Tag Archives: Unusual

The Gates That Have Been Closed For Over 360 Years And Will Never Be Opened Again

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The Bear Gates, Traquair Castle, Scotland

Photo Traquair Castle Bear Gates courtesy www.stravaiging.com

The Scottish lament of “Will ye no come back again,” refers to the 1746 exile of Charles Edward Stuart (1720-1788) otherwise known as Bonnie Prince Charlie, the second Jacobite pretender to the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland.

Traquair Castle is located 30 miles south of Edinburgh in the town of Innerleithen, Scotland. In 1745 Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Jacobite army passed through the Bear Gates during his visit to the 5th Earl of Traquair. Afterwards the Earl, a fervent supporter of the Stuart cause, ordered the Bear Gates be closed and not re-opened until a Stuart again sits on the Scottish Throne.

The Battle of Culloden took place on April 16 , 1746 and Bonnie Prince Charlie was soundly defeated by the son of King George II, the Duke of Cumberland. Bonnie Prince Charlie took flight, ending the cause of the Stuarts to regain the throne. He lived the rest of his life in exile and died without having children.The Royal House of Stuart became extinct in 1807 with the death of Charles’ brother Henry Benedict Stuart.

The Bear Gates will never be opened again.

Faces In The Rocks

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The Incredible Rock Sculptures Of Rotheneuf France

photo courtesy flickr – Drisc67

Location of Rotheneuf Rock Sculptures

In the village of Rotheneuf on the Brittany coast of France, one man carved over 300 magnificent sculptures into the granite cliffs overlooking the sea.

This amazing work of faces, creatures and scenes were sculpted into the rocks painstakingly by a priest, Adolphe-Julien (Abbé) Fouré (1839-1910) over about a fifteen year period. (Sources vary on the number of years he was active.)

It was painstaking because when he was older, Abbé Fouré suffered a stroke which caused the left side of his body to be paralyzed. Over the years he eventually became deaf and his speech got very slurred.

Fouré  retired from the priesthood and became a hermit, renting a cabin by the cliffs of the village. In the early 1890’s with one side of his body crippled,  Fouré, began creating sculptures in the rocks, that told the history of the powerful Rotheneuf family. He continued carving up until about three years before his death on February 10, 1910.  Continue reading →

Miss Pigtail Contest – New York 1955

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Childhood Innocence In A Unusual Contest

Chester Bugello age 7, borrows Maureen Albanese’s pigtail at the Miss Pigtail contest held at the Sullivan Street Children’s Center, New York City, July 8, 1955.

The look on Maureen’s face is priceless.

There were no “classy” contests like Toddler’s and Tiaras in the 1950’s. Whatever became of Chester and Maureen?

From our reader (comment below) – Margaret Mangiero Campbell winner in 1962 of the longest pigtail (year based on the crown worn by 5-year-old Michelle Paolercio.)

Unique Antique Vampire Slaying Kit Up For Auction

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Die, Dracula, Die!

On June 22, 2012 at Tennants Auctioneers in Yorkshire, England, a 19th century vampire slaying kit will be auctioned off.

Practically everything you would need to kill a fictional character is included. The kit,  housed in a mahogany box, contains a mallet and stakes, a pistol, a silver bullet mold, glass bottles containing holy water and holy earth, garlic, rosary beads, a bible, a crucifix and a handwritten psalm.  It is believed that the kit was made in earnest in the late 19th century. It is being consigned by a woman who inherited it from her uncle.

Because vampire sightings are on the rise and people are looking for extra security from the living dead, the auction has been attracting wordwide attention. The presale estimate of £1,500-2,000 (US $2,300 – 3,100) is probably on the low side considering the number of Dracula fans and strange goths who file down their teeth into fangs believing they are vampires.

UPDATE 7/25/12 – The final hammer price was £7,500 (US$11,700)!

Chimpanzees In Old News and Publicity Photographs

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Monkey See, Monkey Do

People find chimpanzees amusing, especially when they are doing non-chimp activities. News organizations, on a slow news day would send a photographer to see if a good photo-op would come about. Hopefully no one had their face ripped off.

Whatever background information is known, is written below the chimp photo. (Click any photo to enlarge.)

Chimpanzee photographing swimsuit models. Circa 1960’s. (He doesn’t have the viewfinder in the right place, does he?)

Bobby John, chimpanzee tennis player, Rockledge, FL November 20, 1973

“Jiggs” the chimpanzee, on the movie set of  “Her Jungle Love” with Dorothy Lamour. 1938

Chimpanzees eating zeppoles. Circa 1950’s.

Jacko (I swear that is his name) the London Zoo chimpanzee. Circa 1930’s

“The beret hat from Northern France is becomming very popular in London and one was introduced to Jacko the chimpanzee at the London Zoo”

Chimpanzee dressed elegantly, entering a limousine. Circa 1920’s.

Tommy Dorsey Swings It For Chimps – 1939

“Philadelphia – Tommy Dorsey, band leader, gives baby chimpanzees at the zoo here an earful of his trombone music during an experiment to determine the effect of music on animals. Attending the jam session put on by Dorsey and his players were psychologists who studied the animals’ reactions but made no immediate conclusions. January 31, 1939.”

A Sport That Never Gained Popularity

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Jeeves, Get My Dirigible Ready!!!

The headline in the New York Times of March 7, 1909 proclaimed, Aerial Yachting Promises to be the Real Thing in Sport.  For some reason, this sport never took off – if you’ll pardon the pun.

Aerial Yachting would be for “the sport loving public who want the latest thing to machines that can be conveniently managed in the air and accommodate from three passengers up to half a dozen or so, making the trip socially pleasant apart from the novelty of the expedition.”

All you would need to participate would be a large sum of money to have a massive 100 foot plus dirigible powered by a motor constructed for you. Then of course you’d have to figure out how to fly the thing on your own because there weren’t too many aviators at the beginning of the 20th century.

The Clement-Bayard ship illustrated in the accompanying article below, was 175 feet long and had made successful flights over Paris.  Mr. Adolph Clement the builder of that dirigible, planned to open an agency at his automobile showrooms in New York to promote dirigible flights.

This was the dawn of aviation and World War I would see the dirigible used extensively for military purposes. The luxury aspect of dirigibles as a sport, never really caught on with the wealthy.

Original Times Article March 7, 1909 – click to enlarge

 

The Things We Do For Love

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Boy 16, And Girl 14, Walk Over Twenty Miles Round-Trip During Blizzard With Temperatures Hovering At Zero Degrees To Get Married

Valentines Day has come and gone.  I know love can drive you to do crazy things, but I can’t recall seeing a story like this.

The date was February 16, 1904, one hundred eight years ago, the thermometer read 0° with blizzard-like conditions raging in New Jersey.  Continue reading →

Hair Pulling Contest 1940

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And They Are Doing This Because?

On a hot July day, is there anything more entertaining than a contest featuring beautiful women pulling each others hair?

If you agree, then this July 11, 1940 news photograph entitled “Models in Hair Pulling Match” should fit the bill.

The caption reads as follows:

Palisades Park, N.J. – In the first official contest of its kind, two dozen beautiful New York models competed in a hair pulling contest at the Palisades Amusement Park on July 11th. Object of the contestants was to drag their opponents across a finish line by their lustrous locks. Here are Florence Goodman (top) and Alice Schinkel battling it out for championship near the finish line. Florence was declared the winner of the knock-down, drag ’em across contest. 7-11-40 credit: Acme