Fabulous Photos of Irish McCalla Posing With Neal the Chimp on the Set of “Sheena, Queen of the Jungle” (1955)

On the set of Sheena, Queen of the Jungle (1955), Irish McCalla and her animal co-star Neal the Chimp (credited as “Chim”) were a central duo. Their interaction was a key element of the show’s charm, often captured in candid publicity photos at the World Jungle Compound in Thousand Oaks, California.

Neal the Chimp appeared in 21 of the 26 episodes produced for the series. He was trained by animal handler Howard Bryant specifically for the production. Many famous LIFE magazine photos feature the pair peering through jungle underbrush or McCalla holding Neal’s hand.

Behind the scenes, the two were often seen “having fun,” with McCalla maintaining a natural rapport that helped ground the low-budget, pulp-adventure series. In the series, Chim was portrayed as Sheena’s loyal companion, often participating in her missions to protect the jungle from poachers and treasure hunters.

For the first half of the series, McCalla performed nearly all her own stunts, including vine swinging and wrestling mechanical alligators. Her stunt work was so physically demanding that she eventually suffered a serious accident after grabbing an unsecured vine and slamming into a tree, resulting in a broken arm and a smashed knee.

Because of her unique height and athletic build, the production struggled to find a female stunt double; they eventually had to hire male stuntmen in blonde wigs and leopard-skin costumes to replace her after her injury.

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Janis Paige: The Radiant Star of Stage and Screen

With a career spanning over six decades, Janis Paige (1922–2024) was a powerhouse of the Golden Age of Hollywood, renowned for her vibrant red hair, sparkling wit, and a voice that could command any Broadway stage.

Originally discovered while singing at the Hollywood Canteen during World War II, Paige quickly transitioned into a contract player for Warner Bros., often cast as the vivacious, “smart-talking” leading lady in musicals and comedies. Her charisma was undeniable, whether she was trading quips with Bob Hope or starring in Technicolor spectacles like Silk Stockings (1957).

However, it was on Broadway where Paige truly cemented her legendary status. She originated the iconic role of Babe Williams in the 1954 smash hit The Pajama Game, a performance that defined her as a top-tier musical theater star. Known for her immense stamina and professional longevity, she continued to grace both the big and small screens well into her 80s.

Janis Paige wasn’t just a star of the past; she was a versatile artist who embodied the enduring glamour and work ethic of a vanished era, leaving behind a legacy of joy and timeless performances. Take a trip down memory lane with these stunning vintage portraits and production stills of the incomparable Janis Paige.

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Lana Wood at a Photocall Where She Confirmed Her Role in “Diamonds Are Forever” (1971)

Lana Wood, American actress and younger sister of Natalie Wood, portrayed the iconic, short-lived character Plenty O’Toole in the 1971 James Bond film, Diamonds Are Forever. Plenty is introduced as an opportunistic gold digger. She meets Bond (Sean Connery) at a Las Vegas casino craps table, where she is immediately drawn to his high-stakes betting.

Wood modeled her performance after actress Leigh Taylor-Young and the character Minnie Mouse. She is best remembered for her flirtatious introduction, “Hi, I’m Plenty,” to which Bond famously quips, “But of course you are.”

Wood was cast following a suggestion from screenwriter Tom Mankiewicz. She had originally been considered for the main role of Tiffany Case (which went to Jill St. John) but was asked to take the role of Plenty instead.

Due to her significant height difference with Sean Connery, Wood had to stand on a box for most of their shared scenes. During the filming of the scene where her character is found drowned, Wood’s feet were loosely tied to a cement block to keep her submerged. The block moved into deeper water with each take, nearly causing her to actually drown before she was rescued by the crew.

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In 1955, Two Traders Cornered Nearly All Onion Supplies in Chicago and Pocketed Roughly $100 Million

In 1955, two men, Vincent Kosuga (an onion farmer) and Sam Siegel (a businessman), executed a massive cornering of the onion market that remains one of the most notorious examples of market manipulation in U.S. history. Their actions led to a permanent federal ban on onion futures trading that is still in effect in 2026.

Siegel and Kosuga, operating out of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, began their scheme by aggressively buying both physical onions and futures contracts. By the fall of 1955, they controlled approximately 30 million pounds of onions, roughly 98% to 99% of the entire available supply in Chicago. After establishing their monopoly, they threatened growers with a market flood to force them to buy back the inventory at higher prices.

While publicly supporting the price, they secretly took massive short positions on onion futures, betting that prices would crash. To trigger the collapse, they flooded the market with their hoarded onions, some of which they had shipped out of Chicago to be cleaned and re-shipped back to create a false impression of an endless new supply. 

