The old timey photos in this series all have one eerie quality in common-the mother’s identity has been concealed. Whether with shroud, or by simply scraping the face away, erasing their identity seems like an odd thing to do when they’re posed for a picture with their children.

Maybe they were having a bad hair day, or woke up on the wrong side of the bed, but isn’t wearing a shroud over your head at a photo shoot an extreme reaction to not looking your best? If anybody has any insight into this strange trend in portraiture, please share! Otherwise, enjoy taking a look back at when people were really weird about having their picture taken.

Link –via Flavorwire

We’ve posted about some extremely unsafe toys here. the one that came to mind immediately when I saw the title of this Cracked post was the Atomic Energy Lab, and it’s included. But the others are just as shockingly dangerous! However, I remember some of them from my own childhood, the childhood with no seat belts or bicycle helmets or minimum age for babysitting. Shown here is a kit for children to learn how to melt and mold their own lead, which could not only burn a hole through flesh, but poison your brain as well. NSFW text. Link

While cattle ranchers sparred with farmers, the legal system was tangled by lawsuits over barbed-wire patents. Almost from the moment Jacob Haish and Joseph Glidden filed their first patents for barbed wire in 1874, the two men were squaring off in court. That same year, a hardware-store owner named Isaac Ellwood bought a 50-percent share in Glidden’s patent for $265. By the time the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Glidden’s favor in 1892 (his “Winner” design is used on most fences today), hundreds of patents for as many designs of barbed wire had been filed, and many more unpatented variations were on the market.

Now those rare early designs are highly sought by collectors. Yes, there are barbed wire collectors, as well as barbed wire clubs, museums, and conventions, as you’ll see in this article at Collectors Weekly. Link -Thanks, Lisa and Ben!

(Image credit: railman)

Think a minute -when did the first remote-control robot hit the market? It was way back in 1957 in Japan. This is a Radicon Robot, still in good shape 53 years later. It sold for almost $9,000 on eBay! But it is far from the most expensive collectible antique toy in this list of the 15 Most Expensive Vintage Toys Ever Sold On Ebay.com. Link -Thanks, Danny!

I love antique plates just the way they are, but these will appeal to modern sensibilities as well. Etsy seller BeatUpCreations offers old plates with new additions like side show performers, political faces, music stars, artworks, and movie characters transferred onto the porcelain. Link -via mental_floss