Nikola Tesla is the man who inspired Elon Musk’s car brand name. He was pioneer in electrical tech, with his place in science history secure thanks to 3304 patents.

This is him reading in his Colorado Springs laboratory while testing his latest contraption. It looks futuristic but sometimes, his ideas remained a theory.

A concept of his included the Thought Camera.

Tesla explained what it was: “I became convinced that a definite image formed in thought must, by reflex action, produce a corresponding image on the retina, which might possibly be read by suitable apparatus.”

No one has managed the task but social media is getting pretty close in its own way.

WWI was over a hundred years ago, so few remember the actual stakes and grudges. Ever wondered what Bulgaria was up to?

The conflict began in July 1914, and Bulgaria was still recovering from the Balkan Wars. This was why they declared neutrality. But their allies got more involved, so they did join in just a year later.

This is a shot of a Bulgarian soldier screaming at the camera, probably practicing his battle cry.

He must have fought in the trench using machine guns and grenades. Those new, modern weapons at the time delivered such brutality that plastic surgery became a new field of medicine.

The “Hasanlu lovers” were a famous archeological find that stunned professionals. The pair died around 800 B.C. in Iran, around the time when a hostile force invaded their town.

In their last moments, these two appear to be hugging or kissing, and for millennia, they stayed that way until being discovered in 1972.

But modern analysis shows this was not a couple.

Dating the skeletons revealed that one is around 20, and the other around 30. Both were seemingly healthy males with no diseases.

So these were two healthy guys that may have been related. No one knows for sure but we’re all curious.

There was a time when the U.S. government wanted to see what would happen to submarines in the event of a nuclear war. The Baker Test was the first underwater nuclear explosion conducted.

This massive explosion resulted in a cloud rising up like a mushroom towards the sky. The base surge created a 500-foot high wall of radioactive spray and mist.

So what happened to life in the area?

The official military report at the time stated: “All of the pigs and most of the rats on the ships died either from the blast or from radiation exposure. Of the 57 target vessels, eight either sunk or capsized as a direct result of the explosion…Most of the surviving vessels had to be subsequently sunk as too hot to handle.”

It’s illegal to cut down a redwood tree today. These giant plants in California attract tourists just to witness their enormous presence. But people during frontier times had different sensibilities.

They needed a constant supply of wood for houses and to keep fires burning. These gigantic Redwoods can grow up to 240 feet high with a 15-foot diameter so it must have been a dream for them.

This old-time logger poses next to a massive Redwood being cut down. Most of these trees are gone: Just 5% are still standing, so 95% were cut down since the 1850s.

Some fear that killer robots may rise up one day. But what about ancient ancestors?

Back in the 1860s, Zadoc Dederick was a young machinist who was very curious so with his buddy Isaac Grass, he invented the first American robot.

They combined a steam carriage with a metal man figure, and they exhibited the invention, inspiring crowds around Boston, Chicago, New Orleans, and St. Louis.

Zadoc and Isaac got a patent for their robot in 1869, while the concept led to other walking machines in the coming years.

It Also inspired dime novels, like The Steam Man of the Prairies by Edward S. Ellis.

For police and soldiers, the bulletproof vest was a critical invention which came out in the 1920s.

Thanks to the Protective Garment Corporation of New York, men and women in uniform were able to wear a revolutionary lightweight vest. The idea sounded too good to be true, hence this demonstration in the middle of DC.

These salesmen went to the extreme just to prove their product.

The men here were the inventors, showing clear trust in their own product. The vest came just in time, as the great depression and prohibition soon came. Police had to deal with armed gangsters of the era.

In the winter of Boston 1919, two million gallons of molasses exploded from a tank at the port resulting in 15 ft-high waves that swept through the city at 35 miles per hour.

The syrup killed 21 people and injured 150 others, destroying everything in its path.

It almost swept a train and even toppled electric poles. Live wires hissed everywhere while buildings were taken down.

The cause was the main sweetener at the time which could also be made into a type of alcohol used for manufacturing munitions.

Hairstyles of the past look old-fashioned today but the traditional hairdo from Rwanda looked futuristic.

It’s called the Amasunzu, and was popular 100 years ago. This was how tribe members showed their social status, and those without this ultra-shaped style were looked on with suspicion.

It went out of fashion like styles always do, but today, there are some trying to bring it back.

Rwandans wore 30 different styles that told others if they were a warrior or a virgin. Even married women had their own look.

King Tutankhamun was just nine when he was made ruler and god of ancient Egypt in 1333 BC. He died at a young age, and no one knew what happened to his body.

The discovery of his burial place took place in 1922 when British Egyptologist Howard Carter and his team excavated the Valley of the Kings.

