5

Yellowstone Used To Be Like Yogi Bear

There aren't a lot of bears roaming the public areas of Yellowstone National Park these days. But don't despair just yet; Yogi Bear wasn't entirely a lie. Back in the 1910s, bears basically did rule the entire park.

George A. GrantIn real life, Ranger Smith was never seen again after this photo.

See, back in the day, national parks had to placate government officials who would've liked nothing more than to pave over them. And what's more, they had to justify their existence in a way that didn't cost too much money. Luckily, Yellowstone had plenty of workers who didn't ask for a living wage. In 1919, the park opened a brand-new attraction: the "bear lunch counter."

4

The Only Two Words You'll Ever Need To Hear: Octopus! Wrestling!

In the late '50s and early '60s, octopus wrestling was a hugely popular spectator sport in the Pacific Northwest, drawing crowds of over 5,000. But rather than an awesome-sounding cage match between man and octopus, this was more of a glorified diving competition wherein teams of divers would compete to hunt down and bring back the biggest octopus they could.

3

Before Parks, People Played In Local Cemeteries

Throughout the 19th century, before a lot of wars made them real happenin' places, it was commonplace for families to use local cemeteries as public parks for their enjoyment. See, actual public parks were rare in those days, but cemeteries were green, well-cared-for, tidy places. Cemeteries across the country were often filled with visitors using them for everything from picnics to sunbathing.

Library of CongressYou ... you know you can read elsewhere, right? Like, there are buildings specifically made for that.

2

People Used To Come From All Over The Country To See A Real-Life Hermit

The Fort Fisher Hermit was once known as Robert Harrill, a man who'd spent his entire life getting dumped on by the Universe. After his son committed suicide, Harrill was confined to a psychiatric institution, which he soon escaped so he could start a new life, preaching the Good Word (or his approximation of it, the OK Word). He hitchhiked the 250 miles to Fort Fisher, North Carolina, where he took up residence in an abandoned wartime bunker. Locals and tourists who stumbled across this lonely old man hiding in the salt marshes did the only logical thing they could think of: They started telling all of their friends how awesome he was. And because the threshold for "entertainment" was far lower back in the '60s, the Fort Fisher Hermit was born.

Dincher/Wiki CommonsSomehow not a crime scene.

1

Chinatown Was A Whole Different Kind Of Tourist Trap In The 1920s

During the Great Depression, residents of San Francisco's Chinatown figured they could make some quick cash by showing white people exactly what they wanted to see: racist stereotypes.

They added "oriental" features onto the buildings, mocked up everything from fake opium dens and gambling halls to displays of "captured" white women in cages, and hired tour guides to spin stories of the "wicked orient" to guests.

It worked so well that the scam soon went nationwide. In New York's Chinatown, residents staged events like knife fights between "opium-crazed men" over prostitutes, all while tour guides warned guests to stick close, lest they too be thrown in a cage and turned into an attraction at Racist Disneyland.

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