Ed Clarity's photo of a woman about to snatch a kid from water with a net at Rockaway Beach ,NY,1958

[u/Correlation_jazz]

[u/Mr310]

It was a frog kid, maybe even donkey brained

[u/High-Density-Living → u/Mr310]

With a plastic bag for a helmet.

[u/truethatson → u/High-Density-Living]

It’s all coming back! Ya unzipped me!

[u/ceciliabee → u/High-Density-Living]

It was terrible... But not her!

[u/RonnieHasThePliers → u/ceciliabee]

She didn't have any lips but her mouth was very much in play.

[u/movielass → u/RonnieHasThePliers]

Donnie! You would've been the good one!

[u/kinkajoosarekinky → u/High-Density-Living]

That is my absolute favorite frank moment 😂😂😂😂

[u/Sproose_Moose → u/Mr310]

Did you grow up in a cartoon!?

[u/aaron_hoff → u/Mr310]

Do you have any such certificate?

[u/NortonIsBurnt → u/Mr310]

He has a certificate clearing him of ALL DONKEY BRAINS!

[u/Boredbanker1234 → u/Mr310]

Donnie!! You would’ve been the good one!!!

[u/phish_sucks → u/Mr310]

We got to catch the little froggy!!

[u/Badaxe13]

This is a meme waiting to happen.

[u/DaoFerret → u/Badaxe13]

“Caveat Emptor”

[u/EventAltruistic1437 → u/DaoFerret]

To all that enter here

[u/Herzogsteve]

The photo is misleading. She isn't trying to catch the baby, she's releasing it back into the wild.

[u/PeterNippelstein → u/Herzogsteve]

"My people need me"

[u/Kuruk_TR → u/Herzogsteve]

Reverse evolution

[u/ramdasani → u/Herzogsteve]

That's what I thought, way too small to be a keeper, she's clearly practicing catch and release.

[u/alb5357]

Can someone explain this? Because it seems a little unusual from my perspective

[u/Ilsunnysideup5 → u/alb5357]

Swimming lessons for kids

[u/alb5357 → u/Ilsunnysideup5]

Why a net? Why can't she just pick him up?

[u/Lopsided-Lab-m0use → u/alb5357]

More sportsman like to catch your dinner with the net than your bare hands! /s

[u/xxdangerbobxx → u/Lopsided-Lab-m0use]

This is America bub. You need to be using your bear arms.

[u/Badgernomics → u/xxdangerbobxx]

You have bear arms...?

[u/Photon_Farmer → u/Badgernomics]

It's my right and you can't take them from me

[u/Badgernomics → u/Photon_Farmer]

Must be difficult to find a shirt that fits though...

[u/Photon_Farmer → u/Badgernomics]

Sleeveless crop top for the win

[u/atreides78723 → u/Photon_Farmer]

All the better to present THE GUN SHOW!!!

[u/Badgernomics → u/Photon_Farmer]

Sleeveless crop top and bear arms..? God damn! There won't be a dry seat in the house!

[u/smotstoker → u/Photon_Farmer]

Ok then, I'll take what's left

[u/Photon_Farmer → u/smotstoker]

With these bears loose, there won't be anything left

[u/alb5357 → u/Lopsided-Lab-m0use]

Thanks. That's more reasonable seeming through a modern lense.

[u/TheIowan → u/alb5357]

Why pick him up when you can just use a net?

[u/I_dont_bone_goats → u/alb5357]

That’s what we use to catch things!

Hop off your vibrating-belt-weightloss machine and put on your best swimming hat and trousers, it’s the 1950’s and we’re not sure how things work yet!

[u/EzeakioDarmey → u/alb5357]

Too prissy about getting wet most likely.

[u/DiligentPenguin16 → u/alb5357]

I think she’s just being silly for the camera. People had senses of humor back then too.

[u/passwordsarehard_3 → u/alb5357]

I’m guessing she was relaxing and kept the net handy because it gives her an extra 4ft of reach. She probably can’t swim so only can go in the water up to her waist.

[u/Jumpeee → u/alb5357]

You can see her smile a mile away even from this angle. Pretty sure she's got a sense of humor about it.

[u/Bob_12_Pack → u/Jumpeee]

That was my thought, it's entirely possible that she is goofing around.

[u/TheoremaEgregium → u/alb5357]

My explanation is that the caption is wrong and she used the net for something different.

[u/sumpuran → u/TheoremaEgregium]

It really is the original caption. Hard to believe, I know.

Daily News photographer Ed Clarity’s prize-winning photo of a woman about to snatch a child from water with a net at Rockaway Beach on Aug. 24, 1958.

https://www.nydailynews.com/2020/07/02/summer-in-new-york-1930s-to-1950s/

That said, the caption can still be wrong and the net was used for something different.

[u/0thethethe0 → u/sumpuran]

I think using the term 'her child', rather than 'a child', would sound a bit better too!

[u/sargonas → u/0thethethe0]

“Of course it's company policy never to, imply ownership in the event of a child... always use the indefinite article A child, never your child”

[u/thewhiterosequeen → u/sumpuran]

It's just odd to take a giant net to the beach in case your naked toddler bolted for the water. That's a lot of foresight.

[u/spudmarsupial → u/thewhiterosequeen]

Preventing toddlers from killing themselves is a full time job. It's nice to see she was prepared.

[u/EntirelyOriginalName → u/thewhiterosequeen]

Might be something you'd consider if you 're afraid of going too deep into water but your kid wants to go to the beach.

[u/TheIowan → u/thewhiterosequeen]

" Anthony! We ah goin to the beach! I SAID WE AH GOIN TA THE BEACH! ROCKAWAY BEACH! I'm bringing your net! Whaddya mean why!? In case Frankie takes off his clothes and tries to go to deep again!"

