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84 Intimate Portraits Of 1970s Rebellious Youth Captured By High School Teacher
Before Joseph Szabo was a world renown photographer, he was a teacher at Malverne High School in Long Island. And on his first days at the job he figured that he's gonna need something special to catch the attention of his pupils. So he brought a camera into class...
"I never had any agenda with my photography – it was never a money-making thing, it was just about connecting with young people – and so I think my photographs have a sort of authentic or genuine quality that a lot of people seem able to relate to," Joseph told Huck Magazine. "I have always tried to capture these very personal moments, in an honest way, to show people doing exactly what they’re doing. They could just be sitting on the school steps smoking a cigarette or they could be hanging out of a car door waving their hands and saying, ‘This is the last day of school and I’ll never come back here again!’ They could be jumping in the air with excitement because of the music they’re listening to or they could be like one of my all-time favorites Priscilla – the little girl smoking at Jones Beach – who expresses something about girlhood as well as something about a certain kind of maturity and experience."
"All these subjects and moments mean so much to me. They helped me understand people and allowed me to connect with them over the years. I hope they mean something to other people too."
More info: Joseph Szabo
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#1
Tiny Dynamine 8 years ago
I always used to wonder if the girl in the background was trying to copy her pose. :)
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Wendy J Shores 8 years ago
I started smoking when I was 9. Stole cigarettes from my parents and walked around thinking I was cool. Seeing this pic shows just how stupid I looked at the time. Now 54 with COPD... if only I could go back and have a chat with my younger self lol
Ana T. 8 years ago
smoking is not "cool" stop romanticized cancer and nicotine.
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Lua boots 8 years ago
Powerful photo. So don't you under estimate the strength of a young lady.
Faithrica Auriemma 8 years ago
Smoking is a weakness (and I speak as an ex smoker)... how is that a sign of "strenght"? LOL
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RELATED:
#2
Philippa Denney 8 years ago
I don't see this as a romantic couple at all, so these comments are a bit surprising to me! He could be a youth leader or a neighbour wishing her well, or congratulating her for something - trying to give her courage/self-esteem…? A thousand possibilities. She, for her part, is either caught up in the spirit of his spiel, or just has a massive crush on him because who on earth wouldn't!?
Jeanne Deaux 8 years ago
Yeah, I see it more as some racism related picture. Like, this young white girl wasn't supposed to talk to black people but she did because who cares about color?
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#3
Lucybaby 8 years ago
That's some crazy liner but it suits her, she doesn't seem like she's too interested in what he's doing.
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Philippa Denney 8 years ago
It's so clearly stage clothing and stage make-up, geez! She's wearing a bun and holding a silver hat. Not to mention a leotard with tights, and a high-split gown made of flammable razzle-dazzle fabric, accented with a sequinned (?) collar. Even rad teens didn't dress quite like that!
Agnes Jekyll 8 years ago
their outfits are amazing! (and people complain kids dress wild today)
Dorothy McMahon 8 years ago
Her clothes are for a performance it looks like. See the hat? Dancer?
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Jose Baeyens 8 years ago
Love her clothing and style. That's the kind of girl I would have felt for back then.
#4
bigoldthor 8 years ago
Guy thinking to himself: "Is it the shoes? Yeah, it's gotta be the shoes. I KNEW I should've worn sandals!"
Alina Sari 8 years ago
At least they are having real fun instead of communicating via cell phones!
Brigid Sciaccotta 5 years ago
I love the girls all cozy in the bench. And yes they are probably talking s**t about the man. But guess what he gives a c**p and could care less. That's the story I get.
It's Caturday 8 years ago
They seem quite friendly to each other. Are they supposed to be talking to the stranger next to them?
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#5
Linda Sellers 8 years ago
Until I saw her boobies I thought she was the he and he was the she!
#6
Jim Doire 8 years ago
I can remember posting up on the sidewalk exactly like this. The whole neighborhood felt like home and we respect it. If anybody wanted to pass, we'd move for them. It was our neighborhood. Good ol'days. These days they don't even put sidewalks into the developments. Sad.
Fred Burrows 8 years ago
I remember partying at a young age and then facing a long walk home and arriving with the dawning of a new day.
Debbie Johnson 8 years ago
just wondering why high school teacher is taking pictures of teens at night? Its a cool photo, but its also a tad creepy.
