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HistoryNOV 29, 2023

‘Got Weird’: 30 Pics From History That Look Odd At Present (New Pics)

Kotryna Br and Robertas Lisickis

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History is... well, not necessarily notorious, but definitely oddly characterized as having weird moments. To some extent, that’s quite normal.

Just think about it: in terms of innovation, product design, and overall style, things tend to be weird, even more so when they are just starting out. Heck, if you google medical equipment from the early to mid 20th century, you’re going to see some science fiction madness. Because that’s just how it was.

Now, though, everything is different, and these early iterations were weird. For lack of a better word, but it was definitely a different time. A time documented in this dedicated Instagram page called Got Weird.

#1 A Man Posing With A Donkey In His Lap, Ca. 1910s

A Man Posing With A Donkey In His Lap, Ca. 1910s

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192points

#2 A Mother And Her Son On Their Way To A Pride Walk, 1985

A Mother And Her Son On Their Way To A Pride Walk, 1985

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191points

#3 The Librarian At Lorain Ohio, Public Library Is Looking At The 50,000 Book Chaos After One Shelf Fell Over, The Rest Fell Like Dominoes, 1971

The Librarian At Lorain Ohio, Public Library Is Looking At The 50,000 Book Chaos After One Shelf Fell Over, The Rest Fell Like Dominoes, 1971

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146points

So, as mentioned above, there’s an Instagram page called Got Weird. The page has been around since 2014, during which it has managed to get over the 3,000 post mark and establish a following of 244,000 people.

The tagline reads “everything old is new again” and the page is affiliated with the Vintage Everyday blog, which is all about cool old stuff.

#4 Paparazzi Take Pictures Of Bill Clinton's Cat Named Socks, 1992

Paparazzi Take Pictures Of Bill Clinton's Cat Named Socks, 1992

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143points

#5 The Higher The Hair The Faster The Runner, The Abilene, Texas Track Team, 1967

The Higher The Hair The Faster The Runner, The Abilene, Texas Track Team, 1967

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116points

#6 A Family Out For A Ride In The UK, Ca. 1930s... And Clearly Safety Wasn't An Issue Back Then

A Family Out For A Ride In The UK, Ca. 1930s... And Clearly Safety Wasn't An Issue Back Then

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112points

Despite the name, the Instagram page isn’t defined by just that one word, weird. While there are posts about things that range from odd to bizarre, the page also includes interesting historical tidbits, fun facts, and otherwise not widely known or seen footage. It shows parts of history that often don’t make it into the pages of history books, but this thus provides an ideal niche of interest online.

#7 Maureen Murray (#18) Of Alexandria, Virginia Won The Local Princess Diana Look-Alike Contest Which Took Place At The “Champion Sports Bar” In Washington D.c. On November 5, 1985

Maureen Murray (#18) Of Alexandria, Virginia Won The Local Princess Diana Look-Alike Contest Which Took Place At The “Champion Sports Bar” In Washington D.c. On November 5, 1985

The contest was held because the Prince and Princess of Wales will be in Washington a week later

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110points

#8 This Classroom Celebrating Halloween In The '80s

This Classroom Celebrating Halloween In The '80s

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109points

#9 A Picnic At The California Alligator Farm In The 1920s, Located In The Lincoln Heights Neighborhood Of Los Angeles Between 1907 And 1953

A Picnic At The California Alligator Farm In The 1920s, Located In The Lincoln Heights Neighborhood Of Los Angeles Between 1907 And 1953

The farm had 20 ponds for the trained alligators where patrons could mingle freely with them

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106points

There’s definitely odd stuff, like personal photos with donkeys, police bikes with bars for detainees, and whatever these skate shoes are.

But there’s also photos of JFK moments before his assassination, a black man visiting a swimming pool back in the day, or the Dynasty 605 veering off the runway and crashing into the water.

#10 A Man Experiences Irony As His Car, Laden With Used Tires, Has A Flat Tire, Houston, Texas, 1966

A Man Experiences Irony As His Car, Laden With Used Tires, Has A Flat Tire, Houston, Texas, 1966

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101points

#11 British Actress Jessie Matthews Supporting An Enormous Headdress For The Revue 'Evergreen' (1934)

British Actress Jessie Matthews Supporting An Enormous Headdress For The Revue 'Evergreen' (1934)

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101points

#12 Shoe Phone From 1965

Shoe Phone From 1965

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100points

Got Weird gives off very similar energy to another page that Bored Panda has covered in the past, and that’s Dragon Utopia.

Dragon Utopia is a subreddit that features historical photographs and pictures that showcase the inconvenient, uncomfortable and downright horrible parts in human history, but are otherwise there as a reminder for future generations.

#13 Rosalind Russell Riding Bicycle On The Set Of “The Trouble With Angels” (1966)

Rosalind Russell Riding Bicycle On The Set Of “The Trouble With Angels” (1966)

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95points

#14 ‘Flying Saucer’ Gas Stations In Kyiv From The Late 1970s And Early 1980s

‘Flying Saucer’ Gas Stations In Kyiv From The Late 1970s And Early 1980s

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92points

#15 A Diver Photographed After Ascending From The Oily Interior Of The Sunken Battleship Uss Arizona. Photograph Taken At Pearl Harbor, Hawaii In The Days Following The Attack On Pearl Harbor In December 1941

A Diver Photographed After Ascending From The Oily Interior Of The Sunken Battleship Uss Arizona. Photograph Taken At Pearl Harbor, Hawaii In The Days Following The Attack On Pearl Harbor In December 1941

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91points

While some might view history as boring or irrelevant, those two descriptives couldn’t be further from what this discipline is really all about.

