Elvis Was Helping Fight Polio
A 1956 photograph of Elvis Presley getting an injection backstage might look like an ordinary celebrity medical moment. It was actually a carefully publicized polio vaccination intended to encourage American teenagers to get vaccinated at a time when uptake among young people was lagging.
Theodore Roosevelt Never Rode That Moose
The photograph of Theodore Roosevelt apparently riding a moose through a river is so perfectly suited to his outdoorsman reputation that it circulated as genuine for years. In reality, it was a 1912 composite created as part of a series depicting presidential candidates riding the animals associated with their political parties.
Salvador Dalí’s Anteater Was Part of the Show
A photograph of Salvador Dalí casually walking a giant anteater through Paris in 1969 somehow seems believable given the artist involved. Despite reports that it was another one of his exotic pets, the encounter appears to have been a deliberately arranged photo opportunity, with the animal likely borrowed for the occasion.
Einstein Was Tired of Smiling
Albert Einstein’s famous tongue photograph looks like the physicist simply decided to act silly for the camera. He had actually spent his 72nd birthday being followed by photographers and, when Arthur Sasse asked for yet another smile as Einstein was leaving, he responded by sticking out his tongue instead.
Boston Was Flooded With Molasses
Photos of twisted buildings and wreckage in Boston’s North End in 1919 could easily be mistaken for the aftermath of an explosion or severe storm. A giant storage tank had actually burst and released roughly 2.3 million gallons of molasses into the neighborhood, killing 21 people and leaving an enormous cleanup operation behind.
Mike Was Missing Something Important
Photos of Mike the Headless Chicken look so absurd that the story sounds like an old carnival hoax. After a farmer attempted to kill him in 1945, enough of Mike’s brain stem remained intact for him to survive, and he lived for another 18 months while his owners took him around the country as an attraction.
