Alice Cooper and Colonel Sanders: When Two Famous Killers of Chicken Meeting in Amsterdam, 1974

Not all things with wings can fly – a fact that Alice Cooper learned during his performance at the 1969 Toronto Rock & Roll Festival. During the show, a fan threw a live chicken onto the stage. Cooper responded by throwing the fowl into the air, expecting it to soar above the crowd. Instead, the chicken landed in the audience and was immediately ripped to shreds by the rabid crowd.

The incident became front-page news nationwide, with tabloids incorrectly reporting that the “shock rocker” had ripped the chicken’s head off and drank its blood. The next day of the incident, Zappa phoned Cooper and asked if the story was true. Cooper denied the rumor, whereupon Zappa told him, “Well, whatever you do, don’t tell anyone you didn’t do it.”

Stemming from the infamous chicken incident, at some time in 1974, Cooper managed to be in the same room with Colonel Sanders, Harland David Sanders, the founder and face of Kentucky Fried Chicken while they were both at the same hotel doing PR in Amsterdam.

During an interview which was taped for a showing of the film Super Duper Alice Cooper in 2014, Cooper answered a question about his meeting Colonel Sanders in the 1970s:

“Here comes this nice old man in a white suit. Suddenly I realize that this is the Hannibal Lecter of chickens. I have the death of exactly one chicken on my hands, and this guy has a score of 10 billion. Yet everyone loves this guy, and hates me for being a chicken killer! The irony of the two of us being in the same room at the same time was not lost on either me or the Colonel.”

One of the Greatest Painters of the Dutch Golden Age: 23 Beautiful Paintings by Johannes Vermeer in the Mid-17th Century

Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675) was a Dutch Baroque Period painter who specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle class life. He was a moderately successful provincial genre painter in his lifetime but evidently was not wealthy, leaving his wife and children in debt at his death, perhaps because he produced relatively few paintings.

Beautiful paintings by Johannes Vermeer in the mid-17th century

Vermeer worked slowly and with great care, and frequently used very expensive pigments. He is particularly renowned for his masterly treatment and use of light in his work.

“Almost all his paintings are apparently set in two smallish rooms in his house in Delft; they show the same furniture and decorations in various arrangements and they often portray the same people, mostly women.”

Vermeer was recognized during his lifetime in Delft and The Hague, but his modest celebrity gave way to obscurity after his death. In the 19th century, he was rediscovered by Gustav Friedrich Waagen and Théophile Thoré-Bürger, who published an essay attributing 66 pictures to him, although only 34 paintings are universally attributed to him today. Since that time, Vermeer's reputation has grown, and he is now acknowledged as one of the greatest painters of the Dutch Golden Age.

Like some major Dutch Golden Age artists such as Frans Hals and Rembrandt, Vermeer never went abroad. Similar to Rembrandt, he was an avid art collector and dealer.

These amazing pics of beautiful paintings are part of Vermeer's work from between the 1650s and 1670s.

A Maid Asleep (Oil on canvas), circa 1656-57

The Procuress (Oil on canvas), 1656

“De Soldaat en het Lachende Meisje” “Officer and Laughing Girl” (Oil on canvas), circa 1657

Girl Reading a Letter (Oil on canvas), circa 16 57-59

The Milkmaid (Oil on canvas), circa 1660

See more»

30 Rare Photographs Capture Daily Life in the Netherlands From Between the 1900s and 1920s

The Netherlands was an industrial late bloomer.

Between 1880 and 1920 the economy transited from dominantly agricultural towards industrialized. Hygiene and modern healthcare were introduced. Everyone back then would have witnessed rapid modernization during their lifetimes.

Before 1900 traditional agricultural jobs had been replaced by jobs in industries. This had led to urbanization and masses of underprivileged workers, a relatively small middle class of educated people, as well as a very small excessively wealthy class.

This does remind of developing countries today, but a major difference was that the introduction of the steamship had encouraged further contact with the colonies. Many chose to seek their fortune or career in the Dutch Indies.

How life would’ve been mainly depended on class back then, but major social changes had been made by that time.

See more»

50 Impressive Black and White Photos Capture Amsterdam's Street Portraits in the Early 1970s

During the 1970s, the number of foreign immigrants, primarily from Suriname, Turkey, and Morocco, grew strongly. This increase led to an exodus of people to the ‘growth cities’ of Purmerend, Almere and other cities near Amsterdam.

