The Cardiff Giant, One of the Most Famous Archaeological Hoaxes in American History

The Cardiff Giant was a 10-foot-tall (3.0 m) gypsum statue that became one of the most famous archaeological hoaxes in American history. “Discovered” on October 16, 1869, on William “Stub” Newell’s farm in Cardiff, New York, it was presented as the petrified remains of an ancient giant.

The hoax was conceived by George Hull, a cigar manufacturer and atheist. He was inspired by a debate with a Methodist minister over Genesis 6:4 (“There were giants in the earth in those days”). He wanted to mock religious literalism while also turning a profit.

Hull purchased a 5-ton block of gypsum in Fort Dodge, Iowa, and had a Chicago stonecutter carve it in his own likeness. To make it look ancient, Hull treated the statue with sulphuric acid and used steel knitting needles to simulate skin pores. 

Newell hired unsuspecting workers to dig a well exactly where the giant had been buried a year earlier. Upon its “discovery,” news spread rapidly, and Newell began charging 50 cents for admission, drawing thousands of visitors who believed they were seeing a biblical giant.

When the syndicate of owners refused to sell the giant to showman P.T. Barnum for $50,000, Barnum simply created his own plaster replica. He then claimed his version was the “real” giant and the Cardiff one was a fake. This sparked a legal battle where a judge famously refused to intervene unless the original giant could “swear to his own genuineness” in court. 

Leading paleontologists like Othniel C. Marsh quickly identified the figure as a “decided humbug,” noting fresh chisel marks and the fact that gypsum would have deteriorated in the wet soil. Hull eventually confessed to the press in December 1869, though the giant remained a popular attraction for years.

The original Cardiff Giant is on permanent display at The Farmers’ Museum in Cooperstown, New York. Barnum’s replica is reportedly at Marvin’s Marvelous Mechanical Museum in Farmington Hills, Michigan.

Corfu in the 1980s Through Fascinating Photos

Corfu in the 1980s was a decade of vibrant transformation, marking the island's transition from a sleepy Mediterranean secret to a premier destination for European sun-seekers. This era was defined by the raw, burgeoning energy of the “package holiday” boom, where the narrow streets of Corfu Town and the olive-strewn hillsides of Kavos began to buzz with the sounds of mopeds and disco music.

Despite the rapid influx of tourism, the island retained a rustic charm. It was a time of unfiltered freedom, characterized by long summer nights, the scent of wild sage and sea salt, and a local hospitality that remained authentic even as the world began to rush in. These photos, via Paul Clarke, capture life in Corfu during his parents’ trip in the 1980s.

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The Lost Photographs From Andrée's Arctic Balloon Expedition of 1897

In 1897, Swedish engineer S. A. Andrée led a high-stakes, patriotic attempt to reach the North Pole using a hydrogen balloon named The Eagle (Örnen). Supported by King Oscar II and Alfred Nobel, the mission sought to claim the Pole for Sweden through “futurist” aerial exploration rather than traditional sledging.

Andrée was accompanied by engineer Knut Frænkel and photographer Nils Strindberg. They took off from Svalbard on July 11, 1897. Moments after lift-off, the balloon lost its heavy steering drag-ropes, leaving it at the mercy of the wind. The balloon sailed for only 65 hours. Leaking gas and weighed down by freezing rain, it made a gentle emergency landing on the pack ice, far short of the North Pole.

The three men were unhurt but unprepared for the terrain. They attempted a grueling three-month trek south across shifting ice, eventually reaching the deserted Kvitøya (White Island) in October 1897, where they perished.

The expedition’s fate remained a mystery for 33 years until 1930, when Norwegian whalers discovered their final camp. Remarkably, the harsh Arctic cold preserved the men's diaries and photographic film. The Grenna Museum in Sweden now houses the collection of recovered equipment and photographs. Modern analysis, such as that by author Bea Uusma, continues to investigate the exact cause of death, theories range from trichinosis from polar bear meat to carbon monoxide poisoning or exhaustion.

The photographs recovered in 1930 from Nils Strindberg’s camera provide a haunting, first-hand account of the expedition’s final months. Despite spending 33 years frozen in the Arctic ice, the film remained remarkably developable. The most famous of these images document the immediate aftermath of the balloon’s crash-landing on July 14, 1897, and the men’s subsequent struggle to survive while trekking across the pack ice.

The Eagle sailing north, photographed from Danes Island.

Moments after take off the balloon loses two steering ropes weighing a half ton each.

The steering ropes drag The Eagle toward the water shortly after launching.

Crash landing.

S. A. Andrée and Knut Frænkel with the balloon on the pack ice, photographed by the third expedition member, Nils Strindberg. The exposed film for this photograph and others from the failed 1897 expedition was recovered in 1930.

