Even though this seems like a shot taken from a movie, it is actually a real life photo. In 1947 a 23-year old woman by the name of Evelyn McHale leaped to her death from the 83rd floor of the Empire State Building. She landed on this United Nations limousine.

     This crazy looking photo was taken back in 1923 and shows a man testing a bulletproof vest. That is one scenario that I would definitely not want to be a guinea pig in. I wonder what kind of hazard pay this gentleman received?

These gals are something straight out of a Tarantino movie - a troop of highly skilled female assassins that were a thorn in the side of the Nazis, they look good and they shoot even better. While the American forces kept female participation in World War II to a minimum, over 2000 women were trained as sharpshooters in the Soviet Army and sent to some of the most dangerous areas of the war. 

After the war, sharpshooter Lyudmila “Lady Death” Pavlichenko bragged, “We mowed down Hitlerites like ripe grain.” Pavlichenko was pulled from field duty after a blast of shrapnel hit her in the face, but in one year she took out 309 German soldiers, including 36 enemy snipers.

What does it take to be a hero? Are people born into bravery or is it something that strikes us when we least expect it? This photo shows an ordinary person doing his best to save one life during a tumultuous time in Spain. He could have easily turned a blind eye to a child in danger but instead he ran into the fray to save the life of someone he didn’t even know. 

The Spanish Civil War pushed nearly 4,000 children out of Spain, sending them to live as refugees in England and France. The children lived in camps and didn’t return home until 1938 at the least. Even then, many of them lived in the ruins of bombed out buildings.

Throughout her tenure as a member of the royal family Princess Diana lent her name to many groups and causes that needed someone to vouch for them and to put them into the spotlight. Known as the “People’s Princess” she was a tireless advocate for gay rights and she was passionate about finding a cure of the HIV virus.

The organizers behind the Boston Marathon really didn’t want Kathrine Switzer to run in their race, but she was an athlete that wanted to be a part of something that shouldn’t have been exclusive, so she did what she had to do to be a part of the race. To prep for the race she trained with the Syracuse mens team, and even though organizers believed that women weren’t physically able to run 26.2 miles she proved them wrong. 

Initially Switzer disguised herself as a man to get into the race, but as soon as the organizers realized she was a woman they tried to physically drag her off the course.

When an accident happens you have to think fast, especially if you’re in a situation where it’s just you and a friend, alone with no hope for anyone to stop and help. When tragedy strikes in a situation like this, high up on an electrical pole, you can’t call for a doctor or hope that the problem will fix itself, you have to take action. 

That’s exactly what utility worker J.D. Thompson did when his co-worker Randall G. Champion went unconscious following contact with a low voltage line. The photographer, Rocco Morabito, said that it was by happenstance that he caught the snapshot

Every traveler’s worst fear - falling from a plane into a mysterious new land. Juliane Koepcke lived this story in 1971 when she was flying aboard LANSA Flight 508 over the Amazon when the plane went down on Christmas Eve. As Koepcke tells it everything was going fine until the plane encountered a thunderstorm, lighting struck the plane’s engine and the plane broke apart. Koepcke survived a 10,000 foot fall into the Peruvian jungle with a concussion, a broken collarbone and deep gash on her calf. 

For the next 11 days she fought for survival as she followed a stream to civilization. On the ninth day she found a small village of indigenous people who took her in and nursed her wounds. Days later she was finally reunited with her father.