An American soldier at an advanced allied base, with his pet kangaroo (© John Earl McNeil via Australian War Memorial collection via Flickr)

Timeless appeal: sexy men with adorable animals, like this American soldier at an Australian military base with his pet kangaroo.

Los Angeles beaches (OSU Special Collections & Archives via Flickr)

An old-school Los Angeles beach in the days before bikinis.

Lucie de Souza Cardoso, 1890-1987 (Biblioteca de Arte-Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian via Flickr)

The mysterious Lucie de Souza Cardoso, striking a pose. Or maybe just stretching after a long day at the office.

'Hitchhiker with His Dog "Tripper" on U.S. 66, May 1972' (The U.S. National Archives via Flickr)

1972, hot guys and little critters strike again with this hitchhiker on U.S. 66.

'Uniformed Letter Carrier with Child in Mailbag' (Smithsonian Institution via Flickr)

One very deadpan uniformed postal carrier with baby in mailbag. So, that's where babies come from.

'Lovely PSA Flight Attendants' (San Diego Air & Space Museum Archives via Flickr)

Pacific Southwest Airlines flight attendants ready to break hearts at 30,000 feet.

'Three girls making a "sandman" at the beach' (State Library and Archives of Florida's photostream via Flickr)

A beach sandman in Florida.

'Sponge diver John Gonatos: Tarpon Springs, Florida' (State Library and Archives of Florida via Flickr)

A sponge diver in Florida. That was a noble profession now rendered obsolete by fake sponges. (We assume.)

'A possum and a movie camera 1943' (Australian War Memorial collection via Flickr)

A possum gets on a camera in 1943, goes on to direct "Double Indemnity."

'Coeds with Hoes' (OSU Special Collections & Archives via Flickr)

"Co-eds with hoes," back when that wasn't a double entendre.

'Portrait of Albert Einstein & Others (1879-1955), Physicist' (Smithsonian Institution via Flickr)

Albert Einstein and "others"...everyone is an other when you stand next to Albert Einstein!

'Fort Wayne Daisies player, Marie Wegman, of the All American Girls Professional Baseball League arguing with umpire Norris Ward: Opa-locka, Florida' (State Library and Archives of Florida via Flickr)

An All-American Girls Professional Baseball player gets just as mad with an umpire as a male counterpart in Opa-Locka Florida.

'Unidentified soldier of the First AIF' (Australian War Memorial collection via Flickr)

Ridiculously photogenic unidentified solider of the First Australian Imperial Force.

'A group of children hoisted in a crate on board HMAS CANBERRA, 12 December 1931' (Australian National Maritime Museum on The Commons via Flickr)

In a less litigious world, a crate of kiddies is loaded onto the HMAS Canberra in 1931.

'The Eagle Nebula (M16)' (Smithsonian Institution via Flickr)

The Eagle Nebula, known for making viewers start reverently humming the "Star Wars" theme.

'Richard M. Nixon and Elvis Presley at the White House' (The U.S. National Archives via Flickr)

Nothin' but a hound dog and Elvis Presley, at the White House.

'Skeleton' (Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums via Flickr)

A man tries to reason with his imaginary best friend in this photograph "Skeleton."

'Baby & a dog on a sailing ship' (Australian National Maritime Museum on The Commons via Flickr)

From the Australian National Maritime Museum, a duo as old as photography: baby and dog.

'Man & child' (Fylkesarkivet i Sogn og Fjordane via Flickr)

Abraham Lincoln during his Heidi phase. Wait, no! Unidentified Scandinavian man and child. Easy mistake to make.

'The Big Three at Yalta' (The National Archives UK via Flickr)

"The Big Three." You just know Winston Churchill is saying something sassy about Yalta.

'The Fifties in 3D' (The National Archives UK via Flickr)

3-D moviegoers in the 1950s, looking very pleased with themselves.

'Couple with a young female spirit' (National Media Museum via Flickr)

"Couple with female spirit." Now off to "wardrobe for fresh underpants."

'Dog with a pipe in its mouth' (LlGC ~ NLW via Flickr)

Smoking doesn't make you look cooler, unless it's a pipe and you are a dog from the early 1900s.

'Cwmdeuddwr processions and Montgomeryshire personalities' (LlGC ~ NLW via Flickr)

Or you're this lady.

'Woman in bathing suit at edge of stream near Paradise Glacier ice cave, Mount Rainier National Park' (UW Digital Collections via Flickr)

Paradise Glacier Cave in Mount Rainier National Park is supposed to be in this photo, but all we see is hubba hubba hubba.

'Woman with slabs of bacon tied to her feet standing in a giant skillet holding an enormous wooden spatula and smiles at the crowd, Chehalis, Washington' (UW Digital Collections via Flickr)

Of course, this photo is used all the time. A woman with giant pieces of bacon on her feet gliding around a giant frying pan with a giant spatula — now, that's a universal concept.

'Berlin 1937' (Riksarkivet (National Archives of Norway) via Flickr)

A sobering view of Berlin in 1937.

'Jong schaatsertje met val-kussen / Young skater with safety cushion' (Nationaal Archief via Flickr)

A young skater with "safety cushion." Now, why don't they still make those?

Get in the Flickr time machine with these popular photos

1/19/2013

Flickr Commons is a tremendous resource for photographs from all over the world, whether you’re using them to spruce up a PowerPoint, make a DIY greeting card or print out a bunch of fake family photos. (You know, so you can pull off an elaborate imposter/inheritance heist or something.) The options are limitless. Let’s be real though; even among a royalty-free collection of photographs mostly from government archives, things quickly boil down to a popularity contest. In honor of the site’s fifth anniversary, Flickr Commons is showing off its most popular free photos — including one of a dog smoking a pipe. See 28 of the best in the gallery above.

Click to see more on msnNOW.com, updated 24 hours a day.

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