MYSTERY: Really? A room full of spectators for a chess game? I know our attention spans have gotten worse through the decades, but I don’t ever remember a day when chess could transfix a crowd of teenagers.
THEORY: They were all smoking pot a few moments ago. Mom knocks on the door, and the kids spring into action: out comes the air freshener and the chessboard.
It’s a fun game to theorize the backstory behind found photos. There’s a story in each one – but they’ve been lost to time. It’s our job to piece together clues and hazard a guess. So, let’s have a look at a few B&W photographs from Flashbak’s mystery stack.
It appears this poor man is a captive to a pack of sadistic women. He’s clearly desperately trying to get away; perhaps hoping to use that lamp as a weapon to fend off the horde of sex-hungry women. Is this what goes on behind the scenes at sororities?
What the – ? A semi-nude woman and a chimp-in-a-toilet. I’m not even going to throw out a hypothesis. There appears to be a legit photo-shoot going on, so it’s likely not an amateur photograph… but what the hell?
I don’t know what’s going on here, but I know it would get your fired from your job today. Whether he is the school bus driver or a parent, this is wildly inappropriate. But credit where it’s due: This gent turned a run-of-the-mill group photo shot into an opportunity to splay across the laps of four young ladies. Well done, sir.
It’s not exactly customary to go shopping for canned goods and shredded wheat after you get married – but the 1970s were a strange time. Can we presume they work at the store? Any other explanation eludes me.
What the what? Clearly there’s a performance going on – but of what kind? It’s kind of creepy – and I’m completely flummoxed by the cleavage flags. Maybe this is The Joker: The Early Years. Before turning to a life a crime, he did scary cabaret. Perhaps it was years of receiving poor reviews which made him the supervillain we’ve come to know and love.
Is this teacher hypnotizing them with the Star of David? I’m as fond of the symbol as the next guy, but I can’t quite fathom why it would be the source of such awe from the student body… a strange game of show-and-tell indeed.
If you’re having trouble coming up with something fun to do this weekend – why not put gloves on grandpa? Yes, that’s right. Just place of big stack of gloves in your driveway, and you and the whole extended family can have a blast putting them on grandpa. Don’t knock it until you try it!
No points for guess who’s the belle of this ball. This is appears to be a press photo of some kind, and it’s labeled “1978”. But we don’t need any description of events – we know exactly what’s going on here. That poor schlep on the left thought he had a good thing going, until he was promptly upstaged by three cock-blocking douchebags in white.
Words fail me.
This wouldn’t be so bad if it didn’t look as though it was taking place in some darkened basement. Please tell me this isn’t from a serial killer’s scrapbook.
This is giving me the heebie jeebies – let’s move on, shall we?
What could be behind this ruckus? And why is there a grown man squealing like a schoolgirl? So many questions, so few answers.
Would you like to support Flashbak?
Please consider making a donation to our site. We don't want to rely on ads to bring you the best of visual culture. You can also support us by signing up to our Mailing List. And you can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. For great art and culture delivered to your door, visit our shop.
