Jean-Jacques Grandville: The Master of Anthropomorphic Satire

Jean-Jacques Grandville (born Jean Ignace Isidore Gérard, 1803–1847) was a highly influential French illustrator and caricaturist renowned for his elaborate, often surreal, and politically charged drawings during the Romantic era.

Grandville is best known for his mastery of anthropomorphism, depicting animals, objects, and even plants with human characteristics and poses. His work was frequently published in satirical journals of the time, such as La Caricature and Le Charivari, where he used his fantastical imagery to lampoon social mores and political figures under the July Monarchy. His most celebrated works include the illustrations for La Fontaine’s Fables and his original graphic novels, like Scènes de la vie privée et publique des animaux (Scenes from the Private and Public Life of Animals).

Grandville’s imaginative fusion of the human and animal worlds made him a precursor to Surrealism and cemented his legacy as a pivotal figure in 19th-century graphic art.

Combat de deux raffinés, Un Autre Monde, 1844

La Concurrence, Un Autre Monde, 1844

La Mode, Un Autre Monde, 1844

Pérégrinations d'une Comète, Un Autre Monde, 1844

Sol, Un Autre Monde, 1844

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Funny Behind the Scenes Photos of Jean Reno and Natalie Portman During the Filming of “Léon: The Professional” (1994)

Jean Reno and Natalie Portman starred together in the critically acclaimed 1994 film Léon: The Professional (also known simply as The Professional in the US), written and directed by Luc Besson. The movie marks Portman’s film debut, in which she delivered a powerful and nuanced performance at just 12 years old.

Léon: The Professional is a French neo-noir action-thriller that follows the story of an unlikely and complex relationship. Léon (Jean Reno) is a solitary, professional hitman living in New York City. Mathilda (Natalie Portman) is a 12-year-old girl whose family is brutally murdered by corrupt Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents led by the unhinged Norman Stansfield (Gary Oldman).

Mathilda takes refuge with Léon, who reluctantly takes her in. She persuades him to teach her the “hitman’s trade” so she can avenge her younger brother's death, the only family member she truly loved. 

The film is celebrated as a cult classic, known for its strong character development, stylish direction, and emotional depth. It explores themes of loneliness, innocence, and redemption. Below are some funny behind the scenes photographs of Jean Reno and Natalie Portman during the making of Léon: The Professional:

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When Frogs Saved the Milk: A Russian-Finnish Tradition Backed by Science

Long before refrigerators made life easier, rural communities in Russia and Finland faced a tricky problem, how to keep milk from spoiling. Their solution? Drop a live brown frog (Rana temporaria) into the milk jar.

This practice was common in the 19th and early 20th centuries and was a traditional, empirical method of food preservation passed down through generations. People observed that milk stayed fresh for a longer time when a frog was present, but they did not understand the underlying scientific reason.

Modern research, notably a 2012-2013 study led by Dr. Albert Lebedev at Moscow State University, investigated this folklore. Scientists discovered that the skin of the brown frog secretes potent antimicrobial peptides (natural antibiotic compounds) which inhibit the growth of bacteria and fungi that cause milk to sour.

The study confirmed that these natural compounds, such as Brevinin 1Tb, were effective at fighting off harmful bacteria like Staphylococcus and Salmonella, essentially acting as nature’s preservative.

This unusual tradition, which seems bizarre by today’s standards, was an ingenious, albeit unwitting, application of natural biochemistry that helped people preserve a vital food source in the absence of technology. 

Paul McCartney and Dog Arrow on the Abbey Road Crossing for the “Paul Is Live” Album Cover Photoshoot, 1993

In August 1969, The Beatles gathered outside EMI Studios to walk across the zebra crossing on Abbey Road. Photographer Iain Macmillan was positioned on a stepladder in the middle of the street, equipped with a Hasselblad camera, to capture what would become the iconic cover photograph of their album Abbey Road.

Over time, fans began to spot several supposed “clues” on the album cover fueling the “Paul Is Dead” conspiracy theory, which gained momentum following the release of Abbey Road. Among them were Paul’s barefoot appearance and the license plate of the white Volkswagen Beetle in the background reading “28IF,” interpreted by some to mean Paul would have been 28 if he were still alive.

On July 25, 1993, Paul McCartney and Iain Macmillan were back at Abbey Road to recreate the iconic image for his album Paul Is Live. This time, Paul was wearing shoes and accompanied by Arrow, his Old English sheepdog and the offspring of Martha, the dog he famously owned during the 1960s.

“‘Paul is Live’! Well, that’s why we did the cover on the Abbey Road crossing with my little doggie,” McCartney said. “This rumour had come out; it was an American DJ that had started it. And because I was barefoot in the original Abbey Road crossing picture, which really was because it was a very hot day. And I had arrived wearing sandals and kicked them off for a couple of the shots. And one of the shots we used was me without the sandals. So, you know, in those days people were going, ‘Why has he got bare feet?’ Whereas I would say, ‘It was probably hot and he probably took his sandals off!’ If you’re looking for conspiracies, apparently it was some old mafia thing about being barefooted!”

The 1993 photograph was digitally superimposed over the original 1969 image. Notably, the Beetle’s license plate was altered to read “51 IS,” referencing Paul’s age at the time.

The front cover of the album Paul Is Live.

Excerpted from his shows in Australia, as well as from various cities in the United States, Paul Is Live followed McCartney’s previous live album Tripping the Live Fantastic by only three years. It became his lowest-selling live album, peaking at number 34 in the UK and number 78 in the US.

