Sep 212009
 

After a few weeks (actually, a few months) of procrastination and research, I finally finished my “project” to split up the intro of the TV-series The Big Bang Theory frame by frame and find out what each snapshot meant.
I organized all 109 snapshots in a list with a short label of what the snapshot shows. Maybe community and fans will help to complete the work and compose nice descriptions.

You can find the list on a separate website here: http://www.haraldkraft.de/thebigbangtheory/

Enjoy 🙂

UPDATE (09/29/09): As I am in Toronto atm without proper internet access, I will update all your comments and emails within the next two weeks.

UPDATE2 (09/29/09): To avoid further comments on the same issues, I updated the page (spending the last 2 hours in an Apple store 😉 ).

  84 Responses to “The Big Bang Theory – Intro (frame by frame)”

  1. 061 looks like a thrashing machine and crew to me. That would be the forerunner of the modern combine for harvesting grain crops.

  2. You did a good Job !! thanks for this !! 🙂

  3. #52 is not the plains of Oklahoma, but rather the Mojave desert. It is 1905 view of the Las Vegas valley looking east

    http://lasvegashistorymuseum.com/app/uploads/2014/06/media/large/macdonald-covered-wagon-with-sunrise-mountain-in-the-background-1905-photo-29.jpg

  4. The missing yearbook photo has turned up… in the intro to the “Cold Case” TV drama.  Duhhh!  Getting old is starting to become a real puzzle.

    Sorry everyone!  –  J

  5. The intro for some seasons had a photo of a young woman… probably from a high school year book???  But I don’t see that picture on the episodes I see now and I can’t find it being included in any online versions.

    Does anyone know anything about that photo?  Are there other photos that have been added or removed?

    Thanks – J

  6. I think pic. 108 is “Amanda Walsh” – ( She was meant to be the girl next door Katie instead of Penny )

  7. Those that say the formation of fighters are British Hurricanes are corrects however the picture was taken at the end of the Battle of Britain over the skies of Yorkshire in September/October 1940. They belong to 85 squadron who moved north in September 1940 and prior to switching to night fighter operations the squadron was reequipped with new fighters and pilots and practised formation flying even though such tight vic formation had been abandoned as a fighting tactic by the RAF during BoB.

  8. I’m wondering if #68 might be Pier 21, in Halifax, Nova Scotia…Canada’s version of Ellis Island?

    Also, could #69 be Mennonites?

  9. Hi, I think image #81 is my car (1947 Chrysler Town and Country Convertible). I bought the car in October 2012 at a collector car auction in Toronto. The car was originally sold new in Newfoundland, Canada in 1947 to the Newfoundland Board of Tourism and wound up spending most of the last 65 years in California. Only 118 of these cars are thought to remain in existence. My car was originally Catalina Tan in colour, but somewhere along the way was painted a very light yellow coat of paint which it still wears… this probably makes it the only car this colour. The car in image#81 features the same colour.

  10. Nr 90

    The Empire State Buillding itself is the special thing…take a look at “How I met your mother” 😉

    See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire_State_Building

    It was the tallest building in the world til 1972 and after 9/11 it is the tallest in NYC.

  11. Nr 079.

    The Painting is called “No. 5, 1948” and is the second (or first, depending on the source you quote) most expensive painting in the world.

    See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._5,_1948

  12. The Very Large Array is located in Socorro, New Mexico.

    You can find more info at : http://www.vla.nrao.edu/

    The location can also be seen in the movie Contact with Jodie Foster.

    Your site intrigues me !

    Thanks

    Gerry

  13. Picture #80 i think it’s from Florida.
    It’s inside this page (Lawn maintenance)
    http://www.southernpridelandscapeinc.com/Residential_Lawn_Maintenance_Gallery_Plant_City_FL.html

  14. Thank you for making this page. It’s been a month since I came to Australia for the first time in my life from Japan and I found the introduction quite interesting. Then I found your site! It’s really helpful and I had fun time reading the history of human beings with your description.
    Thanks again!

