Beach Bums - Part 72

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Gods, Myths, and Heroes - Part 69

 Mastaba of Kagemni, Egypt

Kagemni was the vizier of King Teti of Egypt's Sixth Dynasty, c. 2340 B.C.  His wife was a daughter of the king.  When he died, Kagemni was buried in an elaborate mastaba, or tomb, in Saqqara, Egypt.  Above, an image of Kagemni on the wall of his tomb, wearing the odd Egyptian kilt that projects forward like a triangle.

The tomb contained multiple chambers whose walls were covered with carved and painted artwork, much of it depicting the daily life of the common people of Egypt.  The common people wore considerably less clothing than the king and the nobles.  Above, two fishermen.

Here are some more fishermen.

This interesting carving depicts a hippopotamus hunt.  At least one of the hunters is unashamed.

Milking a cow that has extremely long, pointy horns.  Interestingly, the figure on the right is wearing a cloth around his loins, but it's open at the front, so it was not intended to preserve modesty.

We end with what is the most interesting image to me.  While a naked man holds a jar as if pouring from it, another man appears to be kissing a pig, and that's a serious French kiss (click to enlarge image).  Some commentators say that he's not kissing it, he's force-feeding it.  Others say it's not a pig; it's a dog, citing its feet which appear to have claws, but still others say that the claws might have been added later, because otherwise the animal looks like a pig.

Apparently in the ancient Egyptian religion, one way of showing respect for the dead was to decorate his tomb with a man French-kissing a pig.  Who knew?

World Naked Bike Ride - Part 78

Toronto 2025

Last time, follower CAAZ commented that although he would not necessarily participate in a World Naked Bike Ride, he would love to be a spectator.  Well, CAAZ, you can see the next WNBR in Toronto right near you.  It will be held on June 13, 2026, and the details will be on the WNBR Toronto website http://www.worldnakedbikeridetoronto.com.

Today we look at the WNBR that was held in Toronto on June 14, 2025.  Riders gathered in Coronation Park, above.

A rider being interviewed.

Another rider waiting in the park.

And then the ride began.

The route wound through the streets of Toronto, making a big loop ending back in Coronation Park.

One of the stops along the way was Nathan Phillips Square.  Above are some excerpts from a video that was taken of the riders riding into Nathan Phillips Square and spending a little time there.  There were many more riders than are shown here – this is an excerpt of less than a minute from a nine minute video.

So, CAAZ, next year, show up at Coronation Park or Nathan Phillips Square or another convenient spot along the route.  You can feast your eyes and you might even make a friend or two.

And the rest of you might want to check out CAAZ's blog Daily Hunks, as I do every day.

Estonian Photos - Part 34

Estonian Photos

We continue our series of photos from the Tartu Ülikooli museum of anthropology in Estonia.

For those who haven't seen my previous posts in this series, a few words of explanation.  The museum provides no information about the men, other than the photos came from the Institute of Anatomy at the University of Tartu.  In particular, it does not say who these men are, or when or why the photos were taken.  However, the photos are labeled "Füüsilise antropoloogia pildistus" (physical anthropology photography).

Who are these men?  My best guess is that they are military recruits.  The very short haircuts suggest that these photos were taken during or shortly after the enlistment process.

Many of the men in this series have dark faces and hands.  Are they are tanned from working outside like farmers, or are they dirty from some dirty occupation?  We don't know.

Note: the dark faces and hands are not as visible in today's post as in previous posts, but still faintly visible in some of the side views.  Perhaps the photos in today's post were taken in the winter, when farmers would not be spending as much time outside getting tanned.

When were the photos taken?  My best guess is between World War I and World War II, when Estonia was an independent country with its own military.  Before WWI, Estonia was part of the Russian Empire, and after WWII, Estonia was part of the Soviet Union until 1991.

A clue to the time frame is that these photographs were made on glass plates, not film.  Dry glass-plate photography started in 1871 and began to fall out of use in the 1920s.  I found some references to it in Estonia through the 1930s.

One other clue to the time frame of these photos is that in a previous batch, one of the men is wearing a wristwatch.   Wristwatches were considered to be for ladies before World War I.  (Men used pocket watches.)  However, during the war, wristwatches proved very useful for soldiers and pilots.  After WWI, wristwatches came into fashion for men.

