Behind the Scenes Photos of Jessica Lange in Kong’s Animatronic Hand, 1976

Critics of 1976 King Kong frequently harped on the robot Kong as proof of the project’s “failure”, special effects wise. Because the robot ultimately failed to live up to its billing (whether intentionally or not), and barely appeared in a few brief in the final film, critics contended that the film was not the special effects triumph which its fans claim. But in their emphasis on the robot, those critics seemed strangely blind to the movie's true special effects accomplishments. Along with the animatronic masks worn by Rick Baker, 1976 King Kong boasted the creation of a pair of Kong-size hands that were alone a triumph of mechanical engineering.

While a full-sized Kong hand had been used in the original 1933 King Kong, it was little more than an inanimate prop. The fingers had to be man-handled into position around Fay Wray’s body by stage hands, and it could not move during the actual shot.

For his 1976 remake, Dino De Laurentiis wanted more –– a lot more. He wanted the hand (which was about twice as big as the one in the original) to convey emotion and character, to be tender one minute, then terrifying the next, to be capable of being submerged in a pool or slammed into the earth in a fit of simian rage. And perhaps most amazingly, he wanted it to gently undress the heroine in one classic scene, all without breaking her neck!

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23 Brilliant National Lampoon Magazine Covers From the 1970s

National Lampoon was an American satirical pop culture magazine that ran from 1970 to 1998. Founded by Doug Kenney and Henry Beard, the magazine started out as a spinoff from the Harvard Lampoon, where Beard and Kenney used to work as editors.

National Lampoon magazine reached its height of popularity and critical acclaim during the seventies, when it had a far-reaching effect on American humor and comedy. The satirical magazine spawned films, radio, live theatre, various sound recordings, and print products including books. It also helped jump start the careers of many of the comedic heroes of the 1980s, including many of the original writers and cast members of Saturday Night Live.

During the magazine's most successful years, parody of every kind was a mainstay; surrealist content was also central to its appeal. Almost all the issues included long text pieces, shorter written pieces, a section of actual news items (dubbed “True Facts”), cartoons and comic strips. Most issues also included “Foto Funnies” or fumetti, which often featured nudity. As co-founder Henry Beard described the experience years later: “There was this big door that said, ‘Thou shalt not.’ We touched it, and it fell off its hinges.” The magazine declined during the late 1980s, and ceased publication in 1998.

Take a look through 23 fascinating and brilliant covers of the magazine from the seventies:

August 1972

March 1971

May 1971

June 1972

January 1973

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40 Amazing Photographs Capture Everyday Life of St. Ives From the Late 19th Century

Incorporated by Royal Charter in 1639, St Ives is a seaside town, civil parish and port in Cornwall, England. The town lies north of Penzance and west of Camborne on the coast of the Celtic Sea.

In former times it was commercially dependent on fishing. The decline in fishing, however, caused a shift in commercial emphasis, and the town is now primarily a popular seaside resort.

These amazing photos from malcolm osman that documented life of St. Ives in the 1890s.

Looking down Tregenna Hill toward Tregenna Place, St. Ives, Cornwall

A busy scene in the harbour showing the seine boats offloading their catch of pilchards, which were then taken by horse and cart to the fish cellars for processing, St. Ives, Cornwall

A fisherman makes his way along Virgin Street, St. Ives, Cornwall

A group of pilchard processing workers outside a fish cellar or "fish palace" somewhere in the back streets of St. Ives, Cornwall

A view across the harbour showing Smeaton's Pier and lighthouse, St. Ives, Cornwall

A view from the east showing Porthminster beach, Pedn-Olva mine engine house and the harbour, St. Ives, Cornwall

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A Good Place to Paint a Face, 1877

A late 19th century photo showing a boy painting a face on the back of his father’s bald head while his mother looking on.

Tender Shots of East Los Angeles Gang El Hoyo Maravilla by Janette Beckman in 1983

In 1983, British photographer Janette Beckman was in Los Angeles documenting the burgeoning West Coast punk scene. Browsing through the LA Weekly, she became fascinated with an article about El Hoyo Maravilla (HM), a Mexican-American street gang based in East Los Angeles.

“There were no photos to illustrate the story,” Beckman recalls. “After reading the article in the LA Weekly I tracked the writer down and persuaded him to take me to the ‘Hoyo Maravilla Park’ and introduce me… I just wanted to document the East Los Angeles culture and style. It was a part of Los Angeles that no one seemed to acknowledge. Back in the day, before the internet, if you thought of Los Angeles it was Hollywood, the movies, Beverly Hills, and the music scene.”

“Everyone had their poses down; they reminded me of the punks and New York B-Boys. One day, I asked a kid, ‘What is that teardrop tattoo under your eye?’ and he told me, ‘That means I’ve been in jail.’ They were badass but I didn’t know. To me, they were just kids. I saw the beauty in them.”

These ten shots were taken by Janette Beckman that show portraits of members of the East Los Angeles gang El Hoyo Maravilla in 1983.

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Radiana – A Robot Built With Human Bones From the 1920s

Radiana was a “robot” or “automaton” employed by the magician Professor John Popjie, who toured in the 1920s and 1930s. Radiana could do some amazing things, like co-pilot a plane, drive a car, bake a cake, and even shave a brave member of the audience.

However, Radiana was no robot. In a version of the Golem illusion, there was a real person inside the automaton. The magician’s assistant was a small woman who used real hands to perform the feats while the audience was focused on Radiana’s face or Professor Popjie.

It would appear that Great-Aunt Kathleen – something of a ‘trouper’ – worked for one “Professor Popjie” who toured the world with his amazing “robot” Radiana. This supposed automaton would perform feats such as shaving willing audience members, apparently under Popjie’s control.

According to Great-Aunt Kathleen’s son, the pictures were taken around 1927 when Kath was 21. “She was small enough to fit inside the sphinx and manipulate the head, hands and legs.  She worked for Popjie for 3 years.  He proposed marriage to her – which was not accepted…”

Pictures of Scotswomen Singing at a Table While Waulking the Cloth From the Mid-20th Century

Not a spelling mistake! Waulking (in Gaelic luadh) is the technique of not as easy as it looks! Finishing the newly-woven tweed by soaking it and thumping it rhythmically to shrink and soften it, all done by hand in the old days. The songs served to keep the rhythm and lighten the work.

Waulking songs are Scottish folk songs, traditionally sung in the Gaelic language by women while fulling (waulking) cloth. This practice involved a group of women rhythmically beating newly woven tweed or tartan cloth against a table or similar surface to soften it. Simple, beat-driven songs were used to accompany the work.

A waulking session often begins with slow-paced songs, with the tempo increasing as the cloth becomes softer. As the singers work the cloth, they gradually shift it to the left so as to work it thoroughly. A tradition holds that moving the cloth anticlockwise is unlucky.

Typically one person sings the verse, while the others join in the chorus. As with many folk music forms, the lyrics of waulking songs are not always strictly adhered to. Singers might add or leave out verses depending on the particular length and size of tweed being waulked. Verses from one song might appear in another, and at times the lead singer might improvise to include events or people known locally. The chorus to many waulking songs consists of vocables, in which some of the words are meaningless, while others are regular Gaelic words, but sometimes have no meaning in the context of the song.

While fulling is a common practice across the world, it is only in Scotland that music became so strongly associated with it as to become an important cultural feature of the country. Waulking is rare in Scotland today, mostly confined to the Outer Hebrides, where it is carried out as a celebration of heritage. The last true waulking (for the purpose of making cloth) is believed to have occurred during the 1950s.