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Historical Photographs Captured Moments Before, During and After RFK’s Assassination in Los Angeles, 1968

On June 5, 1968, Robert F. Kennedy was shot by Sirhan Sirhan at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California, and pronounced dead the following day.

Kennedy, a United States senator and candidate in the 1968 Democratic Party presidential primaries, won the California and South Dakota primaries on June 4. He addressed his campaign supporters in the Ambassador Hotel’s Embassy Ballroom. After leaving the podium, and exiting through a kitchen hallway, he was mortally wounded by multiple shots fired by Sirhan. Kennedy died at Good Samaritan Hospital nearly 25 hours later. His body was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Sirhan, a Palestinian who held strong anti-Zionist and pro-Palestinian beliefs, testified in 1969 that he killed Kennedy “with 20 years of malice aforethought;” he was convicted and sentenced to death. Due to People v. Anderson, his sentence was commuted to life in prison in 1972 with a possibility of parole. His parole request has been denied numerous times. Kennedy’s assassination prompted the Secret Service to protect presidential candidates. Additionally, it led to several conspiracy theories. It was the final of four major assassinations in the United States that occurred during the 1960s.

The photographs that Bill Eppridge made before, during and after RFK’s assassination don’t require that we forget all we’ve learned about the dank underside of American politics in order to appreciate the fear, rage and anguish sparked by Kennedy’s death. On the contrary, the pictures in this gallery suggest that despite how ambitious and even cruel he could sometimes be, Bobby Kennedy obviously inspired, in countless people, the better angels of their nature.

Would Robert Kennedy have won the Democratic nomination if Sirhan had not gunned him down in that hotel kitchen? Would he have gone on to beat Richard Nixon in the general election if he had won the nomination? The measure of the man must be taken not by what he might have done, but by what he said and did during his lifetime.

We’ll never know how much he might have grown, how much further he might have deepened, had Sirhan’s bullets not silenced him.That’s where much of the tragedy of the tale lies: in the ruined promise of the man’s potential.

Robert Kennedy, June, 1968.

Sen. Robert Kennedy campaigned, June 1968.

Robert Kennedy, June 1968.

Supporters of presidential candidate Robert Kennedy watched him on TV.

Sen. Robert Kennedy conferred with an aide during his run for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1968.

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Portraits of Sophia Loren During the Filming of ‘Man of La Mancha’ (1972)

The 1972 film adaptation of Man of La Mancha is a poignant, visually ambitious tribute to the power of idealism. Starring Peter O’Toole as both Miguel de Cervantes and his legendary creation, Don Quixote, the movie utilizes a “play-within-a-play” structure set inside a grim Spanish Inquisition dungeon.

While it faced some criticism for its transition from stage to screen, the film is anchored by Sophia Loren’s raw performance as Aldonza and the stirring rendition of the iconic anthem, “The Impossible Dream.” Ultimately, it serves as a soul-stirring exploration of the human spirit, daring to ask whether it is truly “madness” to see the world not as it is, but as it ought to be.

Take a look at these vintage photos to see portraits of Sophia Loren during the filming of Man of La Mancha in 1972.

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20 Publicity Photos of Dustin Hoffman and Katharine Ross on the Set of “The Graduate” (1967)

In the 1967 film The Graduate, Dustin Hoffman and Katharine Ross play Benjamin Braddock and Elaine Robinson, a young couple whose relationship becomes the emotional core of a generation-defining story.

Benjamin, a recent and disillusioned college graduate, is initially seduced into a purely physical affair by Elaine's mother, the iconic Mrs. Robinson (played by Anne Bancroft). Despite Mrs. Robinson’s express demand that he stay away from her daughter, Benjamin eventually meets Elaine on a date and unexpectedly falls in love with her.

After Elaine discovers the affair and is pressured by her parents into marrying another man, Benjamin famously crashes her wedding, shouting her name from the church balcony. The film famously concludes with the two escaping on a city bus. Their initial elation quickly fades into expressions of uncertainty and silence, a powerful cinematic moment reflecting the anxieties of post-college life and the “New Hollywood” era.

Behind the scenes, their partnership was legendary; Katharine Ross initially thought the then-unknown Hoffman was “unkempt” and “about three feet tall,” but director Mike Nichols used their awkward chemistry to perfectly capture Benjamin's character.

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Capucine: The Epitome of French Chic

Capucine, born Germaine Lefebvre, was a luminous figure who bridged the worlds of high fashion and Hollywood cinema. She began her career as a fashion model in Paris, quickly becoming a muse for prestigious houses like Givenchy and Christian Dior. Her striking, aristocratic features and “ice queen” persona caught the eye of Hollywood producers, leading to her breakout role in Song Without End.

While she is perhaps best remembered for her comedic elegance as Simone Clouseau in The Pink Panther, her legacy remains rooted in her indelible style. Capucine embodied a rare kind of understated glamour, a mixture of French poise and mysterious vulnerability that made her one of the most captivating faces of the 1960s.

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