  15. Number 26 is Michelangelo’s Moses located in Rome in a church called St. Peter of the Chains.

  16. back again 🙂
    regarding the glasses on the declaration of independence of usa, i belive the glasses belong to Benjamin Franklin, from the five men who wrote it, he was the only one that appears frequently with glasses, he invented and used bi-focal glasses..there are several pictures of them writing it and he is using the glasses..this is only speculation, but if i would have to bet it would be in him.

  17. #68 is not on Ellis Island. I work on the island and the sides of the building on the sides do not look like it. After being on Ellis Island people took separate boats depending on where they were headed ie everyone headed for mid west went to jersey everyone headed to nyc went to battery park. Also there are people moving in separate directions there, Ellis Island was all one way movement and very few people actually smiled on the island, there was a risk of getting deported back home and being separated from your family.

  18. image 51
    is the ironclad USS Baron de Kalb (1862-1863), Originally named Saint Louis.
    prove in this two sites (same photo):

    http://steamboattimes.com/civil_war_ironclads.html
    http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-b/b-d-kalb.htm

    with regards

    TCoelho

  19. 101 : it is the Very Large Array near Socorro New Mexico

  20. image 53 is the USS Cairo — one of the first ironclad ships from the civil war.
    See wikipedia.

    57 is a facsimile telegraph, which allowed images to be transferred.
    source: http://www.scalarchives.com/web/dettaglio_immagine.asp?idImmagine=H503909&posizione=34&numImmagini=41&prmset=on&SC_PROV=COLL&IdCollection=78925&SC_Lang=eng&Sort=9&luce=

  21. Now with the power of TinEye and Google Images (a new reverse image search option has been added, just click on the icon of the camera within the search box) then upload the image which you are unsure about, you are bound to get lots of search results of web pages where the same or similar images are used.

    Best,
    Karan

  22. I know that 001 is mitosis, but due to the fact that it coincides with the lyrics, “Expansion started, wait!” and the unmistakable resemblence it bears to the internet shock site, I can only imagine that the reference to Goatse is intentional.

  23. 011 is a bonobo rather than a chimpanzee. The part and long hair are indications of this.

  24. Hi

    Came to the site because I too was curious about the pictures 🙂

    #24 is titled “Chiang Mai by Jupiter Images” in the next link & not sure if “Jupiter Images” is a company or what:

    http://www.binbin.net/Memory/Chiang-Mai-by-Jupiter-Images.htm

    #25’s original picture seems to be this one here:

    http://www.superstock.com/preview.asp?image=1746-200&imagex=1&id=9276560&productType=3&pageStart=0&pageEnd=100&pixperpage=100&hitCount=42&filterForCat=&filterForFotog=

  25. yes, #77 is definitely a flight of 6 Hawker Hurricane Mk IÂŽs flying in the early WWII “vic-formation” (three aircraft/flight, very close formation flying).

    the roundels and fin flashes are clearly early war british markings.

    in my opinion that photograph was taken in the early stages of the battle of britain, summer 1940.

  26. #77 is the Hawker hurricane… Firstly looking at the Roundels on the bottom of the wing depicts it is of European origin without colour can’t confirm whether it is of UK origin. It has a 3 bladed prop which is a feature of the Hurricane. The shape of the wing is straighter on the leading edge than the spitfire or any other the major fighter aircraft used in the WWII era. A reason why this photo may have been shown is because of the Battle of Britian was predominantly won by hurricanes as they were greater numbers than the spitfire which gets most of the glory, which was a pivotal victory in WWII.

  27. #61 Dust bowl?

  28. 84: Can also be found here http://www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/1434361071

    if that helps … I believe this was taken at Cape Canaveral, FL

  29. 84: Can also be found here http://www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/1434361071

    if that helps … I

  30. You did a very good job. Congrats!

  31. #24 is the Hindu goddess Kali in her aspect as Mahakali.

  32. La imagen es de mi paĂ­s Colombia. SĂ­, pertenece a la Ă©poca… the image is from my country. Is located in San AgustĂ­n, near of the village “Pitalito”. Every sculpture has a different expression. They were made 2500 years ago.

