A brief history of Lena

All students of image processing (and I'm sure, many non-techies from the early 70s) are familar with the image of Lena which is one of the standard images used to test and demonstrate the algorithms used to encode and compress pictures. I've often wondered how the image of such an attractive lady got mixed up with the standard test images used by researchers such as fruits and babboons. As a tribute to the "First Lady of the Internet" and the countless researchers who have spent night after night poring over the pixels of her face, here is my brief history of Lena and her transition from Playboy centerspread to a research standard! (Do read the warnings on the page before you click on any link!)
Read the complete story here!