anders and Sue Borman, the wives of astronauts William Anders and Frank Borman. It was taken in 1968, at the very moment they heard their husbands’ voices from orbit on the Apollo 8 mission.

Apollo 8 was the first-ever manned spacecraft that reached the moon, orbited it, and returned safely. So, it goes without saying that Valerie and Sue’s reactions make total sense.

If you’re wondering what the people in this picture are doing, we’ll explain. They’re not breaking down some sacred monument — they’re actually celebrating. This picture was taken in Ethiopia in May 1991.

Protesters were celebrating as the Soviet Union’s reign came to an end. They’re enjoying by destroying the statue of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, the leader of the Russian Bolsheviks. They also damaged other such monuments that represented the oppressive rule of the country.

Talk about living life on the edge! Here we have a group of acrobats balancing atop the Empire State Building back in 1934 — just a few years after the skyscraper was constructed.

Located in Manhattan, the Empire State Building has 102 stories and took a year to build. Construction began in March 1930 and ended in April 1931. Just a few years later, these three brave men took on a risky challenge!

Italy’s Mount Vesuvius, located above the Gulf of Naples, has a destructive history full of unpredictability. It has erupted several times. Here in this photo, troops watch as Mount Vesuvius erupts in 1944.

There have been no eruptions since that year — although, since 1944, there have been a few instances in which landslides in the crater have caused clouds of ash dust, raising false alarms of an eruption.

Before you guys ask, this is not a picture of Fred Astaire’s shoes. In reality, you’re looking at an old law enforcement photo from 1924 — in which a police officer is seen trying on what was known as a ‘cow shoe.’

Made from a strip of metal that’s then tacked to a wooden block, these shoes are carved to resemble the hoof of a cow. They were worn by moonshiners to disguise their footprints during the Prohibition era from 1920 to 1933.

Here, you can see famous theoretical physicist Albert Einstein photographed along with his wife, Elsa, at the Grand Canyon in 1931. Also pictured is Einstein’s assistant Walther Mayer and his secretary Helen Dukas.

According to the inscription on the back of the picture, it was captured on the way back from Pasadena, California. From the looks of it, it was a pretty sunny day in the Golden State.

Mountain climbing is a popular activity for many. After all, who doesn’t like the view from a mountaintop? At least, that’s what famed dancer Gene Nelson had in mind. This photo was taken in Nevada on a cliff that overlooks Frenchman Flat.

The smoke you see near the dancer’s thigh is nothing ordinary. It’s a mushroom cloud that followed the detonation of an atomic bomb, at a distance of 40 miles away. Now, you know exactly why Nelson titled his dance move “Atom Antic.”

When you first look at this picture, it looks like people are simply buying and/or selling bananas. Just another day at the market! But, this picture wasn’t captured on just any day.

In reality, the picture was taken the day that one of the first batches of bananas was ever sent to Norway — back in 1905. It had a weight of over 6,500 pounds and came in crates/boxes. A joyous occasion indeed!

Pictured here is Nigerian-born Bolaji Badejo (August 1953-December 1992). Badejo was a visual artist and one-time actor. He became known as one of Hollywood’s most unlikely on-screen performers — thanks to his role of the Alien in Ridley Scott’s 1979 Alien.

In this photo, Badejo is actually wearing his costume from the now-classic sci-fi thriller.

Joseph F. Ambrose was a WWI veteran. In this picture, he’s sitting by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial’s official dedication place, in Washington D.C. The photo was captured back in November 1982 and is very heartbreaking.

Why? Well, it turns out that Ambrose was pictured holding the U.S. flag that was used to cover his son’s coffin. His son was martyred during the Korean War that took place in 1951.

In 1865, Edouard de Laboulaye — a French intellectual and activist — proposed that a statue representing liberty be built for the US. Not only would this monument serve as the United States’ centennial of independence and their friendship with France.

They began designing the sculpture in 1871. Construction began in 1876 (pictured here), but the entire statue was completed and assembled in Paris between 1881 and 1884. The statue was then presented to the U.S. minister to France before getting disassembled and shipped to the United States on July 4th, 1884.

When you look at this picture, you may think that it was probably planned but it wasn’t. This is just an ordinary day in New York back in 1930. Captured in Manhattan’s Garment District, this area has been the center of the American fashion industry since at least the turn of the 20th century.

In any case, this whole formation is quite breathtaking — almost as though we’re looking at a flashmob of sorts. We can only imagine how mesmerized the photographer was after getting this shot!

Nikola Tesla was famous but was quite under-appreciated as an inventor. In this photo, you can see him sitting in his lab next to his invention, the Teleforce.

According to the inventor, the Teleforce could “send concentrated beams of particles through the free air, of such tremendous energy that they will bring down a fleet of 10,000 enemy airplanes at a distance of 200 miles from a defending nation’s border and will cause armies to drop in their tracks.”

Born and raised in Mexico, Frida Kahlo was a painter known for her many portraits, specifically self-portraits and works inspired by the nature and artifacts of Mexico.

A woman that walked to the beat of her own drum, it’s no surprise to see Frida wearing a suit rather than a dress — unlike the rest of the women in the photo. The picture might have been taken in 1924, but there’s no denying that Frida was way ahead of her time.

Named after engineer Gustave Eiffel, the Eiffel Tower is a wrought iron lattice tower located in Paris. Construction began in January 1887 and was completed in March 1889.

