Old photographs are fascinating because they give people a sense of the precious treasures left behind by time. If the photo or the story behind it is fake, then its charm will be greatly reduced!
Today I have selected a group of old photos that have spread around the world and made people believe in it, to expose the scam for you, restore the truth, and let us feel the endless charm of history...
Ali Training Underwater was published in the magazine Life in 1961. Muhammad Ali told the magazine reporter: "They say I am the fastest person in the boxing world today, and that is because I practice boxing underwater."
Later, Ali passed the barrier and became the world's heavyweight boxing champion, so these photos became popular all over the world and have never been questioned for many years, and even later professional boxers have used similar methods for training.
It wasn't until 2003 that photographer Schulke uncovered the truth: Ali made up the story of underwater training.
At that time, the magazine assigned Schulke to overton, Florida, to take pictures of Ali, who was training there.
When Ali learned that Schulke was good at underwater photography, he immediately said that he was training in the pool because an old coach told him that the resistance of the water could help him improve the strength and speed of his punches.
Ali then jumps out of the hotel's swimming pool to show Schulke these movements...
In 1964, Schulke saw Ali again, they looked through the past photo albums together, and when they saw the underwater photos, Ali winked at him, and Schulke instantly realized that he had been deceived.
It turned out that this was a story made up by Ali and the coach to enhance his popularity in the boxing world, these photos are actually the only time Ali has punched underwater, he can't even swim...
Reference: Witnessing Our Time, Flip Schulke (2003)
"The Soldier On a Donkey" is an old photograph that has been widely circulated online. Many people mistakenly believe that this is a World War II soldier carrying a donkey through the minefield to prevent the donkey from inadvertently detonating the surrounding mines.
In fact, this photo has nothing to do with World War II or minefields, but was taken during the Algerian War in 1958.
The donkey, named "Bambi", fell to the ground due to hunger at the time and was carried back to the base by the French Foreign Legion soldier, where Bambi later recovered his health and became the mascot of his unit.
After this incident was reported by the Legion, it also set off a boom in the use of animals as the mascot of the troops.
Reference: The French Foreign Legion: A Complete History of Legendary Combat Effectiveness, Douglas Poitch (1991)
The Arrival of the Fairy was featured in Beach magazine in 1920 and quickly attracted worldwide attention because it was published by the famous Sherlock Holmes author Arthur Conan Doyle.
The photographs depict Elsie and Frances, two young girls, encountering fairies while playing in the garden.
In this photo, the fairy stands motionless on the leaves of the bush, and Elsie does not look directly at the fairy, she believes that "looking at the fairy will weaken its mental strength and disappear".
In another photo, the fairy leaps up from the leaves below, and Frances, thinking she would touch her face, involuntarily threw her head back, saying that "the fairy's wings are lilac."
Because the authenticity of these photographs was confirmed by a photography expert, psychics have long treated them as evidence of the existence of supernatural beings, making them one of the most widely circulated photographs in the world.
It wasn't until 60 years later that these fake photographs were completely debunked: the so-called fairies were actually characters from fairy tale books.
In 1978, some scholars pointed out that the fairies in these photos were very similar to the characters in a children's book of that year.
Around this issue, Elsie admitted in an interview with the media that the fairy in the photo was indeed cut from the book, then fixed to the branch with a hat needle to take a picture, and after taking the photo, it was discarded in the garden.
Elsie also said that some people had noticed the nail in the middle of the fairy's body and questioned it, but because most people said that it was the navel of the fairy, the voice of doubt was drowned out, and it seemed that the truth was often in the hands of a few people.
Reference: The Cotingley Fairy Tales Of 1917 Scam, Rosa Lyster (February 17, 2017)
"Watching the Game, Indifferent to fire" was published on the front page of major American newspapers on November 21, 1965.
A group of students reportedly sat in the stands, calmly watching the game, apparently unconcerned about the burned-out building behind them.
Because the photos are too strange, over the years, two very different opinions have been formed. One is to believe that there is a problem with the moral education of the university, and the other is to firmly believe that the photographs are forged and that the burning buildings are obviously added later.
In fact, there is nothing wrong with the photos, and people are seriously misled by the content of the report.
The reality is that a school in Massachusetts was playing a rugby game when suddenly smoke billowed from the Science Building about 100 meters from the pitch, the game stopped immediately, and people came to the side of the building to wait for the firefighters to extinguish the fire.
