Today I Learned: These Mildly-Interesting Photos Are Proof There Are New Things to Discover Every Day

Back in the 1930s, if you wanted to demonstrate just how much weight your car could carry, there was only one way to do it – pile a bunch of dudes on top of it! That’s right; car manufacturers would literally load up their vehicles with as many guys as they could find just to prove how tough and sturdy they were.

It’s like a weird automotive circus act, with guys balancing on the roof and hanging onto the bumpers for dear life. Of course, this method of demonstrating a car’s carrying capacity wasn’t exactly scientific, but it was certainly entertaining. And who knows – maybe these brave guys really did help sell a few extra cars. After all, if a car can support a dozen or so grown men without collapsing, it must be pretty durable, right?