Like most families, Juliane Koepcke and her mother, Maria Kopcke, spent their Christmas Eve traveling.

So on Christmas Eve, 1971, Juliane and her mother boarded LANSA Flight 50. a plane that could carry up to 99 people.

Their desired destination: Panguana, a research facility near Pucallpa, Peru. Juliane had spent 3 years studying the environment alongside her parents. With the anticipation of the holidays looming in the horizon, Juliane braced for what should have been a rudimentary hour flight.

Fifteen minutes before the projected landing, mother nature decided she had other plans. A thick blanket of black clouds encased the plane, reducing all visibility to zero.

Then, bam! With a swiftness, a lightning bolt not only illuminated the sky, but it sent the aircraft into a nosedive. Juliane remembered the strike, the sounds and weight of every passenger’s fear, and the calmness of her mother uttering “now it’s all over.” It was pure chaos, until it was nothing. Juliane said she can still recall the silence that followed the crash as she woke on the muddy ground of the Amazon rainforest, alone. 

2 Mile High Club

Juliane opened her eyes to find no flight attendants offering beverages, no pilot announcing their arrival, not a single other person. She immediately assessed her injuries. The confusion that she felt was a dead giveaway to a concussion. Additionally, her collar bone was broken from the impact, and she had large wounds traversing both her calf and shoulder. It would come to light following the crash that Juliane fell approximately 2 miles out of the sky onto the cold ground beneath her. 

Juliane wrote: “I lay there, almost like an embryo for the rest of the day and a whole night, until the next morning.” After the sun had risen, Juliane’s sedimentary attitude was replaced by a burning desire to find her mother. So, with lollipops from fallen luggage in hand she began her voyage through the notoriously dangerous jungle. 

From Juliane Koepcke to Tarzan 

​It was almost as if Juliane’s parents had spent their lives preparing the 17-year-old for this moment. Her mother Maria was a scientist who specialized in research of tropical birds. Her father, Hans-Wilhelm Koepcke, was a renowned zoologist. Between the two, they had provided Juliane a great advantage to surviving such a brutal environment. She was able to hear native bird calls and sounds of wildlife that indicated she was in the general region of home.

Juliane made her way across both bodies of water and intense self-made trails until she noticed a species of vulture her mother had taught her about. The birds were eerily circling a part of the forest. She tried to keep her optimism as she grew closer and closer to their marked location, with the daunting knowledge that these birds specialized in detecting death.

The image that followed is permanently etched into her memory. She saw three passengers, still strapped to their seats, that had not been so lucky in the crash. These casualties would be the first of many to Juliane’s knowledge. Even with the gruesome discovery, Juliane would not stop her fight for rescue. She navigated the Amazon for 10 days before not only her body began to give up, but her mind as well.  

The Sweet Sweet Sound of a Peruvian Fisherman

​On the tenth day, Juliane finally received some karmic return. Juliane found a small hut just past a riverbed she had been following. The hut must have looked like a top tier, 5-star hotel in that moment. She wandered inside and found a bottle of petrol. She quickly poured it into her large shoulder laceration and spent her next moments cleaning maggots out of her wound. Absolutely exhausted and feeling safer than she had in days, she decided to spend the night there.

Juliane was woken up the next day by a sound that startled her, the sound of people. She managed to make her way outside of the refuge and to the Peruvian fisherman nearby. Utilizing her Spanish, she was able to communicate that she was a survivor of the LANSA flight 508 plane crash. Juliane would eventually learn that she would be the only one to mutter those words, a lone survivor. Finally, days after Christmas, the best gift Juliane could receive was her in her grasp… salvation. 

The post How Teenager Juliane Koepcke Survived a Plane Crash and 10 Days Alone in the Amazon first appeared on History In Memes.

After the 1969 Woodstock festival, the notion of peace and love had spread all across the US. So, by the time this photo was taken in 1973, hippies could be seen everywhere, not just major cities. They were throughout different states, like Oklahoma, spreading their message of peace, love, and yes – flower power. We all have our own image of what a hippie is in our mind – some probably a bit more accurate than others.

Nonetheless, here are four key requirements you need to check off before adopting this groovy lifestyle. 

