You can learn about history from books, but that’s a long path, and quite likely not the one you took back in your school years. Or you did, and in that case, hats off to you!

Luckily, the internet is not only meant for endless scrolling, weakening our attention span and eating up these precious free hours we don’t even have. With educational social media channels getting more and more popular, we can expand our knowledge horizons with little effort.

And this awesome Instagram page titled “History in Pictures” promises exactly that. Followed by 89.8K followers and counting, it offers a collection of the most brilliant, rare, and forgotten moments in the past captured on camera.

“Learn a little about a lot — one fact a day,” the description says and how can you not be down for it! Scroll down through our selection of the best posts below.

#1 Even Rockstars Were Young Once

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#2 In 1955, Playboy Ran A Story That Depicted A Future Where Homosexuality Was The Norm, Heterosexuality Was Outlawed And Anti-Straight Mobs Marched The Streets

Outraged Letters Poured In. Hefner Responded “If It Was Wrong To Persecute Heterosexuals In A Homosexual Society, Then The Reverse Was Wrong, Too.”

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#3 After The Breakup Of The Ussr, The Lithuanian Basketball Team Couldn’t Afford To Participate In The 1992 Olympics

That’s when the not-at-all random but completely natural savior stepped in: the iconic rock band @gratefuldead. They funded the boys trip – and provided them a license to sell special Grateful Dead-Olympics merchandise, which proved massively popular with fans at the Olympics

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Photography has come a long way since its beginnings in the early 19th century. In 1826, a French inventor named Joseph Niepce used a camera obscura to capture the first known photograph. Niepce’s photograph was made on a pewter plate and required a long exposure time of eight hours.

By the 1830s, a number of other inventors had improved on Niepce’s invention. In 1838, William Henry Fox Talbot patented the calotype, a process which allowed for multiple positive prints to be made from a single negative. This technique revolutionized photography and made it possible for photographers to create prints for sale.

#4 In 1960, David Latimer Planted A Garden Inside Of A Giant Glass Bottle And Sealed It Shut. Latimer Only Opened The Bottle Once In 1972 To Add A Bit Of Water. The Self Contained Ecosystem Has Flourished For 60 Years

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#5 This Is How Marlene Dietrich Showed Up In Paris In 1933 After Being Told Not To Wear Pants Upon Arrival. Can’t Have A Woman Dressing Like A Man. What’s Next? Equal Rights? Lol

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#6 Iran In The Good Ole’ Days

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In the late 19th century, advances in technology allowed for the development of the dry plate process. This process significantly reduced exposure time and made it possible for photographers to take pictures of moving objects.

The first color photograph was taken in 1861 by Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell, using the three-color-separation technique. By the 1900s, the first commercially successful color photographic process had been developed.

Meanwhile, The development of digital photography in the late 20th century revolutionized the field. But the first digital cameras were bulky, expensive and had limited resolution. Over the years, advances in technology have made digital photography more accessible and easy to use. 

#7 An Iconic Chicago Image Of Some Southside Boys, Taken In 1941. They’d Be In Their Late 80’s Or Early 90’s Today

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#8 The Door To The Dining Area Of The Alcobaca Monastery In Portugal Was Made Narrow So That Monks Who Got Too Fat Were Forced To Go Into Fasting

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#9 Man Experiences Irony, 1966

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In 1975, Steven Sasson, an engineer at Eastman Kodak, created the first digital camera. It was a large, box-like device that used a charge-coupled device (CCD) and a digital cassette recorder to store images. It took 23 seconds to record a single black and white image and had a resolution of just 0.01 megapixels. 

In the early 2000s, digital cameras began to become more popular as the technology became more affordable and user-friendly. Digital cameras used memory cards for storage and had higher resolution, allowing for sharper images. Now, digital cameras are used by both professional and amateur photographers, allowing them to take better quality pictures than ever before.

#10 Did You Know That Food Delivery In Japan Started Over 300 Years Ago, During The Edo Period?

Anyway: Having Seen This Young Man Gloriously Deliver Ramen In 1935, The Dude From Doordash Must At Least Make It To My Actual Door To Be Worthy A Tip From Now On

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#11 In 1983, Freddy Heineken Was Kidnapped, Held To Ransom (€16 M) And Later Said “They Tortured Me For 3 Days, They Made Me Drink Carlsberg.”

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#12 The Miami Zoo Put 30 Flamingos In The Bathroom To Protect Them From Hurricane Andrew In 1992

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Moreover, in recent years, scientists have began using cutting-edge technology to colorize historical black and white photographs, offering a new way to view the past.

The process of colorizing old photos begins with a digital scan of the original black and white image. Once the image is scanned, the scientists use a combination of software and manual techniques to create a full-color version of the photo. The software is used to identify objects and surfaces, while manual techniques are used to accurately color each surface or object.

