History at a Second Glance (Pt 1)
The 1935 edition of the Tour De France was led from start to finish by Belgian, Romain Maes. However, his main contender, Frenchman Antonin Magne, was said to have been hit by a vehicle as he closed in on the race leader. In reality, he fell victim to the little known act of sabotage known as Bicuuming. A Citroen 11D Suction Avant, could snare up to half a dozen cyclists before the bag needed changing.
In 1930, whilst excavating in Ur (Mesopotamia), British archaelologists, Leonard & Catherine Wooley, uncovered what is thought to be the earliest known evidence of Tupperware. Though disputed by contemporary academics in modern day Iraq, these stackable containers dating back to 4000BC, were thought to have been used to store packed lunches for Sumerian workers as they built the ziggurats.
In 1919, Charles Godefroy flew his 9 metre wide Sopwith Camel through the 14 metre wide opening of the Arc de Triumphe in Paris. Such was the quality of the feat, local authorities overlooked the blatant breach of aviation laws. However, when he later returned to his plane on the Champs Elysees, he found he had been issued with a parking ticket.
This aerial photograph of Stonehenge taken from a military air balloon in 1906 by Lieutenant Philip Henry Sharpe of the Royal Engineers’ Balloon Section, is unequivocal proof that the infamous archaeological site, pre-dates the gift shop.
In the hope of improving the literacy levels of its citizens, the City of London began a ‘Walking Library’ program in 1930. There were immediate teething problems as Londoners were reluctant to observe the 10 yard silence zone around the perambulating bibliotheques; stocking heavy reference books led to the librarians acquiring spinal injuries and Brenda Scunthorpe of Hampstead Heath (pictured here) was knocked unconscious when someone tried to return the ‘The Complete Works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’ using an improvised return chute from his 2nd floor apartment. The Walking Libraries were discontinued soon after.
When a protracted public transport strike in Bavaria threatened to slow down production at the Audi factory in Ingolstadt, the company took matters into their own hands and created these makeshift people movers. The modified Audi 920’s were capable of carrying up to 30 men. As a marketing exercise, it enhanced Audi’s reputation as a manufacturer of strong, sturdy vehicles, but its health & safety standing was tarnished as they lost, on average, 30% of its passengers per trip. Deaths and injuries were significantly reduced once safety rails were added.
During the summer of 1910 in England, the shortage of children available for adoption was so acute, authorities took to the short lived practice of ‘orphan fishing’ to decide who should win custody of the reduced, literal pool of eligible children.
In flight dining has been part of the flying experience almost since the advent of commercial aviation. In fact, the first inflight meal is thought to be a truffle egg and baguette combo scoffed down by the Mongolfier Brothers, as they made their maiden balloon flight over Paris in 1793. Airline cuisine reached its apex as the luxury travel market thrived in the 1970’s. The sonic Concorde flights in particular took high altitude fine dining to a new level. Scandanavian Airlines were at the forefront of this high dining revolution, and their mobile charcuterie carts set them apart from their competitors. That was until a flight from Stockholm to Rome was hijacked by a terrorist wielding an electric carving knife, that he’d picked up off the trolley on his way to the cockpit. They returned to the practice of serving herring on stale limpa soon after.
The annual ‘Beautiful Leg Contest’ at the Palisades Amusement Park in New Jersey, USA saw contestants cover their head and upper torso with a pillow case, while judges concentrated exclusively on their pins. The event, pictured here in 1951, was to be the last. It wasn’t cancelled due complaints about objectification, but because the winner, Judy Schneider from Roachdale, Indiana (far right) was later found to be a ghost.