Pictured here is a group of guys painting the Eiffel Tower in 1932. Now, we don’t know about you guys, but you couldn’t pay us enough to scale the Eiffel Tower — just for a fresh coat of paint.

Hoover Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River. Constructed between 1931 and 1936, during the Great Depression, its main purpose is to harness the Colorado River to prevent periodic catastrophic flooding, to allocate and distribute water, and to generate hydroelectricity for the Southwest.

Even by today’s standards, this was a gigantic project — and yet, they managed to complete it two years early! This picture was taken during the construction process.

In this photo, which was taken during the ’60s, actor and social activist Harry Belafonte is sharing a laugh with Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. It turns out that Belafonte was at the forefront of the Civil Rights movement, working closely with the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

According to Belafonte himself, “The portion of my life that is of importance to me has to do with my activism […] I was an activist long before I became an artist. They both serve each other, but activism is first.”

After one look at this picture, it isn’t hard to tell that it was taken at “The Happiest Place on Earth”. This was no ordinary day, though. This photo was captured on July 17th, 1955 — the very day that Disneyland opened its gates for the first time.

Built on 160 acres of former orange groves in Anaheim, California, Disneyland now hosts over 18 million visitors a year. In honor of Walt Disney himself, who passed in 1966, Disney World was opened in 1971 in Orlando, Florida.

It’s a well-known fact that Orville Wright was one of the two brothers generally credited with inventing, building, and flying the world’s first successful motor-operated airplane.

40 years after the first successful flight of the Wright brothers’ aircraft, Orville was invited to fly on the Lockheed Constellation in 1944. According to Wright himself, the 123-foot wingspan of the prototype plane was actually longer than his first flight, flying only 120 feet.

We already mentioned the Wright brothers and their contribution to the world. Well, this picture features Orville and Wilbur in action. How often do you get to see history in the making? What you’re looking at here is the Wright Glider.

The picture was taken in 1911, at Kitty Hawk. Orville can be seen climbing out while Wilbur Wright and Alec Ogilvie (on the left) steady the aircraft.

This picture may not seem like much… it’s just a storefront, after all. But, what you’re actually looking at is history in the making. Businessman Sam Walton purchased this store — Walton’s 5 & 10 — from Luther E. Harrison in Bentonville, Arkansas back in 1950.

By 1968, this single store had expanded outside Arkansas and throughout the rest of the Southern United States by the 1980s, creating the chain now known as Walmart. The company then introduced its warehouse club chain Sam’s Club in 1983 and its first Supercenter stores in 1988.

This file photo by NASA features the sun setting on Mars’ rocky terrain. That’s right — we’re talking about our planet’s neighbor. NASA’s Curiosity rover captured this picture on April 15th, 2015.

The Mast Camera, or Mastcam for short, recorded these images. You may see some haze in this picture; it’s Martian dust that’s suspended in the atmosphere between the dust storms. How cool must it have felt just capturing these images!

The history of the MGM Lion is an interesting one! Pictured here is Jackie, the second MGM lion, in-studio in 1928. Since 1917, there have been 11 different lions used for the MGM logo.

Despite that, MGM refers to all of the lions used in their trademark as “Leo the Lion” — although the only lion actually named “Leo” has been in use since 1957. In 2021, however, MGM introduced a new CGI logo that features a lion partially based on Leo.

Bullying is no joke and can affect people in more ways than one can imagine. This photo taken in 1957 is proof of how uncomfortable it is making Dorothy Counts as she sits by herself. She was the first black girl brave enough to attend one of America’s all-white schools.

She was a strong woman because, despite being taunted and teased by her white peers at Harry Harding High School in Charlotte, she didn’t stop going to school. And that alone is commendable.

There’s nothing as pure as a child’s emotions. If you don’t believe us, then all you have to do is look at this picture. It’s probably the sweetest thing you’ll ever see.

This picture was taken in Austria during WWII. This little boy from Austria was ecstatic to receive new shoes.

There was a time when women were simply asked to sit at home and do nothing. It was a long journey to get to where they are now and it hasn’t been an easy one. This picture is proof of that journey.

All Kathrine Switzer wanted to do was run the Boston marathon of 1976 and the race organizers just wouldn’t allow it. That did not deter her to complete the race, though. She became the first woman to ever finish a marathon.

Being able to hear is a privilege. Those who can hear don’t realize how lucky they are to have that ability. There are some people in the world who are not as fortunate.

Take five-year-old Harold Whittles, for instance. Despite the fact that he was born deaf, however, he actually heard sound for the first time in 1974. That moment was captured by photographer Jack Bradley. The shocked expression on Harold’s face was a result of being transported hears sound for the first time.

This picture was taken during one of the most difficult times in history — The Great Depression, a severe worldwide economic depression that took place mostly during the 1930s. It was the longest and most widespread depression of the 20th century.

At the height of the Depression in 1933, close to 13 million people were unemployed. This photo, for instance, features a man with tons of experience and merit… yet he was forced to walk the streets with a sign on his back in an attempt to get a job somewhere.

Rewiring your brain to do something else from what you’re used to, well, that’s never easy. Take this amazing picture, for instance. Someone who doesn’t know will assume this is just a picture of road traffic.

In reality, this picture was captured in 1967 when Sweden made the switch from driving on the left side of the road to the right. Now, all this confusion makes sense!