We take a lot of photos. In fact, we take pictures of just about everything these days, from food to random moments. But what about the past? Where are the pictures from before mobile phones? We dug up fifty pictures that bring the past right back to life.
Are you ready to go back in time?
#1 The Super Soaker inventor
This early 1980s photo shows the man who brought us the Super Soaker. He changed water guns forever.
#2 The Paramount Pictures logo
This picture was taken in 1965 on the day that the original logo was done being painted. How many knew it was even a painted image?
This photo from 1971 captured a few of the American soldiers who spent time in the Vietnam War. They looked so young!
Did you think you were a cool kid? Unless you were from the 1980s, you’ve got some serious competition.
Maybe the reason kids from the 1980s were so cool is because they all did hard time in hamburger jail. Every kid that went to McDonald’s had to hang out in one for at least a little while (and, yes, it was willingly).
This image was captured in the 1950s. The debutante ball tradition still exists in some locations, but it had already begun to wither by the 1970s.
#7 Kids hanging out in the 1970s
Back before Wi-Fi, there were bikes. Kids just had to make sure they were home before the streetlights came on in the evening.
Yes, it actually existed. It’s not just a cheesy saying.
#9 Just a quick trip to McDonald’s
This photo was taken in 1979. The people standing in it are none other than Eddie Van Halen and David Lee Roth.
This picture was taken in 1989. It captured Prince roller skating on his home tennis court. Check out that outfit!
This is David Bowie in Japan in 1980. Even in a still photograph, you can still see his swagger.
Yes, that was her bike. In fact, she built it.
#13 1947 Martha’s Vineyard
A summer at Martha’s Vineyard has been an American ideal for as long as we can remember. That water might be why.
#14 Photoshop in the 1950s
This double exposure self-portrait was taken in the 1950s. It’s actually the same man with both the lighter and the cigarette. He didn’t need Photoshop back then!
#15 A Rolls Royce after eighty-two years
When this photo was taken, the man in it had been driving that same 1928 Rolls Royce for eighty-two years. He was 102 years old in the image. That’s a vehicle that lasts.
#16 Before he was Morpheus
Before he played the role we all know him for in The Matrix, Laurence Fishburne played a few roles that he is less well known for. This is him as Cowboy Curtis.
#17 In a heart shaped locket
Before phones with a million pics on them, there were heart-shaped lockets to keep photos of the people dearest to our hearts. She clearly made it into one.
#18 A blizzard to remember
This was the Great North Dakota Blizzard of 1966. It must have taken a while to clear that road hidden about fifteen feet beneath him.
Sure, you could get a plain school photo, but for a little extra money, the school photographers were willing to go the extra mile. This one was snapped in 1991.
#20 An early digital artist
This is Susan Kare, creator of many Apple and Microsoft fonts, icons, and more. The photo was taken in her office in the 1980s.
#21 Yellowstone and The Three Stooges
The Three Stooges came to visit Yellowstone in 1969. A park ranger who was there just had to take this photo.
This is The Undertaker with his grandma in the 1990s. Hey, even he has a grandma.
We see all the glitter and gold of Manhattan in rags to riches movies from back then. Here’s a slightly grittier view from beneath the streets.
#24 When lifting weights was serious
This milkman in 1947 lugged around heavy crates of milk all day. He could also easily lift a person – with one hand.
#25 When the only thing that changes is the year
This photo was taken in 1969 during Richard Nixon’s inauguration. Having a strong opinion about politics isn’t just for the current century.
Did everyone love their cars back then? With vehicles like that, it’s hard to blame them.
#27 A submarine at the North Pole
The sub had to break through the ice to get them to their destination. The photograph was taken in 1992.
#28 The end of the drought
When a drought finally ended in Texas in 1951, it was worth celebrating. This photo captures the moment.
Have you ever wondered how low necklines went in the 1950s? Here’s one of life’s questions finally answered.
#30 Night fishing in 1948
This image was captured in 1948 in Hawaii. Would you try night fishing like this?
#31 Mushroom picking after Chernobyl
This photo was taken in neighboring Belarus in 1987, a year after the Chernobyl meltdown. That’s one mushroom we’re not sure we want to see on any plate.
That’s not quite a modern selfie stick. It’s a piece of wood that he used to hit the shutter button on the camera.
#33 A photo opportunity in World War II
This photo was taken in 1944. It shows a French woman pouring tea for a British soldier. We have to wonder how effective his staying low to the ground to hide was when the woman and the camera person were clearly standing above him and in view of the street.
Photos to lift spirits and highlight the war effort were being taken on American soil as well during World War II. Here’s one to remember.
If you know anyone into time travel and body switching conspiracies and sci-fi, this one is for them. This is a photo of a Jewish woman in 1962 who happened to look almost exactly like Barack Obama.
#36 A woman and her motorcycle
When we think of women and motorcycles, we usually stop going back in time once we hit the 1970s or so. This picture is from Italy in the 1940s.
#37 The biggest horse anyone knows of
This was Brooklyn Supreme in 1930. We can see how he ended up in the record books.
#38 Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison
Johnny Cash did a performance at Folsom Prison in 1968. This is the moment he reached out to shake the hand of one of the prisoners.
This photo perfectly frames a grocer standing in front of his store in Harlem. The moment was captured in 1937.
This small-time cannabis grower ended up getting caught with one plant. From his smile in this picture of his arrest, you might think he had been ingesting all the other evidence before the police arrived.
This Christmas 1981 photo gives us a look into how the video game obsession began. That’s an Atari and one very happy kid.
#42 Moments we wish we could forget
Discovering just how drunk is too drunk is not exactly something new. This was the time that made her decide she was done with rum for good. The photo was taken in 1958.
This is Shaq with his high school basketball team. Can you spot him?
This photo was taken in 1940. That would be impressive in any year.
#45 Before mobile devices
Here’s the payphone section in a women’s dorm in 1970. Before texting, students still needed to check in with mom and dad sometimes.
Some parts of history are worth reliving. Here’s when Woodstock came alive again in 1994.
The 1970s had a certain style. This picture taken in Boston pretty much sums it up.
Moms have always been helpful. This mom in 1989 was helping one of the kids to get through a difficult level in Super Mario Land. Yes, that’s a Gameboy.
#49 The first day of school
Parents have been taking first day of school photos for as long as there have been cameras. Here’s one from 1974.
A US soldier in Japan was rumored to have a girlfriend while over there. It turned out that he did, and he kept this photo of her over the years and until the day he died.
We take a lot of photos. In fact, we take pictures of just about everything these days, from food to random moments. But what about the past? Where are the pictures from before mobile phones? We dug up fifty pictures that bring the past right back to life.
Are you ready to go back in time?