    Bye.

    http://www.tripadvisor.es/LocationPhotos-g445060-San_Agustin.html#1885697

  33. Hi!

    About the picture 026, I believe it is an esculpture of Moses.

    Since the medieval times Moses was often represented with a couple of “hornes” in his forehead. They where suposed to be a symbol of the glow (like an intense bright shimering light) that Moses presented after descending from the Mount Sinai.

    Around the baroque period, and given the counter-reformation, that iconography was restaured, but it evolved and they replaced the hornes with two sets of rays, which is what this statue presents…

    (I’m sorry for the bad english, but I’m spanish and quite rusty with my grammar)

  34. Hi,

    Great project idea! Trying to decipher what each photo is…

    Here’s my contribution:

    055 is a photo of The Leader building in Regina, Saskatchewan Canada. The Leader was a newspaper started in 1883, so that makes this photo from right around that time. The Leader was the first newspaper in Regina. It still exists today as the Regina Leader-Post.

    Here is a link:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regina_Leader-Post

    I noticed the photo flying by within the first few times I saw the intro during the first season of the show. I was sure that I was imagining it, as it seemed unlikely that a historical photo of our daily paper’s humble beginnings would show up in an American sitcom. It was bugging me so much I had to record the intro and play it back frame by frame. I still can’t believe I ever spotted it.

    The formally attired man in the top hat in front of the building is Nicholas Flood Davin, the founder of the paper.

    I did a school project on the man and recognized the photo from my research about 17 years ago…

    More info than you wanted likely…

  35. Perhaps, #29 is not a painting about the Spanish inquisition. I believe it is Savonarola preaching. However, I haven’t found the original yet.

  36. Number 18 isn’t Machu Picchu but the ruis of Pisac, in Cusco, PerĂș (not too far from Machu Picchu anyway).Check:

    http://www.jacekphoto.com/peru/peru10.htm

    or:

    http://www.perutraveloperator.com/cusco-machupicchu/informacion-util-algunos-circuitos-sugeridos.htm

  37. Picture #52 is (based on the fact that the timeline is accurately displayed in accordance to the picture displaying at that time frame) is indeed in fact the “Oklahoma Landrun” because that took place around the 1890 while Lewis and Clark is earlier in the 1800s

    In addition, picture #20 (if people are still confused between “Zeus” and “Moses”) also implies the same notion as picture #52 with the provided timeline. After some quick googling, it has been verified that “Moses” was the icon in the 1200s (twelfth century) as oppose to “Zeus” who was supposedly born back before the 1st (first century). And, I, came to that conclusion based on the assumption that the slide show is a factual timeline in chronological order.

  38. Number 7 looks like Marine iguanas (found only in the Galapagos Islands)

  39. Hi, I’ve just seen this “project” and when I saw the #75 I thought I have had seen that photo before (I don’t remember now where).

    But, it’s a Red Cross Volunteer, I don’t think he was a famous person, but if I look at his clothes I will say he was a volunteer in the WW2…I’ve tried to show it with a photo…but I cannot find it…

    However, some of these photographs are in the icrc.org website

  40. Lower part in number 39’s flag seems a Spanish coat of arms showing the Order of the Golden Fleece, maybe Philip II’s (http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archivo:Escudo_de_Armas_de_Felipe_II_a_Carlos_II.svg).
    In such case, the soldier couldn’t be Pizarro becase he died before Philip II’s coronation.
    Flag’s upper half depicts a child and a woman. I bet for a religious banner with Virgin Mary and Child in full glory (the glowing rays radiating from the image).
    As usual, a more detailed screenshot would be helpful.

  41. Last train seems to be a Maglev

  42. Definitively, number 77 isn’t a Mitsubishi Zero (have a look at the tail plane silouette in http://www.vectorsite.net/avzero_03.png).

    Again, looking at the tail plane, it could be a Hawker Hurricane (http://www.vectorsite.net/avhurr_3.png) but snapshot’s resolution doesn’t help to distinguish if wing’s leading edge is straight or angled in two parts.

  43. Number 73 isn’t a Polikarpov (russian aircraft) but a Boeing P-12. Observe the rudder painted with the colors of the United States Army Air Corps (check other examples in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Army_Air_Corps).