Haley Hankins 8 years ago
What's truly terrifying about this picture is remembering that wall panels used to be a thing 😳
Rambling Rapscallion 8 years ago
Great atmosphere. Like a foggy winter evening in a small town.
#7
bigoldthor 8 years ago
"I wonder if she likes my pants cuffs. I mean, she said she does but...I don't know, man."
Agnes Jekyll 8 years ago
I remember this. I the couples who would walk with a hand in each other's back pocket.
#8
John L 8 years ago
Very good contrast between the outwardly happy 'Stones' follower, and the inwardly reflective 'Yes' fan.
Nick Smith 8 years ago
good observation; I wouldn't have thought of that but it's exactly how the two fan bases differed.
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Daniel Law 8 years ago
They virtually ARE the same girl. But the Yes fan is distressed over the Stones fan's stylish hairdo. Tomorrow she'll have Farah Fawcett curls too.
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Philippa Denney 8 years ago
Yeah :) and it's not just the lack of hair products and dyes, or less reliance on full-face make-up. There's a major lack of pretension evident in body language, facial expression, and eyes. Faaaar less vanity, and fewer attempts to recreate entire physical appearance; more self-acceptance (or resignation!).
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Philippa Denney 8 years ago
I don't remember seeing acid wash, stone wash, or rock wash anytime before about 1981 or 1982. Maybe they did get it that early in NY, but I wonder if the photographer has this photo dated correctly. Just curious! :)
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Sarah Moyer 8 years ago
this is such an amazingly intimate portrait with a unique composition that keeps my eye moving all over the shot. i just want to keep looking. would love a print
Liz Hoffmann 8 years ago
I look at the brunettes' eyes. She is staring directly at the blond, who is averting her eyes. There is indeed friendship between them, but a sorry experience that one is hiding. It could be a demand for truth. True empathy would have both of them with closed eyes. It is not necessarily a betrayal.
GalaxyInAJar 8 years ago
Or they could acctually be talking about something that matters...
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#11
Janice Foster 8 years ago
Ironic that these shorts were acceptable in the 70s, but the next Bored Panda article is about a girl who recently got in trouble at school because her shorts were shorter than the length of her arms (when by her side.) Who is making these current rules? People who grew yoo in the 70s, maybe?@
Bruce Kunde 8 years ago
Everything comes back into style but those shorts and mini skirts would be banned in today's "Liberal" society?!
Robert Bailey 8 years ago
Or maybe it's the conservative backlash that started in 80s with the born again christian movement.
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Irene Blumkin 8 years ago
I graduated high school in 1970. We weren't even able to wear jeans to school and mini skirts had rules, too. But on a "testing day", SATs, Regents exams (NY State), and standard testing, the rules did not apply. You had to report to the testing place so your clothing didn't matter.
Hax Schwollinger 8 years ago
@Abderrahman Ghouli Don't you think that in your explanantion, it's the boys missbehaving? And why should the girls adapt their styling when somebody failed to raise their boys propperly? That's inversing the resposibility and that's exactly one of our problems today!
#12
Debbie Johnson 8 years ago
Matthew MacCaughney (sp) Dazed and Confused. That's what came to mind. And...how much acid did he drop?
#13
Philippa Denney 8 years ago
Those zippered jeans on the left - LOVE them! (I like his top too.)
#14
Daria B 8 years ago
Well, what else are those pockets for? Your phone? Too risky.
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Diana CrunChewy Watson 8 years ago
Remember when love was all encompassing and you thought you would never feel anything like it ever again?
Philippa Denney 8 years ago
I would have had an ETERNAL crush on him. That's a quality teen boy right there. I wonder where these two are today. OK, him. I wonder where he is today. ;)
#15
Anna Thouvenin 8 years ago
Some of those fashion items are so vintage. It would be fun that those glasses came back into trendy :D
🌟Jim Phoenix🌟 8 years ago
It would be one of the trends that I'd actually like!
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#16
Aunt Messy 8 years ago
"I hate geography and I'm trying hard not to fall asleep."
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#18
Kori K. Warriner 8 years ago
"He first achieved fame in the 1970s as a member of the punk rock band Generation X." Wikipedia.
