This picture preserves a moment few cameras ever caught — two men testing a bulletproof vest in the absolute safest way possible. It is the kind of image that turns a line in a history book into something you can actually see.
Early body-armor inventors really did prove their products by being shot at point-blank range, often in front of reporters and police buyers. The most famous demonstrations were staged in the 1920s by W.H. Murphy of the Protective Garment Corporation, whose associate fired a revolver into his chest from a few feet away. The stunt made for astonishing photographs — and, remarkably, effective marketing.
Looking at experimental machines from the past, it is easy to laugh at what failed and forget how strange the successful inventions looked at first. To the people in the frame, this was the cutting edge, and the photograph preserves that optimism intact.