The constant problem in Egyptology was that thieves kept robbing mummies and tombs of gold and jewels.

But King Tut was buried with artwork and treasures. His tomb was in the desert, so the sand shifted around and buried his site over time.

It remained hidden for 3,000 years untouched.

It’s true that there were sea monsters for hundreds of years. Sailors told bold tales people found hard to believe, but science ended up validating them one day.

It was in 1873 when Canadian naturalist Moses Harvey collected the first complete specimen of a giant squid. Fishermen found the beast in Portugal Cove, Newfoundland.

Harvey heard about their novel catch, and he knew he needed to get his hands on its massive tentacles.

He paid them $10, the equivalent of around $200 today. Harvey used his bathtub for safekeeping since at the time, there was no other option for storage at short notice.

Legendary gangster Al Capone made a lot of money during prohibition bootlegging liquor and bringing it to the black market.

He may have murdered, extorted, and intimidated his way to riches but the demand for the freedom to drink arose, so he helped the people.

The admiration for Capone is due to his generosity during the great depression.

Al Capone’s soup kitchen served breakfast, lunch, and dinner. 5,000 men, women, and children ate free of charge at this charity which was open daily.

It was great street cred for the gangster, adding more fire to his legend.

WWII marked the first time in history atomic weapons were used to kill thousands. Entire cities in Japan were destroyed instantly.

The bomb itself didn’t look so intimidating as you can see here with ‘Fat Man’.

This was the second bomb dropped over Nagasaki in 1945. The specs are super technical, but this device weighed an astonishing 10,800 pounds.

The debate over the morality of these weapons continues to this day. Some argue that it saved lives in the long run, while others say it was pure evil on a mass scale.

Even the physicists involved in the project felt guilt over it.

Tourism is still South Dakota’s second-largest industry. The biggest attraction is Mount Rushmore, which brings in more than 2 million visitors a year.

Americans love the majestic sight of their four major presidents, with faces carved into a mountain. It’s a tech and art marvel that has many wondering how it was done.

This picture of George Washington’s half-finished face will give you a clue.

This 60-foot memorial took a total of 14 years to finish. It was carved by hand from 1927 to 1941, blasting stone and shaping it into the faces of Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln alongside George.

In history books, Samuel Reshevsky is one of the greatest American chess players ever. He was a seven-time U.S. champion who made it to the top of world challenges.

In his prime, he defeated seven world champions, including Bobby Fischer.

It started early for this genius: that’s little Samuel at age 8, beating several chess masters at an event in France in 1920 without breaking a sweat.

Not everyone is interested in chess, but we all admit that it is a tough game.

There are 7 billion people in the world today, but only around 1500 rank as grandmasters. Sam qualified in elementary school!

Walt Disney was a clever man, that’s why his empire lives on even beyond his lifetime. His classic character Mickey Mouse is one of the most lovable characters in the world of cartoons.

This cute character has provided entertainment for many generations of children. But go back a hundred years and see how the prototype was pretty disturbing.

This was early Mickey, so be honest with yourself. Would you allow this thing around kids?

The ears got rounder and his base made shorter, resulting in Walt’s modern Mickey.

It was a disturbing design but the kids in this photo seemed to be enjoying the creepy mouse.

Back on the frontier, constant conflicts happened among settlers and Indians. It was to be expected as they were competing for resources while lacking a common language.

There were even occasional kidnappings during raids. This was Olive Oatman, a young Mormon girl taken from her family and made into a slave. Her family was killed, except for a sister who joined her in slavery.

Olive was traded to another tribe that wore these tattoos. She became part of the group, so it appears they gave her one. She had chances to escape, but Olive stayed with them for years.

When she was rescued, she claimed the tattoo was a mark of a slave. Historians are skeptical of the claim.

The Eiffel Tower is a famous iron monument found on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It was engineer Gustave Eiffel who commissioned his company to design this tower for the 1889 World’s Fair.

It was meant to be a grand entrance for guests and it seemed like he succeeded.

The tower was too iconic to be taken down after the fair. It is synonymous with Paris itself as nearly 7 million people visit the tower every year.

The Eiffel Tower stands 1,063 feet tall, taking more than two years to construct. Here is a photo showing it halfway through the building process.

Americans had already shot many things into space by the 60s, but a human had not been sent to those harsh conditions, so NASA wanted to give it a try.

In 1965, Ed White became the first American to walk in space. He ventured outside the safety of the Gemini capsule to meet the cosmos firsthand.

This was historic and truly impressive, as Ed went where no man had gone before. So what were his observations?

