History Captain

07/11/2025

French snowboarder Marco Siffredi made the first Everest snowboard descent in 2001 via the Norton Couloir. In August 2002, he returned to attempt the first descent via the Hornbein Couloir. This is his final photo, he was never seen again.

07/11/2025

Bizarre inventions from the past that actually existed

07/11/2025

A tiny, one-man Italian tankette developed in the mid-1930s.

The Ansaldo MIAS was an ultra-light, tracked armored vehicle intended for reconnaissance, infantry support, or possibly trench infiltration. Roughly the size of an oversized motorcycle with tracks, it was designed to be small, cheap, and able to crawl into tight spaces where bigger tanks couldn’t go.

Protection was minimal as the armor was only thick enough to deflect small arms fire and shell splinters. It was never mass-produced: the design proved too impractical. It offered almost no visibility for the operator, was extremely uncomfortable, and would have been easy prey for even light anti-tank weapons or artillery.

07/10/2025

Beirut earned its nickname thanks to its vibrant cultural and social life during the mid-20th century. Known for its luxury hotels like the iconic Saint-Georges Hotel, the city attracted Hollywood stars and royalty.

Hamra Street, often compared to Paris’ Champs-Élysées, was lined with fashion boutiques, theaters, and dozens of cinemas, making Beirut the region’s cinema capital. Its dynamic nightlife, world-class restaurants, and cosmopolitan atmosphere cemented its reputation as a glamorous, sophisticated hub in the Arab world.

Though the Lebanese Civil War, beginning in 1975, shattered much of this image, destroying landmarks and displacing residents, the nickname still echoes in the city’s ongoing efforts to revive its cultural heartbeat and reclaim its lost glory.

07/10/2025

Strange fashion trends from the past we’d never wear today

07/10/2025

Nine-year-old Kenneth Enahoro (1954-2017) pens a heartfelt letter to the British Home Secretary, Mr. Henry Brooke (1903-1984), pleading for the release of his father, Chief Anthony Enahoro (1923-2010), while his seven-year-old brother, Eugene Enahoro (b.1956), looks on with quiet hope, May 12, 1963.

Credits: ASIRI

07/10/2025

One of the first lawnmowers made its appearance at the Missouri Botanical Garden in 1918.

07/09/2025

07/09/2025

In Las Vegas, Nevada, a man introduced his two-year-old son to the firefighter who rescued him from a burning house 23 years ago, an event that inspired him to pursue a career as a firefighter.

07/09/2025

In April 1989, Nintendo launched the original Game Boy in Japan, introducing a compact, battery-powered handheld with interchangeable cartridges and a dot-matrix screen.

Despite its monochrome display, the Game Boy sold out 300,000 units in just two weeks and later succeeded globally, selling nearly 119 million units with the Game Boy Color included.

Its debut in Tokyo marked the start of a gaming revolution, spawning iconic titles like Tetris and Super Mario Land, and shaping handheld gaming for decades.