While the lido was described as bringing “modernism to the masses” on the British coast it was just the latest example of a trend that had been developing since Victorian times – transforming seaside towns into resorts for leisure and entertainment. In the latter half of the nineteenth century, the fashion was for local authorities to build great piers stretching from the promenade out into the sea. The Eastbourne Pier, pictured here in May 1931, was erected between 1866 and 1870 to an ingenious design by Eugenius Birch, which saw the structure sitting on special cups allowing the supporting struts to “move” in bad weather. Arranged on the pier's 1,000-foot length were kiosks, a theatre, a ballroom and a camera obscura. 1931. (Photo by Aerofilms Collection via “A History of Britain From Above”)

“The Giant's Causeway is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic eruption. It is located in County Antrim on the northeast coast of Northern Ireland, about three miles (4.8 km) northeast of the town of Bushmills. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986, and a National Nature Reserve in 1987 by the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Visitors walk on the Giant's Causway on March 14, 2012 in Portrush, Northern Ireland. (Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)

“1955 was a year of change for Marilyn Monroe. After leaving Hollywood for New York, and abandoning her contract with Twentieth Century Fox, Marilyn was no longer “just a dumb blonde”, but a true renegade. In January, Marilyn formed a production company with photographer Milton Greene, and moved into a suite at the Ambassador Hotel”...

Photo: American actress Marilyn Monroe (1926–1962) leans over the balcony of the Ambassador Hotel in March 1955 in New York City, New York. (Photo by Ed Feingersh/Michael Ochs Archives)

“With a fourth explosion rocking the Fukushima nuclear plant on Tuesday, danger of the spent nuke fuel pool boiling and radiation levels at the facility's gate increasing hundredfold, fears of a meltdown in Japan skyrocket”. – Russia Today

Photo: In this handout image provided by U.S. Navy, an aerial view of tsunami and earthquake damage is seen from an SH-60B helicopter assigned to the Chargers of Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron (HS) 14 from Naval Air Facility Atsugi March 12, 2011 seen from the air of Sendai, Japan. (Photo by U.S. Navy via Getty Images)

South Korean university students prepare for an establishment ceremony of the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) for female cadets at Sookmyung Women's University on December 10, 2010 in Seoul, South Korea. The South Korean defense ministry has agreed to admit women into it's college-based Reserve Officers' Training Program for the first time since the program began in 1963. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)

A group of children and their dog playing an Easter game in Cardiff. The game involves trying to eat an Easter egg off a piece of string without using their hands. (Photo by Richards/Fox Photos/Getty Images). 26th March 1937

From the waters edge a New York policeman urges two young children to put their bathing costumes back on. (Photo by Ed Clarity/Keystone/Getty Images). July 1949

Racing driver J. Gaal at the wheel of car number 26 at the RAC Tourist Trophy, run, for the first time, over the Four Inch Course on the Isle of Man, 17th September 1908. Gaal is racing in waterproofs. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)