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Michael Parent 6 years ago
Am I the only one more concerned by the fact a teacher is in his female student's bedroom than the anachronism of the Billy Idol posters?
Wendy J Shores 8 years ago
Where's the John Travolta and Bee Gee posters? This is definitely too 80s... not 70s!
Stina Kolling 7 years ago
All questions of date of this photo aside, what I want to know is: if these are supposed to be candid shots taken without the knowledge of the subjects, how did this male adult get into the bedroom of his young female student?
Kerri Russ 8 years ago
The poster right under her reflection is from 1984... one of the more iconic 80s posters. I had that one after I moved into my first apartment. The one to the left of that is from 1983.
Philippa Denney 8 years ago
I would date this photo to have been taken precisely in 1982, jeanswise/fashionwise/posterwise. Not 1981, and probably not 1983. (Her hair is a bit lagging, trendwise, but that did happen more often then than now. Changing your signature hairstyle was a Big Deal before the mid-to-late '80s.) I would also like to point out how rad the 'one razzle-dazzle sleeve' look is.
bigoldthor 8 years ago
"Hey little sister, what have you done? Hey little sister, who's the only one?"
Philippa Denney 8 years ago
I wondered if this woman might actually be a new teacher. Facial bone structure on the slightly mature side for high school…
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Joel Bennett 3 years ago (edited)
That is a Dodge Challenger, I owned a '72 while my brother owned a '74 Barracuda, definitely not a Barracuda. The noise is too long and the rear deck lid doesn't end at an abrupt slant that angles away toward the rear bumper. Also, Barracuda's never came with the 340 engine option, it was a Cuda only option.
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Susan Allen 8 years ago
I'm seeing "The Road Virus Heads North" by Stephen King in this picture.....
#20
#21
Rachel Kinney-Vanhaften 8 years ago
"Youth" and teens look so much older back then than they do now!!
#22
Jennifer Lacey 8 years ago
or maybe just an aztec design? But also, his photos STARTED in the 70's and carried on over many years... into the 80's
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Janiel Valdes 8 years ago
Are you really paying attention to the print of the bathing suit????
Philippa Denney 8 years ago
(Strange seams/boning in the top.) Judging by the jeans, I'm guessing anywhere from 1978-1982 for this. (Could be up to '83 or '84 but I don't think so, judging by the embroidered toadstool patch, and by her friend.)
Yvonne Torburn-Clark 8 years ago
That was so typical '70's I graduated in '75, swimsuits and shorts were the norm for us in summer. And platform sandels.
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Philippa Denney 8 years ago
Thought at first that it looked like she's holding a sculpted nose-mouth-chin piece on top of her actual face which we can't see beneath it. Alternatively, I might just be way too tired to see clearly now…
#25
Mary Stueben 8 years ago
I wore a wreath of baby's breath in my hair for my 1978 wedding rather than a veil -- 70s is a good tag for this.
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.gas. 8 years ago
Looks like it was taken moments before a double-bird. :-)
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#28
Sam Jones 2 years ago
Yes! Even in the late 60’s at least 68. A classmate had them
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Bruce Kunde 8 years ago
All these pics seem to be East Coast, Glad I grew up on the West coast!
#29
Philippa Denney 8 years ago
Is this the planker from before on the 'hard a*s' car (or different model of car?)…?
Charlotte Hukvari 7 years ago
If I just slide my hand down like this, nobody knows what I’m doing.
#30
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#33
Rufus T. Firefly 8 years ago
Punk hit in New York earlier than the rest of the country could easily be 1978
#34
Joanna Huang 8 years ago
Wait, I thought the photographer was just a teacher??!! How did he get into their rooms?
Featherica 8 years ago
The appropriate title of this should be "Stalker in the 70s who wouldn't stop taking pics". XD
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Angelina Wilkins 8 years ago
This one is really creepy to me when considering who the photographer is.
#35
Philippa Denney 8 years ago
Nope. Their name is 'Neville Brothers' and that's not an '-il' at the end. It's someone's shoe breaking up an '-n'.
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Yvonne Torburn-Clark 8 years ago
Not too many guys that I knew would wear that. Unless they WANTED to get the s*** kicked out of them.