However, neighbourhoods like the Pijp and the Jordaan, which had previously been working class, became sought out places of residence for the newly wealthy yuppies and students. Amsterdam that used to be a poor city in the Netherlands turned into an economically rich city thanks to the new economical trend towards a service-economy instead of an industrial economy.

These impressive black and white photos were taken by WOMEN & WORLD that show portraits of people on streets of Amsterdam in 1970 and 1971.

See more»

20 Striking Color Photographs That Show Everyday Life in Amsterdam Around the Turn of the Century

These amazing images are from between the 1890s and 1900s, and were created using the Photochrom process, a method of producing colorized photographs from black and white negatives via the direct photographic transfer of a negative onto lithographic printing plates.

It was invented in the 1880s and was most popular in the 1890s, when these images were taken. Although true color photography had been developed by then it was not commercially practical yet. Photochrom reproductions became popular due to the craze with sending postcards.

Amsterdam’s famous Dam Square is also depicted with life as busy as ever in the country’s capital. People can be seen going about their business as several trams and horse and carts idle by. Other images show everyday life in Amsterdam around the turn of the century.

Dam square

The Binnen Amstel (inner Amstel)

The Buiten Amstel

The Heerengracht (main canal)

Voorburgwal & Nicolaaskerk

See more»

33 Color Pics Capture Street Scenes of Amsterdam in the Early 1970s

Amsterdam is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands. It is in the province of North Holland and colloquially referred to as the "Venice of the North" due to its large number of canals which are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

As the commercial capital of the Netherlands and one of the top financial centres in Europe, Amsterdam is considered an alpha-world city by the Globalization and World Cities (GaWC) study group. The city is also the cultural capital of the Netherlands.

Many large Dutch institutions have their headquarters there, including Philips, AkzoNobel, TomTom and ING. Also, many of the world's largest companies are based in Amsterdam or have established their European headquarters in the city, such as leading technology companies Uber, Netflix and Tesla.

Amsterdam was considerred one of the best cities to live. The Port of Amsterdam is the fifth largest in Europe. The city is also well known for its nightlife and festival activity; several of its nightclubs (Melkweg, Paradiso) are among the world's most famous. It is also one of the world's most multicultural cities, with at least 177 nationalities represented.

These fascinating photos were taken by Arthur Staal that show what Amsterdam's street scenes looked like from 1970 to 1973.

Amsterdam Leidseplein, August 1970

GVB 574 on route 2 on his way to Hoofddorpplein terminus on detour, Bilderdijkstraat (crossing Kinkerstraat), Amsterdam, 1970

Leidsestraat, Amsterdam, August 1970

The bus to Uithoorn and Woerden, Amsterdam, 1970

The bus to Uithoorn and Woerden, Amsterdam, 1970

See more»

30 Vintage Photographs of Dutch Men in Traditional Volendam Worker Pants

Not long ago clothing was based on local traditions and customs. There were no national brands or fashions. The clothing that one wore reflected the culture of the place: their village, their region. While there may have been less individuality within any given group, there was more diversity between nations and regions; each area had its own costume.

Weather conditions determine appropriate clothing in the Netherlands. Otherwise, clothes appear similar to those worn elsewhere. Netherlands culture has unique traditional clothes, although people in the Netherlands only wear traditional clothes during special occasions.

The traditional male costume includes woolen pants with silver buttons on the front square flap, as well as wooden clogs, a shirt, a jacket and a hat. The shape and design of the hat varies according to region.

See more»

Pictures of David Bowie With His Wife Angie and Their Son Zowie in Amsterdam in 1974

Angela described their union as a marriage of convenience. “We got married so that I could work [to get a permit]. I didn’t think it would last and David said, before we got married, ‘I’m not really in love with you’ and I thought that’s probably a good thing,” she said. David said about Angela that “living with her is like living with a blow torch.”

Their son Duncan Jones was born in 1971. They divorced in 1980. David received custody of their son Duncan who has been estranged from Angela for over 30 years.

After the gag order that was part of their divorce agreement ended, Angela wrote, Backstage Passes: Life on the Wild Side with David Bowie, a memoir about their drug-fueled and openly bisexual marriage.

These pictures captured beautiful moments of David Bowie with his wife Angie and their son Zowie (Duncan Jones) at the Amstel Hotel in Amsterdam, February 1974.