    Regarding denomination F4B-4, this was a Navy version of the P-12, but in this case it would have split axle landing gear (i.e. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Boeing_F4B_VF5.jpg).

    In short, it’s a P-12 🙂

  44. 19 It’s actually San AgustĂ­n, Colombia
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/esquilar/210335849

  45. sorry, it was polikarpov I-5

  46. hey, the plane is a polikarpov I-3, you can read more info in the wikipedia, it is quite accurate.

    Good job!

  47. I guess it’s obvious right now, but TinEye could be very useful for this.

  48. Hi there,

    Great idea and greater job 🙂

    I did some research and these are my findings.

    Rather than Acropolis, number 27 is the Parthenon (http://odysseus.culture.gr/h/2/eh251.jsp?obj_id=912)

    Number 73 is a Boeing P-12 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_P-12)

    Number 77 is not a bomber formation but a fighter one, maybe Hawker Hurricanes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hurricane_in_planform_arp.jpg).

    Number 88 is a magnetic tape unit (http://www-03.ibm.com/ibm/history/exhibits/701/701_1415bx27.html)

    Number 98 is an IBM PS/2, possibly a model 70 (http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/pc/index.htm or http://www.angelfire.com/tv2/mashtvguide/IBMSITE/indexfiles/1.jpg)

  49. NÂș 38: HernĂĄn CortĂ©s, a Spanish conqueror.
    NÂș 39: Francisco Pizarro, other Spanish conqueror.
    http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_gr41FEso034/SKYrtXKsJaI/AAAAAAAAF0w/OpeOCd1ohbs/s400/Fracisco+Pizarro.bmp

    Hernån Cortés conquered México in 1519
    Francisco Pizarro conquered PerĂș in 1533

  50. What an amazing work you did!
    I was sooo surprised seeing all the shots O_O I didn’t realise there were so many photos in the intro of the show!
    I hope yo get all the info about the pictures
    GOOD LUCK!l

  51. 038. Francisco Pizarro, Spanish Conqueror.
    039. Hernan Cortes, Spanish Conqueror, disembarking in Mexico.

  52. 20. Moses?

    39. He is Colon, painted by Theodor de Bry.
    http://www.artehistoria.jcyl.es/histesp/obras/10005.htm

    70. Ford model T, the first mass production car.

    73. Looks like a Boeing F4B, probably a F4B-4.

    98. Ibm Ps/2, probably a model 50

    100. 1989 Motorola Micro TAC.

    101. It’s a radio telescope array.

  53. The 29 is definitely the Spanish Inquisition.

    The 18 doesn’t seem to me as Machu Picchu, but as the ruins of Tucuman, in Argentina ( http://www.oni.escuelas.edu.ar/2001/bs-as/argentinos/imagenes/Tucuman.jpg )

    The 72 seems to be Teddy Roosevelt

    77 is not a fleet of Japanese Zeros?

  54. 39: Hernån Cortés: http://www.geocities.com/historiademexico3/dos.htm#cortes

    38: Maybe Francisco Pizarro or Charles V & I (Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire, Carlos I of Spain). I’m not sure.

    As Esparta says, 20 is maya, exactly is Chichen Itza (KukulcĂĄn): http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archivo:Chichen_Norte.JPG

  55. Number 020 is not an aztec pyramid, it’s Mayan (find it as ChichĂ©n ItzĂĄ) in YucatĂĄn, Mexico.
    http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Yucat%E1n/blog-429569.html

    Number 038 is Hernån Cortés, he conquered Mexico and caused the fall of the aztec empire
    http://navegantecalifornio.blogcindario.com/2009/04/00278-hernan-cortes-fundador-de-la-paz-baja-california-sur-mexico-navegante-californio-biotiquin.html
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hernan_Cortes

    BTW, he should go after Cristopher Columbus not before

  56. 58 Roosevelt with ticker tape machine?