#13 Some Nerds Caption: Crown Prince Wilhelm Of Germany Striking A Pose While Inspecting The Troops, Ca. 1915. My Caption: “..mein Milkshake Brings All Zhe Boys To Zhe Yard”

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#14 Life Advice: Be A Lot More Like Roger Moore On The Set Of The 1973 Bond Movie ’live & Let Die’ And Ignore All Your Emails Until Monday Morning

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#15 His 1983 Letter Sold For $479,939 At An Auction Last Month

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Previously, Bored Panda spoke with Lisa Yaszek, a Regents Professor of Science Fiction Studies at Georgia Tech, where she researches and teaches science fiction as a global language crossing centuries, continents, and cultures. She explained that colored historical photographs have a special appeal.

“We’re often attracted to historical photos that have been colorized because that process allows us to see details we might not notice otherwise—the subtle pattern of someone’s clothing, the scattering of freckles on another person’s face and arms. It quite literally gives us a new perspective on history, fostering a greater sense of connection between ourselves as modern viewers and the historical subjects we are looking at,” the professor explained.

#16 Behind Every Successful Woman Stands A Man Who… Well.. In Most Cases He Just Stands There For, You Know, Safety Reasons. Anyway, Here’s Brigitte Nielsen With Some Dude In 1986

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#17 Spice Girls In 1997

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#18 Pov: It’s 1970 And You’re Outside Nathan’s, Eagerly Waiting For Your Buddy To Finish His Hot Dog So That You Can Get Back Up On Your Chopper Bike (Which Has A Banana Seat) And Go Smoke Bubblegum Cigars In A Dubiously Constructed Tree House

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“As a science, colorization is about finding the appropriate hues, tones, and tints to add to a grayscale photograph. This involves intensive research in archives, online, and in conference with other historical experts—all of which, of course, gives the colorist that many more connections to the historical era they are researching,” Yaszek said.

There’s also a combination of instinct and data that comes together in colorizing photographs. The scientists have the desire to make a color choice that feels both intellectually and emotionally authentic to the historical era in question.

#19 Hought Your Life Was Boring? Well, You Were Probably Right. Working As A Waitress In 1921, Lillian Boyer Was Invited By Customers To Go Flying

She climbed onto the wing her very first flight, and later performed in 352 shows until 1929 – when airplane safety regulations forced barnstormers into retirement and ruined all the fun

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#20 John Daly Sharing An Intimate Moment With His Wife After Winning The 1995 British Open

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#21 Taking A Knee Before It Was Popular. West German Chancellor Willy Brandt In Front Of The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Memorial In 1970

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“Finally, the colorization of old photos can also remind us that history is always subjective and that historical documents—including photographs—are not just objective representations of reality, but artifacts that are sometimes carefully staged and otherwise manipulated to present viewers with very specific representations of historical people, moments, and events,” Yaszek concluded.

#22 The Most Fascinating Man In The World? Maybe. Peter Freuchen (Here With His Wife Dagmar Freuchen-Gale)

Standing six feet seven inches, Freuchen was an arctic explorer, journalist, author, and anthropologist. He participated in several arctic journeys (including a 1000-mile dogsled trip across Greenland), starred in an Oscar-winning film, wrote more than a dozen books (novels and nonfiction, including his Famous Book of the Eskimos), had a peg leg (he lost his leg to frostbite in 1926; he amputated his gangrenous toes himself), was involved in the Danish resistance against Germany… [and] once escaped from a blizzard shelter by cutting his way out of it with a knife fashioned from his own feces.

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#23 Some 40 Years Ago, In October Of 1981, Sweden Woke Up To Find A Soviet Whiskey Class Submarine Stuck On A Rock

No, Russians never knew how to navigate the democratic waters. Yes, the incident became known as “Whiskey on the rocks”

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#24 Actress Tippi Hedren Would Later Confess It Was “Stupid Beyond Belief” To Treat A 400lb Beast Like A Domestic Pet At Their La Home During The 70s

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#25 May I Present Citroën Karin, The Most Beautiful Ugly Piece Of Sh*t I’ve Ever Seen?

Having no new models to reveal at the Paris Motor Show in 1980, Citroën stylist Trevor Fiore was given the go ahead to build a model (not a driveable car) for display. Straddling a line between genius and imbecile I couldn’t have conceived in my wildest pipe dream, it still looks futuristic 41 years later

#26 Czech It Out! Prague!

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#27 Kharkiv Evacuation, 2022 (Uncolorized)

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#28 Salvador Dalí And His Anteater Having A Stroll Out Of The Paris Metro, 1969

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#29 Russia Just Dropped A Bomb On A Building Of A Drama Theatre, Where About A Thousand People (Children Included) Were Sheltering

The number of casualties is unknown, but one thing we know for sure: Russia is willing to do a lot of weird s**t in their mission to ”save” the ”freedom” of Ukrainian lives

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#30 Your Periodic Reminder That All Of This Started Because One Tiny Bureaucrat Felt He Wasn’t Getting Enough Respect 30 Years Ago. Be Kind To Your Tiny Bureaucrats, Folks