Adriely Nadesca 8 years ago
It is , hurts like hell , if the elastic is of a poor quality, your assh*le might get itchy . *Too much info I know lol
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Culdee 8 years ago
More young men should wear this stuff. Women lost their burqa-like swimwear decades ago.
#37
Shauday Smith 8 years ago
really? those shorts, and that dudes sunglasses.... seems a little post 1970's to me.
#38
Wendy Fitzkloo 8 years ago
Ah those were the days when you wore a 'skinny rib' jumper that legitimely looked like you had nothing on
#39
Carole 8 years ago
There was no conditioner- there was Breck. Nobody went to the "hair dresser" unless they couldnt see..
Stina Kolling 7 years ago
Conditioner existed; it was called cream/creme rinse.
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Octavian Teodor 8 years ago
were they not using conditioner...or the hairdresser was a 5 year old?
#40
#42
jacluckycat 8 years ago
Guy on left looks like josh hartnett when he played the rebellious high schooler in that alien movie
Gayle Bynum Cardosa 8 years ago
Where's Bubbles cats though....it does kind of look like those guys. Trailer Park Boys are characters in a show for people down voting....
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#44
#45
Noreen Anthony-Tabar 8 years ago
My grandmother didn't have much in eyebrows. So, she had to draw them on. Maybe this is the same for this gal.
Philippa Denney 8 years ago
It's not that she drew them on herself; it's the terrible shape she chose.
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Stina Kolling 7 years ago
"I'm just a harmless man taking pictures down innocent girls' tops!"
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#47
#48
Angelina Wilkins 8 years ago
This picture makes me so uncomfortable because there are so so so many people!
#49
#50
#51
Griselle Lugo 8 years ago
OMG! That was me in the 70's!! Those were the days...who cares about skin cancer?
Sharon Smith 6 years ago
Yeah! I was a 70's, Irish lineage, teenage babe. Many blistering sunburn and even one sunburn poison episodes. Now, I'm 58 years old. Had skin cancer(thankfully, benign) removed from my forehead last November, 2018. November 2019, still pulling strands and knots of what I call fishing line(sutures) from the bridge of my nose and upward. So much pain, for such a stupid cause. Mothers! Put the sunscreen on your children, and educate them on the dangers of baby oil tanning! SO not worth it!!
Mary Tonningsen 8 years ago
My sister and I did that every summer for years. Baby oil, Crisco, cocoa butter, anything greasy we could find. 2 hours a day minimum! Sometimes 4 hours a day. Her skin survived it well, but mine has suffered. I'm 63, with horrible age spots, 'things' removed, etc. Luckily no cancer, but it wouldn't surprise me if I get some before I die. We were soooo stupid!!
#52
Willem Havenaar 8 years ago
This guy wears a t-shirt of the German metal band Warlock. This band was formed in 1982.
#53
Nikki Sutton 8 years ago
"We had two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high powered blotter acid, a salt shaker half full of cocaine, and a whole galaxy of multi-colored uppers, downers, screamers, laughers... and also a quart of tequila, a quart of rum, a case of Budweiser, a pint of raw ether and two dozen amyls. Not that we needed all that for the trip, but once you get locked into a serious drug collection, the tendency is to push it as far as you can."
Nicole LeSueur Withers 8 years ago
She has jamberry nail art on her fingernails. This is from at least the last 5 years.....
#54
Fred Burrows 8 years ago
I was a troublemaker of sorts but Sister Christian in the center there would be getting anonymous poetry in her locker .
Orion A. Bennett 1 year ago
the dark hair on the left, looks a lot like me, in 1967, as a junior in school
#55
#56
John Palermo 3 years ago
"They only want you when you're seventeen, When you're 21, you're no fun. They take a Polaroid and let you go Say they'll let you know, so come on."
Tracey Martens 8 years ago
Please excuse yourself from commenting publicly.
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#58
Braylee Dryg 8 years ago
Throwback to when women could fit their whole hand in their pockets. 😅
bigoldthor 8 years ago
"Look, we've got to start coordinating our outfits better. We simply can't be caught with horizontal stripes together anymore."
#60
bpanther 8 years ago
Get off it already all you '80s guys… what difference, it's that era.
