23 Weird Vintage Photos That Prove History Was MESSED Up. We can't escape the strangeness of the past, so we might as well embrace and learn from it. Below you'll find a series of photos that range from entertaining to horrifying. For example, you'll laugh about the old fat rolling contraption. It may have provided a good massage, but we all know that the average person can only reduce body fat with a change in diet and some exercise. You'll also see what the beginnings of plastic surgery looked like, how astronauts prepared for takeoff, and the sad realities of early circus entertainment. Times are changing fast, and today's scenes will one day become a spectacle to future generations. #1. Flashback to 1924, when having a disability or medical condition brought you into the Ringling Brothers and Barnun & Bailey Circus of Freaks. #2. This photo of a Blackfoot Chief during a recording session at the Smithsonian Institution in 1916 proves that we cannot view history as that thing that happened a "really long time ago." #3. Tourists enjoying that they were there after the fact at the Sequoia National Forest in May 1951. #4. Good ole American vaudeville with the Three Stooges, who actually look like gangsters when out of character. #5. The disappearance of Stalin's advisors. #6. This is what diving looked like in Florida in the 1950s. #7. Don't jump to conclusions, this giant water lily called the 'Queen Victoria' can actually hold up to a hundred pounds at the center. #8. In 1966, ladies used their compact mirrors to catch a glimpse of Queen Elizabeth II. #9. Training as an astronaut in the 1960s required a lot more than you might think. The Apollo spacecraft was scheduled to land in the ocean, which meant that the astronauts had to invest in water egress training. #10. Peter Freuchen together with wife Dagmar Freuchen-Gale. Peter is considered one of the most interesting men in the world. Not only was he known for his height of 6' 7", he was also an anthropologist, arctic explore, author, and journalist. #11. Submarine crews don't see much daylight, so here's one in 1942 taking a course of sun-ray treatment in the depot ship. #12. One of the earliest Mickey Mouse Club meetings. Looks like fun... #13. The original Ronald McDonald rivaled Pennywise. Willard Scott, pictured here, graduated from this position and eventually became the weatherman for The Today Show. #14. When literally rolling your fat away was a thing. #15. Make sure to roll away those pain points... #16. Walter Yeo suffered from terrible facial injuries while manning the guns aboard a ship in 1916. The following year, Sir Harold Gillies treated his injuries by using skin grafts from undamaged areas of the body. Yeo was one of the first to undergo this technique. #17. A mobile prison cell. I would've probably built the bars a little closer to one another. #18. Prepping some realistic hands for Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum in the early to mid-twentieth century. #19. A fire struck the wax museum in 1925, resulting in this creepy photo. #20. A beauty contest. Rest assured this one isn't based on looks. #21. Josephine Myrtle Corbin was born a dipygus with two separate pelvises. Her curious body helped her earn money for her family at a young age. At 19, she married doctor Clinton Bicknell. In documents, she was described as an intelligent lady and a refined woman. #22. A graphic look at a Disney animatronic as it is worked on by two engineers. #23. "Magic Hands" at West Berlin's Industrial Fair. This device was designed for handling radioactive materials. They presented it in this scenario to promote that fact that it was so delicate that it could be used to pin a diaper on properly, but they may have shot themselves in the foot with the display. I mean, come on. Look at it. | 
