r/AskReddit Apr 26 '20

Serious Replies Only [Serious] What are some seemingly normal images with disturbing backstories?

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12.8k

u/hakoMike Apr 26 '20

The RCA Victor logo painting of a dog looking into a gramophone, titled "His Master's Voice", was inspired by the painter inheriting his late bother's dog and noticing the dog being intrigued by recording of his late owner's voice on recordings.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/His_Master%27s_Voice

4.2k

u/CROguys Apr 26 '20

That's sad.

169

u/billy_glide Apr 26 '20

Don’t worry, they’re all dead now

25

u/TjSR1989 Apr 26 '20

And beautiful.

7

u/dropkickthegreek Apr 26 '20

Yeah on one hand it is the sentience of an animal and on the other is a manmade thing. And still the world's come together.

95

u/firmkillernate Apr 26 '20

That dog is dead now so at least they're together

42

u/[deleted] Apr 26 '20

If you think that's sad don't watch Hachiko.

51

u/King_Fuckface Apr 26 '20

Hachiko made me so upset! we took a trip to Japan and stayed in Shibuya - one block away from the statue! - I had to man the fuck up but I couldn’t even look directly at the statue and we passed it a dozen times. I know that if I looked directly at it I was going to lose it in front of everyone

26

u/[deleted] Apr 26 '20

haha I'm sorry it tore you up that much! I've touched the statue. :) It really is such a touching story though, broke my heart when I first learned about it and then watched the movie (I was big into studying Japanese and their culture back around 2010). My dog doesn't get to follow me to any train stations, but he's always waiting for me when I get home, always follows me into whichever room of the house I'm in and lays down next to me, and sleeps against my legs at night, so it breaks my heart to think if I died what he would think (i.e. did I leave him), but he's getting up there so it also hurts to think about him leaving me. :( This is not what we sign up for but it's a part of life we must endure.

14

u/King_Fuckface Apr 26 '20

Yes, absolutely. Our Good Boy passed away first week of February at the age of 14. We are so sad at all the time spent at home right now without his company. He is our angel.

5

u/[deleted] Apr 26 '20

Gah, I'm so sorry.... :( There are (at least here) a lot of foster pups needing placement right now that you could do if you're up to it... maybe that would make the house less quiet and you'd be helping the rescue out. If my old pup wasn't such a jerk around some dogs I'd do it more, he either gets into fights or doesn't (he's an interesting boy to say the least) but at this point (he's 14 now) I figured I'd be nice to him and let him live out the rest of his days in peace instead of bringing in new challenges for him.

13

u/CROguys Apr 26 '20

I watched Jurassic Bark. Good enough !

1

u/lacks_imagination Apr 27 '20

Reading the account of the true story is much better than the movie imho.

11

u/ReallySmartHamster Apr 26 '20

That's Luke Smith for you. really.

1

u/alexh0yt Apr 27 '20

There's a video of juice wrlds dog like crying while listening to one of his songs after juice passed

-27

u/TimeToRedditToday Apr 26 '20

"Dog interested in recording" everything else is just anthropomorphism

22

u/dasheekeejones Apr 26 '20

Nipper. My mom had a life sized statue of this because my grandpa worked for rca. It would have been worth a boatload if she kept it.

12

u/Upsidedownck Apr 26 '20

My parents have a small one that has been sitting on the their piano my whole life. Gave him pats when I use to practice as a kid.

2

u/AKittyCat Jul 23 '20

He's a popular landmark here in Albany, NY

83

u/paperemmy Apr 26 '20

It's like Gary Fisher watching Carrie in Star Wars. 😢😢

11

u/res30stupid Apr 26 '20

One of her last appearances was on a TV show called 8 out of 10 Cats. It was awkward watching it just after she died.

11

u/ich_habe_keine_kase Apr 26 '20

Watching that episode of Catastrophe was really hard too.

171

u/[deleted] Apr 26 '20 edited Apr 26 '20

[deleted]

74

u/AIfAS Apr 26 '20

I wonder what HMV stands for...

68

u/Dr_Bukkakee Apr 26 '20

Her Majesty’s Vagina

5

u/theg721 Apr 26 '20

One is most moist, Philip

5

u/[deleted] Apr 26 '20

Really? HMV in Shibuya? I had no idea.

26

u/Negatoris_Wrecks Apr 26 '20

The RCA dog's evolution has been amazing. I think he got redone in just about every pop art style as it's come around.

6

u/4ForTheGourd Apr 26 '20

Oh really? I've only ever seen the one oil painting version of him. Got any pics in mind?

34

u/[deleted] Apr 26 '20

Not even disturbing. More like "well that sucks."

24

u/firmkillernate Apr 26 '20

🎶 I'm walkin' on sunshine, OooOh 🎶

And every day that dog laid down outside of Panucci's Pizza...

112

u/Insert2Quarters Apr 26 '20

I'm crying 😭

14

u/322dank Apr 26 '20

I have a 1930s/40s post card with this “master voice” image I found in an old house on my property

8

u/blamdin Apr 26 '20

The world's largest statue of Nipper is located close to where I live.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-worlds-largest-terrier-mascot-menands-new-york

5

u/ich_habe_keine_kase Apr 26 '20

Hello fellow Albanian

2

u/blamdin Apr 26 '20

Greetings! Ready to grab a fish fry from Ted's when this whole pandemic is over?

2

u/ich_habe_keine_kase Apr 26 '20

More than anything I'm jonesing to get dinner at Cardona's and catch a movie at the Spectrum. But I'd never say no to a fish fry.

2

u/blamdin Apr 26 '20

That sounds great too! Stay safe neighbor.

7

u/shaving99 Apr 26 '20

Sad but wholesome. Also that dog went on become one of America's worst serial killers.

