Maggie Koerth-Baker is a guest blogger on Boing Boing. A freelance science and health journalist, Maggie lives in Minneapolis, brain dumps on Twitter, and writes quite often for mental_floss magazine.
It looks like I'll be spending another couple of weeks here at Boing Boing, which certainly leaves me feeling celebratory. In honor of the boundless excitement currently coursing through my veins, I thought I'd bring you some fun facts about one of the most iconic party pics in history–Alfred Eisenstaedt's famous VJ Day kiss photo.
Who's That Girl? Nobody Knows.
On August 14, 1945, thousands of men and women flocked to New York City's Times Square to celebrate the allied victory over Japan. There was, by all accounts, a lot of semi-anonymous lip-locking going on, but it's these two people–a sailor and a nurse–who smooched at just the right moment and became larger than life.
In his autobiography, photographer Eisenstaedt writes that he followed a sailor through the crowd, watching as the man kissed just about anything that moved and wore a skirt. When the sailor hit on a nurse who was wearing a pleasantly contrasting white outfit, Eisenstaedt took the shot…but failed to get either of their names written down.
To date, more than a dozen men, and at least three women, have claimed to be the kissers. Of the men, my favorite is George Mendonca, a Rhode Island fisherman, and World War II navy recruit, who claims he grabbed the strange nurse and kissed her right in front of his girlfriend. In fact, Mendonca says his girlfriend (now his wife) is visible in the background of the shot.
The Raw Deal
Amazingly, Eisenstaedt isn't the only one to blame for the fact that we have no idea who the kissers are. Photog Victor Jorgensen actually took the same scene from a slightly different angle…and also forgot to get the subjects' names. To be fair, though, it's hard to hate on Jorgensen, as dude seriously got the shaft. Although his version was the one that ran in the next day's New York Times, Jorgensen never got the glory (or the royalty checks) that Eisenstaedt enjoyed. Why? At the time, Jorgensen was working as a military photographer and didn't own the rights to his work. In fact, that's Jorgensen's shot I've posted here. It's in the public domain. Eisenstaedt's version, significantly, is not.
Everything Looks Better With Sharp Angles
Eisenstaedt's VJ kiss photo is one of many famous pictures that artist Mike Stimpson has recreated in Lego pieces. Check out his Web site for square-shouldered, claw-handed versions of everything from the D-Day landings, to John Lennon's bed-in for peace, to the National Geographic Afghan girl.
Still feeling frisky? The May/June issue of mental_floss (due in stores asap) has an article I wrote about 10 of history's most important kisses.
Photo from the National Archives, via pingnews photo service.