When the firefighters arrived at the scene, they feared that people would get in the way of putting out the fire, so they let everyone go back to the stands. After the people returned as requested, the game continued, and the spectacle of the fire extinguishing and the simultaneous execution of the game appeared.
The photographer is also very skilled at making the building look much closer than it really is.
Reference: "The Explanation Behind the Strange Story of This Picture" EL · VIGÍA (July 9, 2018)
"Mysterious Creatures Walking in the Desert" is said to have been filmed in the desert region of Portugal in the early 20th century and was wildly retweeted on social media in 2016.
The mysterious creature is somewhat human-like in appearance, but with longer arms that disappear after walking into the bushes, and many speculate that it may be the legendary vampire.
But if you look closely at the video, you will find that the shadow of the vampire beast is obviously not in the same direction compared to the surrounding plants. That is, the image of the mysterious creature is synthesized into the video, which is obviously a fake video.
The Surgeon's Photograph is the earliest photograph of the Loch Ness Monster, provided to the Daily Mail in 1934 by British physician Robert Wilson.
Since a couple recently witnessed the appearance of giant creatures in Loch Ness, the Loch Ness Monster was a hot topic of public discussion, and the photo quickly made headlines.
Although many people believe that this is evidence of the existence of mysterious creatures in Loch Ness, Wilson insists that he does not agree to link his name to the monster, for reasons that no one knows.
It wasn't until 1994 that 90-year-old Christian Sperling revealed the truth, the ghost of his stepfather Weatherreal, wilson and both he were involved in the scam.
After the couple reported the discovery of the Loch Ness Monster, the Daily Mail had hired Wetherreal to help find the monster, but after half a busy day and still found nothing, he was humiliated by his employer.
In retaliation, Weatherreal decided to "give the media a monster they wanted." Weatherreal asked Christian to make a snake model and put it in the middle of the lake to take a picture, and then gave the photo to the respected Dr. Wilson, who handed it on to the media...
Below is the original version of this photo, we can clearly see that the real size of the monster is actually very small compared to the lake, and the picture given to the media has been cropped to make the monster look very large.
Reference: The Loch Ness Monster: Surgeon's Photo Exposure, Martin M. D and Boyd · A (1999)
"Man Flying by Blowing Air" appeared on the front pages of many American newspapers in April 1934, and the headline of the New York Times was the most exciting: "For the first time, human beings fly on their own strength!"
The pilot reportedly blew air into the box to rotate the rotor in the cylinder and generate enough thrust to allow him to soar through the air, with a tail sled at the waist that could control the air steering and the skis on his feet acting as landing gear.
Such a simple device can achieve flight, which is also the top technological invention today.
So it must be a fake photo, but why do American newspapers publish it as real news?
Because the source of the photo was the April Fool's Day edition of the German Pictorial Berlin, but when the international news agency distributed the photo to the American newspaper, it did not indicate that it was a joke.
It is worth mentioning that in the early 20th century, German newspapers were very keen to spread false news, while British and American newspapers would reprint it as real news without thinking, making people cry and laugh.
Reference: The New York Times, April 15, 1934
"The First Man Ever To Undergo a Pregnancy Test" was one of the most concerned photographs in the world in 1992.
Filipino male nurse Edwin Byron, with a big belly, confidently told the media that she was six months pregnant, and despite the doubts, the hermaphrodite certificate and ultrasound pregnancy test results he subsequently produced were completely convincing.
As the first "pregnant woman" in history, Byron quickly appeared on the front pages of Reuters, the Washington Post, NBC, and signed exclusive reporting agreements with several television networks, and even the Philippine government said it would do its best to take care of her and her children.
After quickly gaining wealth and popularity, Byron applied to the government to become a woman completely in order to marry her boyfriend, and the application was immediately approved.
But the doctor who operated on him was surprised to find that Byron was a man through and through, with no feminine features at all.
It turned out that In order to legally change sex and get married, Byron had carried out a scam, that is, to get two false certificates from a village doctor, and then used the media to attract attention.
Although Byron's methods are not clever, it is simply incredible that the above-mentioned media will quickly follow up without any research, and they will be willing to pay for an extremely absurd story.
