Amusing Planet

Women in World War 2

2009-11-07T21:27:00.001-08:00

Before the start of the Second World War, women were expected to be 'housewives' or perhaps to do certain 'women's jobs', such as nursing or being a domestic servant or shop assistant. The war changed the world of work for women for ever. When men went to fight, women were called upon to fill their jobs, and this included many jobs that were previously thought of unsuitable for women. Women were called upon to work in factories making bombs and aircraft parts, as air raid wardens, driving tanks, building shops and so on. Life.com published a great collection of photos of women in various activities in the World War 2.

Women are on the front lines of World War II from day one, like these firefighters trying to contain the blaze during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

"Land Girls," volunteers in the Women's Land Service, who will replace male farm workers sent to battle, are among the 20,000 volunteers marching before King George VI in this 1939 parade in Hyde Park, London.

Three salesgirls from the Bourne and Hollingsworth department store in London, auxiliary members of the Womens Land Army, pick beans for the war effort.

Cicely Clark is one of 4,900 members of The Women's Timber Corps, dubbed "lumberjills," at work in a timber camp in 1942 in Suffolk, England as part of the war effort.

In 1943, a female steel worker welds a steel plate at the Gary Armor Plate Plant of Carnegie-Illinois Steel Corporation, Gary, Indiana.

Some 72,000 women would join the Wrens (Women's Royal Naval Service), freeing British sailors for combat duty by taking on home front jobs, like this Wren, an armorer at a Scottish Royal Air Force Base.

In November 1944, four female Italian anti-Fascist fighters relax as they await orders from their commander during their effort in support of Allied troops on the Castelluccio front.

In Finland during World War II, some 242,000 women join Lotta-Svard (named for a fictional Finnish battlefield heroine), making the female paramilitary group the largest volunteer organization in the world.

Servicemen, like these GIs in Germany in early 1945, adored Marlene Dietrich, and openly admired her fearlessness when visiting troops far from the safety of Hollywood. A native German, she became an American citizen in 1939. When asked why she traveled to war zones to entertain and comfort Allied troops, she famously and simply replied, "aus Anstand." "It was the decent thing to do."

Gower, shown at her base in Hatfield, Berkshire, created the Air Transport Auxiliary's Women's Section, a squad entrusted with ferrying planes for training purposes.

Looking out for enemy aircraft in England.

Reporting the position of enemy aircraft to gun crews

Nancy Nesbit, a pilot trainee in the Women's Flying Training Detachment checks with the control tower from the cockpit of her single engine Army trainer at Avenger Field in Texas.

Phyliss Jarman, a pilot trainee in the Women's Flying Training Detachment, wearing her favorite white baseball cap, writes up a report in her workbook during training to fly for the Women's Auxilary Ferrying Squadron at Avenger Field in Texas.

Pilot trainee Shirley Slade she sits on the wing of her Army trainer at Avenger Field, Sweetwater, Texas, July 19, 1943. In September, Slade graduated as part of the Women Airforce Service Pilots Class 43-5.

The 90,000 members of the U.S. Navy's WAVES (Woman Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) would serve only on the home front, but they would still get marksmanship training.

The women who volunteer for the U.K.'s Auxiliary Territorial Services (ATS) are not allowed to fight in World War II, but they do nearly every other job, like this woman at an anti-aircraft emplacement in Britain.

As Britain defends Gibraltar in May 1944, members of the Auxiliary Territorial Service (soon to become the Women's Royal Army Corps) train as controllers of gun batteries.

Women's Air Corps

A Member of America's Women's Air Corps (WACs)

Pilots of a Spitfire fighter squadron, wearing their life-vests to be ready to take off at any time, take part in a clay pigeon shoot. An officer of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force assists them by operating the clay pigeon trap.

A sergeant drills civilian women, members of the Women's Home Defence Corps, in the use of rifles.

These women, shown at a their barracks, are among the 20,000 who received riflery training in China's army so far during World War II.

WAC officers and other survivors on board a rescue destroyer after their transport ship was torpedoed in the ocean near North Africa.

A female Russian soldier grins broadly while showing off her medals and a US Army Officer's insignia pinned to her shirt after the Allied troops met following the fall of Berlin.

American soldiers and war correspondents join male and female Red Army soldiers in Torgau, Germany, on April 27, 1945, toward the end of the European war.

Soong Mei-Ling, the U.S.-educated wife of Chinese leader Chiang Kai-Shek, reads of Japan's surrender to the Allies in August 1945.

Miss Pole Dance Argentina 2009

2009-11-07T21:17:00.001-08:00

The Miss Pole Dance Argentina 2009 competition was held in Bueno Aires on Tuesday, October 20th. 24-year-old Brazilian Rafaela Montenero took home the top prize. She had also won Brazil's Miss Pole Dancer 2009. The second prize was taken by 29-year-old Maria Luz Escalante of Argentina. Both women will compete in the world championships in London in May.

Windsor Pumpkin Regatta

2009-11-04T07:02:00.001-08:00

The Windsor Pumpkin Regatta is an annual water race on giant pumpkins held in October on Lake Pesaqid in Windsor, Nova Scotia. The race was founded in 1999 by Danny Dill, who was a breeder of the Atlantic Giant pumpkin at that time. By 2001, The Pumpkin Regatta had grown into a major attraction, with enquiries from across Canada and the United States.

