Before 9/11: Bomb Exploded Under the World Trade Center in 1993

The 1993 World Trade Center bombing occurred on February 26, 1993, when terrorists detonated a massive truck bomb in the underground parking garage beneath the North Tower in New York City. The attack killed six people, including a pregnant woman, injured over 1,000 others, and forced the evacuation of roughly 50,000 workers from the complex.

Mastermind Ramzi Yousef packed a rented Ryder van with roughly 1,200 to 1,500 pounds of urea nitrate explosives enhanced with hydrogen gas. His goal was to compromise the North Tower’s foundation so violently that it would collapse into the South Tower, potentially killing up to 250,000 civilians.

The explosion detonated at 12:18 p.m., tearing a crater roughly 100 to 150 feet wide and several stories deep into the basement parking structure. While the structural integrity of the buildings held, heavy smoke rushed up the elevator shafts and stairwells, trapping thousands in darkness during a grueling multi-hour rescue effort. The six casualties were local workers and Port Authority employees: John DiGiovanni, Robert Kirkpatrick, Stephen Knapp, Wilfredo Mercado, Monica Rodriguez Smith (who was pregnant), and William Macko. They are honored at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum.

Investigators sifted through thousands of tons of rubble to locate a blown-apart piece of wreckage containing a vehicle identification number (VIN). The VIN was traced to a van reported stolen by Mohammed Salameh. The FBI arrested Salameh when he foolishly returned to a Jersey City rental agency to try and reclaim his $400 cash rental deposit. Ramzi Yousef fled the country but was tracked down by federal agents in Islamabad, Pakistan, in 1995. Yousef and five other co-conspirators, including the van driver Eyad Ismoil, Mahmud Abouhalima, Ahmad Ajaj, Nidal Ayyad, and Mohammed Salameh, were captured, convicted, and sentenced to life in prison. One suspect, Abdul Rahman Yasin, remains at large.

The 1993 bombing serves as a historic precursor to the catastrophic attacks of September 11, 2001. Ramzi Yousef's uncle, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, would later become the principal architect of the 9/11 attacks, executing his nephew’s original objective of bringing down the Twin Towers using commercial airplanes instead of a truck bomb.

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Mechanized Gorilla Headgear Worn by Ray ‘Crash’ Corrigan in “White Pongo” (1945)

The mechanized gorilla teeth and head gear worn by Hollywood actor and gorilla impersonator Ray “Crash” Corrigan in the movie White Pongo (PRC Pictures, 1945) represents an early, groundbreaking milestone in special effects and animatronics. Measuring roughly 9 by 14 inches, this internal rig allowed Corrigan to breathe dynamic, terrifying facial expressions into his custom-built rubber gorilla suits.

Instead of a static mask, the device used a highly detailed system of levers and armatures to mimic real muscle movements. The rig consisted of a metal headband and sidebars attached directly to a moving jawpiece. The jawpiece was outfitted with highly realistic, menacing resin teeth and gums. Thin mechanical wires and levers were fastened around the performer’s face beneath the heavy rubber mask. When Corrigan moved his own jaw and cheeks, the mechanical linkages would sync with his movements. This made the outer gorilla suit's mouth open, lips snarl, and nostrils snort on command.

While the bare metal armature looks incredibly eerie and skeletal on its own, this 1945 invention laid the baseline logic for modern creature suits. Mid-century monster icons like Ray “Crash” Corrigan built their own suits to maximize realism, pioneering techniques that legendary effects studios, like the Stan Winston School, later perfected for blockbusters like Congo and Jurassic Park.

Stunning Photographs of Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin on Stage in the 1970s

Robert Plant (born August 20, 1948) is an English singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band Led Zeppelin from its founding in 1968 until their break-up in 1980. In the 1970s, Plant defined the blueprint for the quintessential rock-and-roll frontman. Leading Led Zeppelin, his stage presence combined raw sexuality, Norse-god aesthetics, and mythic charisma.

He utilized a high-tenor belt, mixing bluesy moans with glass-shattering falsetto screams on anthems like “Immigrant Song” and “Whole Lotta Love.” A central concert feature was his live vocal dueling with Jimmy Page’s Gibson Les Paul, mimicking guitar bends note-for-note in real time. Tracks rarely matched their studio arrangements; Plant filled instrumental breaks with improvised vocal runs, blues riffs, and rhythmic chants.