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#31 Jimmy Walker, Who Was The 97th Mayor Of NYC (Which You Obviously Knew Already), Seen Chilling With Members Of The Blackfeet Nation Tribe In ’27

Contrary to popular belief, this photograph did *not* get him cancelled

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#32 Tsar Nicholas II. Looks Like A Selfie Stick But He Was Probably Just Checking The Camera When It Went Off

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#33 Pov: You’re A Ballsy Journalist In 1931 Taking Photos Of Mobsters At The Al Capone Trial

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#34 Have You Ever Liked Your Car So Much You Stuck It On The Wall? Joakim Bonnier Did. He Drove This Brm V12 Powered Mclaren M5a To Sixth Place In The 1968 Italian Grand Prix

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#35 Not Only Were The Tallest And Shortest Players In History Active In The Nba At The Same Time

During the 1987-88 season, Manute Bol and Muggsy Bogues even played on the same team: The Washington Bullets. And thus, this fantastic picture – which I’ve placed right next to my high school junior photo at mom’s place – was born

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#36 A Photographer Captures The Exact Moment An Ira Car Bomb Explodes Outside The Old Bailey, London On The 8th March 1973

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#37 Nasa Trying Out A Spacesuit Intended For The Moon Landing, 1962. Unfortunately, Whatever Genius Invented This One Lost To Playtex Prototype (Yes, Armstrong’s Outfit Was Designed By A Bra Manufacturer)

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#38 This Photo Taken By Dennis Hutchinson In The ’80s Reminds Me Of Our Relationship

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#39 Millennials Childhood Summed In One Photo: Macaulay Culkin In An Rl Polo And Reebok Pump Twilight Zones While Leaning On The Delorean

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#40 The World’s Last Stone Age Tribe Lives On North Sentinel Island In The Indian Ocean, And They Are Known For Defending Their Island Against All Visitors

Having enjoyed quarantine life for the past 60,000 years, there is genetically a direct line between them and their pre-Neolithic ancestors. In 1991, however, they did accept some coconuts in what is considered the only ‘friendly’ encounter between the Sentinelese and outsiders

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#41 Patient Zero. The One. Número Uno. The Dude Who Single-Handedly Started ’80s Fashion. Case Closed

It’s Mainly Thanks To My Solid Commitment, Hard Work, Dedication And Whatever Article In Which I Learned That Sleep Deprivation Is Really Cool (But Also Some Advances In Molecular Techniques And A Thermophysiological Scientist) He Was Tracked Down Once And For All.

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#42 Ince The 19th-Century Guy Who Was The Actual Inspiration For The Character Of Mowgli Looked Far Less Cute On Photo (Google ’dina Sanichar’ At Your Own Risk), Let’s Look At Tippi Degre’s Childhood Gallery From The ’90s Instead

Born In Namibia To French Wildlife Photography Parents, She Got To Call A Five-Ton Elephant Her ”brother,” Chill With Cheetahs And Hug Giant Bullfrogs As If They Were Her Teddy Bears

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#43 Hate Your Life? It Could Be Worse, Spent In The Lower Dungeon Of Warwick Castle For Instance. An ‘Oubliette’, Where Prisoners Were Dropped And Forgotten About

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#44 Lufthansa Serving Pork And Draft Beer On Planes In The 1960s

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#45 Ideator Defined: Whoever Decided To Bring This Porsche 911 To A Tiny Island Between Australia And New Zealand Using That Delivery Method In 1982

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#46 One Small Step For Aviation History, But A Giant Leap For Mankind!

When United Airlines just announced their purchase of supersonic passenger jets, they made them sound like something new and fancy. And sure, yeah, they’re fancy – but not new! So while we’re waiting for them to roll out (2025), fly (2026) and carry passengers (2029), let’s take this moment to remember a true beauty from ahead of her time. First flown in 1969, Concorde entered service in 1976 and operated for 27 years. With a cruising speed twice the speed of sound, it could take you from NYC to London in 3 ½ hours. If you were a cult leader, international drug lord, startup nerd or just rich in general, that is: because a ticket for London cost $7574 in ’96

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#47 In The Early 1980s, Infamous Drug Lord Pablo Escobar Created A Family Zoo Full Of Exotic Animals In Colombia

When Escobar’s empire crashed in the ’90s, the animals were relocated to zoos — except for the four hippos, now considered an invasive species whose waste is wreaking havoc on the Colombian aquatic ecosystem

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#48 If You Like To Travel The World, You Could Go Visit Ctesiphon, Which Was Once The Largest City In The World, Built By The Parthians (Known For Having Taken Over The World A Few Times Over The Course Of World History) And The The World’s Largest Single Span Unreinforced Brick Arch

And yes, the camera wouldn’t bless the world until thousands of years later, but that’s a reconstruction of what it MAY have looked like, much like how there are 3d functions in Google World, you otherwordly literate nerd

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#49 Sean Connery Between Takes On The Set Of The 1971 James Bond Film

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#50 A Party You Wish You Hadn’t Missed. Noel And Liam Gallagher With Diego Maradona In Buenos Aires, 1998

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