San Francisco LovEvolution 2009

2009-11-02T08:10:00.001-08:00

San Francisco LovEvolution (formerly San Francisco LoveFest) is a technoparade and festival that occurs annually in San Francisco in late September and early October. The parade includes 28 floats and starts at San Francisco's 2nd and Market Streets. The parade continues all the way to San Francisco Civic Center Plaza for a giant outdoor dance club with famous DJs. These pictures are from LovEvolution 2009 held on October 3rd.

Modeled after Germany’s annual Love Parade, the San Francisco LovEvolution has grown year after year and continues to build worldwide recognition.Loveparade originated in Berlin in 1989 after the fall of the Berlin Wall, but in 2003, the city denied the parade a permit and the event moved to San Francisco. Last year, when German organizers were able to secure permits back in Berlin, North American organizers decided to continue their own event and dubbed it the LoveFest, changing the name in 2009 to LovEvolution.

Photo Courtesy: David Yu

Miss International Queen 2009

2009-11-02T07:00:00.001-08:00

Miss International Queen 2009 is a transvestite beauty contest held annually in Thailand – a country famous for it’s gorgeous ladyboys and the transgender and transsexual culture. The finale of the 5th edition of the pageant was held on Oct 31 in Pattaya, Thailand, where Japan's Haruna Ai won the Miss International Queen 2009 crown beating Thailand's Kangsadal Wongducsadeekul. The Miss International Queen transsexuals and transvestites contest is aimed at the promotion of tolerance and positive attitude towards transsexuals and transvestites.

Ridiculous Rings

2009-11-01T06:25:00.001-08:00

Looks cute, all right. But who will wear them?

Creative and Funny Bed Sheet Designs

2009-11-01T00:10:00.001-07:00

The Musalman Daily – The Only Handwritten Newspaper in The World

2009-10-29T06:26:00.001-07:00

“The Musalman Daily”, is one of the oldest Urdu-language daily newspaper published from Chennai in India, and is probably the only one in the world that is still being handwritten. This four-page evening paper has managed to retain the old school look despite the availability of modern printing technology. “The Musalman Daily” has been around for the past 82 years since it’s inception in 1927 by founder Syed Azmathullah.

All four pages of the newspaper are handwritten by calligraphers, before being mass-produced with a printing press. The calligraphers, known as katibs, work in a little corner of a 800 sq. ft. one-room office. It takes three hours using a pen, ink and ruler to transform a sheet of paper into news and art. They don't have many facilities — only two wall fans, three bulbs and a tube light. Only last year did the editorl had a computer and a printer installed in his office so advertisers could email ads.

Each katib is responsible for one page. If someone is sick, the others pull double shifts -- there are no replacements anywhere in the city. When calligraphers make mistakes they rewrite everything from scratch. They earn 60 rupees (about $1.50) per page.

The final proofs are transferred onto a black and white negative, then pressed onto printing plates.

The handwritten stories are the Musalman’s biggest selling point. The paper has about 23,000 subscribers who pay less than $10 per year. Each copy of the newspaper sells at 75 paisa or about 1.6 cents.

Sources: Zimbio, Wikipedia, Wired

Paper Shoes

2009-10-27T07:10:00.001-07:00

If you want to own a pair, contact the creator. Price £30.

Superheroes in Old War Photos

2009-10-26T04:14:00.001-07:00

Indonesia born photographer and illustrator Agan Harahap uses his Photoshop skills to insert pictures of some of our beloved superheroes like Spiderman, Superman and Batman into memorable political and wartime photos from the mid-20th century in his new project called “Superhero Photography”. Funny stuff.

[via Formatmag]

The Strange Money Trees of England

2009-10-22T06:03:00.001-07:00

When you were a kid, you probably often heard your mother chiding that “money doesn't grow on trees” in an attempt to curb your expensive demands. If only you knew, you could have told her that money, in fact, does grow on trees. At least in England they do.

There are places in England where you can find trees with coins hammered and bent into the bark. Nobody knows for sure why people pushed coins into the trees. Some believe it brings good luck. Others believe that the amount of coins pushed in by an individual may result in them producing the same amount of children.

Money trees can be found all over Britain. All I need is a plane ticket... and a pair of pliers.

More money tree photos on this Flickr group

[via Trifter]

Appetite Killing Chinese Food

2009-10-20T20:33:00.001-07:00

Inside Microsoft’s Office at Redmond

2009-10-15T02:22:00.001-07:00

Here is a photo tour of Microsoft’s new research building called Building 99 in Redmond, Washington, USA.

A huge atrium with a coffee shop, a huge projector and sound system, so they can hold speeches there, or show movies or do other presentations.

Inside the building there are tons of collaboration spaces where they could meet, along with surfaces they could write things on. Here’s some equations that were on one such collaboration area, done by the cryptography group.

A “Minority Report” like holographic screens. Cool toys these guys have.