    60 Woman’s Christian Temperance Union?

    80 Suburbanization

    81 Woodie
    1947 Chrysler Town and Country Convertible

    96 1980’s Toy Robots
    Mysta Bot, by PlayTime http://www.theoldrobots.com/light3.html

  57. # 101 It’s a radio telescope, maybe part of the VLA (shown in the movie “Contact”).
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Very_Large_Array

  58. 51 It’s not USS Cairo, it’s USS Baron DeKalb: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:USS_Baron_DeKalb.jpg

  59. 26 http://funkman.org/innerjourney/journeys/mythic/zeus.jpg
    The actual picture. Don’t have the reference yet.

  60. Hi!

    005 It’s a Prehistoric Fern.

    The ferns were the first terrestrial plants that formed extensive forests on Earth’s surface. They were giant ferns from the Carboniferous period.

    http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/g7MRTjPwSnON2QSvD3hARA

    Greetings from Galicia.

  61. THE BIG BANG THEORY.

    IÂŽm sorry, if my english skills are not so good to explain this in your language.

    25. Fresco de la ciudad de Ponpeya??
    26. It is in the Vatican, It was maked for Miguel Ángel.
    61. MĂĄquina cosechadora.
    71. 30Žfashion. moda años 30.

  62. May 73 be a Polikarpov I-15, from the Spanish Civil War?

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polikarpov_I-15

  63. #88
    The 2 leftmost are IBM 3420 tape units.
    http://www-03.ibm.com/ibm/history/exhibits/storage/storage_3420.html
    The others seems to be newer versions of the 3420:
    http://www-03.ibm.com/ibm/history/exhibits/storage/storage_PH3420B.html
    Hannibal.

  64. The 29 – The inquisition

  65. I think 5 is referred to the growth of several species of vegetation, prior to the rising of the animal world.
    29 Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition?
    38 Francisco Pizarro
    39 It’s not Christopher Columbus, it’s HernĂĄn CortĂ©s http://images.google.com/images?client=safari&rls=en&q=hernan%20cortes&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=es&tab=wi
    41 I’m not sure but it seems to be Napoleon Bonaparte
    61 It may be a symbol of the second industrial revolution
    72 Theodore Roosevelt?
    90 Maybe it’s about the absence of the WTC Towers

  66. I think 020, are not Aztec pyramids, they should be Mayan Pyramids, they are oldest (almost 1000 A.C., just the frame says).

    — A photo of Chichen-Itza, Mayan Civilization —
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/esparta/193788469/in/set-72157594212293341/

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_civilization

  67. 077 probably british hurricane fighters

  68. Ah! And 025 seems like a Hindu Deity… She seems to be Saraswati

  69. 037 It’s a Viking Drakkar, but the date have no sense casue it’s written 1700 and drakkars usage had ended at 1100~

    038 I suspect that he is HernĂĄn CortĂ©s… It has no sense again because the next photo it’s ColĂłn and… this one (if it’s HernĂĄn CortĂ©s) maybe after ColĂłn…

  70. I’d swear number 18 isn’t Machu Picchu. Those Buildings draw a curve, Machu Picchu doesn’t. It also looks quite dessertive, opposite to Machu Picchu.

  71. Cabecera de The Big Bang Theory fotograma a fotograma…

    Siempre que veo la cabecera de The Big Bang Theory me entran ganas de verla a cĂĄmara lenta para observar en detalle las imagenes que aparecen en la misma en forma de fotogramas… Hoy me ha dado por buscar y he dado con esta web en la que resuelven mi …

  72. Thanks MP,

    42 and 55 are hard to say, but you might be right.
    The first car and also Wright’s airplane look different, that’s why I didn’t put it.
    Jackson Pollock is correct, thanks.

  73. My best guess is that slide 70 represents the invention of the automobile (and possibly the assembly line as a means of production)?

    73 is probably for the Wright brothers and the first successful airplane flight?

    79 looks like a Jackson Pollock painting.

    I’m guessing that 55 is supposed to represent Westward Expansion, and I’m guessing that 42 is supposed to be pilgrims?

    Great job, it’s cool to see it slide by slide.

 Leave a Reply

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code class="" title="" data-url=""> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong> <pre class="" title="" data-url=""> <span class="" title="" data-url="">

(required)

(required)

*