Oh, how quickly things age poorly! From Microsoft’s hilariously premature iPhone funeral to advertisements that would never make it past the first draft today, these photos remind us that history isn’t always kind to our choices. Remember when newspapers thought nothing of listing now-disgraced figures as “bachelor of the month”? Or when special cups with mustache guards were all the rage for proper gentlemen?
These images capture moments, products, and ideas that seemed perfectly reasonable at the time, but now make us cringe, laugh, or simply wonder what on earth people were thinking. Some reveal outdated social attitudes, others showcase spectacular business miscalculations, and a few are just plain bizarre. Come take a walk through this photographic time capsule of decisions that didn’t quite stand the test of time.
#1 Joan Trumpauer Mulholland Was Arrested For Protesting In 1961. She Was Tested For Mental Illness Because Law Enforcement Couldn’t Think Why A White Woman Would Want Civil Rights
Image source: Jackson Mississippi Police/Sheriff's Department 1961
#2 A Cartoon About A Hypothetical “Pocket Telephone,” From 1919
Image source: The British Library Board
#3 Arch Duke Ferdinand Of Austria, Posing As A Mummy, 1894
Image source: AnonymousJoe12871245
#4 We All Got Vaccines, Except Dad
Image source: Ebonystealth
#5 Family Portrait During The Spanish Flu, 1918
Image source: Dublin Heritage Park and Museums
#6 Reusable Shopping List From The 1920s
Just don’t lose it.
Image source: Larirari
#7 In The Victorian Era, Men Used Special “Moustache Cups” To Protect Their ‘Staches While Drinking Hot Tea
Image source: CharmaineZoe's Marvelous Melange
#8 Cigarette Holder For Nudists, 1938
Image source: Popular Science
#9 The Day My Kid Went Punk, Abc After-School Special (1987)
Image source: Sober in a Nightclub
#10 Nice One Google
Image source: acidcow.com
#11 Actual World Trade Center Visitor Brochures From 1985
Image source: Ned2350
#12 Liberace Takes A Bubble Bath, 1978
Image source: Glenn Kelman
#13 Housewife Poses With A Weeks’ Worth Of Groceries In 1947
She Spent A Total Of $12.50 A Week (Not Including Milk) To Buy Her Groceries. On This Budget, She Is Able To Feed Herself, Her Husband, Her Four-Year-Old Twins And Her Cat.
Image source: Crash
#14 Flight Was Achieved Nine Days Later
Image source: Chuffnell
#15 The Most Inappropriate Ad Of All Time. 1975
Image source: Marcel
#16 My Dad Used To Cut His Shirts, He Said It Was Common For Men To Show Their Belly Buttons, 1980s
Image source: AndyWindir
#17 This Ad In A 1968 Life Magazine
Image source: gonicskoller
#18 Helping The Less Fortunate, Huh?
Image source: CBS
#19 Household Hint From An Old Magazine
Image source: Pile
#20 Ah, Simpler Times
Image source: craigster59
#21 1950s Valentine
Image source: ebay
#22 Hefty Girls Wanted For Police Force (Must Be Fairly Good Looking). London Metropolitan Police, 1930s
Image source: random-person-42
#23 1975 Patons Knitting Pattern, For Larger Sized Woman
Image source: Ebonystealth
#24 Old Kitchen Appliance Ad
Image source: Pile
#25 Microsoft Employees Holding A Funeral For The iPhone Following The “Success” Of Their Windows Phone
Image source: Mehr News
#26 Asparagus Group From Miss Gatchell’s Pageant, Lee County Alabama, April 16, 1925
Image source: notbob1959
#27 Yikes
Image source: thedailybeast
#28 Sorry Man
Image source: l-am-Not-Me
#29 My Great Aunt Had A Japanese Hunting License (She’s Dead Now)
Image source: veganssuckmyasshole
#30 How I Lost My Husband… And Won Him Back Again!
Image source: Lisa Wade, PhD
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