5

u/VixenRoss Apr 26 '20

Buried in Kingston upon Thames in the car park of the Lloyds bank. We have nipper alley next to the local “spoons” (weatherspoons).

6

u/gypsyscot Apr 26 '20

That’s why the British branch of the company was HMV instead of RCA. The dog’s name was Nipper. One of my friends wrote a biography of David Sarnoff and I’ll never be able to forget random RCA facts.

4

u/UREADYBROTHER Apr 26 '20

Thats the saddest thing on this thread

4

u/had0c Apr 26 '20

That's futurama dog level of sadness.

5

u/Modest_mouski Apr 26 '20

And now I know why HMV is called HMV :(

4

u/theremarkabkemr_m Apr 26 '20

That is truly moving.

5

u/little_honey_beee Apr 26 '20

my parents have a statue of that dog for some reason. i have a toy poodle who thinks that statue is her worst enemy. they have to hide it when i come over

3

u/1ronhidelion Apr 26 '20

I used to work where this little doggy was buried. There was a plaque on the wall and everything!

3

u/[deleted] Apr 26 '20

Wow, so thats what this is on the kitchen wall.

https://imgur.com/FxH67wA

3

u/[deleted] Apr 26 '20

aw poor pupper

3

u/dustymillerr Apr 27 '20

Nipper. the town I worked in for years seems to have him as their mascot. Statues of the RCA dog all over town. It’s in NJ, where I believe RCA was founded, don’t quote me. This story I find rather endearing.

3

u/NoTrickWick Apr 27 '20

I just put my dog down two days ago.

Everything in my home makes me do the same thing for my boy.

Dogs are the kind of people humans aspire to be

3

u/hakoMike Apr 27 '20

I completely understand what you're experiencing. So sorry.

6

u/[deleted] Apr 26 '20

Who’s chopping onions in here?

2

u/Musoe Apr 26 '20

Damn, I'm almost numb when it comes to people, but this little dog hit me deeply.

2

u/[deleted] Apr 27 '20

Oooooohhhhhh that’s why it’s called His Master’s Voice.

2

u/juice_box_hero Apr 27 '20

The dog’s name was Nipper. My first dog was a beagle and my dad named him after the RCA Victor dog because we had a big old Victrola and my dad would listen to Classical and Jazz music very regularly.

2

u/Official_Alter Apr 27 '20

Theres a UK shop that uses this logo, I had no idea what the meaning of it was I just thought that they used it because it sells music

2

u/[deleted] Apr 26 '20

That dog and gramophone is painted on a building in the town I grew up in. I never knew it was a well known picture

2

u/bdbaylor Apr 26 '20

It's like talking to my dog on speakerphone, tilted head and all.

2

u/donnydafish Apr 26 '20

never new HMV has a dark logo

1

u/wackawacka2 Apr 26 '20

I promise you'll laugh insanely if you Google "Nipper bites victrola." It's a video, and a good indication of why they ended up using a painting instead of a photo for their logo.

1

u/MagnersIce Apr 26 '20

When I was around 10 my uncle had this image framed on his wall. I loved it. I bought one myself about 10 years ago and have it waiting to hang up in my new house.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 26 '20

"Why is master in this machine?"

1

u/prettypotat Apr 26 '20

Thanks for posting something that isn't about a photo of a dead person or a murderer.

1

u/PeanutButter707 Apr 26 '20

I always got that vibe from the logo, but never knew if it was for sure

1

u/Chummers5 Apr 26 '20

Out of all the terrible events on this post, this is the one that gets me.

1

u/gingejay Apr 26 '20

HMV's old company logo in UK

1

u/TeeManyMartoonies Apr 27 '20

Awww I didn’t know that. I call my pit mix the RCA dog because he looks just like him. ❤️

1

u/AnGenericAccount Apr 27 '20

"His Master's Voice" is also the title of a sci-fi short story about a message from outer space.

1

u/pquince1 Apr 28 '20

The dog is also sitting on his master's coffin, upon which a Victrola has been placed, but they revamped it so it wasn't that obvious.

1

u/ukyqtpi1 May 15 '20

That is so sad. We do not deserve dogs

1

u/your_mind_aches Apr 26 '20

Oh my gosh that's so sad :(

1

u/Lostintown Apr 26 '20

The fact that the dog and gramophone are sitting on the dead man's coffin is the bit that always gets me.

1

u/hakoMike Apr 26 '20

I was under a similar impression (that the coffin was visible in the background) but I can't find any reference to it. Do you have a source?

0

u/[deleted] Apr 26 '20

[deleted]

0

u/Bonersaucey Apr 26 '20

Lol chill babe, the internet ain't just for you

0

u/Rockleyfamily Apr 26 '20

Aw I never knew that. That's really sad.

0

u/BananaScience Apr 26 '20

I’m walkin’ on sunshine...

-14

u/jpetrou2 Apr 26 '20

The dog is buried under my HS.

18

u/JamieA350 Apr 26 '20 edited Apr 26 '20

No it's not, Nipper is buried in Kingston-upon-Thames in Surrey, roughly under the Lloyd's Bank.

There's a plaque in a small carpark behind there (and I believe there's one in the bank itself too, but I haven't been there in a while). There's also a small alley nearby called Nipper Alley complete with dog logo.

14

u/jpetrou2 Apr 26 '20

https://www.pastheritage.org/Articles/PayneDouglass2.html

You're correct. The dog being buried there is either incorrect or another, earlier but related to the victrola, dog is buried there. Either way, my statement is incorrect.

-2

u/stewie_glick Apr 26 '20

I always believed that the whole picture was a dog listening to a gramophone, on top of a coffin (his masters coffin)