The Afghan Girl

The cover of the June 1985 issue of National Geographic featured this picture of an Afghan girl taken at a Pakistani refugee camp. The 12 year old had been orphaned  after the Russians had invaded her homeland in 1984, killing both her parents. Journalist Steve McCurry was covering the war torn area for the magazine, and he would eventually photograph the girl who would become known around the world as simply the Afghan Girl. 

Sharbat Gula is pictured in 2002  after Steve McCurry returned to Afghanistan and successfully located the then 29 year old mother of three and her family. Up until that time, neither Gula nor her husband had ever heard of or seen the 1985 photograph. 

1917 WWI Draft Card

George Herman "Babe" Ruth's World War I draft card (1917)

The Eduard Bohlen

The Eduard Bohlen ran aground in heavy fog on September 5, 1909 along the Skeleton Coast of Namibia. Over the years, the wreck sits half burried in the sand, a result of having drifted far inland.

Madame Curie

Marie Curie won the Nobel Peace Prize for physics and chemistry, the only woman ever to do so for both categories. She did so for her discovery of the theory of radioactivity. Her work kept her constantly exposed to radiation throughout her working life, contributing to her death on July 4, 1934 from aplastic anemia. She was 66 years old. To this day, her papers have been stored in special lead lined boxes, and anyone wishing to research them must do so wearing protective clothing.

This Is Not A Drill

The U.S.S. Ranger's Naval Dispatch from the Commander in Chief Pacific (CICPAC) announcing Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, 7 December, 1941.