this post was submitted on 11 Dec 2025
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HistoryPhotos

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HistoryPhotos is for photographs (or, if it can be found, film) of the past, recent or distant! Give us a little snapshot of history!

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[–] Eheran@lemmy.world 60 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

Obviously they were unable to make it straight.

[–] Bonus@piefed.social 7 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago) (1 children)

When asking for directions in San Francisco I've heard, never straight, always forward.

[–] iThinkDifferentThanU@lemmy.world 4 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 7 hours ago) (1 children)

funny I said this as a stoner

[–] Bonus@piefed.social 2 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago) (1 children)

rhos

You used to but you still do too

you're correct!! lmao

[–] SlartyBartFast@sh.itjust.works 8 points 7 hours ago (4 children)
[–] RickyRigatoni@retrolemmy.com 11 points 5 hours ago (2 children)
[–] altphoto@lemmy.today 2 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

Can I get the length in oranges?

[–] RickyRigatoni@retrolemmy.com 3 points 3 hours ago

At least 12.

[–] Reverendender@sh.itjust.works 2 points 3 hours ago

Give or take

[–] Lemminary@lemmy.world 4 points 5 hours ago (1 children)
[–] DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social -1 points 3 hours ago

I think you mean 1609.344 m

[–] turdburglar@piefed.social 12 points 7 hours ago (2 children)
[–] jqubed@lemmy.world 10 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

It used to be 5,000 feet but then the English decided to shorten the foot but keep the mile the same length in the Elizabethan era

[–] Reverendender@sh.itjust.works 3 points 6 hours ago (1 children)
[–] jqubed@lemmy.world 9 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

Yes, if somewhat indirectly, as in that wasn’t the goal.

Historically, the Romans invented the mile and it measured 1,000 soldier’s paces (if you speak a Latin-based language you will likely recognize “mile” as meaning 1,000). A soldier’s pace was supposed to cover 5 feet. Thus, one mile historically equaled 5,000 feet. Lots of countries influenced by the Roman Empire used to use some variant on that idea and they tended to stay fairly close in length, but there weren’t really any agreed-upon international standards.

[–] Lemminary@lemmy.world 5 points 5 hours ago

if you speak a Latin-based language you will likely recognize “mile” as meaning 1,000

Ohhh, that makes so much sense. In Spanish, "one mile" = "una milla" from "millar" = a thousand units

[–] Notyou@sopuli.xyz 2 points 7 hours ago

3 miles is near 5k....idk what the conversation is.

[–] Evil_Shrubbery@thelemmy.club 17 points 9 hours ago* (last edited 9 hours ago) (1 children)
[–] sem@piefed.blahaj.zone 3 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

I was going to ask how they made a flag a mile long, but now I will have to read why. Hahaha

[–] sem@piefed.blahaj.zone 5 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago)

Baker moved to New York at the end of 1993, initially staying in a commune at 9 Bleecker Street, off the Bowery. The basement commercial space at 269 West 16th Street, visible through a window and part of a high-rise apartment building in Chelsea, became his “Raise the Rainbow” workshop. In anticipation of long hours of sewing, he had white linoleum floors installed to reflect more light in the space. The walls, including the pipes, were painted white and big banks of fluorescent lights ran the length of the room. He also specified the location of a staircase (still there) so that the finished flag could be transported to street level more easily. The workshop accommodated 18 “refrigerator-sized crates,” each holding a bolt of fabric and weighing 400 pounds.

Baker was joined by McNamara and Jones’s assistant, Ed, who ran the front office. Richard Ferrara, who created banners and flags for Heritage of Pride, the organizers of the NYC Pride March, was Baker’s chief assistant. (Other volunteers helped fold, tie, and transport the flag.)

"I would get to the workshop at seven thirty each morning, drink coffee, and start sewing. James and Ed would roll in around ten. Richard dropped by most evenings. The four of us put in long hours, often staying late into the night." --Gilbert Baker, Rainbow Warrior (2021)

Completed in early June, the mile-long flag, then a Guinness World Record, weighed 7,000 pounds and measured 30 feet in width.

[–] humble_boatsman@sh.itjust.works 32 points 11 hours ago

How the hell did they do that. If that happened today there would be a million gram videos and a Netflix documentary on it.

[–] DarkCloud@lemmy.world 14 points 10 hours ago

I wonder what they did with it after.

[–] Bonus@piefed.social 13 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

How far America has fallen

[–] frank@sopuli.xyz 1 points 1 hour ago

To be fair, I don't think NY has "fallen" like a lot of the rest of the US has. They did just elect Mamdani after all!