See more»

Sleep-in Amsterdam: Black and White Photos Show Portraits of the Dutch Youth in the 1970s

"In 1975 and 1976 I worked at the Amsterdam sleep-in, then on the Rozengracht, just around the corner of my house. The sleep-in was an initiative of the city after it forbade young tourists to sleep in the Vondelpark open air. For a few guilders they could now get a place with a bunk bed, some simple foodstuffs and light alcoholic beverages. Their marihuana or hash (Amsterdam's main attraction, both then and now for these kids) they had to get elsewhere but nobody bothered them if they wanted to smoke it in the sleep-in.

In 1977, I didn't work there anymore but regularly visited friends who did still work there. One day I shot some rolls of B&W film, portraying this tourist generation: too late for the hippy generation of the sixties, too early for the punk generation of the future."

After having these shots developed, Ard Hesselink never printed these pictures. "So when I rediscovered them in my negatives collection recently they were totally new to me. Needless to say, I was surprised at what I found."

See more»

Sheets of Portrait Photos of the Frank Family, 1939

“Your child can smile, talk, or play and does not have to sit up or put on a pretty face.”
Algemeen Handelsblad, 12 April 1935

In April 1935, Polyfoto opened a shop in Amsterdam’s city centre. For 1 guilder, you could have a sheet made with 48 different portrait photos.

The Frank family went there to have their pictures taken. Photo sheets of all four family members have survived. Several photos were cut from the photo sheet of the 36-year-old Edith. One of these is in the photo album that Anne compiled when they were in hiding.

Pictures of Anne Frank taken in a department store booth, 1939. (Photo by Anne Frank Fonds - Basel via Getty Images)

Portrait photo sheet of Margot Frank, 1939. (Collection: Anne Frank Stiching, Amsterdam)

(via Anne Frank House)

Why You Are Dutch

If you have lived in the Netherlands for a certain amount of time, you may find yourself exhibiting some strange new habits. Be warned: You are becoming Dutch!

• You’re not German
• You’re not English
• You’re not French
• You understand those languages but nobody understands yours.
• You let your dog shit in the middle of the sidewalk.
• Laughing when someone else steps in dogshit
• Complaining about stepping in dog shit.
• You have in-depth knowledge of bizarre sextoys.
• Political leaders can admit to smoking pot and nobody will notice.
• Football captain not afraid to cry live on TV.
• You have the largest open-air urinals in the world.
• You have the right to terrorize tourists on your bicycle.
• You can always get a job as a circus performer by riding a bicycle while holding an umbrella to keep you, your cigarette and your groceries dry, as you drive your children through busy streets ignoring all traffic signals and expecting everyone to get out of your way.
• You get to read incomprehensible subtitles on every film on TV.
• You can be gay and nobody cares.
• You can have the same government for ever even though you have regular elections.
• You can imagine you are a world power.
• Only country to successfully invade the US and buy its largest city.

Post-War Amsterdam: Looking Back at the City in the Late 1940s, Just After WWII

Born 1913, Dutch photojournalist Ben van Meerendonk worked at the General Dutch Photo Press Office of Sem Presser in the late 1930s, but was prohibited from practicing his profession during the Second World War. In 1945, he founded the Algemeen Hollands Fotopersbureau (AHF).

Van Meerendonk mainly photographed in the forties, fifties and sixties, and delivered via his AHF to the newspapers De Telegraaf, De Tijd, De Waarheid, Het Parool, Het Vrije Volk and Trouw.

As a press photographer Van Meerendonk specialized in daily life, the Royal House, and international stars. He won the Silver Camera in 1950, 1958 and 1966, and in 1966 the first prize in the category Photo Stories of World Press Photo with a photograph of the rehearsal for the wedding of Beatrix and Claus.

In 1988 he was awarded the Golden Pin of Amsterdam. On the Haveneiland of the Amsterdam district of IJburg a street was named after him in 2006.

Van Meerendonk died in 2008, at the age of 94. His photo archive of more than 70 thousand photos has been housed at the International Institute of Social History (IISH) since 1990.

These amazing photos from IISG were taken by Ben van Meerendonk that show everyday life of Amsterdam from 1946 to 1949, few years just after the Second World War.

Ceintuurbaan, Amsterdam, September 24, 1946

A wild strike at the Gemeentetram and the Stadsreiniging, garbage remains undone, Amsterdam, September 24, 1946

Amsterdam, summer 1946

Boy on basalt blocks. The sheeting at the Central Station will be repaired, Amsterdam, April 24, 1946

Café de Kroon, Rembrandtplein, Amsterdam, 1946

See more»