The Incredibly Elongated Head Culture of the Mangbetu People

Mangbetu people live in Central Africa, in northeastern Congo. The name Mangbetu refers, strictly speaking, only to the aristocracy, which in the 19th century established a number of powerful kingdoms; in looser usage it denotes the whole amalgam of people they ruled.The Mangbetu impressed early travelers with their political institutions and their arts, especially their remarkable skill as builders, potters, and sculptors. They became renowned also for their supposed cannibalism and for their practice of deforming the heads of babies.

‘Lipombo’, the custom of skull elongation, which was a status symbol among the Mangbetu ruling classes at the beginning of the century and was later emulated by neighboring groups, evolved into a common ideal of beauty among the peoples of the northeastern Congo. The tradition survived until the middle of this century, when it was outlawed by the Belgian government.

The Mangbetu had a distinctive look and this was partly due to their elongated heads. At birth the heads of babies’ were tightly wrapped with cloth in order to give their heads the streamlined look. The practice began dying out in the 1950s with the arrival of more Europeans and westernization. Because of this distinctive look, it is easy to recognize Mangbetu figures in African art.

See more»

What Does Your Bow Say About Your Beau? 1940s Hairstyles Revealed About A Girl’s Love Life

Have you ever wondered what your hairstyle reveals about you? Of course you can’t make any determinations about a person based on hairstyle alone, but it is true that first impression plays a huge role in how we perceive a person. According to images from the March 15, 1944 issue of LIFE magazine as part of a piece entitled “High School Fads.”, 1940s hairstyles revealed a lot about a girl’s love life.

If you are out on the hunt for a new lover, ladies take note and wear that bow ON TOP of your head!

If you wear it on the BACK of your head, it means you are NOT interested in men. IE: healing a heartbreak, single and wanna keep it that way, or perhaps leaning towards “tipping the velvet”?

If you wear it on the RIGHT SIDE of your head, it means you are taken.

If you are happy and in love, wear them tipped to LEFT SIDE of the head.

Kicking in the Head: How American Football Helmet Was Tested in 1932

Filmed in 1932, this very funny clip shows a man testing his American Football helmet invention - he thinks it will prevent fatalities and injuries. He gets some men to kick him in the head and whack him on the head with a baseball bat before he runs head first in to a wall...



WARNING: Do not try this at home. Running into walls or applying pressure to the head, including kicking and hitting it with objects, is highly dangerous, will cause injury and could be fatal, even with the use of a helmet.

29 Fascinating Color Photos of British Women During World War II

“The wars were a catalyst for women to work in more roles,” says Jenny Dibden, a director in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. “Now, there’s a much stronger sense that women working within the civil service is normal and natural. The real effort should now be on enabling women to progress to the higher grades.”

Women in World War II took on a variety of roles from country to country. World War II involved global conflict on an unprecedented scale; the absolute urgency of mobilizing the entire population made the expansion of the role of women inevitable.

This set of 29 fascinating color photos shows everyday life of British women during wartime.

On the River Avon, 1944

British war workers take a seaside break on a beach in Cornwall, 6th September 1943

Cambridge Market Square, 1944

Day Nursery, Hatfield, June 1943

Feeding and cleaning time, 1944

Flowers grow on bomb site in Gresham Street, London, July 1943

Hill street, Richmond in Sept. 1939

See more»

Southworth & Hawes: The First Great American Masters of Photography

Albert Sands Southworth (1811-1894) and Josiah Johnson Hawes (1808-1901) operated a daguerreotype studio together in Boston, MA. They are considered the finest American portrait photographers of the nineteenth century.

They were in partnership for approximately twenty years beginning in 1843 with commercial portraiture as their primary focus. Writing in the Photographic and Fine Art Journal, August 1855, the contemporary Philadelphia daguerreotypist Marcus Aurelius Root paid them this praise: "Their style, indeed, is peculiar to themselves; presenting beautiful effects of light and shade, and giving depth and roundness together with a wonderful softness or mellowness. These traits have achieved for them a high reputation with all true artists and connoisseurs."

Here is an amazing photo collection of Victorian portraits taken by Southworth & Hawes from the late 1840s to the early 1850s.

See more»

Remembering What a Buck Could Buy in the 1950s and 1960s

A dollar really went far in the 1950s and 1960s — much farther than it does today. Before you get too nostalgic, remember that the average home was worth $7,354, a new Volkswagen Beetle could be yours for $1,280, and tuition at the University of Pennsylvania was $600.

To get a sense of how far $1 really used to go, check out this list of seven things you could get for a buck back in the 1950s and '60s.

1950: Four pounds of frozen green beans.

© BravissimoS/Getty Images

1951: One package of 25 thrift Christmas cards.

© Orlando/Three Lions/Getty Images

1952: A little under three pounds of coffee.

© Tom Kelley/Getty Images

1953: 24 pounds of potatoes.

© FPG/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

1954: One pound of T-bone steak.

© American Stock/Getty Images

See more»

The Glory Days of Train Travel: Inside the Pullman Train Cars, the Epitome of Luxury Palace Cars and Superliners From the Late 19th Century

The Pullman Palace Car Company, founded by George Pullman, manufactured railroad cars in the mid-to-late 19th century through the early decades of the 20th century, during the boom of railroads in the United States. Its workers initially lived in a planned worker community (or “company town”) named Pullman.

George Mortimer Pullman was always an inventive, innovative entrepreneur. Legendarily, an extremely uncomfortable overnight train ride from Buffalo toWestfield, New York, caused him to realize that there was a vast market potential for comfortable, clean, efficient passenger service. He had a great deal of experience with compact and efficient sleeping accommodations thanks to his experiences with canal boats on the Erie Canal. He formed a partnership with former New York state senator Benjamin C. Field in 1857, one of his close friends and neighbors from Albion, to build and operate several sleeping cars. Pullman and Field secured a contract from the Chicago, Alton and St. Louis Railroad to develop a more comfortable sleeping car. Pullman and Field converted two moderately successful cars. Field, more interested in politics than rail cars, assigned his interest to Pullman in exchange for future loans.

In many ways, George Pullman intended his Palace Car Company to counter the discomfort, disorder, and discontinuity endemic to rail travel and modern urban life. As early as 1860, before his company had even existed, Pullman had been experimenting with railcar construction by outfitting his cars with sleeping berths that could be folded into chairs during the day. The innovation made Pullman’s cars wider than standard railcars, which initially prevented most railroads from carrying them on their narrower rails. After George Pullman secured the right for one of his cars to serve as Abraham Lincoln’s funeral car in 1865, interest in Pullman’s sleeping cars greatly expanded. In 1867, Pullman incorporated Pullman’s Palace Car Company with several investors and devoted himself to manufacturing sleeping cars.

But Pullman did more than simply manufacture sleeping cars. He also focused on transforming the entire experience of rail travel. As the photographs and documents below convey, Pullman emphasized the palatial aspects of his railcars. Outfitted with plush seating and ostentatious decorations, Pullman cars were intended to bring order and comfort to modern rail travel.

The First Pullman Car

Pullman's Palace Hotel Car Menu

Interior of Rococo Period Car

Interior of Wood Car

Interior of Wood Car, Bed Room

See more»