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Mary Spidell-Chan 8 years ago
i was wondering if many of these are from 1979 into the 80's also
#62
#64
Kara Leah Steeno 8 years ago
Hell ya there i am farmer pants of many colors...everyday loved it
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#66
Griselle Lugo 8 years ago
I wonder what signal was the hand giving?? A fist? A middle finger? Who knows...
Emilia Kłos 8 years ago
I think he's doing the final movie scene with a song "won't you forget about me.... "
#67
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#69
Janet Mayer 3 years ago
I had a winter coat like that. Wish I would have saved some of my clothes!
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#72
bigoldthor 8 years ago
"Dear lord, we thank you for this Baby Ruth bar we are about to receive."
#73
#74
Rizzo Razz 8 years ago
Also there is a pretty good chance they are over 50 now
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#76
#77
#78
Janet Mayer 3 years ago
Is that an Instamatic? Loved the days before cell phones and everyone too busy taking selfies to enjoy the concert.
#79
Lilly Pomar 8 years ago
The little guy seems to be laughing, I hope he's someone's younger brother and this is just friendly joking.
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bigoldthor 8 years ago
"It was at this point that I decided I needed to change my circle of friends," said young Bill Gates.
#80
bigoldthor 8 years ago
"I wonder if I could stand on one leg and spread my arms out like a pelican's wings, crouching ominously in a pre-kick position..."
#81
bigoldthor 8 years ago
"Maybe if I pretend I'm asleep, he'll go away...unless 'he' is just a painting."
#82
#83
bigoldthor 8 years ago
"Damn cell phone reception. Oh wait, those won't be popular for another 20 years...never mind."
#84
Maureen Sullivan 1 year ago
For some reason right when I saw this I pictured what these guys would look like as older men. 😊
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Jhoa 8 years ago
Lovely pictures. The only concerning thing is that this guy is supposedly a teacher? And there are photographs in women's bathrooms and peoples bedrooms.
Steve Gad 7 years ago
You're applying Millennial paranoia to 45 year old art. . No one was thinking that back then, and what a shame folk like you perpetuate the 'All men are opportunist child molesters' mindset. It doesn't help. Please just enjoy the photographs. Thanks.
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John L 8 years ago
This late 70s period was the 'let down' after the Vietnam generation of protests, drugs, and hippies. There weren't any real causes to get worked up over, so the 'Starsky & Hutch' kids just marked time and turned inward. It was also the blurred dividing line where the Baby Boomers and GenXers couldn't make up their minds what they wanted to be.
Shari H 8 years ago
I still haven't made up my mind...or maybe I just want to be me. I'll tell you in 17 years when I'm free from the 9-5 grind. I know that time will fly past because I could swear I was 18 yesterday...
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Jenice Grimes 8 years ago
we don't have kids like this anymore because social media kids are scared to be them selfs because it could end up going viral and running their lives
Ethel Casey 8 years ago
Yes there is. The picture of the posing lifeguard...
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Marios Louvaris 8 years ago
Why don't these things happen anymore???? I live in the wrong generation! Technology took everything from us :(
Jhoa 8 years ago
Lovely pictures. The only concerning thing is that this guy is supposedly a teacher? And there are photographs in women's bathrooms and peoples bedrooms.
Steve Gad 7 years ago
You're applying Millennial paranoia to 45 year old art. . No one was thinking that back then, and what a shame folk like you perpetuate the 'All men are opportunist child molesters' mindset. It doesn't help. Please just enjoy the photographs. Thanks.
Load More Replies... John L 8 years ago
This late 70s period was the 'let down' after the Vietnam generation of protests, drugs, and hippies. There weren't any real causes to get worked up over, so the 'Starsky & Hutch' kids just marked time and turned inward. It was also the blurred dividing line where the Baby Boomers and GenXers couldn't make up their minds what they wanted to be.
Shari H 8 years ago
I still haven't made up my mind...or maybe I just want to be me. I'll tell you in 17 years when I'm free from the 9-5 grind. I know that time will fly past because I could swear I was 18 yesterday...
Load More Replies... Jenice Grimes 8 years ago
we don't have kids like this anymore because social media kids are scared to be them selfs because it could end up going viral and running their lives
Ethel Casey 8 years ago
Yes there is. The picture of the posing lifeguard...
Load More Replies... Marios Louvaris 8 years ago
Why don't these things happen anymore???? I live in the wrong generation! Technology took everything from us :(
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