Although wristwatches were evidently rare in Estonia (only two men wore a wristwatch among the hundreds that were photographed), it suggests that these photos are post-World War I.

Since the use of glass plates fell out of use in the 1920s, I think the photos were most likely taken shortly after World War I.

Although these appear to be military recruits, these are probably not military photos.  We know that the museum that currently has the photos got them from the Institute of Anatomy at the University of Tartu.  If these are military photos, why would they end up at the Institute of Anatomy?

I believe the photos were taken by academics doing a study of physical anthropology.  Scientists at the Institute of Anatomy were trying to measure what they considered racial characteristics of the population by measuring the body, including phrenology (measuring the skull), ideas which are now discredited.

I think that the scientists at the Institute of Anatomy may have persuaded the military to let them take photographs of the naked new recruits for "research" purposes.  I have no written evidence to support this idea, but since the photos were at the Institute of Anatomy, and the photo subjects appear to be military recruits, it's now my best guess as to what happened.

One other question that perennially arises from these photos is: why were the men photographed in pairs?  Was it to save film?

The answer is that these photos were made on glass plates, not film, but glass plates were more expensive and involved more labor than film, so yes, it's likely that the men were photographed in pairs to save on glass plates.

So, bottom line: My best guess is that these photos were taken after World War I, the subjects are new or recent Army recruits, and the Estonian military allowed scientists from the Institute of Anatomy to take photos of the naked recruits for a study of physical anthropology.

Vintage Military - Part 79

 World War II in the Pacific

You've already seen multiple posts about World War II in the Pacific in my Vintage Military series.  Today we see some miscellaneous photos that weren't in previous posts.

Guadalcanal was covered in a previous post, but that post didn't include the photo above, taken by LIFE photographer Ralph Morse, of soldiers bathing in a stream in Guadalcanal in 1942 or 1943.

Someone colorized that black-and-white photo.  Here's the colorized version.

Eniwetok in the Marshall Islands was taken from the Japanese in February, 1943.  This photo of soldiers and marines bathing in the sea is dated July 12, 1944.

Here's an undated photo from Eniwetok showing Marines showering.

This photo is labeled "Naked men bathing in the Mariana Islands."  The Mariana Islands included Saipan, Guam, and Tinian.  Those islands were taken from the Japanese from June to August 1944.

U.S. forces retook the Philippines from the Japanese between October 1944 and June 1945.  This 1945 photo by LIFE photographer Carl Mydans shows Americans bathing outdoors who had been prisoners of war of the Japanese and were then rescued by Filipino guerrillas.

We end with three photos by LIFE photographer J. R. Eyerman of U.S. Marines showering in a Marine camp on an unspecified Pacific island in 1945.

I do not know if any of these photos by LIFE photographers were actually published in LIFE magazine.  Probably not.  The LIFE logo in the corner merely signifies that the photos were from the LIFE photo archive.

LIFE never published photos showing frontal male nudity, but it occasionally published rear male nudity.

Olympic Photos by Paul Richer - Part 6

 Olympic Photos by Paul Richer, Part 6

We continue our series of nude photographs by Paul Richer of athletes in the 1900 Paris Olympics.  Richer was on an official Olympic commission to study the athletes.  Richer was responsible for taking nude anthropomorphic photos of the athletes, and since it was an official commission, almost all the athletes who were asked to participate did so.

We start with British cyclist Jack Green, above.

Here are Paul Richer's photos of Green, front view ...

rear view ...

and side view.

Disclosure: I have removed yellowing from Richer's photos and brightened them.

This is Belgian cyclist Louis Grogna.

And here are Paul Richer's photos of Grogna, front view ...

rear view ...

and side view.

Truxtun Hare, above, was an American athlete who was an All-American football player as a student at the University of Pennsylvania.  While in college, he competed in the 1900 Olympics in the shot put and hammer throw, winning a silver medal in the hammer throw.

I only have one nude photo of him by Paul Richer, a side view.

Our last Olympic athlete today is German cyclist Anton Huber.

Here's Anton Huber, front view ...

rear view ...

and side view.

Next time: More Paul Richer Olympic athlete photos.