By March 1956, the price of a 50-pound bag of onions plummeted from $2.75 (in August 1955) to just 10 cents. At 10 cents, the onions were worth less than the mesh bags they were packed in. Thousands of onion farmers were driven into bankruptcy. Siegel and Kosuga, however, profited handsomely from their short positions, earning an estimated $8.5 million at the time (roughly $100 million in current value).

Millions of pounds of worthless, rotting onions were dumped into the Chicago River, reportedly causing the city to smell for weeks. The resulting national outrage led to congressional hearings where then-Congressman Gerald Ford sponsored a bill to prevent such manipulation.  In August 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Onion Futures Act, which prohibited the trading of onion futures in the U.S.

Onions remain the only agricultural commodity in the United States specifically excluded from futures trading by federal law. The act was later amended in 2010 to also include a ban on motion picture box office receipts.

Rarely Seen Photos of Bernadette Peters in “Dames at Sea”

Bernadette Peters famously originated the role of Ruby in the 1966 Off-Off-Broadway production of Dames at Sea at Caffe Cino, later starring in the hit 1968 Off-Broadway revival. This performance was her breakout role, earning her a Drama Desk Award and launching her career as a major star of musical theatre. Peters played Ruby, a starry-eyed, innocent chorus girl from the Midwest who becomes an overnight star in this 1930s-style movie musical parody.

The 1968 production, which transferred to the Theatre De Lys, ran for 575 performances and established her as a critically acclaimed talent. She is featured on the original 1968/1969 cast recording, notably performing songs like “The Sailor of My Dreams” and “Star Tar.” Following the initial run, she performed in regional productions of the show, including at the Paper Mill Playhouse (1973). 

Dames at Sea served as a pivotal moment in Peters’ career, leading to her Broadway roles in *George M!*La Strada, and Mack and Mabel.

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Beautiful Photos of the 1902 Baker Electric Runabout

The 1902 Baker Electric Runabout stands as a fascinating testament to an era when electricity, not gasoline, was a leading contender for powering the future of transportation.

Produced by the Baker Motor Vehicle Company in Cleveland, Ohio, this elegant “brass era” horseless carriage was famously favored by figures like Thomas Edison and F.B. Stearns. Unlike the noisy, vibrating, and difficult-to-start internal combustion engines of the time, the Baker Electric offered a silent, clean, and effortless driving experience, making it particularly popular among urban socialites and women who appreciated its simplicity.

Technologically, the 1902 Runabout was remarkably advanced for its day, featuring a lightweight frame and a series of batteries that allowed for a top speed of about 14 mph (23 km/h). Instead of a steering wheel, it utilized a tiller, and its power was delivered smoothly without the need for a complex gearbox or hand-cranking.

While the limited range of early lead-acid batteries eventually saw electric cars overtaken by gas-powered rivals, the Baker Electric remains a crown jewel for collectors, a whisper-quiet pioneer that proved the viability of electric mobility over a century before the modern EV revolution.

Below is a collection of beautiful photos showcasing the exquisite craftsmanship and early electric engineering of the 1902 Baker Electric Runabout.

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McArthur Wheeler, the Man Who Robbed a Bank Thinking Lemon Juice Made Him Invisible in 1995

In 1995, 44-year-old McArthur Wheeler became the unintentional face of a major psychological breakthrough after attempting one of history’s most bizarre bank robberies.

On January 6, 1995, Wheeler and an accomplice robbed two banks in Pittsburgh. What made the crime legendary wasn’t the loot, but Wheeler’s “disguise.” He walked into the banks without a mask, looking directly into the security cameras and even smiling. When police arrested him later that night after his face appeared on the local news, he was reportedly stunned, muttering: “But I wore the juice.”

Wheeler’s “brilliant” plan was based on a fundamental misunderstanding of chemistry. He knew that lemon juice can be used as invisible ink (which becomes visible when heated). He concluded that if he smeared lemon juice all over his face, he would become invisible to security cameras. To “test” his theory, he reportedly took a selfie with a Polaroid camera. Because he was likely sweating and the juice stung his eyes, he aimed the camera poorly and captured a shot of the ceiling. In his mind, the blank photo was proof: the juice worked.

While the police had a good laugh, the story the attention of Cornell University psychologists David Dunning and Justin Kruger. They were fascinated by how someone could be so incompetent yet so confident. This led to their 1999 study and the naming of the Dunning–Kruger Effect, which describes a cognitive bias where people with limited knowledge of a task vastly overestimate their own ability.