Thursday’s Photo Caption Contest

Today’s post comes from National Archives Office of Strategy and Communications staff writer Rob Crotty.

John felt war was no excuse to abandon his strict skin-care regime.
John felt war was no excuse to abandon his strict skin-care regime.

Call him John. Call him Mr. Poppins. But do not call him neglectful of his strict skin-care regime. Or so says this week’s winner, Janis!

So what was the story with our parasoled paratrooper? This photo is from the Records of the United States Coast Guard (RG 26) and was taken about 1943. But despite our best efforts, we’ve found no explanation as to what the heck our fair-skinned friend is doing. Maybe he lost at whatever game is being played behind him. Or maybe he really did just have a strict skin-care regime. Until we hear differently, we’ve filed this photo away with some of history’s other great mysteries like the lost colony of Roanoke, the Loch Ness monster, and the global success of Chia Pets.

This week, we’re taking a jaunt out west thanks to the folks at the National Archives at Riverside, California. You may recognize this image from the cover of one of our newest publications, Your Land, Our Land, which highlights the treasures at our regional archives.  The book is on sale at the National Archives e-Store, and if you win this week’s contest, you can put that 30% discount toward an autographed copy!

Fittingly, it’s our very own David Drake, Regional Administrator for the National Archives Pacific Region, who has accepted the glorious burden of judging this week’s photo contest.  So if you’re in California, drop by his office, tell him he’s looking particularly nice today, or buy him a nice latte, then casually mention that you’ve submitted a caption for this week’s contest.

Happy captioning!

Insert your caption!
Insert your caption!

Here’s one to get you started:

A river runs through it.

21 thoughts on “Thursday’s Photo Caption Contest

  1. While the aqua-car wasn’t perfect, the inventors knew they were headed in the right direction.

  2. Thinking it was only a myth, the kids were surprised to find the world did actually end at the edge of town.

  3. The dealer said it was a Crossover vehicle, so I naturally assumed that it could “cross over” this sinkhole!

  4. “Just keep smiling and looking cool, and maybe no one will notice that I left the hose running.”

  5. Henry swore that the Model A’s brakes were a vast improvement over the Model T, so I took him at his word!

  6. You may:

    1. Attempt to ford the river
    2. Caulk wagon and float it across
    3. Wait to see if conditions improve

    What is your choice? 1

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