Here's a book about WWI before WWII happened — meaning WWI was only considered "the world war."
Here's an old letter from an American soldier fighting in WWII to a woman back in the States, describing his fellow soldiers.
And here's a wildly racist "Japanese Hunting License" from WWII.
If you've never heard of a "blood chit" before, it's basically a card, patch, or other item kept or sewn on a soldier in the event that they crash their plane or end up incapacitated somewhere. Whoever finds the soldier can read the patch, where the same message is printed in many languages: "I am a citizen of the United States of America. I do not speak your language. Misfortune forces me to seek your assistance in obtaining food, shelter and protection. Please take me to someone who will provide for my safety and see that I am returned to my people. My government will reward you."
Here's what the Pledge of Allegiance used to look like — the "Under God" wasn't added until 1954
And "In God We Trust" was not added to paper currency until 1957. Found some old money in a box of my late grandmother's. Here, you can see the difference between a bill from 1939 and 1957.
Ever wonder what it was like to be a prisoner of war? Well, this person's grandpa was one during WWII, and you can check out his ID card from his time as a POW in Guernsey here.
Here are some doodles from 1878 that show not much has really changed after all.
This 1800s graffiti by prisoners in England also makes me feel weirdly connected to the past.
As does this 2000-year-old paw print from a dog or cat.
These old potato chips also make me feel connected to the past, though I find it funny they call it "a healthy food."
This is what an undesirable discharge from the '70s looks like. Different from dishonorable discharge, this was often used to expel gay men from the army (though in the below case, the poster claimed that he thinks the man, his great uncle, went AWOL and came home).
In comparison, this is what a honorable discharge from the Civil War looks like.
The ~$100 hospital bill from a 6-day birthing stay in 1956 will probably make you very, very angry.
As will the price of this 1984 Michael Jackson ticket.
These tickets from the '70s will likely make you even angrier. This person saw Aerosmith for NINE DOLLARS.
Did you know there's such a thing as a $10,000 bill and a 3-cent bill? The $10,000 bill hasn't been issued since the '60s, and the 3-cent bill (used in place of coins as people hoarded metal during the Civil War) hasn't been issued since the 1870s.
There also used to be $1000 bills.
Ever wonder what Confederate money from the Civil War looked like?
How about a draft notice for the Civil War?
Here's a Vietnam War draft notice for comparison.
It's super wild to see this "invasion note" from when Japan invaded the Philippines in the 1940s, introducing their own currency (the Filipinos had destroyed, dumped, or sent away their own currency). These were colloquially known as "Mickey Mouse Bills" because there were no reserves to back up the bills, which were constantly becoming worth less and less during a period of terrible inflation.
Speaking of Mickey Mouse...did you know there were multiple versions of the Disney logo? These are different ideas from 1975, when they changed the logo to what we know it as today.
It's also soooo wild to see an old magnet from Amazon back in the day. This is from when they only sold books.
Lysol also used to look a *little* different.
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I wondered what that was. I’m 50 years old and have never seen one of those.