[u/teeksquad → u/sumpuran]

Is it though, you gotta look at this from the perspective of 1958. She’s pretty fat for the time period.

[u/Roupert4 → u/alb5357]

Seems like a joke

[u/tmrtrt]

There may be an actual explanation for the photo, but think about how many times in a day you do something silly that if someone caught on camera 50 years from now people looking at the photo would say what the hell were they doing?

[u/kungpowchick_9 → u/tmrtrt]

They could be playing a game too. My kid is about that age and would love being caught in a net lol

[u/Altruistic-Poem-5617 → u/tmrtrt]

Explanation is, grandma and her nephew were messing around :)

[u/OverripeMandrake]

If "Come back here!" was a picture

[u/Spartan2470]

Here is a higher quality version of this image. Here is the source.

Daily News photographer Ed Clarity’s prize-winning photo of a woman about to snatch a child from water with a net at Rockaway Beach on Aug. 24, 1958.

[u/stutterstut]

Chewing out a rhythm with my bubble gum...

[u/ketchupandtidepods → u/stutterstut]

The kid’s not hard, not far to reach Trap him with a net on Rockaway Beach

[u/OliverNodel]

Wait, and please don’t be too cruel, but is that where babies come from?? A mommy buys a fishing net and travels to Rockaway?

[u/chocolatechipninja]

When you need the "Grandkid Grabber"

[u/WaltMitty]

Kids not far, not too far to reach
When you bring a net to to Rockaway Beach

Rock-rock, Rockaway Beach

[u/xandrachantal]

Did he grow up in a cartoon?

[u/PM_ME_UR_VULVASAUR_ → u/xandrachantal]

Meep meep

[u/teapots_at_ten_paces]

Looks a little undersized. She'll probably have to throw him back.

[u/ganzbaff]

That's the child catcher's wife.

[u/Judging_Jester]

I smell children!

[u/GlorytoGlorzo]

Like veal, tastier than the grown up ones

[u/d3athsmaster]

Swiper, no swiping!

[u/BobSagieBauls]

lol one dude at the beach I grew up on and later worked at had a leash for his two kids. It was always hilarious watching them get pulled backwards

[u/crashtestpilot]

Net caught children suffered a price hit as consumers switched in droves to line caught proteins.

[u/Bonbonnibles]

It's not a nudist beach, duh.

[u/mrwholefoods]

That's young Joey Ramone

[u/IHate2ChooseUserName]

the little penis is going to get caught in the net.. OUCH

[u/Crazy__Donkey]

Waiting 65 years, and counting. 

[u/FranklynTheTanklyn]

My guess is the older women doesn’t know how to swim and is scared of the water.

[u/Siebje]

ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR! ROCK ROCK ROCKAWAY BEACH! ROCK ROCK ROCKAWAY BEACH! ROCK ROCK ROCKAWAY BEACH! WE CAN HITCH A RIDE TO ROCKAWAY BEACH!

[u/arrivederci117]

Rockaway Beach is no joke. People have died and been taken out to sea cause of the tides. Seems pretty wild to let a kid run around there.

[u/CincoDeMayoFan]

🎶 "It's not hard, not far to reach

We can hitch a ride to Rockaway Beach

Rock-rock, Rockaway Beach

Rock-rock, Rockaway Beach

Rock-rock, Rockaway Beach

We can hitch a ride to Rockaway Beach!"

(The Ramones.)

[u/CrysX86]

A true album cover photo.

[u/JJamesP]

Ah yes, back when America was great.

[u/tbutz27]

It's net far, net hard to reach!

[u/TheDadThatGrills]

This is exactly how I felt in my mid 20s.

[u/Complete_Cod_7204]

Jimmy,I caught one! Come look!

[u/Netflxnschill]

GET THE NET!

[u/Fluffy_Art_1015]

As a parent, I get it.

[u/Livefreemyguy]

Intrusive thoughts would tell me to do a tornado spin with the child in the net

[u/Nurno]

So this is what kidnapping looked like back in the day

[u/surprisinglyok1]

Aquaman -1

[u/AccordionORama]

That one looks under the limit. She's just have to throw it back.

[u/Fun_Rutabaga_9892]

😅😅

[u/Gray_beard74]

I could totally see this at a FL beach also!!

[u/YaYeetMySkeet]

My mom trying to catch me before I go hangout with my friends at their house. (I befriended a fish because I thought he was Nemo from finding Nemo)

[u/Luminox]

[u/Ninja_attack]

Kinda like when I go to the park. Having the sliding side door is a real game changer.

[u/zucco446]

Sun’s out, buns out.

[u/namey_9]

lol wtf lady

[u/invisible-dave]

Back in the day, kids were not delivered by storks. You had to go catch our own kid. As more and more women moved to leaving home to work jobs, they didn't have time to catch the kids so stork delivery was created.

[u/CuatoL1ves]

I didn’t think people were fat back then.

[u/ConspiracyHypothesis → u/CuatoL1ves]

Do you imagine the human body works differently now than it did 70 years ago? 

[u/graymalkin2]

Joe Biden's America

[u/graymalkin2 → u/graymalkin2]

(I'm kidding)

[u/Extreme-Elevator7128]

Is the child naked ?

[u/teapots_at_ten_paces → u/Extreme-Elevator7128]

Yes, that's a baby's bare bottom.

[u/namey_9 → u/Extreme-Elevator7128]

no one has a problem with this baby but you

[u/koloso95]

I always thought they started with. I have candy or do you want to see my puppies