1. Understanding The Culture’s Origins

This culture, coined counterculture, started in the 1960s and spanned through the 1970s. It’s known as an act against the mainstream norms of the “American Dream,” such as getting married, getting a good job, having children, and living in a big house with a white picket fence. Those who participated in counterculture resented this idea and did not want to conform to the lifestyle that society told them was expected of them. The movement began with a younger demographic and originated mainly on college campuses before it spread through the nation. Surprisingly, hippies were mainly white, middle-class men and women. 

2. Knowing Where The Name Came From

The name “hippies” came from the word “hipsters” or “hip.” Hipsters came from the group of people who were referred to as beatniks, or people who rejected societal norms. Also, since a core belief in the hippie culture was the expression and openness of love and opposition to violence and war – a popular phrase among the movement became: “Make love, not violence.” Whether you call them hipsters, hippies, flower children, or free spirits, all their nicknames mean the same thing: Someone who didn’t fit in with or believe in the standard mold of what someone should do with their lives. A major takeaway from their movement is that there is not just one path for everyone to follow, rather there are different ways to live your life and express yourself.

3. Building A Lifestyle

They developed their own lifestyles consisting of communal living, vegetarian diets, crazy colored and tie dyed outfits paired with long hair, beards, flowers, and sandals. Also, open love, free sex, and fighting back against American institutions and war violence. And of course, recreational drug use. Seeking spiritual freedom and connection, hippies would be very much into hallucinogenic drug use like LSD and weed. So, before you thank your state for making marijuana legal or Seth Rogen for making being a stoner mainstream, thank the hippies for their laying the groundwork back in the day.

4. Any Reason To Gather And Celebrate

Hippies were looking for any reason to gather and celebrate. I mean who doesn’t love a good party? But, being a part of something greater and unifying as a community was a core part of their culture. Whether it was a music festival, marches, gatherings, and protests, people showed up for the cause. Celebrating life, love, and supporting an anti-violence or political message brought waves of people. Outdoor music festivals like Woodstock were also a major favorite event for hippies. Crazy to see how far events like these have come from when hippies were organizing them in the 1960s and 1970s to full-blown companies orchestrating events like Rolling Loud, Coachella, and Governor’s Ball.

And if you’re still curious about the hippie culture, this short documentary covers what it was like to be a hippie and also how to better understand them.

The post How to Be A Hippie in 1973 first appeared on History In Memes.

George Lucas’ 1977 film, “Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope” was light-years ahead of its time. The Star Wars movie franchise has made more than $65 billion in total revenue – with countless movies, tv shows, games, toys and more. But back in the 70s, no one – even the Star Wars cast – could have guessed just how successful the film would become.

The Star Wars Cast Back in 1977

Back in 1977, before the first movie was released, Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia), Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) and Harrison Ford (Han Solo) were just a crew of fresh-faced, up-and-coming stars. And no one could prepare them for the massive stardom they, along with the franchise, was on the cusp of.

The main cast of “Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope” ditched their lightsabers, costumes, and TIE fighters to promote the movie and take casual photos with each other in their streetwear. Pictured below (left to right) is Harrison Ford (Han Solo), David Prowse (Darth Vader), Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca), Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia), Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), and (Kenny Baker (R2-D2).

Let’s take a trip further down memory lane, before all the glitz and glam, and look at more shots from that day:

Enemies no longer! Harrison, Mark and Carrie casually pose next to the Clone Troopers who they battle frequently throughout the film. 

Star Wars Box Office Success

“Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope” was released on May 25, 1977. Memorial Day Weekend typically is a successful opening weekend for a film to premiere and is the start of the summer blockbuster releases. And the first Star Wars did just that. For context, the first Star Wars film had a budget of $11 million. The film ended up earning $461 million dollars in US ticket sales and $775 million worldwide. Not only was the sci-fi action-adventure a success with audiences, but critics adored it! The film received 10 Academy Award nominations and won seven (including Best Sound, Best Visual Effects, and Best Original Score). 

The film even started a tradition among Hollywood film directors in which they ended each other congratulatory notes when they pass box office records. 

What Is Going On with the Star Wars Franchise Now?

Years later, Star Wars has become a larger-than life, pop culture phenomenon. It has made its way from just nerd fandoms to mainstream praise. Walt Disney Company bought LucasFilms and the rights to Star Wars back in 2012, and have since made three film trilogies, two solo spin-off films and a handful of animated and live action shows including “The Mandalorian”, “The Book of Boba Fett”, and “Andor.”

The post Looking Back: Star Wars Cast in 1977 first appeared on History In Memes.