Category: HISTORY

Apr 19, 2012

Picture of the Day: The Largest Raft of Canoes and Kayaks in the World

Picture of the Day: The Largest Raft of Canoes and Kayaks in the World

THE LARGEST RAFT OF CANOES AND KAYAKS IN THE WORLD Photograph by NANCIE BATTAGLIA for National Geographic On September 24, 2011, over 2,200 paddlers showed up on the shores of the central Adirondack town of Inlet, New York (population, 400) to set a new Guinness World Record previously held by 1,619 boats…

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Apr 19, 2012

In Pictures: Space Shuttle Discovery’s Final Flight [35 photos]

In Pictures: Space Shuttle Discovery’s Final Flight [35 photos]

Photograph by NASA/Tim Jacobs NASA’s space shuttle fleet began setting records with its first launch on April 12, 1981 and continued to set high marks of achievement and endurance through 30 years of missions. Starting with Columbia and continuing with Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour, the spacecraft has carried people into orbit repeatedly,…

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Apr 18, 2012

25 Vintage Police Record Photographs

25 Vintage Police Record Photographs

The Historic Houses Trust in Australia has a forensic photography archive at the Justice & Police Museum which contains an estimated 130,000 images created by the New South Wales Police between 1910 and 1960. The Sifter has already featured a vintage collection of mugshots from this archive of both male and female criminals. Below…

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Apr 10, 2012

23 People Who Didn’t Know the Titanic was Real

23 People Who Didn’t Know the Titanic was Real

Every now and then the Sifter likes to see what’s happening on Twitter. In the past, we’ve featured the top ‘Humble Brags‘ and admired the endless wisdom of Neil deGrasse Tyson. Last week the Huffington Post published an article about people who didn’t realize the Titanic was real. Twitter user @boring_as_heck followed it…

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Mar 19, 2012

Portraits of Native Americans from the Early 1900s

Portraits of Native Americans from the Early 1900s

The Edward S. Curtis Collection offers a unique glimpse into Curtis’s work with indigenous cultures. The more than 2,400 silver-gelatin photographic prints were acquired by the Library of Congress through copyright deposit from about 1900 through 1930. About two-thirds (1,608) of these images were not published in Curtis’s multi-volume work, The North American…

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Mar 14, 2012

Picture of the Day: Chittorgarh, The Largest Fort In India

Picture of the Day: Chittorgarh, The Largest Fort In India

CHITTORGARH, THE LARGEST FORT IN INDIA Photograph via IAmASeaLions on Reddit Chittorgarh Fort is the largest fort in India and the grandest in the state of Rajasthan. The fort, plainly known as Chittor, was the capital of Mewar and is today situated several kilometres by road south of Bhilwara. It was ruled…

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Mar 7, 2012

Picture of the Day: Hanging Out High Above the Hoover Dam

Picture of the Day: Hanging Out High Above the Hoover Dam

HANGING OUT HIGH ABOVE THE HOOVER DAM Photograph via The American Welding Society (AWS) Nearly 80 years ago, the Hoover Dam was built in Black Canyon on the Colorado River. A striking testimony to the perseverance of the human spirit and the ingenuity of the American laborer. On December 3, 2002, The…

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