History helps us to understand how we got to this point as a civilization. We are very much different from who we as a concept were a century or two ago. We can gauge into what worked for us and what didn’t—and draw conclusions off of that.

#16 Showgirl With A Stuffed Bird In A Cage On Her Hindquarters At The Latin Quarter Nightclub, New York, 1952

Showgirl With A Stuffed Bird In A Cage On Her Hindquarters At The Latin Quarter Nightclub, New York, 1952

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87points

#17 These DeLoreans Were All Hiding From Hurricane Dorian In Storage! Delorean Motor Company Florida Posted This, Ensuring All The Cars Stay Safe In The Hurricane

These DeLoreans Were All Hiding From Hurricane Dorian In Storage! Delorean Motor Company Florida Posted This, Ensuring All The Cars Stay Safe In The Hurricane

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83points

#18 Three Million Volts Hit A Car In The Westinghouse Electric Corporation In Pittsburgh For A ‘Lightning Test,’ Ca. 1940s. The Passenger Remained Unharmed

Three Million Volts Hit A Car In The Westinghouse Electric Corporation In Pittsburgh For A ‘Lightning Test,’ Ca. 1940s. The Passenger Remained Unharmed

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78points

Besides that, history provides context to the human experience. Records of the 1918-1919 flu pandemic, for instance, gave us an understanding of how the covid pandemic could’ve taken place, with the foreshadowing of the second wave and whatnot. It is the context we need to make sense of our own lives within the world and make guesstimated conclusions based on historical patterns.

#19 With A Category 5 Ranking, Hurricane Andrew Was A Powerful And Destructive Storm That Struck The Bahamas, Florida, And Louisiana In August 1992

With A Category 5 Ranking, Hurricane Andrew Was A Powerful And Destructive Storm That Struck The Bahamas, Florida, And Louisiana In August 1992

At the time, the National Weather Service estimated the storm had caused $26.5 billion in damages, making it the most expensive natural disaster in U.S. history. Total damages would later be surpassed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 at $81 billion. Ron Magill, Zoo Miami goodwill ambassador and communications director, took these photographs on Aug. 23, 1992. Magill said he believed there were a total of 38 flamingos in the Zoo Miami (then Miami Metrozoo) flock at the time, and they would have all been put in the restroom together. “This was part of a hurricane protocol that required us to round up all of the flamingos in the front lake of the zoo and place them in the ladies public restroom, which was used as a bunker, whenever a hurricane warning was issued,” said Magill. The bathroom was the obvious choice—no windows, a tile floor for easy cleanup, and plenty of room for an improvised bed, made out of hay hastily dumped all over the floor. Most importantly, “it had a ready-made supply of fresh water.” Magill and his coworkers opened up all the stalls, made sure the toilets were full, and set out for the flamingo exhibit to grab the new tenants. The birds were not very cooperative. “These flamingos are flapping everywhere, we’re grabbing them, we’re getting full of flamingo water and stuff,” said Magill. “It got to the point, I’ve got to be honest—I thought, ‘After all this work, this storm better freaking come!’ That’s a cocky young attitude that you have.” But the team managed the job, and as they left the bathroom, Magill turned back for a moment to appreciate their work. He had always been a photography buff, and liked to carry a point-and-shoot wherever he went, even to emergency zoo batten-downs

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77points

#20 Mugshot Of John Wojtowicz, Who Unsuccessfully Tried To Rob A Bank On August 22, 1972 To Pay For His Wife Eden’s Gender Reassignment Surgery

Mugshot Of John Wojtowicz, Who Unsuccessfully Tried To Rob A Bank On August 22, 1972 To Pay For His Wife Eden’s Gender Reassignment Surgery

Apparently, Wojtowicz had based his plans on the movie, The Godfather (1972), which he had watched earlier that day. 2,000 onlookers, FBI, roof-top snipers, TV crew, and police all gathered at the Chase Manhattan bank in Gravesend, Brooklyn on a hot summer night. Wojtowicz held 7 hostages for 14 hours during which time he demanded food for the hostages, paid the pizza delivery boy wads of cash, threw money at the outside onlookers, shot through the bank's exit rear door (fearing the police would storm it), and accidentally fired a shot after dropping his rifle on the floor. In the end, his robbery attempt failed, and he was arrested and sentenced to 20 years in prison, of which he served five. Wojtowicz’s story was later turned into a movie called Dog Day Afternoon (1975), starring Al Pacino and John Cazale, both of whom, interestingly enough, had starred in The Godfather. For the rights to his story, Wojtowicz was paid $7,500 and 1% of the movie's net profits, which he gave to Eden. After her operation, Eden married someone else before dying of AIDS-related pneumonia in 1987. Wojtowicz attended her funeral and delivered a eulogy. John Wojtowicz spent the rest of his days in New York. At one point, he even applied to work as a guard at a Chase Bank, reportedly claiming, “I’m the guy from Dog Day Afternoon, and if I’m guarding your bank, nobody’s going to rob the Dog’s bank.” They declined. He spent some of his final years on welfare before dying of cancer in 2006

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76points

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