Ed reported: “This is the greatest experience, it’s just tremendous. Right now I’m standing on my head and I’m looking right down, and it looks like we’re coming up on the coast of California. There is absolutely no disorientation associated with it.”

Times were really tough during the great depression, so some people ate potato soup. Others decided to take on a life of crime.

Everyone knows the lovers Bonnie and Clyde. Bonnie Elizabeth Parker and Clyde Chestnut Barrow were not just a legend: The couple was responsible for at least 13 murders, plus numerous bank, shop, and funeral home robberies.

It didn’t end well for them, as seen in films and the actual photos like this one.

Bonnie was eating a bologna sandwich as Clyde drove on a rural road. They ended up in a trap where Texas rangers were waiting for them.

The rangers fired 167 bullets into their vehicle in less than 20 seconds, killing the couple immediately. This was the aftermath.

The Hoover Dam was one of the most important construction achievements in American history.

During its completion in 1935, FDR stated: “We are here to celebrate the completion of the greatest dam in the world, rising 726 feet above the bedrock of the river and altering the geography of a whole region: we are here to see the creation of the largest artificial lake in the world-115 miles long, holding enough water, for example, to cover the whole State of Connecticut to a depth of ten feet.”

He continued saying: “We are here to see nearing completion a powerhouse which will contain the largest generators and turbines yet installed in this country, machinery that can continuously supply nearly two million horsepower of electric energy.”

Truly an impressive feat.

Amusement parks today are full of roller coasters and water rides, but one of the quirkiest ones around used to be the Rotor Ride, a carrousel that created a centrifugal force which caused people to stick to the wall.

During the ’50s and ’60s, it was exhibited at European fairs before finding its way to Coney Island in New York. People couldn’t get enough of the floor disappearing, as they would be suspended in the air.

This ride still exists with the updated version, the Gravitron. But imagine the thrill it delivered back in the day.

How can anyone prepare to go to the moon if they’ve never been there?

NASA faced this challenge when they decided technology was ready to send a man to outer space. But they still had concerns that their astronauts would not be prepared.

They needed a simulator and here it was. If you expected it to be a little more advanced then too bad.

There were various screens set up to show how light reflected off the surface of the moon when at different altitudes.

The machine resembled the cockpit astronauts would ride in. Scientists were able to anticipate harsh light and glare in the conditions of space.

The Statue of Liberty is a neoclassical sculpture that sits on Liberty Island at the New York Harbor. She has a lot of fans, but what did she look like in the beginning?

This was her before being fully assembled. The face hasn’t been attached yet, as some ladies are admitting her in copper. She wasn’t always green. That’s what happens to metal over time.

France gifted her to their new ally, America, in 1886. Designed by sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, she became an icon of freedom that immigrants over the years have seen upon their arrival.

The early part of the 20th century had a revolutionary hair machine released and marketed by Nestle, just before they became chocolate masters.

They advertised it as such, in 1908: “Nestle’s Improved Permanent Hair Wave means the imparting to the straightest and lankest hair & wave, which in texture, character, desirability, and appearance cannot be distinguished from the natural grown wavy hair.”

The hot device worked with chemicals to produce cool coiffes if women were willing to wait it out.

Occasionally, there were burn victims, but Mr. Nestle made around $44 million worth today with this device.

The King could have gotten out of service since the army said he could just play concerts for the troops. But Elvis was a patriot, and chose to enlist like all the guys his age during the Vietnam war.

In 1958, he became a regular soldier even though he was the most popular entertainer on the planet. According to Elvis: “The army teaches boys to think like men.”

Elvis received basic and advanced military training, ending up at a base in Germany. He had fans and critics back home, as some thought his style was too vulgar. But he came back as a veteran, earning respect from all sides.

When photography was invented, people did not know how to pose. Westerners thought being serious was the way to go, so old photos rarely show a smile.

But a British traveler brought a camera to China for the first time, and such notions didn’t exist then. The Chinese didn’t know it was a serious affair.

Look at this man happily eating!

The identity of this man has been lost, but it’s interesting to see real emotions from someone the past. A rare situation where the subjects didn’t know smiling was somewhat forbidden.

Legendary bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger had this to say:

“Not many people understand what a pump is. It must be experienced to be understood. It is the greatest feeling that I get. I search for this pump because it means that that my muscles will grow when I get it. I get a pump when the blood is running into my muscles. They become really tight with blood. Like the skin is going to explode any minute. It’s like someone putting air in my muscles. It blows up. It feels fantastic.”

Pretty intense for regular folks but Arnold was into weightlifting since he was a teen. He went on to become Mr. Universe and Mr. Olympia multiple times.

This is Arnold at 16.