Plant regularly wore unbuttoned or low-tied silk shirts, bare chest, ultra-tight denim jeans, silver talismans, and a voluminous mane of golden ringlets. His stage image fused late-1960s counterculture mysticism with high-glam rock spectacle, setting the visual template for hard rock singers for decades to come.

He commanded massive stadium stages with dramatic postures, frequently leaning back at sharp angles while holding the microphone skyward during long, sustained notes. Rather than staying tied to the mic stand, he paced the full width of the stage, working stadium crowds with fluid movement and theatrical hand gestures.

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Suzy Parker: Iconic Supermodel of the 1950s

Suzy Parker (1932–2003), born Cecilia Ann Renee Parker, was one of the most celebrated American fashion models of the 1950s. With her striking red hair, refined features, and elegant presence, she became a favorite of photographers such as Richard Avedon and a leading face of high fashion.

Parker appeared on dozens of magazine covers, including Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar, and was the first model reported to earn $100,000 a year. She later transitioned into acting, appearing in films such as Funny Face (1957) and The Best of Everything (1959).

Widely regarded as one of the first true supermodels, Parker helped define the glamour and sophistication of mid-century fashion. These vintage photos capture the radiant beauty and timeless elegance of Suzy Parker, a true icon of 1950s fashion and style.

Suzy Parker in silk shantung dress with white embroidered detail by Cohama, photo by Genevieve Naylor, New York, 1951

Suzy Parker in slate-blue suit by Brigance, photo by Horst P. Horst, 1951

Suzy Parker in a summer dress of white linen by Mollie Parnis, photo by Clifford Coffin, February 1952

Suzy Parker in black crepe dress with finely pleated skirt by Larry Aldrich, jewelry by Verdura, photo by Irving Penn, 1952

Suzy Parker in gown by Jacques Fath, photo by Horst P. Horst, Vogue, April 1952

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Portraits of a Young and Beautiful Colleen Moore in the 1910s

Colleen Moore (born Kathleen Morrison; August 19, 1899 – January 25, 1988) was an American film actress who began her career during the silent film era and continued into the early sound film era. In the 1910s, she was an aspiring teenager taking her very first steps into Hollywood, sporting a completely different look than the iconic, short-bobbed flapper image that later made her famous in the 1920s. Throughout the 1910s, Moore still had her long, curly Victorian-style hair. She did not cut her signature “Dutch-boy bob” until 1923 for her breakthrough role in Flaming Youth.

Born Kathleen Morrison in 1899, she landed a contract with D.W. Griffith at age 15 in 1917. The deal was a favor to her uncle, a Chicago newspaper editor who helped Griffith get major films past local censors. Instead of playing the jazz-age rebels of her later career, her early roles from 1917 to 1919 cast her as innocent heroines, frequently starring in B-movie Westerns alongside cowboy stars like Tom Mix. She earned supporting roles in five films right after arriving in Hollywood. She quickly scored her first major title role playing Annie in the 1918 film Little Orphan Annie.

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Legendary Sharpshooter of the American West: 30 Vintage Portraits of Annie Oakley in the Late 19th Century

Annie Oakley (1860–1926), born Phoebe Ann Moses in Darke County, Ohio, was one of the most famous sharpshooters in American history.

Rising from a difficult childhood, Oakley developed extraordinary marksmanship skills that helped support her family. After defeating professional shooter Frank Butler in a contest, and later marrying him, she rose to international fame as a star of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show.

Known as “Little Sure Shot,” Oakley amazed audiences across America and Europe with her precision, grace, and showmanship, becoming a pioneering female performer and enduring symbol of the American frontier. These vintage photos capture portraits of Annie Oakley in the late 19th century.

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Beautiful Jill St. John Photographed by Martin Mills in 1965

These portraits of Jill St. John captured by Hollywood photographer Martin Mills are a classic representation of 1960s glamour. The photos were taken in Los Angeles, California, where Mills regularly documented top-tier Hollywood talent.

By 1965, St. John was establishing herself as a versatile presence in both feature films and television, appearing in high-profile projects like The Liquidator (1965) and preparing for her iconic television appearances in Batman (1966) as Molly, the Riddler’s moll.

Unlike standard promotional headshots of the 1950s that relied on rigid studio lighting and heavy makeup, Mills utilized soft, natural lighting and tight framing to highlight a relaxed, candid vulnerability typical of mid-1960s editorial portraiture. He was a prominent celebrity photographer during the 1960s and 1970s, frequently shooting cover portraits and behind-the-scenes feature spreads for major publications like Life, Look, and TV Guide.

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