References: Pregnant Filipinos, Hilarious Scams of the Fake News Era, Matías Bauso (August 2, 2019)
"The Los Angeles Pulls the Warship into the Air" is a photograph published in the Berliner Pictorial on April 5, 1931, with the following caption:
The USS Los Angeles airship, under the blow of a strong wind, pulled the warship out of the sea, which was unbelievable.
This photo was quickly reprinted by many British and American publications, causing quite a stir for a while.
However, in the next issue of Pictorial, the Berliner Pictorial admitted that the pictures were "fabricated out of thin air" and sincerely apologized, and the Anglo-American newspapers were taken into the ditch by the Germans.
In fact, the airship not only could not pull the warship up, but was tied to the warship or the mast on the ground to be fixed.
"The Curse of Tutankhamun" comes from a mysterious event that was widely reported by the British media in 1923, that is, after an expedition opened the tomb of the Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun, the members of the team seemed to be cursed and died mysteriously.
Two months after the opening of the tomb, the patron, Lord Caenauphon, died of mosquito bites. On the night of his death, the whole of Cairo was reportedly plunged into darkness...
Over the next decade, the media continued to report the death of the expedition team members in all sorts of horrific terms, as if the curse really existed and was extremely powerful.
It wasn't until 2002 that the truth gradually surfaced: Tutankhamun's curse was artificially made up.
According to relevant investigations, many newspapers have added fuel to the fire in their reports, distorted the facts, and misled readers.
For example, it is only said that the lights in Cairo dimmed when Kanaphon died, but it is not mentioned that Egypt has blackouts almost every night.
When one of the team members died, the newspapers reported only his mysterious death, but said nothing about his long-term illness.
The expedition claims ignored the warning on the tomb: "Death will come quickly to those who come into contact with the tomb of the pharaoh." In fact, this inscription is not on the tombstone at all, but a spell from the Book of the Dead, designed to ensure eternal life.
The curse itself is untenable. The captain of the expedition, Howard Carter, was supposed to be the one most affected by the curse, but he was completely unaffected, and did not die until the age of 64...
It seems that there is no Tutankhamun curse at all, just a gimmick for the media to sell newspapers.
References: The Curse of the Mummy: A Study of historical cohorts, Nelson M. Mark (December 21, 2002)
"The Bandaged Pig" is from the May 1921 British Daily News report on the pig industry revolution.
According to the report, a German farmer invented the method of "live pig oil", which can obtain lard from a pig 3 times a year.
Subsequently, many British and American newspapers frantically reprinted this "revolutionary" event.
However, half a year after the incident was reported, the British pig industry still held a wait-and-see attitude, and no farm tried this seemingly advanced approach, and they felt that live pigs were too advanced in extracting oil.
The editor of the "Daily News" felt that something was not right, so he contacted the German "Berlin Pictorial", which first published the news, and the other party replied that the story was an April Fool's Day joke.
The editor fainted from crying on the spot...
Reference: The Daily News, May 9, 1921
Hitler Dancing triumphantly was filmed in 1940 after Hitler learned of France's surrender.
The image was repeated in Allied cinemas at the time, with the voiceover being: Hitler, after learning of France's surrender, triumphantly danced a gig to celebrate victory.
After the war, john Grison, the person in charge of the video, revealed that Hitler was not dancing at the time.
The truth is that When Hitler learned that France had surrendered so quickly, he was startled by the news, so surprised that he took a few steps back, and naturally raised his legs quite high when he stepped back.
After watching the German film, Glearson realized that if he made this action into a repetitive loop, he could create a look of Hitler dancing with joy.
Do it: arouse the antipathy and anger of the peoples of the world against Hitler ...
References: Making People Disappear: A Chronicle of The Deception of Photography, Pergamon M. Brassey's (1986)
"The Woman with the Smile Mask" is an old photo that went viral on Facebook in 2017.
In the United States in the 1930s, if a woman was considered to have "not properly cared for her husband," she would be sent to a psychiatric hospital for smile therapy until she could smile naturally.
Many people believe it, and some netizens say: It turns out that American women also pay attention to women's morality culture.
In fact, this photo is from a Dutch magazine published in 1937 and reflects the "Smile School" in Budapest helping people fight depression in order to reduce the growing suicidal tendencies.
Reference: 1937: Smile School, Budapest, Retronaut (10 April 2014)
Real old photos, so fascinating...