Each conference room has a little computer in front of it. Want to know if the room is open to use? Just check. Or sign up. It hooks into Microsoft’s Exchange server so other people who are at their desks can see the room is taken.

Microsoft Research is doing a lot of research where they need a completely quiet room, so they built one. Called an anechoic chamber this thing is so quiet you could hear your heart beating.

The floor is actually elevated so all networking, and air control can be put underneath. The carpet isn’t actually one solid piece, but rather is tiled so that each piece can be lifted off and things underneath can be reconfigured. If a researcher is bothered by the location of the air vent in their office he or she could have it moved to some other location. Even the interior walls were moveable. So, if a group wanted to change its space they could do so without costing Microsoft a lot of money in rebuilding costs.

The parking garage tells you what floors have spaces available so you don’t waste time looking.

Instead of wasting lots of room building bigger offices so that researchers could have space for book collections, they built book cases into the hallways.

Wide open spaces with coffee tables.

Many of the conference rooms are open to viewing from the atrium.

[via Scobleizer]

Mobile Mania

2009-10-13T07:52:00.001-07:00

Candid pictures of women talking on their cell phones in the streets. An amusing collection.

Image Courtesy: Foto61.net

Underwear Made from Soda Cans

2009-10-13T06:50:00.001-07:00

I heard some designers are running out of materials to create dresses.

An Illustrative Guide to Dating

2009-10-10T09:32:00.001-07:00

If you liked this, you will also like the Illustrated baby handling guide

120th Anniversary of Moulin Rouge (Vintage Photos)

2009-10-09T06:30:00.001-07:00

On October 6, 1889, a Frenchman named Joseph Oller made smut history by opening the world's most famous burlesque club in Paris' 18th arrondissement: the Moulin Rouge. Named for the red windmill on top of the building, it is cornerstone of burlesque culture and very possibly the birthplace of the striptease.

French painter Henri Toulouse-Lautrec (L) stands near one of his famous posters advertising the club with the director of the Moulin Rouge.

American sailors enjoy themselves at the Moulin Rouge in Paris during World War I.

Image Courtesy: Life.com

Inside the International Space Station Toilet

2009-10-09T04:26:00.001-07:00

You can’t take a dump in space the way you do at home, because space is a low gravity environment and you know what happens to things in low gravity. The sewer system or the Waste Collection System of the International Space Station ships is a marvel in engineering. Using a system of suctions and fans, it keeps human excrement from flying around the space module and keeps contamination at bay.

Take a look at the toilet of the ISS. Taking a leak in that would freak me out!

Model Casting for Victoria’s Secret (High-Resolution Images)

2009-10-07T09:17:00.001-07:00

Popular lingerie retailer Victoria's Secret held the New York portion of their National Model Search at Yankee Stadium this Saturday, October 3, 2009. Reportedly around 2,000 girls showed up for the casting. The winner of the national search will join Alessandra Ambrosio, Miranda Kerr, Doutzen Kroes, Marisa Miller and all the other angels as they walk in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show that will be broadcast live on December 1st.

Click on the images to download the high-resolution version.

Image courtesy: NBCNewYork.com

How to make friends by Telephone – A guide from the 1940’s

2009-10-03T23:11:00.001-07:00

Scott Steffens of weblog Contact Sheet came into possession of this old instructional booklet when his grandparents discovered it during housecleaning. Scott estimates it to be from the 1940’s - from an era when it was still proper to capitalize Telephone, much like the capitalization of Internet today. I searched hard to see if this book is still available for buying at some obscure Internet … oops, internet shopping site that sells vintage stuff. I couldn’t find any. All that remains are these nice scans that Scott so thoughtfully uploaded to his blog.

Also checkout this funny Illustrated baby handling guide for dumb parents

Batmobile spotted in the streets of Sweden

2009-10-03T08:44:00.001-07:00

The Famous San Francisco Fog

2009-10-02T03:42:00.001-07:00

The famous fog of San Francisco, California is a specific case of sea fog. Sea fog is a specific type of fog, which is develops as a result of wind blowing over cooler water. The water is often cool enough to lower the temperature of the moist air to the dewpoint, causing fog generation. Coastal areas in Mediterranean climates, such as San Francisco, have especially high occurrences of sea fog blowing off the ocean to just a few miles inland.

Temperatures can become very cold when the fog comes rolling in. Many people suggest wearing layers to make it easy to adjust to the changing conditions. The San Francisco fog is a very breathtaking sight.

Pictures of Flood in Atlanta

2009-09-29T23:57:00.001-07:00

Currently, Atlanta in the state of Georgia, USA, is in mess. Heavy rainfall for the past several days has the entire city under several feet of water. Schools are closed, roads eroded away and homes submerged. At least eight people were killed and one missing.

Flags from Food

2009-09-28T00:19:00.001-07:00

Flags of different countries created using food items at the Sydney International Food Festival 2009.

Museum of Vintage Cars

2009-09-26T00:15:00.001-07:00

Amazing photos of a scapyard full of old, forgotten, rusting vintage cars in twilight. The museum of vintage cars is located in Chernousova, Russia. You can view more pictures of this beautiful museum in the wild at the photographer’s website.