The first attempt to send a chimpanzee up into space is a familiar story. The ape’s name was Ham, also known as Ham the Astrochimp. On January 31st, 1961 Ham was launched into space from Cape Canaveral and thankfully returned back to Earth unharmed except for a small bruise on his nose.
Ham’s journey was part of Project Mercury, a U.S. space program, and lasted only 16 minutes. This was part of an experiment that was meant to clear the final hurdles before launching the first human astronaut into space. Ham lived happily for a further 22 years in The National Zoo.
The Karshorter Racecourse
In this photo, German soldiers try to practice at the Karshorter Racecourse in Berlin in 1935. In fact, they did not only train themselves, but they also trained their horses to stay still and not be disturbed by the sound of gunshots. This was only to make sure that they did not end up panicking during combat.
Although standing on the horse's saddle with both feet was not a common act, they usually kept one foot in a stirrup. When mechanized warfare following WWI was introduced, soldiers no longer had any use for their horses. However, the German reign and the Soviets still used millions of horses in their military operations in WWII.
Sarah Silverman's Headshot
The differences between back then and nowadays headshots are significant. Just by looking at the famous one of Sarah Silverman, it is clear that a lot of progress has been made in photography and in Hollywood. Saying that some things remain exactly the same.
It was never easy for young actors to get cast during auditions, so they had to go through the hard way like all the others before they became famous. They regularly heard the word NO much more than they did the word YES and. This image is a headshot of Sarah Silverman, who said that she remembered the day this was taken very clearly. The photographer gave her his blazer so she looked more mature.
The Birthday Procession of Queen Elizabeth
When it comes to British customs and tradition, one has to be aware of the rules on how to faint with grace. In 1970, during the Birthday Procession of Queen Elizabeth, one of the soldiers passed out, presumably because it can get very hot wearing the traditional uniform, and they are also obliged to lock their knees while standing.
Trooping the Colour, the annual parade celebrating the monarch's birthday, involved the king or queen riding around the many troops presented before them. The queen is seen here inspecting the troops from the back as part of the traditional ceremony. The camera froze this scene, creating historical (and hysterical) moments in history.
Space Cats
In the 20th century, traveling into space was kept as an unknown mystery until, in 1969, the first man landed on the moon. Up until then, many questions were left with a big question mark, and experiments had to be held, like the one shown in this photo of a cat in a weightless environment. Scientists used a kitten as a replacement for human testing for medical specifics in space.
Captain Druey P. Parks flew an F-94C jet to 25,000 feet in the air to study the reaction of the cat while it was up in the sky. The cat did not suffer any trauma while in the sky, and the research was able to provide further data before launching a human for the first time.