History’s Rarest Images: 50 Photos That Will Stop You In Your Tracks

Some of the most rare photos are also the ones that stop us in our tracks as we linger on the image. The emotion, the horror, the joy…whatever the feeling the photo captures, it’s just stunning to behold. These are the images that stay with us. The images that we talk about to our friends over drinks. Sometimes these are also the images that change the world. Scroll through the gallery and bare witness to some of history’s rarest images.

Nuclear bomb test at Bikini Atoll – 1946

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PBS

In the 1940’s, the United States conducted a series of nuclear bomb tests around the world. Over 216 nuclear tests were conducted via the atmosphere, underwater, and space. One of the best documented and shocking tests was at Bikini Atoll in 1946. From 1946-1958, 23 nuclear bombs were detonated at seven sites on the atoll.

The one pictured above was visually the most shocking ever documented and was called “Operation Crossroads”. The two tests in 1946 were called Able and Baker. Baker (seen above) was detonated in just 90 feet of water and caused massive damage and contamination to the atoll. The contamination to the area was so bad, they cancelled a third test that was to be called Charlie but was later detonated off the San Diego coast under the name Operation Wigwam.