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Mina Mazzini: Italy’s Tiger of Cremona

Mina Anna Mazzini, known mononymously as Mina, is widely regarded as the greatest Italian pop singer of all time and a genuine icon of European popular culture. Born in 1940, she rose to prominence in the late 1950s and 1960s, quickly earning the nickname “The Tiger of Cremona” (La Tigre di Cremona) for her powerful, wide-ranging voice (a four-octave range) and her passionate, often provocative, stage presence.

Mina dominated the Italian charts throughout the 1960s and early 1970s with hits spanning genres from rock and roll and swing to balladry and soul, including classics like “Il cielo in una stanza” and “Parole parole.” Despite retiring from public performances in 1978 and living a famously reclusive life since, she has continued to release highly successful studio albums almost annually, cementing her status as an enduring and influential figure in global music.

Take a look at these vintage photos to see the beauty of young Mina Mazzini.

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Charting the Iron Horse: The Legacy of Railway Wonders of the World Magazine

Railway Wonders of the World was a popular British fortnightly magazine published in thirty-seven issues between 1935 and 1936 by the Amalgamated Press.

Edited by Clarence Winchester, the magazine was dedicated to educating the general public about the extraordinary history, engineering, and cultural impact of railways globally. It covered a vast array of topics, including descriptions of the world’s most famous trains and railway lines (such as the Trans-Siberian Railway), the mechanics of locomotive operation, the construction of ambitious tunnels and bridges, and the lives of key railway pioneers.

Renowned for its detailed articles, numerous photographs, and engaging illustrations, the magazine was eventually compiled into two large, comprehensive volumes, serving as a definitive and celebratory record of the golden age of railway travel and engineering achievements across the globe.

Take a look at these vintage photos to see covers of Railway Wonders of the World magazine during its publication.

Railway Wonders of the World magazine cover, No. 4-1935

Railway Wonders of the World magazine cover, No. 5-1935

Railway Wonders of the World magazine cover, No. 6-1935

Railway Wonders of the World magazine cover, No. 7-1935

Railway Wonders of the World magazine cover, No. 8-1935

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20 Rare Photographs of Elvis Presley With His Girl Friend June Juanico in the Mid-1950s

Elvis Presley and June Juanico had a two-year, on-again, off-again romance from 1955 to 1957, during the early rise of his superstardom. June, a former beauty queen from Biloxi, Mississippi, has been described as the only girlfriend Elvis’s mother, Gladys, ever approved of.

Elvis met June in June 1955 after one of his concerts in Biloxi and was immediately smitten, asking her out that night. They shared a deep emotional connection and a passionate, but chaste, physical relationship, with Juanico stating they never had sexual intercourse because she was afraid of getting pregnant.

June Juanico: “Elvis was the love of my life. I met him in the summer of 1955, when he was just a regional star. He had been in my hometown of Biloxi, Mississippi, several times before, and people said, ‘You need to see him,’ and I went on this one night.

“Girls were screaming over him, and I’m just not that kind. I was passing by him, not even looking at him, and he reached through the crowd and grabbed my arm. He said, ‘Where are you going?’

“What I remember most about that night was sitting in his car outside my house, just talking, while my mother kept an eye out to see what I was doing. The first thing I said was, ‘What is your real name?' I had never heard of a name like Elvis. And he said, ‘What do you mean my real name? My name is Elvis Aaron Presley.’ We sat there until the sun came up at 6 a.m. He was shocked because my parents were divorced. He thought marriage was a lifelong thing, and when he got married, it was going to be forever. And he told me all about his twin who was dead at birth. I’d never met anybody quite like him.”

As Elvis’s fame exploded, their relationship was strained by the lack of privacy and the constant attention from fans and reporters. Juanico often blamed Elvis’s manager, Colonel Tom Parker, for encouraging Elvis to date other beautiful, famous women for publicity, which caused issues in their relationship.

Elvis took a three-week vacation with June in Biloxi in the summer of 1956, during which time their relationship was heavily covered by the press. Despite their strong feelings and discussions of marriage, the pressures of his career and his dating of other women made a lasting relationship difficult.

The romance officially ended in March 1957 when Elvis, during a train layover in New Orleans, asked June to meet him. She informed him that she was engaged to be married to another man.

“The next time I saw him was in a movie theater in Memphis in the early 1960s,” Juanico said. “I went down the row behind him and tapped him on the back, and he turned around and our eyes just locked. He got up and put me in a death grip.”

June Juanico later wrote a memoir about their time together, titled Elvis in the Twilight of Memory, and always spoke fondly of him, maintaining that she never stopped loving him and they remained lifelong friends.

“In August 1977, my mother was at my house,’ she recalled. “I had laid down for a nap, and when I came out of my bedroom my mother was looking at me really strange. Finally, she said, ‘June!’ She had tears in her eyes. She said, ‘I just heard on the television that Elvis Presley has died.’ I looked at her and said, ‘That can’t be! That can’t be!’ I went over to the television and fell to my knees in front of it. I couldn’t breathe. I honestly think if my mother had not been with me, I might have died. In my heart, I always thought Elvis and I would be together somewhere down the road. I was married for 36 years, and I’ve got two beautiful children and beautiful grandchildren. I’ve been blessed in many ways. But I have just never been able to stop loving Elvis.”

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